Great Barrier Reef Expedition

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program has begun accepting applications for scientific participation on the Great Barrier Reef Expedition.  Coral reefs are excellent sea level indicators and are critical for constraining the timing, rate, and amplitude of deglaciation events.   This expedition aims to:

1. Establish the course of sea-level rise during the last deglaciation (~20-10 ka),
2. Reconstruct the nature and magnitude of seasonal-millennial scale climate variability (i.e., sea-surface temperature and sea-surface salinity), and
3. Determine the biologic and geologic response of the Great Barrier Reef to abrupt sea-level and climate changes in the past as a possible template to improve predictions of ecosystem response to future global climate changes.

Only a limited proportion of the science party will participate in the offshore portion of the expedition, anticipated for August to December 2009.  An onshore science party will be held at Bremen University, likely in the Spring of 2010 for up to 4 weeks, during which all members of the science party must attend.

While other expertise may be considered, specialists in the following fields are required: carbonate sedimentology, corals, coralline algae, benthic foraminifera, palaeomagnetics, inorganic chemistry (dating and isotopes), foraminifera, physical properties/logging and microbiology.

U.S.-affiliated scientists interested in participating in this expedition should apply to sail through the U.S. Science Support Program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership by August 15, 2008.  For more detailed information about the Great Barrier Reef Expedition, see www.iodp.org/expeditions.

NanTroSEIZE Stage 1B Expedition

The application period for scientific participants on the Stage 1B expedition of the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) (Expedition 318) has been suspended.

Eligibility

USSSP sponsors participation on IODP expeditions by scientists and engineers (e.g., professors, research scientists, technologists, graduate students) affiliated with U.S. institutions (e.g., universities, government agencies, corporations). Personnel affiliated with institutions in other IODP member countries should apply for IODP participation through their country’s national program office.

Expedition lengths may vary, but two months is a typical duration. Applicants must be available for the entire length of the expedition. Invitees will be assigned a specific role in the scientific party and must sign an agreement with the expedition operator elaborating their responsibilities during the expedition and their acceptance of all the rights, privileges, and obligations of a member of the science party as defined by IODP policy.

If selected, science party members may receive financial support including:

• Salary:  USSSP will provide salary support to approved U.S. expedition participants for a period of approximately 1.5 times the duration of an expedition in weeks, where the additional time covers preparation, travel, and participation in post-expedition activities. U.S. co-chief scientists normally receive a longer period of salary support (up to eight months total) because of their additional expedition-related responsibilities. The program director determines the exact salary period of each participant in light of available funding and other factors.
  Salary Information Sheet

• Travel:  USSSP coordinates and funds the travel of expedition participants to and from the drilling platform and also supports their travel as necessary to pre- and post-expedition meetings for planning, sampling, and coordination of research results. Science party members will receive detailed travel instructions after accepting the invitation to sail. Ocean Leadership Travel Support

• Miscellaneous:  Expedition participants may receive limited reimbursement for miscellaneous costs such as required medical exams, travel visas, and safety training.

Required Materials

Please read the following and submit the required materials to: expeditions@oceanleadership.org.

1. Online Application Form: Read and fill out the online application completely.

2. Curriculum Vitae: Should include educational history (degrees and dates awarded), employment experience (including any internships), and any authored or co-authored journal articles, abstracts, or other publications related to the proposed research. 

3. Participation Plan: One to two pages outlining the analyses or research proposed for the 12-month moratorium period following the expedition (when the science party has exclusive access to expedition samples and data) and explaining how this work relates to the expedition objectives. The contents and quality of the participation plan, excluding the budget, will factor into the staffing decisions. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to revise their participation plans in light of recovered samples and expedition outcomes.

4. Preliminary Budget: If the applicant intends to apply for a post-expedition activity award, the application should include a preliminary budget of up to $15,000 delineating the major work categories (e.g., post-expedition salary, supplies, analytical costs, etc).  If the applicant's institution has an off-campus overhead rate, this rate must be used. If the institution does not have an off-campus rate, Ocean Leadership requests that the institution waive any overhead.  Ocean Leadership thus will consider informal budgets in the application, pending a formal budget to be submitted through an authorized representative of the applicant’s institution after the expedition.

5. Faculty Adviser Recommendation: Applications from graduate students must include a letter from their primary adviser documenting the student’s scientific experience and detailing how participation on the cruise would fit into their graduate degree program.

6. Demographic Information Form: This information will not be disclosed to external peer reviewers. If you do not wish to fill out any of the information (excluding your name), please check the appropriate box.        

Questions?

Contact expeditions@oceanleadership.org for more information.