Announcements

Mineralogical Association of Canada's 2019 Berry Medallist: Professor Lee A. Groat

From Past President Andrew McDonald - Our association is built on the unselfish deeds of many unsung volunteers. While it is impossible to recognize the efforts of all, we are fortunate enough to be able to do so for some of our exceptional volunteers, through the Mineralogical Association of Canada’s Berry Medal. This year’s winner is an individual who has provided more than 25 years of unwavering service to our Association in a range of roles: Membership Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Councillor, Vice-President, President, and Past President, along with organizing short courses and special sessions, all on behalf of the MAC. Since 2012, he accepted to stand, and continues to do so, as Editor of our flagship journal, The Canadian Mineralogist, a role that in itself, given the rocky waters it encountered not so long ago, should have been worthy of the Berry Medal. The famous Norwegian author, Henrik Ibsen, has been quoted as saying: A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed. This year’s awardee has always followed this ideology, letting his many actions speak for his volunteerism, dedication and support for the Mineral Sciences in Canada. He has been an inspiration to many, me included, and we are all extremely pleased to be able to, in some small way, recognize his extraordinary commitment to our Association. Please join me in recognizing the Mineralogical Association of Canada’s 2019 Berry Medallist, Professor Lee A. Groat.
 

Employment Opportunities

Postdoctoral Research Scientist Position, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Scientist working on trace metal and stable isotopic research applications in paleoceanography. Funded by the Center for Climate and Life, this Postdoctoral appointment provides an exceptional early career opportunity for top early career applicants to pursue a project of their own design. The appointment includes support for ICP-MS, ICP-OES analytical expenses, lab technical assistance, and annual conference participation.  Research projects can explore biogenic carbonate proxy calibration studies or past changes in ocean properties, their spatial or temporal gradients, over any timescale. Mentor hosts will be Drs. Peter de Menocal and Bärbel Hönisch.

Candidates should have a PhD in geology, geochemistry, oceanography or related fields. The ideal candidate will have samples in hand, ready for analysis on arrival.

Appointment will be for 1 year, with continuation pending funding and research progress.

Search will remain open for at least 30 days after the ad appears and will continue until the position is filled.

Please visit our online application site here.

for further information about this position and to submit your application, two-page research summary, names of three references, curriculum vitae and your proposed research project stating the problem it addresses, and analytical strategy.

Columbia University benefits offered with this Officer of Research appointment.

Recruitment for Ph.D. project on “Petrogenesis of Magmatic oxide-apatite deposits hosted in Proterozoic Anorthosite-massifs of the Central Grenville Province, Quebec”

The Grenville Province in Quebec, Canada, hosts numerous magmatic oxide-apatite deposits that are spatially and temporally associated with Proterozoic (1800 – 1060Ma) anorthosite massifs. These deposits are of both economic and scientific interest. They provide resources for Ti (hemo-ilmenite), V (magnetite) and P (apatite). However, the exact tectonic setting, formation and genetic relationship of anorthosite massifs and their associated oxide-apatite deposits is still debated. This debate involves some fundamental processes in igneous petrology, and ore deposit studies, such as the nature of the source of melting (mantle and/or lower crust), the role of crustal contamination and Fe-oxide liquid immiscibility. The PhD project aims to bring new insights to the debate by placing better constraints on the geochemical and mineralogical composition of the oxide deposits, and their associated host rocks, which appears to vary according to the age of the anorthosite massif. The project will focus on the anorthosite massifs in the area of Saguenay-Lac St. Jean, Quebec, which formed during the three main pulses of magmatism in the Grenville. The project will use a novel approach of combining a full suite of trace elements (by laser ablation ICP-MS) with radiogenic isotopes (such as Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd in apatite), in both the ore minerals and host silicate minerals, to identify and evaluate the role of i) magma composition, ii) fractional crystallisation, iii) redox conditions and iv) crustal contamination in the formation of the ore deposits and associated anorthosites. In turn, this will give us a better understanding of 1) the tectonic evolution of the Grenville Province during the three main periods of anorthositic magmatism and 2) the conditions favourable for forming oxide-apatite deposits in anorthosite massifs.

Methodology: Combination of classical (fieldwork, petrography, microprobe, lithogeochemistry, radiogenic isotopes) and innovative techniques (laser ablation ICP-MS). The geochemistry laboratory at UQAC, which specialises in ore deposit studies and in situ analysis of ore minerals by laser ablation ICP-MS, offers an excellent opportunity for hands-on training (http://www.uqac.ca/labmater/index.html).

Students are paid a research scholarship at NSERC rates. An undergraduate (B.Sc.) degree in geology is necessary; training in geochemistry, igneous petrology and economic geology is preferred. The candidate has the opportunity to carry out original research and present at national and international conferences. UQAC is a francophone university and graduate classes are given in French. However, the research and thesis can be carried out in English. To apply, please submit your CV, transcript of course marks and a letter of interest (containing contact details for 3 letters of reference) before the 10th July 2019 to

Professor Sarah Dare
Canada Research Chair in Geochemistry Applied to Ore Deposits
Centre d’études sur les ressources minérales (CERM)
Département de Sciences Appliquées Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada
sdare@uqac.ca
www.uqac.ca/portfolio/sarahdare/

PhD and MSc Projects Opportunities, UQAC Univeristy, Quebec

The institutional chair on Archean metallogenic processes, located at the UQAC University (Québec), is looking for two students having an interest for igneous petrology and economic geology. Both the PhD and MSc projects are fully funded and will start in September 2019 or January 2019.

