#MarineScience - Marine-related postgraduates (MSc and PhD) across Ireland and Germany are being offered a unique opportunity to gain offshore marine research and training skills and experience acting as chief scientists of their own research voyage from 11-17 September as part of the 2014 Atlantic Summer School.
The five days of research onboard the RV Celtic Explorer will focus on a multidisciplinary investigation of cold water coral ecosystems off the Belgica Mound Province, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) approximately 100km south-west of Ireland.
“These unique environments are biological hotspots with diverse animal life associated with the reef-building corals," says Dr Paulha McGrane, national co-ordinator of the Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART) in Ireland.
"Formed over millennia, the giant carbonate mounds reach up to 300m high, at depths of between 550 and 1060m in the ocean.”
Dr McGrane adds that postgraduates "will gain experience acquiring, processing and archiving samples taken from the mounds, which provide high-resolution records of long term climate change.
"Using a variety of novel equipment and instrumentation, the survey will focus on the biological, geological and oceanographic dynamics that control the development and decay of carbonate mounds.”
In addition, the Atlantic Summer School includes pre-survey meetings (via Skype), pre-cruise preparation in Cork and post-survey data analysis and reporting in Galway. The course also involves distance learning, lectures and practical shore-based workshops.
“This pooled infrastructure and expertise from Ireland and Germany’s higher education institutes [respectively, SMART and the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI)] provides an incredible chance for postgraduates to get the necessary practical experience and develop networking opportunities they need early in their careers,” says Prof Karen Wiltshire, vice-president of the AWI.
“We are all pleased to be part of this strategic collaboration, which will ultimately develop careers pathways and mobility for students between the island of Ireland and Germany and increase multidisciplinary research capacity in Atlantic nations."
Dr Peter Heffernan of the Marine Institute congratulated all involved in this important initiative on board the RV Celtic Explorer, and expressed his delight in "supporting this excellent training opportunity for Irish postgraduates”.
Online application forms must be completed and received by 17:00 CET on Friday 6 June 2014. Applicants will be informed on the outcome of evaluations by 20 June 2014.
For further information please visit the SMART website or contact [email protected].
