GeoPRISMS Newsletter Available: Fall 2015

 

GeoPRISMS Photo Contest – submit your photo before November 27


Share with the GeoPRISMS Community what your GeoPRISMS-related research looks like, whether you are working on the field, or in the lab. Submit your picture at info@geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com before November 27!

The winner of the contest will be announced at the GeoPRISMS Townhall Meeting at the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting and will receive a print out of the photo. The winner’s photo will be highlighted on the GeoPRISMS Website and in the Spring Issue of the GeoPRISMS Newsletter.

The GeoPRISMS Photo Contest is open to anyone whose research is related to GeoPRISMS. The submitted photo should be focused on the entrant’s research, and must be related to the GeoPRISMS Science and Objectives.

What should be submitted:
   – Contest limited to one photo per entrant
   – A complete and accurate caption (max 100 words)
   – Entrant’s personal information
   – A complete and signed release form

All information and release form should be sent in an email along with the photograph to info@geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com with the subject header “GeoPRISMS Photo Contest” before November 27, 2015

For more information about the contest and guidelines, please visit the GeoPRISMS website at: /geoprisms-photo-contest/

 

AGU Early Career Networking Event 12/16: Sponsored by IRIS, UNAVCO, EarthScope, GeoPRISMS, and AGU Seismology and Geodesy

Ever wonder what it’s like to work for a national lab? The United States Geological Survey? As an NSF postdoctoral fellow? As a research scientist? In a US faculty position, or perhaps overseas?

If so, please join us for an Early Career Networking Event at the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting. Come network with colleagues, and learn from an esteemed group of panelists, who will be available to answer any questions you may have. Lunch is included!

The event will take place on Wednesday, December 16 from 12-2 PM at the Marriott Marquis (located directly across from Moscone West) in Salons 13 and 14.

Space is limited. This event requires registration. Please go to: http://www.iris.edu/hq/event/early_career_networking_event to register.

Panelists include:
     Ian Bastow, Imperial College of London
     Reed Burgette, New Mexico State University
     Melodie French, University of Maryland
     Beatrice Magnani, Southern Methodist University
     Laura Wallace, University of Texas at Austin
     Chet Weiss, Sandia National Laboratories
     Dave Wilson, Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory, USGS
This event is sponsored by IRIS, UNAVCO, EarthScope, GeoPRISMS, and the AGU Seismology and Geodesy sections.

Announcing the Release of the New MARGINS (and GeoPRISMS) Mini-Lessons


We are pleased to announce the availability of 15 data-rich class exercises (mini-lessons) that explore tectonic, structural, geochemical, and sedimentary processes along continental margins. Designed for upper-level undergraduate courses, the exercises use cutting edge science and data resulting from MARGINS and GeoPRISMS research to teach about  chemical cycling in subduction zones (SubFac), seismogenic zone processes at subduction zones (SEIZE), rift structure and evolution (RCL), and sediment cycling from “source to sink” at continental margins (S2S).  Representative mini-lessons include:

RCL
  • Bathymetry of Rifted Margins
  • Exploring Styles of Extension in the Gulf of California
  • Role of Sedimentation in Rifting
  • Role of Plate Motion Obliquity in Rifting
SEIZE
  • Accretionary vs. Erosive Subduction Margins
  • The Spectrum of Fault Slip
  • The Plate Boundary Fault of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake
S2S
  • From Source to Sink: How Sediment Reflects the Journey from the Mountains to the Sea
  • Sediment Dispersal and Continental Margin Stratigraphy
  • Contemporary Climate Oscillations: ENSO and a case study of the Huanghe River
  • Holocene Optimum: A time of massively increased sediment discharge for Asian Rivers
  • Sediments and Carbon Burial on the Continental Margins
SubFac
  • Subduction Zone Metamorphism
  • Slab Temperatures Control Melting in Subduction Zones, What Controls Slab Temperature?
  • Central American Arc Volcanoes, Petrology, and Geochemistry
These lessons and more information about the MARGINS Mini-Lesson Project can be found at:

http://serc.carleton.edu/margins/index.html

We also invite additional contributions to this collection as new scientific observations and data become available through ongoing continental margin studies. For more information about adding to the collection, please contact Juli Morgan (morganj@rice.edu).
———————————-

The mini-lessons were developed by an interdisciplinary team of about 20 scientists and educators, who participated in a three year curriculum development project funded by an NSF DUE grant. Many thanks to all of the following contributors:

