Postdoctoral research position (M/F) in Geochemistry and Palynology (ERC Project SEA-VOLC)

Job Description

Missions

The project:
The laboratory at Geoscience Environment Toulouse (GET) is looking for a highly skilled and motivated researcher for the ERC Starting Grant project SEA-VOLC (36 months). The SEA-VOLC project investigates oceanic plateaus, their volcanic history, and their influence on Earth's environment.

Oceanic plateaus formed during episodes of the most intense and extensive submarine volcanism in Earth's geological history. The best known and understood examples formed during the Cretaceous Period (143–66 Ma). The Cretaceous plateaus perturbed the global carbon cycle, the climate, and the suface environment; they are also assocaited with ocenanic anoxic events: episodes of seawater oxygen depletion. Despite their impact on the Earth's surface, they are less studied, and less understood, than continental flood basalts. Even the links between the plateaus and the Earth's surface are not well understood. For the continental flood basalts, we believe that emissions of CO2 were the principle cause of environmental changes. But for oceanic plateaus, it could be CO2 emissions, release of hydrothermal nutrients to seawater, or both.

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Application documents:
A cover letter including the candidate's motivation and interest in the topic, their background in Earth Sciences, and what they can bring to the team.

For the Research Project section, an outline for using palynology to study environmental changes during oceanic anoxic events.

A detailed CV, including list of publications and links to the three publications that are most relevant to this topic.

Contact details for two referees

Activity

The postdoctoral researcher will study sedimentary records of the Cenomanian–Turonian and Early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE 2 and OAE 1a). They will use organic geochemistry, inorganic geochemistry, and palynology on a selection of sites from around the world. The main project objective is to combine evidence for warmer temperatures and or enhanced nutrients in seawater as well as biological activty during oceanic anoxic events, in order to understand the importance of these two potential triggers. The candidate will conduct original state-of-the-art research to advance our understanding of the impact of submarine vlcanism on the surface environment. They will apply diverse techniques, notably the palynological population of sedimentary rocks, the concentrations of major and trace elements, as well as organic biomarkers (e.g., steranes, hopanes, phytane, pristane, isorenieratene, and perhaps TEX86).

The candiate will be an intergral member of the SEA-VOLC team, alongside the PI and one PhD student (who they may help to supervise, if they wish), and will be a major contributor towards the scientific output of this international reserarch effort.

Your Profil

Skills

A PhD in Geology, Earth Sciences, or an equivalent discipline, or the confident expectation that this will have been obtained by the time the project starts.

Expertise in sedimentary geology in the context of palaeoceanography/palaeoclimate studies.

Experience in palynology for geological studies.

Some experience in analysing organic biomarkers in sedimentary rocks with organic geochemistry (e.g., hopane, sterane, phytane etc.), or willingness to learn this approach.

Excellent English communication and collaborative skills, and the ability to work within a research group environment such as that of the SEA-VOLC team

The ability to communicate in French is not essential, but some knowledge of the language (or a willingness to learn it) is useful for everyday life

Your Work Environment

On a day-to-day basis, the researcher will be based in the group of Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET; https://www.get.omp.eu/), supported by the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). GET is home to a range of diverse analytical facilities established to support researchers spanning georesources, geophysics, geochemistry, and experimental geoscience studies.

For 6–12 months during of the project, the candidate will visit Utrecht University (The Netherlands), in order to carry out palynological and organic geochemical analyses. The groups at Utrecht are world class in the use of these techniques to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental changes.

Constraints and risks

Producing quality scientific research in an academic environment can cause work-related pressure. Geochemical labwork in this project involves the use of aggressive chemical reagants that can be dangerous to human health (e.g., acid burns, fume inhalation), particularly the use of solvents during organic geochemistry. For safety, these reagents are used only in extraction hoods. Preparing rock samples using heavy or mechanical equipment can also be hazardous (e.g., eye damage, rock-dust inhalation).

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

€3041–€4216 gross monthly salary, based on level of experience

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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