The UQAC and UQAM research teams, under the leadership of Lucie Mathieu and Michel Jébrak, and in collaboration with several professors of the UQAC, UQAM and Laurentian universities, aim at unraveling the relationships between magmatic and mineralizing processes.

The team is currently looking for candidates for the following projects:

1. PhD project on sanukitoid magmatism (supervisors: L. Mathieu and M. Jébrak): this CRSNGfunded project focuses on one of the most intriguing magma of the Neoarchean period, that may be related to a major geodynamic change. The aim of the project is to define the petrogenesis of several sanukitoid intrusions (source, condition of production, evolution) and to establish their gold and volatiles contents. Examples of petrogenetic studies that are significant to metallogenic models can be found here (Fayol and Jébrak 2017; Mathieu and Racicot 2019): https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/segweb/economicgeology/article/doi/10.5382/econgeo.2017.4534/521168 https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/9/3/174

2. MSc project on the vanadium deposits of the Lac Doré Complex, Chibougamau area, Abitibi Subprovince (supervisor: L. Mathieu): this FRQNT-funded project focuses on a large layered intrusion of the Chibougamau area, which contains a magnetite-enriched unit (called the Layered Zone) currently explored for vanadium. The aim of this project is to unravel the magmatic evolution of the Layered Zone using magnetite chemistry and to provide a scientific foundation for exploration models. Further details can be found in a preliminary investigation published here (Mathieu 2019): https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/3/110

If you are interested, please send your CV, a copy of your marks, the name and contact information of one to two referees (i.e. your BSc and/or MSc supervisors), and a motivation letter before the 30th of June 2019 to:

Professor Lucie Mathieu
CERM, Département des Sciences Appliquées, UQAC
lucie1.mathieu@uqac.ca

9 PhD/Postoctoral Positions, TiPES Project

9 PhD/Postdoc positions within the EU-funded H2020 project “Tipping Points of the Earth System” (TiPES). Most positions are with a start 1st of September 2019 and the positions range 30 months to 4 years.

You can find the 9 positions here; https://tipes.sites.ku.dk/jobs/  and please note more job offers will be opening in the next months. The  available positions are in several european countries and in total 18 institutions are involved.

About the TiPES Project

Several subsystems of the Earth may respond abruptly at critical future levels of anthropogenic forcing, which have been associated with tipping points (TPs). It is paramount to identify safe operating spaces in terms of these critical forcing levels, in order to prevent harmful transitions to alternative, undesirable states of the Earth and its subsystems. The mechanisms leading to abrupt climate transitions are only partly understood, and reliable warning signals for forthcoming transitions are urgently needed. TiPES addresses these questions in a joint effort of 18 European institutions, combining paleoclimatology, time series analysis, Earth system modelling of past and future climates, applied mathematics and dynamical system theory, as well as decision theory. 

The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 820970  

 Last week to apply for ICAT2019 PhD School

This is the last week to apply for the Ice Core Analysis and Techniques (ICAT2019) PhD school at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, running from 23-28 September.

The ICAT PhD school is aimed at PhD students and junior postdocs who conduct ice core analysis or are users of ice core data (glaciologists, oceanographers, climate modelers, earth scientists). ICAT aims to educate a new generation of ice core researchers and foster a collaborative environment for future glaciological projects. This course will educate young scientists regarding new methods developed for the analysis of ice cores with regard to climate research, with dedicated theoretical and laboratory exercise sessions. More information here: https://indico.nbi.ku.dk/event/ICAT

LECTURERS INCLUDE  Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Rachael Rhodes, Peter Neff, Tobias Erhardt, Thomas Blunier, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Christine Hvidberg, Paul Vallelonga, Sune Olander Rasmussen, Bo Vinther, Helle Astrid Kjær, and more…

APPLICATION: Submit your application here by June 1st 2019. You will be notified of the decision of the Selection Committee by July 1st, 2019

REGISTRATION FEE: The course has a registration fee of 100 euro, which will cover lectures, excursion, social and lunches.

The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica has offered to support a number of students from EPICA partner countries. The travel support includes up to EUR300 travel expenses and shared accommodation in Copenhagen from 22-29 September. In addition EGU also supports travel expenses for the attendance of key young researchers.

3 Postdoctoral Positions, Ice-Sheet and Paleoclimate Modeling, MARUM at the University of Bremen

For the second funding phase of the German climate modelling initiative PalMod ("From the Last Interglacial to the Anthropocene: Modeling a Complete Glacial Cycle") MARUM at the University of Bremen invites applications for

3 postdoctoral positions in the fields of ice-sheet and paleoclimate modeling:

(1) Coupled climate/ice-sheet simulations of the last deglaciation and the future

(2) Coupled climate/ice-sheet simulations of the last glacial inception

(3) Water-isotope modeling of MIS3, the last deglaciation and the last glacial inception

Positions are for a fixed term of 3 years. The earliest starting date is October 1st, 2019. The review of applications will commence on June 17th, 2019.

Further details on the positions and the application procedure are available here.

For more information on the PalMod modelling initiative see here.