Research Assistant (Class IV)

Purpose or role of the position within the organization.

The purpose of the Work Study position is to provide technical research assistance to assist the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatoy in achieving its mission of exploring the Earth and its natural variability in alignment with Columbia University's broader institutional goals. Recent scientific ocean drilling at multiple water depths on the Iberian Margin in the North Atlantic provides an unprecedented opportunity to explore the connection between deep ocean circulation and climate change in the past. This project is designed to devlop the study of these sediments and their record of abrupt changes on the cryosphere, ocean circulation, and the Earth’s climate, regionally and globally. It involves piecing together evidence related to changes in the large-scale system of deep ocean currents and dramatic climate shifts in the region and beyond. The project will be guided by PI McManus, a former work-study student at Columbia.

The intern will help sample, process, and analyze deep-sea sediments recovered by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) on the Iberian Margin. Two members of the McManus research team joined a two month expedition to drill these sediments, and three members of the team subsequently spent time at the IODP core repository in Bremen to take samples and have them shipped to the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for this study. The work-study student will help with initial processing tasks that include freeze-drying, weighing on a microbalance, wet-sieving using a semi-automated system, oven drying and re-weighing of the coarse material, settling, and decanting and air-drying of the finest material. In consultation with Prof. McManus, the student will then select a subset of the samples for detailed analysis of the sediment composition, microfossil abundance and assemblage, grain size distribution, and abundance of iceberg deposition. These analyses will include a combination of automated bulk measurements and observations using a binocular microscope. All necessary training will be provided. The student will then interpret the results, with guidance from McManus. While this will be a free-standing project pursued by the intern, it will be placed in the larger context of ongoing studies designed to explore the global connection of the deep ocean and climate changes in the past.

Duties and responsibilities associated with the position and how they relate to the purpose or role.

The deep-sea sediment record of past climatic and oceanographic changes. This position will require a student to take samples from sediment cores through a series of processing and analysis steps in order to reconstruct changes in climatic and oceanographic conditions for an interval of time in the past. They will perform initial steps that include freeze-drying, microbalance weighing, wet-sieving using a semi-automated system, oven drying weighing of the coarse material, settling, and decanting and air-drying of the fine-grained material. With guidance, the student will then identify and quantify ice-rafted debris, determine the relative abundance of polar foraminifera species, and select and prepare benthic and planktic specimens for isotopic analysis. They will then apply visual and simple time-series analyses to assess the sequence of climate events with respect to each location. Training / guidance will be provided for all procedures. The work will primarily be undertaken at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and the work-study student will learn basic laboratory procedures, microscopy, data analysis, scientific deduction and interpretation of paleoclimate and paleoceanographic data.

 

General qualifications for the position and the specific qualifications for the various levels or rates of pay associated with the position.

Training will be provided for all specific tasks and instrument use. It is important that the work-study student be diligent, careful, and willing to learn. Although not necessary, it will be helpful if they have some familiarity with the Earth’s climate system, oceanography, and/or basic laboratory practices, as well as a spreadsheet and plotting program such as MS Excel or Google Sheets, elementary Python and some basic microscopy. The student and this project will benefit most from the right student’s combination of independence and ability to work with others.

Additional Applicant Instructions

This job is located on the Lamont Campus of Columbia University, which is located in Palisades, NY. It is approximately a free 35-minute shuttle ride from the Morningside Campus.