RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Overview: For Fiscal Year 2009, 39 Research Opportunities are being advertised (positions are to be filled depending on the availability of funds). The research opportunity title, proposed duty station, and Research Advisor(s) are listed below for each Research Opportunity, along with detailed descriptions, required qualifications, and the appropriate Human Resources Office contact.
Role of Research Advisors: Research Advisors are appointed for each Mendenhall Fellowship position to direct project work. The Advisors are USGS scientists with whom the Mendenhall Fellows would work most closely. They will also be involved with reviewing application packages and interviewing candidates. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Research Advisor(s) listed in the opportunity for further information regarding the Research Opportunity and are strongly urged to coordinate the development of their research proposals with the Research Advisor(s).
Role of Human Resources Office Contacts: The Human Resources Office listed in the opportunity will receive application materials, review the backgrounds of the final candidates to make sure they are qualified for the opportunities, forward them to the Research Advisors and hiring official for consideration, and make official job offers. The Human Resources Office is also available to provide information regarding the recruitment process and the status of applications.
Job Qualifications: Office of Personnel Management descriptions of the backgrounds required to perform the types of research listed in these opportunities. Other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist in charge.
Opportunity Number Research Opportunity Title Proposed Duty Station(s) Research Advisor(s) 1 Sequence stratigraphic and petrophysical influences on shale-gas resource potential in the Arkoma Basin Reston, VA David Houseknecht and Stanley Paxton 2 The impact of Quaternary climate change on karst geomorphology and hydrology in the Appalachian region Reston, VA David Weary, Daniel Doctor, Christopher Swezey, and Milan Pavich 3 Exploring the relationship between past atmospheric dust deposition, climate, and biological productivity in the North Pacific ocean Woods Hole, MA John Crusius, Dorothy Peteet (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory-Columbia U), and Tim Eglinton (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 4 Greenhouse gas fluxes from the land/sea margin Woods Hole, MA Kevin Kroeger, John Crusius, Eric Sundquist, and John Bratton 5 Geologic investigation of the processes controlling the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal change St. Petersburg, FL or Woods Hole, MA James Flocks, S. Jeffress Williams, and Dawn Lavoie 6 An interdisciplinary (geologic, hydrologic, and biologic) investigation of the processes controlling Florida's harmful algal blooms (HABs) St. Petersburg, FL Peter Swarzenski and Richard Poore 7 Effects of carbon dioxide on neritic calcifying organisms and carbonate sediments St. Petersburg, FL Kim Yates and Robert Halley 8 Mapping the three-dimensional distribution of hydrogeologic properties in carbonate-rock aquifers of the Great Basin Denver, CO Donald Sweetkind, Poul Emsbo, David Prudic, and Lari Knochenmus 9 Description/prediction of element accumulation in the unsaturated zone of arid and semi-arid regions Denver, CO George Breit, Richard Healy, Marith Reheis, Geneva Chong, and Tim Munday (CSIRO, Australia) 10 Coupling geochemical and geoanalytical techniques to study processes affecting exposure to potentially toxic species that negatively impact human health Denver, CO Ruth Wolf, Geoff Plumlee, Martin Goldhaber, Paul Lamothe, David Smith, and H.M. Kingston (Duquesne U) 11 Geologic applications of airborne gravity gradient measurements Denver, CO Jeff Phillips, Richard Blakely, and Stephen Malys (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency) 12 Petroleum system processes that control petroleum generation, migration, trapping, and retention in continuous accumulation Denver, CO Debra Higley-Feldman, Philip Nelson, Christopher Schenk, and Michael Lewan 13 Detecting and quantifying unconventional energy resources, including gas hydrates using reflection seismology elastic inversion methods Denver, CO Myung Lee, Timothy Collett, Ray Boswell (National Energy Technology Laboratory/DOE), and Warren Agena 14 Improving vegetation model simulations of future climate change impacts for the management of public lands in the United States Corvallis, OR Sarah Shafer and Steve Hostetler 15 Modelling environmental responses to combination of changes in climate and land use Denver, CO Robert Thompson, Thomas Loveland, and Gary Clow 16 Improving interpretations of paleoseismic data in