The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is now accepting applications for scientific participants on Expedition 388 Equatorial Atlantic Gateway, aboard the JOIDES Resolution. To learn more about the scientific objectives of the expedition and how to apply to sail, watch a recording of the informational webinar that was held on 18 March 2019 (click here to access).

IODP Expedition 388 will study the tectonic, climatic, and biotic evolution of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway (EAG) at three sites on and near the Pernambuco Plateau (northeastern Brazilian continental shelf). These will target Late Cretaceous-Recent sediments and oceanic crust and are strategically located both near the continental margin and at paleo-water depths that are shallow enough (< 2000 m) to provide well-preserved organic biomarkers and calcareous microfossils for proxy reconstructions of greenhouse climates.

Core and log data will address four key themes: (1) the early rift history of the Equatorial Atlantic; (2) the biogeochemistry of the restricted Equatorial Atlantic; (3) the long-term paleoceanography of the EAG; and, (4) the limits of tropical climates and ecosystems under conditions of extreme warmth. This expedition will constrain the long-term interactions between tectonics, oceanography, ocean biogeochemistry and climate, and the functioning of tropical ecosystems and climate during intervals of extreme warmth.

The expedition will take place from 26 June to 26 August 2020.

Opportunities exist for researchers (including graduate students) in all shipboard specialties, including but not limited to sedimentologists, micropaleontologists, paleomagnetists, inorganic/organic geochemists, microbiologists, petrologists, petrophysicists, and borehole geophysicists.

U.S.-affiliated scientists interested in participating in this expedition should apply to sail through the U.S. Science Support Program – click here to review the application process and link to the USSSP Application Portal. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2019.

For questions, please email usssp@ldeo.columbia.edu.