Dear colleagues
We are now accepting ANZIC applications from scientists in our member institutions for scientific participation in a JOIDES Resolution paleoceanographic expedition in the region east of New Zealand’s South Island in late 2018. Opportunities exist for researchers (including graduate students) in specialties including (but not limited to) sedimentologists, micropaleontologists, paleomagnetists, inorganic/organic geochemists, petrologists, petrophysicists, microbiologists, and borehole geophysicists.
Could senior scientists please ensure that this is widely circulated to relevant groups in their institutions.
South Pacific Paleogene Climate Expedition (378)
Heat Transport and Water Column Structure during an Extreme Warm Climate
14 October – 14 December 2018
Expedition 378 will investigate the record of Cenozoic climate and oceanography through a drilling transect in the far southern Pacific Ocean. In particular, it will target sediments deposited during the very warm Late Paleocene and Early Eocene including the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, as well as the Eocene-Oligocene transition, to investigate how the Eocene earth maintained high global temperatures and high heat transport to the polar regions despite receiving near modern levels of solar energy input. Investigation of the recovered sediments also will constrain the subpolar Pacific climate, oceanographic structure, and biogeochemical cycling of much of the Cenozoic. These sediments will be used to characterize water masses, deep and shallow ocean temperature, latitudinal temperature gradients, the strength of upwelling, and the strength of the zonal winds to study both the atmospheric and oceanic climatic subsystems.
The planned drilling strategy also will target a continuous sedimentary record at DSDP Site 277 by redrilling a previously spot-cored, classic Paleogene high latitude site. This will provide a crucial, continuous record of the shallow subantarctic South Pacific from the Paleocene to late Oligocene.
This expedition in the South Pacific Ocean is critical to contribute to global reconstructions of the early Cenozoic since appropriate high-latitude records are unobtainable in the Northern Hemisphere of the Pacific. The drilling strategy optimizes the recovery of Paleogene carbonates buried under red clay sequences at present latitudes of 50°S to permit a full range of paleoceanographic proxy-based investigations.
This expedition will also constrain (a) the Southern Ocean CCD history, (b) the record of Antarctic ice cover for the Paleogene through IRD characterization, (c) the development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, (d) the poleward extent of the low-productivity sub-tropical gyre, (e) the position of the polar front, (f) sea-surface temperatures and thermal gradients, (g) the breadth and intensity of the high-productivity zone associated with these oceanographic features, (h) the water masses formed in the sub-polar region, (i) the zonal winds and how they relate to oceanic surface circulation, and (j) document the changes in these systems as climate evolves from the warm early Eocene to the cold Antarctic-influence system of the Oligocene.
For more information about the expedition science objectives and the JOIDES Resolution Expedition Schedule see http://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/ – this includes links to the individual expedition web pages with the original IODP proposal and expedition planning information.
ANZIC applications
Please send all the segments of your applications in a single pdf
Australians should visit www.iodp.org.au for a link to the application form, a completed version of which should be sent to Neville Exon (Neville.Exon@anu.edu.au) and Rob McKay (robert.mckay@vuw.ac.nz), with all parts in one document. New Zealanders should contact Chris Hollis (NZODP@gns.cri.nz).
Applicants should bear in mind that their applications will be firstly reviewed and ranked by the ANZIC Science Committee and, if they pass that hurdle, by the expedition co-chief scientists. Clearly, they need to convince both groups that they would be excellent in the role.
The ANZIC Science Committee makes allowance for the relative opportunities of the applicants, so that early career researchers, including graduate students, have a good chance of selection. Note that non-tenured applicants must have a position at an Australian or New Zealand member institution for at least one year post-expedition and ideally more to enable them to carry out the necessary post cruise research.
As well as the form, applicants should provide:
1. Participation Plan and Budget (maximum of four pages): This should set out why they are interested in the expedition, how their skills suit the position applied for, what they would bring to the expedition, and the nature of their initial post-cruise research plans (including publication plans), and a brief outline of what budget they might need beyond that covered by their institution.
To maximise the return to ANZIC from the involvement of our scientists on expeditions, we ask that applicants endeavour to assemble a team, including ANZIC scientists, of potential land-based science party members in various fields, set out who has agreed to join that team if you are successful, and what they would aim to do post-cruise. The potential existence of such a team, which would provide additional analytical and scientific skills, would strengthen the applications. If all went to plan, the team members could become part of the land-based science party, and thus get early access to material from the vessel. Of course, final research plans will depend on the material actually recovered by the vessel, and negotiations aboard ship as to who does what.
2. Curriculum Vitae including selected publications (maximum of two pages)
3. Letter of support for non-tenured applicants by their supervisor: This should cover general support from the institution for the application, include an outline of the proffered post-cruise support, and indicate when the present position, or a new position, will end (at least one year post-cruise is required).
Financial support: For ANZIC scientists all travel costs, including those to some post-cruise meetings, would be covered by ANZIC. In addition the ANZIC IODP Office may provide up to $A40,000 for post-cruise activities (mainly analytical costs) for Australian university and research institution scientists and post-graduate students, if funding cannot be obtained in any other way. Applications for such funding can only be made after expeditions are completed and samples are in hand. New Zealand scientists may be funded by a similar but not so generous scheme.
Application deadline: The deadline for scientists to submit applications to ANZIC is Monday, 15 September, 2017. This is an excellent opportunity for scientists, doctoral students or post docs to collaborate with an international team of scientists. We know that students will have trouble with the long lead times but if things are possible and they’re interested, they should apply. Neville Exon and Rob McKay will be happy to provide advice for the applications, and help where possible with timing problems.
Yours sincerely
Neville
Neville Exon
ANZIC Program Scientist
02 6125 5131