the central United States Memphis, TN Eugene Schweig and Martitia Tuttle (M. Tuttle and Associates) 17 Earthquake simulations in the New Madrid Seismic Zone: The 1811–1812 bicentennial Golden, CO Robert Williams, Steve Hartzell, Eugene Schweig, and Oliver Boyd 18 Uncertainty assessments for the United States National Seismic Hazard Maps and associated risks Golden, CO Mark Petersen and Nicolas Luco 19 Research into seismological and tectonic source properties of tsunamigenic earthquakes Golden, CO George Choy, Steve Kirby, and Eric Geist 20 Automated detection of anomalous hydrothermal and volcanic activity from space Flagstaff, AZ; Anchorage, AK; Menlo Park, CA Laszlo Keszthelyi, David Schneider, Jacob Lowenstern, and Cheryl Jaworowski (National Park Service) 21 Innovative applications of the SHRIMP-RG to magmatic-hydrothermal systems Menlo Park, CA David John, Jim Rytuba, Joe Wooden, Peter Vikre, Kate Maher, and Jim Saunders (Auburn U) 22 Quaternary rates of magma production in the Aleutian arc Anchorage, AK Michelle Coombs, Andy Calvert, Chris Nye (Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys), and Dave Scholl 23 Historical shoreline positions and coastal change of the U.S. Arctic coast Anchorage, AK or Santa Cruz, CA Bruce Richmond, Curt Storlazzi, Patrick Barnard, Carl Markon, and John (Lyle) Mars 24 Tsunami sedimentology Menlo Park, CA or Santa Cruz, CA Bruce Jaffe, Guy Gelfenbaum, Eric Geist, Brian Atwater, and Vasily Titov (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) 25 Geologic storage of carbon dioxide: potential environmental and human health effects Menlo Park, CA Robert Rosenbauer, Yousif Kharaka, and Robert Burruss 26 Brown-to-blue: Fluvial deposition in the coastal ocean and its impact on nearshore ecosystems Santa Cruz, CA Curt Storlazzi, Jon Warrick, Amy Draut, and Dave Rubin 27 Advanced numerical modeling of debris flows and rock avalanches Vancouver, WA or Menlo Park, CA Richard Iverson, Roger Denlinger, and Mark Reid 28 Modeling the dynamics of volcanic tephra plumes Vancouver, WA or Anchorage, AK Larry Mastin and Christopher Waythomas 29 Advanced InSAR techniques for ground deformation imaging Vancouver, WA Zhong Lu and Dan Dzursin 30 Geology, high-resolution topography (LIDAR), and hillslope hydrolgy field experiments to constrain mass wasting transport laws Menlo Park, CA and Golden, CO Kevin Schmidt, Jon Major, Jonathan Godt, Jonathan Stock, and Mark Reid 31 Quantifying the effects of climate change and land-use on erosion rates using cosmogenic radionuclides and LiDAR-based process mapping Menlo Park, CA Jonathan Stock, Kevin Schmidt, David Miller, and Robert Finkel (DOE-Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) 32 Application of newly acquired airborne LIDAR data for quantitative analysis of landforms associated with active faults in northern California Menlo Park, CA Carol Prentice, George Hilley (Stanford U), Gerald Bawden, and David Phillips (UNAVCO) 33 Urban hazards in the greater Los Angeles region Pasadena, CA Susan Hough, Ned Field, and Katherine Kendrick 34 Constraining crustal structure, faulting, and earthquake effects through the application of new imaging and modeling methods in the Cascadia region Seattle, WA Thomas Pratt, Brian Sherrod, Joan Gomberg, Art Frankel, and John Vidale (University of Washington) 35 Integrated assessment of GPS and paleoseismic slip rate indicators for probablistic seismic hazard analysis in the western United States Menlo Park, CA or Golden, CO Wayne Thatcher, Mark Petersen, Anthony Crone, and Yuehua Zeng 36 Understanding vulnerability and risk of communities to natural hazards Menlo Park, CA; Tucson or Flagstaff, AZ; Vancouver, WA; Denver or Fort Collins, CO; Rolla, MO; Anchorage, AK; Sioux Falls, SD; Reston, VA; Boston, MA; St. Petersburg, FL; or Annapolis, MD Nate Wood 37 Applying remote sensing to measure status and trends in ecological processes Menlo Park, CA; Tucson or Flagstaff, AZ; Vancouver, WA; Denver or Fort Collins, CO; Rolla, MO; Anchorage, AK; Sioux Falls, SD; Reston, VA; Boston, MA; or Annapolis, MD John Jones 38 The value of ecological and landscape services Menlo Park, CA; Tucson or Flagstaff, AZ; Vancouver, WA; Denver or Fort Collins, CO; Rolla, MO; Anchorage, AK; Sioux Falls, SD; Reston, VA; Boston, MA; or Annapolis, MD Dianna Hogan 39 Evaluating the consequences of landscape change on ecological services Menlo Park, CA; Tucson or Flagstaff, AZ; Vancouver, WA; Denver or Fort Collins, CO; Rolla, MO; Anchorage, AK; Sioux Falls, SD; Reston, VA; Boston, MA; or Annapolis, MD Ray Watts
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URL: http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2009/research.html
Direct inquiries to Rama K. Kotra at rkotra@usgs.gov
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