2022 NF-POGO-Eurofleets+-CCMAR Shipboard Training Fellowship onboard SINES cruise

General Information

1 Sep 2022 to 20 Oct 2022

The SINES cruise belongs to a multidisciplinary program for the study of Climate Change impacts on ocean fronts ecosystems. Funded by the European Commission through EUROFLEETS+, the SINES cruise is a study case for the Iberian Upwelling System. The cruise represents a proof of concept project to identify climate change impacts on ecosystem services of upwelling fronts.

The overall objective of this study is to identify the changes and risks for marine ecosystem services deriving from the potential impact of climate change on upwelling fronts. We will concentrate on the ecosystem variability of the Iberian margin Canary Current upwelling system through a holistic and integrative research approach, joining forefront remote technologies to in situ monitoring and numerical modelling. Our aim is to address ecosystem-societal interactions through the identification of the best quantifiable descriptors that are essential for sustainable management.

Our proposed multidisciplinary expedition will be carried out along a section located across the expected upwelling front between 37ºN 9ºW and 38ºN 12ºW in the western Iberian Margin. We will measure full-depth water column properties and collect seawater, live plankton and sediments samples in at least six stations from the shelf to the open ocean

Priority areas

chemical oceanography, biological oceanography and geological oceanography

What is offered

Apart from the participation in a 9-day cruise, the training includes a 10-day pre-cruise period and 30-day post-cruise period at the Oceanography and Climate Change (OC2) group of CCMAR at IPMA laboratories in Lisbon, Portugal.

The selected fellow will be introduced in the inner logistics of sampling methodologies and materials requirements of an oceanographic cruise at the host institute, get active participation on the cruise along the SW coast of Portugal, and assist in the treatment and measurement of samples back in the laboratories at host institute.

During the cruise, the fellow will be involved in chemical, biological and geological sampling techniques: CTD casts, rosette sampler with Niskin bottles, plankton vertical net tows and box-cores for superficial and recent sediments. The fellow will join a multidisciplinary group of highly qualified and motivated researchers with different specific expertise. The fellow will learn about marine sciences sampling on board of a research vessel and directly from the specialists through a “learning by doing” philosophy. The student will rotate through the different teams aboard in order to learn about as many different techniques as possible.

After the in situ measurements and the sample collection for the characterization of the modern oceanographic processes and ecosystem State (cruise period), it will be necessary a pre-treatment of some of these samples in order to define baseline, calibrate proxies to trace coastal upwelling dynamics and reconstruct Past Climate and Ecosystem conditions (stay after the cruise period). The fellow will participate in sediments sampling Party, sediments preparation to study plankton organisms (diatoms, foraminifera, and coccolithophorids), grain size and organic carbon analysis. The cruise will suppose the incoming of new samples (geological cores, filters and bottled seawater) that will require sub-sampling on land and/or management task of organization, distribution and pre-treatment. At the same time, the fellow will be invited to participate in all scientific meetings that take place during the fellowship, which will allow to learn and actively participate in the research activities of several members of the OC2.

Application

Who can apply

This fellowship program is open to early career scientists, technicians, postgraduate students (PhD or MSc) and Post-doctoral Fellows involved in oceanographic work at centres in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

For a list of currently eligible countries, visit this page on the OECD website.

How to apply

Fellowship applicants should complete and submit the electronic application form (click on the APPLY HERE link at bottom of this section) together with a digital copy of the recommendation letter from the parent supervisor. The recommendation letter must be provided in English, on institutional letterhead and signed by the supervisor.

Please note that the application form includes sections on the applicant's background and training requirements, capacity building intentions and a CV. In case of unstable internet connections, we recommend preparing this text in an offline document, then copy-pasting into the online form.

If short-listed, the candidate may be asked to undergo an informal telephone/video conferencing interview.

Applications and recommendation letters must be written in English and letters submitted/uploaded in pdf format. It is recommended that descriptive sections be limited to about 100 - 150 words and no more than 500 words.

Only applications that are complete in all respects will be considered for the Fellowship.

Deadline: The deadline for applications for this fellowship is Thursday 24 June 2022 23:59 (UTC+2). All applicants will be informed of the decision within one month of the deadline

Review process

Representatives from POGO, Eurofleets+ and CCMAR will review the applications. In their decision-making, the Selection Committee will consider the following points:

Quality of the application;
Curriculum of the applicant;
Evidence that the training will lead to capacity-building with potential lasting impact on regional observations.

Terms

The fellowship DOES cover a round-trip ticket between the home institute of the trainee and the host institution; subsistence allowance for up to 2 month’s stay in the host country depending on the particulars of the proposed training; the flight to and from the departure port (if applicable); accommodation in the host institution country; accommodation in the ship departure port (if applicable); seafaring medical and sea survival course (if required).
The fellowship DOES NOT cover expenses incurred by the fellow in their own nation (domestic travel, visa costs, personal insurance etc.), and the host institute will waive ship messing fee and any bench fees that they may normally charge trainees.
POGO assumes no responsibility for compensation in the event of sickness, accident, death or disability of a Fellowship holder, nor does it arrange for insurance of a trainee or reimburse premiums paid therefore. It is the responsibility of the trainee to arrange travel insurance to cover the time taken to travel to the ship and for the subsequent return home, as well as to ensure suitable insurance cover is provided by the parent institute for the duration of the cruise.
The trainees are not considered agents or members of the staff of POGO, and shall not be entitled to any privileges, immunities, compensation or reimbursements, except as otherwise provided herein, nor are the trainees authorised to commit POGO to any expenditure or other obligation.
The trainee and the supervisors at the parent and host institutes are required to provide a short fellowship report at the end of the training period, to evaluate the success of the fellowship programme.
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