Apply to Sail: Expedition 358 NanTroSEIZE Plate Boundary Riser 4
SPECIAL CALL: The U.S. Science Support Program is issuing a special call for experienced scientists to apply for Expedition 358 in the following specialties: geochemistry and sedimentology/lithostratigraphy. For geochemists, we seek scientists with specific expertise in researching elemental tracers from deep geological formations and processes from riser drilling mud gases. We are also seeking scientists with expertise in sedimentology and lithostratigraphy. The deadline to apply for this special call is June 8, 2018 at 11:59 PM ET.
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is now accepting applications for scientific participants on Expedition 358 (NanTroSEIZE Plate Boundary Riser 4) aboard the D/V Chikyu, operated by the Center for Deep Earth Exploration (CDEX) within the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). For more information about the scientific objectives of this expedition and implementation plan, watch a recorded webinar that was held on 29 November 2017 (click here to access).
The Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) Project comprises multiple expeditions over a multi-year period aimed at sampling and instrumenting the up-dip transition into the subduction seismogenic zone. The NanTroSEIZE Complex Drilling Project is now reaching its penultimate phase: drilling and sampling the Plate Boundary at ~5200 mbsf, believed to be capable of seismogenic slip and locking, and where coseismic slip occurred during the 1944 Tonankai earthquake.
Primary objectives include continuous logging while drilling (LWD) data, analysis of mud gas and cuttings, and a regime of downhole measurements and tests. There is a limited coring program for the expected hanging wall and footwall of the plate boundary itself.
One special line of investigation concerns mud gas analysis via the onboard SciGas drilling mud gas monitoring system, which allows determination of hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane, i- and n-butane, propane), stable carbon isotopic composition of methane (δ13CCH4), and non-hydrocarbon (e.g., amongst others, O2, N2, Ar, H2, Xe, He) gases (Hammerschmidt, et al., 2014).
IODP Exp 358 is targeting a subduction plate boundary fault system and its wall rocks in a seismogenic depth for the first time in science. Ultimately, this expedition will test hypotheses and the current understanding of the mechanics and geological/geochemical evolution of these kind of megathrust faults. Please read the Expedition 358 Call For Participation for further details on the planned science and operations.
The expedition is currently planned to begin on 7 October 2018 and finish on 21 March 2019 (164 days). This expedition is planned for more than five months at sea and therefore will not be staffed in the standard expedition “shipboard scientific party” model. Rather, we solicit applicants for the scientific party who can commit to the following activities:
(1) Scientific party member should make themselves available for time windows of 2-3 months’ duration, during which they will likely be asked to board Chikyu for one or more 2 to 4 week “shifts.” The shipboard tasks of cuttings, log, and downhole experiment analysis will take place in these concentrated efforts during the expedition. Members of the scientific party will be asked to maintain flexible schedules to accommodate this need.
(2) All members of the scientific party will be expected to participate in a final analysis and sampling meeting at the end of the expedition, anticipated to require several weeks in March or April of 2019.
(3) Participants will require helicopter underwater escape training (HUET) certification from an approved OPTIO training center.
This is a special call for geochemists and sedimentologists/lithostratigraphers. We seek applications from: geochemical specialists with expertise in isotopic tracer and elemental analysis as proxies for deep geological processes, and experts in the field of deep-seated fluid-rock interactions; and sedimentologists and lithostratigraphers with expertise in deep-water marine clastic and hemipelagic sediments. The scientists will work closely with downhole logging data, structural geology and lithology to more fully characterize the plate boundary fault system.
U.S.-affiliated scientists interested in participating in this expedition should review the application guidelines and apply to sail through the U.S. Science Support Program. The deadline to apply is June 8, 2018.
For questions, please email usssp@ldeo.columbia.edu.