[Aqualist] PhD opportunities, University of Melbourne

[Barrows, Timothy]

From: Russell Neil Drysdale <rnd at unimelb.edu.au>



PhD opportunities in palaeoclimate research at the University of Melbourne

The speleothem research group at the University of Melbourne is currently offering a number of PhD projects in the area of palaeoclimate reconstruction  please see below. The group has U-Th and U-Pb radiometric dating, trace element and stable isotope geochemistry (water and carbonate), and microsampling facilities.

We seek PhD applicants with a solid H1 Honours degree or equivalent, preferably with some background in palaeoclimatology and/or geochemistry.

The University has a large number of postgraduate scholarships available.

The closing date for scholarship applications is 31 October 2011. For further information please contact Russell Drysdale (rnd at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:rnd at unimelb.edu.au>), Jon Woodhead (jdwood at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:jdwood at unimelb.edu.au>) or John Hellstrom (john at ionium.net<mailto:john at ionium.net>).



PROJECTS:

1. The timing of glacial terminations during the Middle Pleistocene Transition

AIM: To unravel the mechanisms responsible for the shift from 41-kyr to 100-kyr glacial-interglacial cycles (the so-called Middle Pleistocene Transition). The project will contribute towards the development of a precisely dated sequence of glacial terminations spanning the period 0.4 to

1.2 Ma using speleothems from Corchia Cave (Italy) and marine-core data from the North Atlantic. One PhD student is already working on samples spanning the period 0.6 to 1.0 Ma, with promising results. We would like to recruit another PhD student to start in 2012 to study the time slice prior to 1.0 Ma.  The project has the option of including a modeling component, which will involve travel to work with German and US colleagues.



2. The palaeohydrology of SE Australia since Termination II

AIM: To reconstruct the palaeohydrology of SE Australia through a full interglacial-glacial cycle. Precisely dated, continuous palaeoclimate records capable of providing information on long-term changes in palaeohydrology are currently lacking from SE Australia. Consequently, it is unclear how the region responded through key climate episodes, such as glacial terminations, interglacial optima, glacial inceptions, and the millennial-scale events that have typified recent glacial periods. In this project the student will develop palaeohydrological proxy series from speleothems collected from SE Australian caves. Radiometric dating will be used to anchor these time series, allowing us to make detailed comparisons with existing palaeoclimate records for this period from the Northern Hemisphere, the tropics and Antarctica.



3.  Rainfall patterns in southern Australia over the last 2000 years

AIM: To reconstruct palaeorainfall patterns from southern Australia during the last 2000 years. The project will use speleothems and modern cave monitoring data to develop proxy palaeorainfall time series, which will be fixed in time using uranium-thorium and radiocarbon dating. The cave systems hosting these speleothems lie in the path of the dominant weather patterns that bring most of the moisture to the southern continental margin, including the southern catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin. The results will contribute to the PAGES Aus2K initiative and will involve modeling work with colleagues at Melbourne and Newcastle.



4.  The Pliocene-Pleistocene transition

AIM: To provide constraints on palaeotemperature variation in southern Australia through the Pliocene warm phase and the transition in to the Pleistocene. The project will utilise a unique speleothem record from the Nullarbor, encompassing the past 8 million years, and compare the efficiency of a variety of emerging palaeotemperature reconstruction methods for carbonates. The results should help to refine palaeoclimate models for the Pliocene which is widely viewed as a potential analogue for future climate change.