Title: Past and present interactions between the ocean, sediments and ice in Antarctica.
Contacts: Michele Rebesco (mrebesco@ogs.it)
PhD Programme: Polar Science of the University of Venice, Italy: https://www.unive.it/web/en/182/home
Curriculum: Earth Sciences.
Where the work will be carried out: Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia and OGS (Italy) + at least six months abroad
More info:
The main goal of the project is to investigate past and present ice-ocean-sediment interactions in the area of the Hillary Canyon (Eastern Ross Sea) to shed light on the sensitivity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to projected climatic changes for the next centuries. For this scope the research will encompass a full range of time scales, from instantaneous/seasonal using a variety of oceanographic measurements (CTD, lowered ADCP, floats, moorings), to recent (multi-corer, multibeam and sub-bottom) and geologic past (seismics tied to IODP boreholes). This integrated investigation aims at understanding the relationship between seabed morphology, bottom currents, sedimentation and benthic environmental conditions using data from PNRA projects ODYSSEA and IOPPIERS (yet to be acquired on board the first expedition of the icebreaker Laura Bassi in 2024-25) and from IODP expedition 374.
The activity of the Ph.D. candidate will include the analysis of geophysical data (seismic, acoustic and morphobathymetric) and the integration of these with geological data (from cores and IODP wells) and with information from oceanographic data (ADCP, CTD, mooring …).
Study area of past ODYSSEA project (and of forthcoming IOPPIERS project). IBCSO bathymetry (Arndt et al., 2013) including the study area with location of newly acquired seismic lines (ANTSSS and ODYSSEA projects) and International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 drilling sites (red diamonds). Isobaths every 500 m. The arrows are showing the approximate directions of Hillary Canyon (HC) (blue arrow) and of the core of the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC, purple arrow). In the inset: Antarctic ice sheet with Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), Ross Sea Gyre, West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and the study area (yellow rectangle).