Julia Morgan (GeoPRISMS, Rice University), Andrew Goodliffe (University of Alabama), Jeff Marshall (Cal Poly Pomona), Ellen Iverson (SERC, Carleton College), Cathy Manduca (SERC, Carleton College), Jenn Beck (EvalArts Consulting), Robert Stern (Univ. of Texas Dallas), Ben Edwards (Dickinson College), Sarah Penniston-Dorland (Univ. of Maryland), Chris Kincaid (Univ. of Rhode Island), Casey Moore (UC Santa Cruz), Jeff Marshall (Cal Poly Pomona), Eliza Richardson (Penn State University), David Pearson (Idaho State University), Scott Bennett (USGS Golden, CO), Rebecca Dorsey (Univ. of Oregon), Andrew Goodliffe (Univ. of Alabama), Jack Loveless (Smith College), Lisa Lamb (Univ. of St. Thomas), Sue Cashman (Humboldt State University), Steve Kuehl (Virginia Inst. Marine Science), Lonnie Leithold (North Carolina State University), Kathleen Surpless (Trinity University), Adam Hoffman (Univ. of Dubuque), August Costa (GeoPRISMS, Rice University), Kristin O’Connell (SERC, Carleton College).

 

AGU Chapman Conference on slow slip – abstract deadline tomorrow!


The abstract submission deadline for the Chapman conference on slow slip (21-25 February, 2016, Ixtapa, Mexico) is November 18. Go to: http://chapman.agu.org/slowslip/program/abstract-submission-guidelines/

Also see below for more information on the conference:
AGU Chapman Conference on Slow Slip Phenomena

21-25 February 2016, in Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico
This conference will bring together scientists working on slow slip in all places where they are observed. Abstracts are encouraged based on the following topics:
    Observations of slow slip phenomena
    Fault structure and physical conditions where slow earthquakes are observed
    Slow earthquakes and their relationship to large earthquakes and seismic hazard
    Models and laboratory experiments
    Improving observational methods for the analysis of slow slip phenomena
Visit the conference web site (http://chapman.agu.org/slowslip/) to learn more, including how to submit an abstract, register, and reserve housing at the AGU group rate!
Conveners:
   Allen Husker (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
   Heidi Houston (University of Washington)
   Yoshihiro Ito (Kyoto University)
Program Committee:
   Michel Campillo (Université Joseph Fourier)
   Victor Cruz-Atienza (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
   Satoshi Ide (University of Tokyo)
   Matt Ikari (University of Bremen)
   Vladimir Kostoglodov (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
   Susan Schwartz (University of California, Santa Cruz)
   David Shelly (U.S. Geological Survey)
   Laura Wallace (University of Texas)

Job Posting: Endowed Chair, Faculty Positions, Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships


1) Postdoctoral and Graduate Fellowships – Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History
2) Postdoctoral scholar position – Department Earth Sciences at Syracuse University
3) Endowed Chair – Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University
4) Faculty Position in Geodesy/Remote Sensing – University of Colorado Boulder
5) Tenure-track Assistant Professor hydrogeology – California State University Northridge

———————————–

1) Postdoctoral and Graduate Fellowships – Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

The Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) invites applications for both postdoctoral and graduate fellowships. Active areas of research include volcanology, mineral spectroscopy, environmental mineralogy, geochemistry, experimental petrology, mineral physics, meteorite studies, solar system formation, and planetary formation and evolution. The department also houses the National Meteorite Collection, the National Rock and Ore Collection, the National Gem and Mineral Collection, and the Global Volcanism Program. A description of facilities, staff profiles, and collections resources can be found on our website(http://mineralsciences.si.edu).

Predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates can request up to 12 or 24 months, respectively, through the Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program. Graduate fellowships through this program are funded for 10 weeks. Additional fellowship opportunities are available through the Peter Buck Fellowship Program at NMNH; postdoctoral fellowships are for 2 years and graduate fellowships are 1-2 years. Applications may be submitted to both competitions. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Smithsonian research staff to identify potential advisors and discuss project feasibility. Additional information is available at the Office of Fellowships and Internships (http://www.si.edu/ofg/). The application deadline is December 1st, 2015. The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

———————————–

2) Postdoctoral scholar position – Department Earth Sciences at Syracuse University

Extensional Tectonics/Basin Evolution

The Department of Earth Sciences at Syracuse University seeks applicants for a two-year Post-doctoral Scholar position to support a regional study of the East African Rift System. The position responsibilities are to investigate the basin evolution of the East African Rift, using newly reprocessed 2D and 3D seismic reflection data, and through numerical basin modeling. Other responsibilities include integrating seismic, stratigraphic, sedimentological, and geochemical datasets, and the evaluation of hydrocarbon systems.  Opportunities are available to teach in the department, and to participate in international field activities in East Africa and elsewhere.  The successful applicant will hold a Ph.D. in Geology or Geophysics, and have experience in seismic interpretation and analysis of extensional terranes. Additional background in computational methods of stratigraphic prediction and basin modeling, or seismic reflection data processing would also be beneficial. Please contact Prof. C.A. Scholz (cascholz@syr.edu) for additional information.

