Annoucements
Message from Eigil Friis-Christensen (22/10/2011):
ESA Announcement of the Science and Validation Opportunity
Dear colleagues,
Being the lead proposer for the ESA Swarm mission constellation (http://www.esa.int/esaLP/ESA3QZJE43D_LPswarm_0.html) some time ago (the selection was in 2004), I am very happy to see the operational phase approaching with a launch presently scheduled for mid-July 2012 as manifested in the recent official ESA Announcement of the Science and Validation Opportunity, cf. http://eopi.esa.int/esa/esa?cmd=aodetail&aoname=SwarmSVO, with proposal deadline on 31 October.
In this call ESA asks for two kind of proposals:
a) validation of L1b data (i.e. of the time series of the magnetic field and of other geophysical parameters),
b) scientific use of these Swarm data within various disciplines.
While the validation of L1B products this is a genuine ESA effort, I am with my long term involvement in the mission of course interested in the largest possible utilisation of the unique observations that will be available for the scientific community.
As indicated in the guidelines the registration as a Swarm user can be done at any time but a response to the present Opportunity will provide a very good picture of the current interest in Swarm, which is important for our visibility inside ESA and therefore also important for possible future support from ESA in the scientific exploitation of the data. In addition, you may of course also use the response on your proposal to solicit national and/or institutional funding of your activities.
The document appears rather comprehensive since it describes both the Validation and the Science (Data Exploitation) proposals. But the latter (see Chapter 3) is far less demanding regarding necessary information in the proposal.
In summary, I would be happy to see a large response from the community. Swarm is a great mission and it will not be surpassed by any other mission in this science area in a foreseeable time.
Research Opportunities at the Institute for Rock Magnetism (U. of Minnesota) [07/09/2011]
The Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) is one of 19 national multiuser facilities in the Earth Sciences supported by NSF (http://www.nsf.gov/geo/ear/if/facil.jsp) to provide advanced laboratory instrumentation to the geoscience research and education communities. Research at the IRM ranges from fundamental investigations of the physics of fine-particle magnetism, to applied studies using the magnetic characteristics of rocks and sediments to investigate a wide variety of geological and surficial Earth processes. We provide access and support for visiting scientists in three categories, for which we encourage you to apply:
(1) Visiting Research Fellows;
(2) U.S. Student Fellows;
(3) Long-Core (U-Channel) Magnetometer Fellows.
Applications are due October 30, 2011 for visits during the period from January 1 through June 30, 2012, and will be reviewed by IRM staff and members of our external Review and Advisory Committee (RAC).
Please note that beginning in 2011, Visiting Fellows are in some cases requested to pay facility usage fees, depending on Fellowship category and on level of instrument usage. Details and application materials are available at http://www.irm.umn.edu/. Please be sure to use the new application form.
Visiting Research Fellowships
These awards provide subsidized access to the full set of IRM instruments for up to 10 days: a Fellowship grant of $4000 may be used to offset the costs of instrument use, and for partial reimbursement of travel costs. Topics for research are open to any field of study involving fine particle magnetism, but preference will be given to projects relating magnetism to geological or environmental studies, or to fundamental physical studies relevant to the magnetism of Earth materials.
U.S. Student Fellows
This program provides financial and instrumental support for advanced U.S. undergraduates and graduate students who seek to acquire state-of-the-art rock magnetic and/or paleomagnetic data for an individual research project. Special consideration is given to students requiring data for the completion of a senior thesis or preliminary data for a proposal to support continued graduate research. Visiting Students spend up to five days at the IRM and work closely with IRM staff to:
1. Learn how to design and conduct rock-magnetic experiments;
2. Process and interpret the generated data;
3. Identify specific, attainable research goals that can be achieved with future magnetic measurements.
US Student Fellows are not charged facility usage fees, and are eligible for reimbursement of travel costs up to a maximum of $750.
U-Channel Visitors
The IRMs new u-channel magnetometer system is available for use by visitors with continuous cores (4.2-cm access diameter optimized for standard u-channels) or discrete samples for paleomagnetic and basic rock-magnetic or environmental-magnetic work. U-channel visitors may also request access to a limited number of additional instruments for a few days, for more detailed rock magnetic analyses on a small number of pilot samples. These data may be used to explore the feasibility of returning to the IRM as a Visiting Fellow with a targeted rock magnetic study.
A usage fee of $150 per day (ten-day maximum) covers unlimited use of the u-channel system, training and assistance with the equipment, and (if desired) some help with data interpretation and analysis. A fee waiver may be granted in cases of financial hardship, and proposals will not be evaluated on the basis of ability to pay.
Application Deadlines: Applications for all three programs will be accepted twice per year (April 30 and October 30). We recognize that some lake- and ocean-core projects are time sensitive because of the potential for rapid, post-coring, sediment diagenesis. Therefore, time-sensitive applications will be entertained year round and allowed as scheduling permits.