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Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Geophysics
The Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) will work under the direction of Prof. Tim
Minshull at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS). He/she will be
employed to work on a NERC-funded research grant entitled “Continental extension
leading to breakup: determining the 3D structure of the west Galicia rifted margin”.
The position is funded for up to three years ending no later than 31st July 2016.
Research Environment
The research fellow will work alongside a large group of marine geophysicists in the
Geology and Geophysics research group. The group is involved in a wide range of
research programs funded by national, European and international funding agencies
and industrial partners, and is equipped with an extensive range of marine
geophysical equipment. He/she will also have extensive interactions with project
partners at the University of Birmingham (Prof. Tim Reston), Rice University (Prof.
Dale Sawyer and Dr Julia Morgan), Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory (Dr Donna
Shillington), and GEOMAR (Dr Dirk Klaeschen).
Research Facilities
The geophysics group at NOCS has extensive computing facilities including a
dedicated geophysics group Linux cluster. For seismic data processing we have 2D
and 3D Promax, and for interpretation we have Petrel. The National Oceanographic
Library is located within the building, and most journals relevant to the project are
available electronically through the library. The project will make use of the UK’s
national pool of ocean bottom seismometers, which is operated by the UK Ocean
Bottom Instrumentation Consortium at Southampton and Durham.
Project Description
The project is a collaborative effort between the Universities of Southampton and
Birmingham in the UK, Rice University and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in the
US, and GEOMAR in Germany. The overall aim of this international project is to
provide new insights into the process of continental breakup by acquiring a unique
new three-dimensional seismic dataset on the west Iberia rifted margin. Data
acquisition will take place during May to September 2013 and will involve a 45-day
cruise of the US vessel R/V Marcus Langseth in June-July 2013 preceded by
deployment of 78 ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) from the UK and Germany
during late May to early June and followed by recovery of these instruments in
August-September. OBS operations will be conducted from the German vessel
Poseidon. A fully three-dimensional seismic reflection volume will be acquired,
augmented by some longer 2D lines, and all shots will be recorded on a grid of OBSs.
The experiment will focus on the rifted margin west of Galicia Bank in a region where
the so-called “S-reflector” marks a large-scale low-angle detachment that was active
during the later stages of continental breakup.
The analysis of this dataset will allow the following specific objectives to be met:
1. Measure the degree, direction and mechanism of brittle extension and its
variation in space and time over a c. 15000 cubic km volume of
lithosphere. Key questions include the timing, duration and rates of fault
growth, fault linkage and other interactions, the importance of sub-seismic
faulting, interaction of faults with S, evidence for multiple phases of
faulting;
2. Determine the relationship between subsidence patterns, lateral fault
propagation and linkage of faults, and the pattern of strain localisation
3. Measure the physical properties of the fault zone defined by S and those of
the underlying mantle, and relate variations in these properties to the
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behaviour of the fault over time.
Determine the relationship between the intensity of faulting of the crust
overlying S and the degree of serpentinisation of the mantle beneath S.
Generate a full 3D reconstruction of the development of a c. 25x55 km
segment of margin over time.
Determine optimum sites for future IODP drilling to provide detailed timing
constraints on margin evolution and hence rates of the processes involved.
The project builds on extensive previous work on the west Iberia margin and its
conjugate by Minshull, Reston, Sawyer, Shillington and Klaeschen.
Role of the Research Fellow
The project will involve a large team of scientists. The specific role of the NOCS
PDRA will be to take charge of the tomographic analysis of the three-dimensional
OBS dataset, including:
1. Participation in at least one of the three cruises in summer 2013.
2. Application of novel processing methods to the densely-sampled threedimensional OBS dataset.
3. Travel-time tomographic inversion of a subset of the full 3D dataset.
4. Integration of wide-angle seismic models with coincident reflection data (existing
or newly acquired as part of the project) and other geophysical constraints.
5. Interpretation of models in terms of lithologies, degree of serpentinisation, etc.
6. Supporting and collaborating with other consortium members working on
different aspects of the OBS dataset for different purposes.
7. Presentation of results at international conferences and timely publication in top
international journals.
Skills Required
Applicants should have a strong educational background in geophysics. A strong
mathematical and computing background is desirable, as is experience of analysing
large datasets in a Unix environment. Experience of wide-angle and/or deep crustal
seismic data analysis is also desirable, though not essential. The successful
candidate will have good written and verbal communication skills.