———————————–

3) Endowed Chair – Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University invites applications for the newly established Marshall-Heape Chair in Geology. We seek a scholar with an outstanding international reputation who will be appointed at the Full Professor level with tenure. We particularly seek a broad-based Earth scientist who complements current faculty expertise and offers potential for collaborative research. The Marshall-Heape Chair is expected to lead a widely recognized, externally funded research program that will attract PhD-level graduate students and postdoctoral scholars of the highest caliber. Teaching duties are both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. For full consideration, applications should be received by January 10, 2016, but the position will remain open until filled. Applications should include a curriculum vitae, research and teaching statements that articulate how the mission of the department would be enhanced, and the names and contact information of at least three references. Applications must be submitted electronically via the following link: apply.interfolio.com/31900. Any inquiries may be directed to Dr. Torbjörn Törnqvist, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118-5698 (tor@tulane.edu). Further information about the department and university can be obtained at http://tulane.edu/sse/eens. Tulane University is an EEO/ADA/AA employer.

———————————–

4) Faculty Position in Geodesy/Remote Sensing – University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Boulder

https://www.jobsatcu.com/postings/111214

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES, www.cires.colorado.edu), an interdisciplinary research institute within the University of Colorado Boulder, invites applications for a tenure-track faculty member at the Assistant Professor level specializing in the areas of geodesy and remote sensing of Earth. The position is rostered in CIRES, with tenure and teaching responsibilities in a relevant academic department including, but not limited to, Geological Sciences, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Physics, or Geography.

We are seeking a multidisciplinary Earth scientist who uses advanced geodetic and remote sensing techniques to study surface and subsurface processes of the Earth. It is anticipated that the successful candidate will have research interests in one or more areas related to earth-surface change detection of environmental processes. Techniques might include terrestrial, airborne, or satellite LiDAR, radar altimetry, GPS, optically sensed image coregistration, InSAR, or other methods. Candidates whose expertise complements that of existing CIRES faculty and researchers in cryospheric processes, natural hazards, tectonics, geomorphology, or geohydrology are particularly encouraged. Potential synergies in CIRES, on campus, and from the larger Boulder community include the Earth Science and Observation Center (ESOC, cires.colorado.edu/esoc), the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC; nsidc.org), Western Water Assessment (wwa.colorado.edu), UNAVCO, and NOAA. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an active, externally funded research program, supervise graduate students, and teach at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Applicants must apply online at https://www.jobsatcu.com/postings/111214

Review of applications will begin December 1, 2015, and will continue until a successful applicant is selected.

Effective December 5, 2015 applicants will need to apply at a new site, www.cu.edu/careers. Please use the keyword search for position number 660551 or F03052.

Inquiries may be sent to Search Committee Chair Prof. Anne Sheehan at Anne.Sheehan@colorado.edu or Karen Dempsey at jobs@cires.colorado.edu

———————————–

5) Tenure-track Assistant Professor hydrogeology – California State University Northridge

The Department of Geological Sciences at California State University, Northridge invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position at the level of Assistant Professor in hydrogeology. We offer B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology and in Geophysics. The successful candidate must have a Ph.D. at the time of appointment. Experience in post-doctoral research and/or University-level lecture instruction is desirable. We seek an innovative hydrogeologist with technical expertise in one or more of the following fields: subsurface measurement and modeling of groundwater flow, reactive transport modeling, or remote and/or geophysical sensing of groundwater. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, local and regional-scale groundwater dynamics and groundwater quality; the impact of climate change on groundwater recharge, storage and use; water injection and/or withdrawal and induced seismicity; or groundwater transport of contaminants. We particularly seek candidates who both complement our current research program and integrate across sedimentology, stratigraphy and geophysics. The successful candidate is expected to develop a vigorous research program, which includes seeking extramural funding, publishing peer-reviewed papers, and involving undergraduate and M.S. students. Furthermore, the successful candidate is expected to demonstrate teaching excellence and provide effective instruction to students of diverse backgrounds in a multicultural setting. Potential classes to be taught by the new hire include: a new undergraduate core course in Earth Systems, general education courses in water resources and environmental geology and elective offerings at the upper-division and/or graduate level in the candidate’s research specialty.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, CV, the names and full contact information for three references, statement of teaching philosophy and experience, and statement of research interests. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged and should be sent to: geology.hydro.search@csun.edu. Materials can also be sent to: Hydro Search Committee, Department of Geological Sciences, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8266. Review of applications will begin 1 January 2016. Priority will be given to applications received by this date, but the position remains open until filled. For additional information, see http://www.csun.edu/geology. The University is an EO/AA employer.

