EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITES
and
Phd STUDENTSHIPS

(see also Postgraduate Training)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PhD : Glaciotectonic Rafts: methods of detachment, transport and emplacement, University of Southampton and the BGS
Closing date for applications : 13th June 2008

PhD : Investigation of Pliocene climate and oceanography of the North Atlantic region through bivalve sclerochronology, University of Derby and the BGS
Closing date for applications : 13th June 2008

PhD : NERC Tied Research Doctoral Studentship: Integration of archaeological and palaeo-climate records with isochronous markers, as part of the RESET NERC Consortium Grant
To commence on 1st October 2008

PhD : Palaeoclimatology and Organic Geochemistry, University of Glasgow
Closing date for applications : 2008 Entry

PhD Opportunities in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology (GAP) , Queen’s University Belfast

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

University of Southampton and British Geological Survey PhD Studentship (co-funded)

“Glaciotectonic Rafts: methods of detachment, transport and emplacement”

Supervisors: Prof. Jane Hart, Dr Jonathan Lee, Dr Emrys Phillips

Background
Glaciotectonic rafts are defined as dislocated slabs of bedrock or unconsolidated sediment that have been removed from their source, transported and deposited by glaciers and ice sheets, and are a relatively common phenomenon within formerly glaciated mid-latitude areas such as Britain, northern Europe and North America. Despite marked developments in the fields of glaciology and glacial geology over the past twenty years, the glaciological, rheological and structural mechanisms of raft detachment, transportation and accretion remain poorly understood, especially in relation to the role of permafrost and porewater content within the proglacial and subglacial environments. In an attempt to gain a greater understanding of these mechanisms, the aims of this PhD research are:

• Characterise the distribution and type of glaciotectonic rafts within the UK.
• Identify the principal geographic / geological / glaciological controls on the initiation of glaciotectonic rafting with particular emphasis placed on examining the role of substrate lithology / rheology, porewater content and periglacial weathering.
• Identify the primary methods of raft detachment, transportation and accretion in relation to proglacial / subglacial entrainment and warm / cold based ice.

Methodologies
The studentship will utilise a range of field, laboratory and modelling techniques in order to answer the project aims and objectives. Fieldwork will involve the structural and sedimentological examination of field sections at a number of sites in the UK and Ireland. Samples will be collected from field sites for sedimentary (e.g. particle size analysis, basic engineering properties) and thin section analyses. Theoretical modelling will be undertaken using shear-box equipment and 3D structural modelling software.

Training and Development
The successful candidate will be based within the School of Geography at the University of Southampton, but will be supervised jointly by staff from Southampton and the British Geological Survey (BGS). Appropriate theoretical, practical and laboratory training will be provided where required by Southampton and BGS, in structural geology, field mapping, sedimentology, microscope analysis, standard laboratory procedures, structural and 3D modelling, IT and GIS software applications as well as basic transferable skills. It is anticipated that the student will spend periods during the studentship at BGS Edinburgh / Nottingham to receive on-the-job training in specialist skills, as well as to provide an excellent opportunity to broaden their wider skills and experience base.

Relevant References

• Aber, J.S. 1985. The character of glaciotectonism. Geologie en Mijnbouw, 64, 389-395.
• Banham, P.H. 1975. Glacitectonic structures: a general discussion with particular reference to the contorted drift of Norfolk. In Wright, AE, Moseley, F. (eds). Ice Ages: Ancient and Modern. Seel House Press, Liverpool. 69-94;
• Hart, J. K. (1990). Proglacial Glaciotectonic Deformation and the origin of the Cromer Ridge push moraine complex, North Norfolk, UK. Boreas, 19, 165-180.
• Boulton, G.S. & Caban, P. 1995. Groundwater flow beneath icesheets, Part II. Its impact on glacier tectonic structures and moraine formation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 14, 563-587.
• Ruszcynska-Szenajch, H. 1987. The origin of glacial rafts: detachment, transport, deposition. Boreas, 16, 101-112.

Further Information and Applications
The student will join the Environmental Change and Processes Research Group within the School of Geography, University of Southampton [http://www.geog.soton.ac.uk], and will be supported by the British Geological Survey [http://www.bgs.ac.uk]. The successful candidate should have, or expect to obtain by September 2008, a 1 st or strong Upper Second class degree in geology, geography or related subject - a Masters degree in an appropriate subject area is desirable but not essential. In addition, the candidate will be required to demonstrate sound innovative and problem solving skills, as well as an ability to work both alone and part of team.

The studentship will commence on the 1st October 2008.

Application forms are available from the Research Support Manager, School of Geography University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, telephone 023 8059 7568, fax 023 8059 3295, email gsgeog@soton.ac.uk and should be returned by Friday 13th June 2008 ­– interviews will be held on Monday 23rd June 2008.

For further information and informal enquiries please contact either Prof. Jane Hart [email: J.K.Hart@soton.ac.uk], Dr Jonathan Lee [email: jrlee@bgs.ac.uk] or Dr Emrys Phillips [email: erp@bgs.ac.uk].

