Para hacer la tesis en dinoflagelados del Plioceno en la Universidad de Toronto

A PhD studentship is available for the NSERC-funded program: "PLIOCENE DINOFLAGELLATE CYSTS, GEOCHEMISTRY, AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHY OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC REGION_" in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada. Application deadline: JANUARY 15, 2014.

Description of PhD project:

The North Atlantic Current (NAC) and thermohaline circulation are major
drivers of global climate change, transferring heat and moisture to high
northern latitudes. Moisture is necessary for ice sheets to accumulate,
thereby increasing albedo and causing global temperatures to drop.
Hence, the Northern Hemisphere, through its capacity to grow extensive
continental ice sheets, has been a major amplifier of global climate
change at least since the Late Pliocene. The changing dynamics of the
NAC and polar front are accordingly critical to our understanding of
past and future climates.

The project will focus on several discrete intervals of the Pliocene and
Pleistocene, including 1: Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) M2 which occurred
3.29 Ma and represents the first severely cold episode of the Pliocene
(e.g. De Schepper, Head & Groeneveld, 2009), and 2: the Plio-Pleistocene
boundary interval at around 2.6 Ma (Gibbard et al., 2010). Additional
time slabs during the Early and Late Pliocene will be chosen to address
the impact of progressive restriction and closure of the Central
American Seaway on North Atlantic circulation. The successful candidate
will have flexibility to choose specific time slabs and sites. A novel
combination of proxies (dinoflagellate cysts, alkenones, foraminiferal
Mg/Ca ratios and oxygen isotopes, ice-rafted debris) will be used to
reconstruct sea-surface temperature, salinity, evidence of ice melting,
and NAC strength.

The project, under the supervision of Prof. Martin J. Head, will include
collaboration with Dr Stijn De Schepper (Bergen University, Norway), Dr
Jeroen Groeneveld (Bremen University, Germany), and Dr Jan Hennissen
(British Geological Survey). It is scheduled to begin SEPTEMBER 2014.

Recent literature relevant to project:

De Schepper, S., Head, M.J., Groeneveld, J. 2009. North Atlantic Current
variability through marine isotope stage M2 (circa 3.3 Ma) during the
mid-Pliocene. Paleoceanography, 24: DOI: 10.1029/2008PA001725.

De Schepper, S., Fischer, E., Groeneveld, J., Head, M.J., and
Matthiessen, J., 2011. Deciphering the palaeoecology of Late Pliocene
and Early Pleistocene dinoflagellate cysts. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 309: 17-32.

Gibbard, P.L., Head, M.J., Walker, M.J.C. and The Subcommission on
Quaternary Stratigraphy, 2010. Formal ratification of the Quaternary
System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch with a base at 2.58 Ma.
_Journal of Quaternary Science_, 25(2): 96–102.

How to apply:

The on-line application for admission to the Fall (December) 2013
session at the University of Toronto, Graduate Department in Earth
Sciences, is now available.
1) Please go to the Earth Sciences website at http://www.es.utoronto.ca
[1]

2) Click on the Graduate Studies photo

3) Scroll down to Prospective Students

4) Click on HOW TO APPLY, read carefully and follow the instructions.

Although the application deadline is JANUARY 15, 2014, please check the
on-line application for admission NOW to determine how much time is
needed to assemble all the necessary documentation. For any questions
relating to this project, please contact Prof. Martin J. Head
(mjhead@brocku.ca). You are encouraged to contact Prof. Head prior to
applying.