Indo-Pacific Ancient Ecosystems Group

THROUGHFLOW Network Partners are searching for qualified Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) to take on the individual research projects listed below are part of a PhD programme.

Application Deadline: 30 March 2010

The successful candidates must be in place by June 2010 so that they may join in the first network activity.

Applicants must meet the eligibility and mobility requirements for the European Commission Framework 7 Marie Curie Actions

For more information, please download a detailed description of the projects, or contact the appropriate lead institution.

Palaeoceanography (Christian-Albrechs Universität Kiel, 2 positions)

The ESRs will be members of our team executing research on palaeoceanographic change in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) area on orbital timescales that allow integration of biotic evolution, ocean chemistry and circulation changes. Specific objectives include:

1. Correlation of isotope records (bulk and foraminiferal) from shallow marine sites in the ITF pathways, that will be generated during the project with existing orbitally tuned high resolution records from Indian Ocean and West Pacific Sites to provide a chronologic framework on orbital time scales.
2. Document the stratigraphic distribution of foraminiferal key taxa in order to improve the biostratigraphic framework and recognize intervals of accelerated extinction or speciation.
3. Characterize local water masses (salinity, surface temperatures) with geochemical (stable isotopes, Mg/Ca) and micropalaeontological proxies.

Marine Palaeobiodiversity (Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis, 2 positions)

One ESR will (1) Quantify the changes in large benthic foraminifera (LBF) assemblage composition with time, and (2) produce a detailed map of external and internal morphospace occupied by LBF. Secondary goals, in cooperation with other projects, will be to place these in a highly resolved chronostratigraphic and environmental framework.

A second ESR will study the development of and turnover in shallow marine mollusk communities during the Oligocene and Neogene in order to understand the emergence of modern communities. The palaeocommunities include mangrove, estuarine as well as seagrass faunas. The research is taxonomy and taphonomy based and includes multivariate numerical approaches.

Marine Palaeobiodiversity (Natural History Museum London, 2 positions)

Two ESRs will be hired by the NHM as part of the Biodiversity Work Package. One will work on fossil reef-corals and the second will work with fossil bryozoans, and both will be responsible for documenting the Cenozoic history of taxa in SE Asia using a specimen-based approach combined with taxonomic revision of one or more key clades within they group. In particular, the aim to is to determine the timing of origin of the modern-day center of marine biodiversity and to document regional response to Cenozoic environmental change resulting from constriction of the Indonesian Throughflow.

Geochemistry (Royal Holloway University of London)

The research project at RHUL will focus on extracting reliable palaeoclimate / palaeoceanographic proxy data using (isotope) geochemical techniques. Specifically, well-preserved molluscs, corals and foraminifera will be utilized to reconstruct past sea-surface temperatures (SST), sea-surface salinity (SSS), variations in riverine runoff, or palaeo-pH. These environmental data will be used to reconstruct local environmental change associated with both global changes and regional factors related to the evolution of the Indonesian Throughflow.

Climate Modeling (Universität Bremen)

The ESR will explore the influence of tectonic changes (e.g., Australian Plate drift, closure of the Tethys Seaway) on the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) by means of climate modeling. The role of ITF changes in shaping the global ocean circulation and its influence on climate will be studied using the comprehensive Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3). To this end, the climate model will be set up with paleogeographic configurations based on plate tectonic reconstructions for Oligocene-Miocene time slices.

Palaeobiodiversity and Carbonate Environments (Universidad de Granada , 2 positions)

1. The origins and evolution of the modern Indo-Pacific reef algal flora. The aim is to document the timing and patterns of the diversification of Indo-Pacific reef-building coralline algae, the second most important builders in modern Indo-Pacific reefs, which appeared in Oligocene-Miocene times in the IWP area. Data compiled from new collections as well as material held in existing collections and records from the published literature will be used to compare palaeodiversity from Indonesia with extant diversity from the region and with fossil faunas from outside of SE Asia.
2. The second project focuses on shallow-water non-reefal carbonate palaeoenvironments during the Oligocene-Miocene transition and their response to the initial constriction of the ITF reducing deep-water circulation. The work includes the study of published literature on the Paleogene and Neogene geology of the Indo-West Pacific region; to perform field work on Cenozoic sections in Java and Kalimantan, including lithostratigraphy and facies recognition, identification of major fossil components and taphonomic analyses in selected sections; analyses of sedimentological, geochemical, and paleontological data to interpret ancient environments and to understand the spatial and temporal evolution of shallow water paleoenvironments in the area directly related to the ITF.

Magnetostratigraphy (Universiteit Utrecht)

The ESR that will be hired by the Utrecht University will work on the construction of a chronostratigraphic framework for the Oligocene-Miocene successions of SE Asia by applying integrated stratigraphic dating techniques such as magnetostratigraphy, radiometric dating and isotope stratigraphy.