Deadline: 25 September 2015
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is seeking micropaleontologists with expertise in nannofossil biostratigraphy and knowledge of the Cenozoic, and ideally Paleogene, to sail on Expedition 364 Chicxulub Impact Crater aboard a Mission Specific Platform provided by the ECORD Science Operator.
Expedition 364 will address several questions related to large impact crater formation on Earth and other planets and the effects of large impacts on the Earth’s environment and ecology. The expedition target is the unique Chicxulub impact crater, Mexico, which is the only known terrestrial impact structure that has been directly linked to a mass extinction event (the K-Pg mass extinction). This expedition aims to drill and core into the Chicxulub impact structure to recover cores from, and above, the peak ring. The expedition objectives are to understand what rocks comprise a topographic peak ring and how peak rings formed, how rocks are weakened during large impacts to allow them to collapse and form relatively wide, flat craters, what caused the environmental changes that led to a mass extinction and what insights arise from biologic recovery in the Paleogene, and gain insight into what effect a large impact has on the deep subsurface biosphere and if impacts generate habitats for chemosynthetic life.
The offshore phase of this expedition will last ~70 days in the period of April to June 2016, with only a subset of the science party members participating. The provisional sailing dates are 1 April – 31 May 2016. An onshore science party (OSP) will be held at MARUM, University of Bremen, starting on 21 September 2016. The OSP is expected to last up to 3 weeks; the exact length will depend on core recovery during the offshore phase. All science party members must attend the entire duration of the onshore science party. Additional information on this expedition can be found here.
US-affiliated scientists interested in participating in this expedition should apply to sail through the US Science Support Program, by visiting usoceandiscovery.org/expeditions/. The deadline to apply to this special call is 25 September 2015.
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