GLOMAR - Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences
As part of the Center of Excellence “MARUM – the Ocean in the Earth System” the Bremen
International Graduate School for Marine Sciences – GLOMAR – aims at training young
scientists in the field of marine sciences. These encompass the natural sciences as well as
social sciences. Besides becoming experts in their special field the PhD students will get a
solid background across a range of disciplines in marine sciences.
In close cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) the Graduate School
offers
a PhD scholarship for international students.
The planned duration of the project is 3 years (possibly 4 years for candidates from developing
countries), however, the initial funding period will be one year. The envisaged starting date for the
project is spring 2016. Applicants are required to have a relevant MSc or an equivalent university
degree in the field of geology, petrology, or geochemistry and are expected to be proficient user of
the English and/or German language. The topic of the envisaged PhD project is:
Magma plumbing dynamics at the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge
Subject: Ultraslow spreading centers in the ocean basins are characterized by large magmatic centers
separated by long stretches of ridges with minimal magmatic activity. One hypothesis for explaining
these highly variable magma supply rates is that variations in lithospheric thickness lead to extreme
funneling of melts into discrete centers of magmatic activity. The research anticipated within this PhD
project will test this hypothesis by conducting comprehensive and systematic bulk rock and mineral as
well as thermobarometric analyses of volcanic rocks from ultraslow spreading ridges.
Profile: Applicants are required to have a relevant MSc or an equivalent university degree providing
them with a strong background in geochemistry/petrology/mineralogy. Experience in bulk rock and
microbeam geochemical techniques are of advantage. Excellent command of written and spoken
English is expected. The project will require the candidate to conduct geochemical and isotopic
analyses of rocks and minerals, and apply petrogenetic modeling. Geobarometry methods will be used
to infer the depths of magma storage within the lithosphere. The candidate must be able to take part in
seagoing expeditions. Some knowledge of the German language would be beneficial (there might be
support for an extended language course in German before starting the project).
Applicants should submit a letter of motivation, their CV and related documents, and two letters of
reference preferably by e-mail (all within one single PDF document) to wbach(at)marum.de. Deadline
for the applications is October 15, 2015.
The University of Bremen is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all
qualified individuals.
Further enquiries can be addressed to
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bach,
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences
University of Bremen,
28359 Bremen,
wbach(at)marum.de