———————————–

Please note, new job announcements (usually) will be distributed to the GeoPRISMS Listserv on the 1st and 15th of each month.

GeoPRISMS Student Prize at AGU Fall Meeting – DEADLINE TOMORROW


Students, apply now to the GeoPRISMS Prize for Outstanding AGU Student Poster and Oral Presentations!

Application Deadline: November 13, 2015

More info: /meetings/agu-student-prize/

The GeoPRISMS Program is offering two $500 prizes for Outstanding Student Presentations on GeoPRISMS- or MARGINS-related science at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, December 14-18, 2015. The two prizes, one each for a poster and an oral presentation, will be awarded to highlight the important role of student research in accomplishing MARGINS- and GeoPRISMS-related science goals, and to encourage cross-disciplinary input. Any student working on science topics related to the objectives of MARGINS or GeoPRISMS is eligible to participate. Students do not have to be working on a MARGINS- or GeoPRISMS-funded project to enter the competition. Students from the international community, as well as from the U.S., are encouraged to apply.

Presentations will be judged throughout the AGU meeting. Students will also have an opportunity to display their posters (or poster versions of their AGU talks) at the GeoPRISMS Student and Community Forum, beginning at 6:00 pm, Monday, December 14th at the The Park Central Hotel (formerly Westin Market Street, 50 Third St., between Mission and Market).

GeoPRISMS Student Prize winners and honorable mentions will be notified after the AGU Fall Meeting and highlighted in the GeoPRISMS newsletter and website, and their host schools will be notified of their achievement. For more information and to apply please visit the GeoPRISMS website at:

/meetings/agu-student-prize/

GeoPRISMS at AGU Fall Meeting, it’s also:

   > GeoPRISMS Mini-Workshops (registration deadline November 28)
   > Sessions of interest to the GeoPRISMS Community
   > Photo contest (submit your photo before November 27)

2015 GeoPRISMS mid-life review available online


Dear GeoPRISMS community,

The GeoPRISMS research effort is in its fifth year and underwent its first check up in a formal review by NSF in August 2015. This ‘mid-life’ review allows for the GeoPRISMS-funded PIs to demonstrate the impact of their research thus far and for an evaluation of the broader community effort. This review follows similar mid-life and final reviews of the MARGINS program. It allows NSF to evaluate the program and to make, if necessary, any mid-course changes to the scope of the program.

The review materials that summarized the state of the GeoPRISMS program are based on very significant input from the community, the GeoPRISMS Steering and Oversight Committee and an ad-hoc review writing committee (consisting of current and former GSOC members John Jaeger, Maureen Long, Julia Morgan, Sarah Penniston-Dorland, Peter van Keken and Paul Wallace). The final report weighs in at 107 pages with more than 300 pages of appendices (including the ‘nuggets’ contributed by GeoPRISMS and late-MARGINS PIs). During this review we also updated (with significant help from Tyrone Rooney, Liz Hajek, Gene Yogodzinski, and Andrew Goodwillie) the MARGINS and GeoPRISMS citation databases which are maintained by IEDA at Lamont-Doherty (iedadata.org). The final report was formatted by Anaïs Férot with final editorial oversight by Peter van Keken. Thanks to all who contributed to this significant work!

The full report, the charge to the review panel and the report by the review panel (chaired by Doug Wiens from Washington University) is now available at  www.geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com/2015-review.

