The IODP-China Office is calling for applications for the IODP Expeditions 395 (Reykjanes Mantle Convection) operated by the JOIDES Resolution.

Reykjanes Mantle Convection

Expedition 395 –26 June 2020 to 26 August 2020

Reykjanes Mantle Convection Expedition 395  will investigate mantle upwelling beneath Iceland, which supports the regional bathymetry and has led to changes in the height of oceanic gateways that control the strength of deep-water flow over geologic timescales. This drilling program contains three objectives: (1) to test contrasting hypotheses for the formation of V-shaped ridges that are the result of interaction between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Iceland plume; (2) to understand temporal changes in ocean circulation and explore connections with plume activity; and (3) to reconstruct the evolving chemistry of hydrothermal fluids with increasing crustal age, varying sediment thickness, and crustal architecture.

Expedition 395 is based on IODP Proposal 892-Full2 (Mantle Dynamics, Paleoceanography and Climate Evolution in the North Atlantic Ocean) and will target the sediments and 130 m of igneous basement along with downhole logging at five sites east of Reykjanes Ridge. Four sites intersect V-shaped ridges/troughs pairs, one of which coincides with Bjorn Drift. The fifth site is located over 32.4 Ma oceanic crust devoid of V-shaped features, chosen to intersect Oligocene-Miocene sediments of Gardar Drift. Millennial-scale paleoclimate records are contained within rapidly accumulated sediments of contourite drifts in this region. The accumulation rate of the sediments is a proxy for current strength, and the sediments also provide constraints for climatic events including Pliocene warmth, the onset of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation, and abrupt Late Pleistocene climate change. Major, trace and isotope geochemistry of basalts will allow us to observe spatial and temporal variations in mantle melting processes. This combined approach will explore relationships between deep Earth processes, ocean circulation, and climate.

For more information about the expedition science objectives and the JOIDES Resolution Expedition Schedule see http://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/ - this site includes links to individual expedition web pages with the original IODP proposal and expedition planning information.

Expertise sought:

Opportunities exist for researchers (including graduate students) in all shipboard specialties, including but not limited to sedimentologists, petrologists, micropaleontologists, paleomagnetists, petrophysicists, borehole geophysicists, inorganic geochemists, organic geochemists, and microbiologists. 

How to apply:

China-based scientists should apply through IODP-China Website (http://www.iodp-china.org/), fill the application form, upload CV and post-expedition research plan (in English) no later than 30th March 2020.

For further details, please contact:

Dr. Shouting Tuo of the IODP-China Office

Tel.: +86-21-65982198, Fax: +86-21-65988808

Email: iodp_china@tongji.edu.cn