Call for Participation – PacificArray OBS Recovery Cruise (May-June 2019)
Application Deadline: Feb 11, 2019
Cruise dates: May 6 – June 7, 2019 (flexibility of ±5 days required)
PIs: Jim Gaherty, Zach Eilon, Don Forsyth, Göran Ekström
Science Party: up to 6
We are soliciting apply-to-sail participants for the RV Kilo Moana ocean-bottom seismograph (OBS) recovery cruise, part of the international PacificArray initiative to install OBS arrays across the Pacific plate. We will recover 30 broadband OBS deployed in spring 2018 in a region approximately 500 km NE of the Marquesas Islands in the central Pacific, notable for unexplained gravity lineations that hint at small-scale sub-lithospheric convection. More information about this project can be found online: (https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1658491&HistoricalAwards=false).
Science party responsibilities will include rotating 8-hour watches to assist in recovery of the 30 OBS, collect and archive multi-beam bathymetry and side-scan data, as well as crewing on board oceanographic instrumentation. Cruise activities will include reading and discussion of papers pertinent to the science goals of the experiment. The project blog from the deployment cruise provides a perspective on these activities: (https://pacificorca.wordpress.com/)
Selected applicants will contribute to collecting the open-access data that will be provided to the scientific community for use in addressing a wide spectrum of Earth Science research targets, from marine geophysics to global seismology. Applications from students and early-career scientists are particularly encouraged. Applicants do not need to have experience with the type of data collection they will participate in; we hope that wide community participation in these field campaigns will provide opportunities for scientists to gain familiarity with a variety of data-collection techniques. Funds for travel to/from port (Honolulu, HI) will be provided for US-based researchers.
To apply, please assemble an application package (2-page CV and 1-page statement of interest and experience) and submit it electronically to James Gaherty (gaherty@LDEO.columbia.edu) no later than February 11, 2019. Applications from graduate students and post-docs require a letter of support from the graduate advisor or supervisor.