Research Associate

The role

We are looking for a motivated Research Associate to join the team of a UKRI-funded research project ‘PETRARCH’ (Pinpointing Earth-System Thresholds for Anoxia with new Reconstructions of the Cretaceous Hothouse), under PI Michael Henehan. Motivated by continuing depletion of oxygen in our oceans, the project aims to understand the thresholds in climate and ecosystems beyond which Earth can tip into periods of extreme and prolonged global marine anoxia. We will combine state-of-the-art geochemical measurements in Cretaceous microfossils (e.g. boron isotopes) with Earth system modelling to untangle the key factors (ecological, biogeochemical and physical) that lead a CO₂ injection to trigger a profound anoxic event.

We are looking for a Research Associate to join the team (which will comprise PI, two post-docs and two doctoral students), whose role will be to calibrate the boron isotope-pH proxy in radiolarian biogenic silica. If successful, this will open up a whole new archive for the reconstruction of ocean pH and pCO₂ in the past. The position is secured for three years, with a preferred start date in summer 2023.

What will you be doing?

• Developing and applying protocols for low-level boron isotope measurements in biogenic silica, alongside the PI and a technician.
• Generating accessory trace element and Si isotope ratios in biogenic silica and combining these data with B isotope data to deconvolve diagenesis and biomineralization pathways.
• Leading two 8-week culturing expeditions to the Mediterranean to grow radiolarians in controlled laboratory conditions.
• Synthesising diverse information from live cultures, core-tops, tows and marine sediments to produce, interpret and publish important new calibrations for application of the boron isotope-pH proxy.

You should apply if

• You are capable of working cleanly, independently, responsibly and methodically in a shared-use trace metal-clean laboratory space
• You are capable of innovative independent research: identifying pressing research questions and applying your skill set to answering them
• You have a track record of seeing projects through to publication in high-impact journals
• You are someone who takes pride in their work and in maintaining high analytical standards
• You have knowledge of micropalaeontological methods and radiolarian taxonomy and/or physiology
• You can integrate and interact well within a diverse team and lab user group, and contribute to good morale and interpersonal relationships within the lab
• Ideally, you would possess any or all of:  
  • Experience of running or preparing samples for Multicollector or High Resolution Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometers (MC- or HR-ICPMS) – in particular for boron or silicon isotope analysis
  • Knowledge of radiolarian physiology and/or taxonomy
  • Experience in culturing live marine microplankton
  • Confidence in applying scientific computing methods (e.g. Python, R) to palaeoceanographic questions
  • Experience and skill in disseminating your research amongst relevant research communities

Additional information

For informal enquiries, contact: Michael Henehan, +44 117 456 0868 Michael.Henehan@bristol.ac.uk

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