Project Description
PhD Project PIF2024 - Estudio Sísmico Cortical del Margen Continental del Peloponeso e Islas Jónicas (PID2023-150502NB-I00)
Western Greece, particularly the western Peloponnese and Ionian Islands, is one of Europe's most seismically active regions due to the Eurasia-Africa plate convergence. The Kefalonia Transform Fault (KTF) is a primary source of large earthquakes (Mw > 6) in this region. Despite extensive data analysis, a lack of offshore tectonic imaging creates uncertainties about seismogenic structures. Historical events, like the 1953 Kephalonia earthquake, highlight these uncertainties, emphasizing the need for better offshore structural characterization. Traditional models link regional geodynamics to the Hellenic subduction system, implying a clear subduction interface beneath Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands. However, POSEIDON 2023 seismic data challenge this model, revealing a lack of clear subduction interfaces and suggesting a more complex seismotectonic framework. The PhD project related to ODISSEY (Peloponnese and Ionian Island continental margin seismic study) aims to address these challenges by acquiring wide-angle seismic (WAS) and multichannel seismic (MCS) offshore data to investigate the continental margin structure off the Ionian Islands and Peloponnese (see attached map). Using travel-time tomography, the PhD candidate will provide new insights into the crustal nature of the margin and examine the elastic properties of rocks around major seismogenic faults like the KTF. Results will be essential for accurate assessmet of the tsunamigenic potential of the area.
Our team
The Barcelona Center for Subsurface Imaging (BCSI; https://www.icm.csic.es/es/grupo-investigacion/barcelona-center-subsurface-imaging) is an international research team with extensive expertise in the acquisition, processing, modeling, and interpretation of marine geophysical data, with a particular focus on controlled-source seismic data. Our strong connections within the global scientific community and extensive experience in offshore expeditions create an ideal environment for pursuing a PhD in Marine Geophysics.
Candidates
The ideal candidate should hold a Bachelor's degree in Geology or Geophysics, and a Master's degree in Geophysics. Proficiency in programming is essential, and previous experience working with marine seismic data and travel-time tomography will be highly valued.
What do we offer?
The Barcelona Center for Subsurface Imaging (BCSI; https://www.icm.csic.es/es/grupo-investigacion/barcelona-center-subsurface-imaging) offers a new 4-years PhD position in Marine Geophysics.
This position offers a cross-disciplinary training to the PhD candidate in the context of an international science team. We will promote stays of the young researchers in the international centers participating in the project. The PhD candidate will lead the publication of their results in journals of the highest possible impact within the SCI database. The candidate will attend international meetings such as EGU, AGU, and national meetings, to present their work and progressively improve and strengthen their science communication skills. As with other students at BCSI, the training plans of the requested PhD candidate will be structured in three phases:
- Phase 1: Technical training (1st year). The PhD candidate will learn the theory and fundamentals of the different methods that will be used in each case (e.g. geophysical data processing and modelling; seismic data analysis, etc.).
- Phase 2: Data acquisition, processing and modelling (2nd and 3rd year). This phase will start with the survey to acquire MCS and WAS. The candidate will actively participate in the campaign helping in the data acquisition and onboard processing. After the acquisition phase, the skills acquired during phase 1 will be applied to process and model the acquired data.
- Phase 3: Interpretation and writing of scientific articles (3rd and 4th year). The results will be jointly interpreted with project supervisors and collaborators. Results will be presented at international meetings and published in 2 or 3 Q1 SCI journals.
Starting date: between 1st January 2025 and 1st March 2025
Salary: first year: around 19.000 € gross salary; second, third and fourth years: around 23.500 € gross salary
Location: Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, Barcelona, Spain
The Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the most multidisciplinary research institute on marine science in Spain, and the leading scientific organization in Southern Europe. It is also the first marine science centre to be accredited as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence, a recognition to the institution’s leadership in the field of marine research in Spain and to its commitment to create social impact.
Our goal is to develop research of excellence to inspire a society in harmony with the blue planet, in line with the values of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
For further information, please visit our website.
Application steps:
Interested candidates should e-mail to mprada@icm.csic.es with the subject line “PhD student position” and (1) the CV, (2) a motivation letter describing their interest in the project, and (3) contact information of two potential references.
Application deadline: 15th October 2024