Cruise Opportunity

Opportunities are available for students to participate in 2 cruises this spring as part of the US CLIVAR/CO2 Repeat Hydrography program. Multiple positions, including salary support, are available for graduate students to participate. These are repeats of WOCE lines A22 (66°W) and A20 (52°W) and will be conducted aboard the UNOLS ship R/V Atlantis. The cruises are currently scheduled as follows:

Leg 1:
• load ship in Woods Hole, MA 20-23 March 2012
• depart Woods Hole 24 March 2012
• occupy A22 line (~21 days at sea)
• arrive Oranjestad, Aruba 14 April 2012

Leg 2:
• depart Aruba 15April
• occupy A20 line (~30 days at sea)
• arrive Woods Hole 15 May
• offload ship 16-17 May

Financial support for student participants is provided through an NSF grant to UCSD/SIO, coordinated by Dr. James Swift. Fully funded opportunities are available for at least two graduate students to participate in the physical oceanography program for each cruise. They will work with scientists to carry out the CTD casts, assist with documentation and water sampling, and examine the data. Ruth Curry (WHOI) will be Chief Scientist for the A22 leg, and Mike McCartney (WHOI) will lead the A20 leg.

There is also an opportunity for a graduate student on each cruise to assist with the CFC/SF6 sampling and analysis program being led by Bill Smethie (LDEO) and Rana Fine (RSMAS). Applicants for these position are likely to be interested in ocean chemistry or application of tracers to physical oceanographic problems. Training in gas chromatography will be provided. Basic computer skills are required and course work in basic chemistry is desirable.

The cruises provide excellent opportunities to work at sea, and to get to know the oceanography of the Atlantic Ocean. The student positions are open to registered graduate students in good standing at US institutions. Graduate students must have approval from their graduate advisors for participation. If there are multiple qualified applicants, final selection is made by the U.S. CLIVAR/CO2 Repeat Hydrography Oversight Committee, in consultation with the Chief Scientists.

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