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PhD projects in dinoflagellate research
Geography Department
University of Cambridge, UK
APPLICATION DEADLINE APRIL 12 !!
(email applications accepted)
Two oil industry related topics are available, starting Sept 2002. One
is on Late Cenozoic ocean history of the Caribbean Sea, the other on
astronomically-calibrated late Cenozoic history of the eastern
Mediterranean Sea. Please see below for details, and at the end of this
message for directions on how to apply. Funding is available on a
competitive basis. The Department has 1 NERC studentship available, but
shortlisted candidates from the UK are also recommended for the
University's domestic studentship program. Overseas candidates may apply
separately for Gates Foundation scholarships (see University website).
We welcome enquiries also from those wishing to pursue other
Quaternary/Neogene dinoflagellate cyst projects.
For more details please see:
http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/opportunities/ or contact Martin Head
at mh300@cam.ac.uk.
Martin.
D3. Late Cenozoic ocean history and biostratigraphy of the Caribbean Sea
using dinoflagellate cysts
(Supervisors: M.J. Head, P.L. Gibbard)
The Caribbean Sea region is a major petroleum province but also a key
area for understanding the influence of tropical seas on global ocean
history and climate evolution. The Caribbean Sea contributes warm, saline
waters to the Gulf Stream and is therefore a crucial component of North
Atlantic thermohaline circulation. In 1995/1996, the Ocean Drilling
Program (ODP) Leg 165 drilled a series of deep sea cores in the Caribbean
Sea to assess, among other objectives, the nature of climate change in
the region during the late Cenozoic. Leg 165 recovered an essentially
complete and now precisely dated Miocene - Holocene record of the
Caribbean Sea. Most principal microfossil groups were analyzed for these
cores, with the notable exception of dinoflagellates and pollen.
Dinoflagellates are sensitive indicators of sea-surface conditions, and
the present study will use dinoflagellates to refine the climatic and
oceanographic history of the region as well as construct a regional
biostratigraphy of economic and academic value. Selected cores will be
analyzed for dinoflagellates and pollen to improve understanding of the
Plio Pleistocene hydrographic development of the Caribbean Sea, including
effects of sea-level fluctuation, and to construct an independently
age-constrained dinoflagellate biostratigraphy for the region. ODP Site
1002 (Cariaco Basin) will receive special focus as it contains important
varved sequences through the Quaternary that allow millennial-scale
changes to be observed. This site has an important oxygen-isotope record
characterized by major fluctuations that are caused either by temperature
or salinity variations. Dinoflagellates will be used to deconvolute
salinity-temperature signals, as well as to assess upwelling and
productivity fluctuations. The pollen from this site will be analyzed to
assess vegetation development and compare with long terrestrial pollen
records available for Venezuela and Columbia.
The project is in partnership with BG Group PLC, a major gas producer in
the Caribbean region. One or more BG boreholes, located on the Orinoco
delta front, offshore Trinidad/Venezuela, will be analyzed for
dinoflagellates and pollen, offering an exceptional opportunity to
integrate oceanic and terrestrial biostratigraphies for this economically
important region. The BG wells are located in a deltaic sediment pile of
immense thickness - the Pleistocene alone may be 6.5 km thick.
Integrating the sediment and dinoflagellate records may provide clues as
to the association of climatically-induced variations in clastic input,
and facilitate correlation across this region of repetitive cyclic
deposition.
Full training in dinoflagellate and pollen analysis will be given in
Cambridge, where most of the analysis will be done. Statistical analysis
and interpretation of results, including integration with geophysics and
seismic stratigraphy, will be undertaken both at Cambridge and during
visits to BG Group* at Reading, which will provide regional data, access
to state of-the-art stratigraphic/basin analysis techniques and software
and promote an awareness of the industrial application of results.
* Pending final approval from BG Group.
D4. Astronomically-calibrated late Cenozoic history and biostratigraphy
of the eastern Mediterranean Sea using dinoflagellate cysts
(Supervisors: M.J. Head, P.L. Gibbard)
The eastern Mediterranean Sea was drilled in 1995 by the Ocean Drilling
Program (ODP) during Leg 160 in order to elucidate, among other
objectives, the palaeoceanographic history of the region. A particular
focus was on the origin and significance of sapropels (organic-rich
layers) that occur through the Pliocene and Quaternary of the
Mediterranean. These sapropels sensitively record the control of
orbitally-driven climate change on sedimentation. They provide, in
conjunction with colour cycles, oxygen isotopes and mineralized
microfossils, a highly precise astronomically-tuned geochronology for
these sediments. The project will investigate the dinoflagellate and
acritarch record of these Pliocene and Quaternary sediments of the
eastern Mediterranean, which exceed 100 m at the following ODP Leg 160
sites: 966 (plateau top of Eratosthenes Seamount), 967 (northern slope of
Eratosthenes Seamount), 968 (Cyprus margin), and 969 (Mediterranean
Ridge). Dinoflagellates and acritarchs will be used to construct a
basin-wide dinoflagellate ecostratigraphy, to improve understanding of
salinity and temperature fluctuations in surface waters during and
between sapropel formation, and to test for any evidence of upwelling
during sapropel formation. Results will be compared with detailed stable
isotope and alkenone data already published for these cores. Sediments
will be analysed also for pollen where appropriate.
The project is in partnership with BG Group PLC which has a successful
record of drilling in the eastern Mediterranean region. One or more BG
boreholes from offshore Gaza and Israel will be analysed for
dinoflagellates and pollen, with the aim of improving biostratigraphic
resolution by application of the ODP-based dinoflagellate record. These
boreholes complete an E-W transect through the eastern Mediterranean, and
provide an important opportunity to integrate oceanic and terrestrial
biostratigraphies for this economically important region.
Full training in dinoflagellate and pollen analysis will be given in
Cambridge, where most of the analysis will be done. Statistical analysis
and interpretation of results, including integration with extensive 3D
seismic data, will be undertaken both at Cambridge and during visits to
the BG Group* at Reading, which will provide regional data, access to
state-of-the art stratigraphic/basin analysis techniques and software and
promote an awareness of the industrial application of results.
* Pending final approval from BG Group.
HOW TO APPLY
All applications should be made via e-mail attachments or in writing to:
Dr. Ian Willis
c/o The Graduate School Department of Geography
University of Cambridge
Downing Place
Cambridge CB2 3EN
UK
(Tel: 01223 333375)
(Fax: 01223 333392)
(e-mail: iw102@cus.cam.ac.uk)
In your e-mail attachment or letter, please indicate the research project
(or projects) you are interested in, the reasons for this preference, and
the expertise you would bring to the project(s). Please include a
curriculum vitae together with the names and e-mail addresses of two
referees.
The closing date for applications is Friday 12 April 2002
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Martin J. Head
Senior Research Associate, and Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College
Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research
Department of Geography
University of Cambridge
Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN
ENGLAND, U.K.
Phone: (01223) 339751
Fax: (01223) 333392
Email: mh300@cam.ac.uk
Home page: http://www.cus.cam.ac.uk/~mh300
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