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Investigation of Pliocene climate and oceanography of the North Atlantic region through bivalve sclerochronology

Supervisors : Dr Andrew Johnson ( University of Derby), Dr Peter Balson (British Geological Survey, Keyworth) and Dr Melanie Leng (NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, Keyworth)

Project background, aims and approach
The Pliocene includes the most recent interval in Earth history when global mean surface temperature was significantly higher (c. 3º C) than present. It has therefore received considerable attention as a source of information about future conditions in the context of global warming. At present, advection of heat through the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift (GS/NAD) current system is a major influence on the climate of the North Atlantic borderlands. This project will address whether the same situation obtained in the warmer world of the Pliocene, and hence whether very warm conditions are to be expected in the North Atlantic region in the future. It will also address the pattern and cause of climate variation under generally warm conditions, in particular the status of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a feature of the atmospheric system having a major influence on European climate. Data will be obtained through the techniques of sclerochronology (analysis of physical and chemical records in accretionary skeletons) applied to bivalve molluscs, a now well-established approach capable of yielding very precise results.

Objectives
Computer modelling has indicated a slight enhancement of GS/NAD flow in the mid-Pliocene, a result at odds with evidence from microfossil assemblages of substantially higher temperatures than now in the NE Atlantic region. New sclerochronological data in the form of stable-isotopic and microgrowth-increment profiles from UK scallops slightly predating the mid-Pliocene peak of global warmth show that summer temperatures were higher than now but winter temperatures about the same, a result suggestive of lower GS/NAD heat transport (in the context of global warmth).
Objective (1) will be to test whether this novel result is reproduced in data from mid-Pliocene scallops from the Low Countries;
(2) will be to test by analysis of stratigraphically well-localised material whether there is any fluctuation in climate/current strength; and
(3) will be to investigate and integrate the wider evidence of N Atlantic Pliocene climate and oceanography from scallops derived from the US Atlantic Coastal Plain.
The scallop-based study will be accompanied by equivalent sclerochronological work on long-lived Pliocene bivalves, particularly Arctica islandica, which yields information on NAO state and other climate trends. The study will interface with ongoing US-based sclerochronological work on N Atlantic Pliocene bivalves and will ultimately contribute to an integrated and detailed picture of climate and oceanography at the time.

Methodologies and training
Oxygen-isotope evidence of temperature will be obtained through high-resolution Micromill™ shell sampling followed by analysis at the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory (close to Derby). Microgrowth-increment data, which provides evidence of water-column stratification (hence surface temperature) and food supply, will be derived and processed using Panopea© software. Material will be obtained in the field and from museum collections in Europe and the US from which loans have been agreed. As well as a formal programme in research and presentational skills at Derby, the student will receive training in, and apply, optical and chemical techniques to assess the integrity of material, the specific sclerochronological procedures identified above and microstratigraphic analysis.

Suggested reading:
(1 ) Haywood AM et al. (2007) The mid-Pliocene warm period: A test-bed for integrating data and models. 443-457 in Williams M et al. (eds) Deep-Time Perspectives on Climate Change: Marrying the signal from computer models and biological proxies. The Micropalaeontological Society, London.
(2) Johnson ALA et al. (2000) The Queen Scallop Aequipecten opercularis: a new source of information on late Cenozoic marine environments in Europe. 425-439 in Harper EM et al. (eds) The evolutionary biology of the Bivalvia. Geological Society, London.
(3) O’Hare G et al. (2005) Current shifts in abrupt climate change: the stability of the North Atlantic Conveyor and its influence on future climate. Geography 90, 250-266.
(4) Schöne BR et al. (2005) Climate records from a bivalved Methuselah (Arctica islandica, Mollusca; Iceland). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 228, 130-148.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PhD OPPORTUNITIES IN PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY AND ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY
University of Glasgow, UK

Students interested in palaeoclimatology and organic geochemistry are eligible to compete for PhD studentships which provide a full stipend and tuition. All projects concern the development and application of molecular biomarker proxies to answer important questions concerning climate and environmental processes and change.

Successful candidates will have access to world class preparative and analytical facilities at the new Glasgow Molecular Organic Geochemistry Laboratory (G-MOL) housed at the Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences (GES) at the University of Glasgow (GU) and at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC).

Several funding sources and projects are available: through SAGES (Scottish Allicance for Geoscience and Environment and Society) (http://www.sages.ac.uk/sages/studentships/themes/oceanatmos/) and through the University of Glasgow (http://web.ges.gla.ac.uk/opportunities/PhD_ops.htm).

Overseas students can apply in parallel for GU scholarships which fully cover international tuition fees (http://www.gla.ac.uk/R-E/pub/pgr/ors/).

Applicants should have a 1st class bachelors or masters degree in geology, geography, chemistry or a related discipline and should send requests for further information (accompanied by a CV) to Dr James Bendle (James.Bendle@ges.gla.ac.uk).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NERC Tied Research Doctoral Studentship: Integration of archaeological and palaeo-climate records with isochronous markers, as part of the RESET NERC Consortium Grant

The student will be based at Oxford under the supervision of Christopher Ramsey and will be involved principally in (i) studying all of the records included in the RESET project which are relevant to the timings of the AETs (abrupt environmental transitions), (ii) constructing overall Bayesian models using existing methodologies (Bronk Ramsey 2007), and (iii) developing and testing other Bayesian statistical methods applicable to the integration of chronological records.    The student will liaise with the other members of the RESET team, to ensure that all information relevant to the overall hronological models is included in the analysis.  They will also have the opportunity to be involved in the radiocarbon dating aspects of the project.

The studentship is for 36 months commencing on the 1^st October 2008.  Further details are available on:  http://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/vacancies.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------