Reminder: GeoPRISMS Mini-Workshops at AGU Fall Meeting 2015


Register now to attend one or more GeoPRISMS Mini-Workshops at AGU Fall Meeting

Registration Deadline: November 28, 2015

All mini-workshops are free of charge and open to all. However, attendance and food may be limited so register early for fullest consideration. For more information and registration visit the GeoPRISMS website at: /agu2015-registration/

* From rifting to drifting: evidence from rifts and margins worldwide
Sunday December 13, 2015, 8am – 1:30pm, Grand Hyatt Union Square 36th Floor
Followed by the STEPPE Workshop: “Lake Tanganyika: A Miocene-Recent Source-to-Sink Laboratory in the African Tropics” (2 – 8:30pm)
 * Mini-Workshop on the Himalayan Seismogenic Zone
Tuesday December 15, 2015, 7 – 9pm, Grand Hyatt Union Square 36th Floor

Questions? Contact the GeoPRISMS Office at info@geoprisms.nineplanetsllc.com

———————-

From rifting to drifting: evidence from rifts and margins worldwide

Sunday December 13, 2015, 8 – 1:30pm, Grand Hyatt Union Square 36th Floor

Conveners:
     Rebecca Bendick (University of Montana)
     Ian Bastow (Imperial College London)
     Tyrone Rooney (Michigan State University)
     Harm van Avendonk (Univ. Texas Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin)
     Jolante van Wijk (New Mexico Tech)

The purpose of this workshop is to facilitate discussion on the current state of research into continental extension. Our aim is to be broadly inclusive by bringing an audience with widely varying backgrounds to a common understanding of the state of the art in this field. Our ultimate goal will then be to pursue a discussion on future research challenges for the community and how these challenges align with the existing science plans for the GeoPRISMS Eastern North America and East African Rift Focus Sites. We will organize this meeting around the following themes:

1. Melt generation in extensional environments: Mantle decompression, thermal state and composition of the mantle.
2. Magma-lithosphere interaction: diking, metasomatism, thermal weakening, changing the composition of the lithosphere, coupling between deformation and melt migration.
3. Stretching of the lithosphere: Strain localization in brittle and ductile rheology,  rates of extension, punctuated events.
4. Rifting and oceanic spreading – the missing link: Lithospheric breakup, focusing of melt delivery,  evolution of mantle deformation

———————-

STEPPE Workshop: “Lake Tanganyika: A Miocene-Recent Source-to-Sink Laboratory in the African Tropics”

Sunday December 13, 2015, 2 – 8:30pm, Grand Hyatt Union Square 36th Floor

Conveners:
     Michael McGlue (University of Kentucky)
     Christopher Scholz (Syracuse University)

This STEPPE workshop will investigate source-to-sink processes through an examination of the Lake Tanganyika rift (East Africa), which faithfully records profound signals of tectonics, climate variability, and surface processes in a high-continuity sedimentary archive. The workshop will bring together inter-disciplinary experts to discuss the geodynamic, atmospheric, hydrologic, and biological processes affecting the Tanganyika hinterland that influence sediment generation and transport, as well as the limnological and depositional processes influencing stratal architecture and the composition of sediment. Lake Tanganyika is widely considered to be the premier target to recover a long-term, high resolution record of tropical climate, evolutionary biology, and rift tectonics via scientific drilling. The goal of the workshop is to lay the framework for future scientific drilling and consider the best pathways for deconvolving forcing mechanisms from the depositional signal, potentially through the application of new analytical techniques, integration of large digital datasets, or process modeling. Interested participants (especially early career scientists – students, post-docs, etc.) are encouraged to participate and contact the conveners for more information (michael.mcglue@uky.edu orcascholz@syr.edu).

———————-

Mini-Workshop on the Himalayan Seismogenic Zone

Tuesday December 15, 2015, 7 – 9pm, Grand Hyatt Union Square 36th Floor

Conveners:
     Larry Brown (Cornell University, ldb7@cornell.edu)
     Judith Hubbard (Earth Observatory of Singapore and Nanyang Technical University)
     Marianne Karplus (University of Texas at El Paso, mkarplus@utep.edu)
     Simon Klemperer (Stanford University, sklemp@stanford.edu)
     Hiroshi Sato (Earthquake Research Institute of Tokyo University, satow@eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp)

The April 25, 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal was a dramatic reminder that not all great thrust earthquakes occur on oceanic subduction zones. This mini-workshop is intended to facilitate discussion and organization of possible international, multidisciplinary efforts to study the Himalayan Seismogenic zone to better understand both the threat of future ruptures in this region and mechanics of large thrust earthquakes at convergent plate boundaries in general.

Invited Speakers:
     Jean-Phillippe Avouac (Cambridge) – Tectonics of the Himalaya
     Judith Hubbard (Earth Observatory of Singapore and Nanyang Technical University) – Seismic Hazards of the Himalaya
     Greg Moore (U. Hawaii) – Lessons from the MARGINS SEIZE Initiative

 

Job Posting: Faculty & PhD Positions