2010/2011 Science Technicians: WAIS Divide Ice Core Project Employment Opportunity

The WAIS Divide Ice Core Project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop records of greenhouse gases and climate change during the last 100,000 years. This information will be used to improve the science community's ability to predict future anthropogenic climate change. See http://waisdivide.unh.edu for more information about the project. The Science Coordination Office (SCO) will be hiring about seven science technicians for the 2010/2011 Antarctic field season (~November 1 to ~ February 5) who will be responsible for logging and packing the core.

In March 2010 the SCO will start to review the applications and contact references. By June the SCO will select the science technicians. People who have been science technicians in previous years and are considering returning should fill out an application and also contact Ken Taylor as soon as possible, even if they have not fully decided they want to return.

Most of the science technicians will be USA graduate students or lab technicians who are working on projects that are part of the WAIS Divide Ice Core Project. However, students working on other climate, glaciology, or cryobiology projects will also likely be selected. We hope to include a non-USA student who is working on another ice core project. However, NSF policy prevents paying students of non-USA universities a salary, or paying for transportation to, and expenses in, New Zealand.

Selected applicants must pass NSF required medical and dental exams to assure they are physically qualified for work in Antarctica. Depending on previous experience, selected applicants may be required to work at the National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver, CO for a week during the summer.

In late October/early November 2010 we will travel to Antarctica, via Christchurch, New Zealand. At McMurdo Station, Antarctica we will complete additional training and preparation activities. We will then fly to the WAIS Divide camp where the majority of our time will be spent. At WAIS Divide there are heated areas for eating, relaxing, occasional showers, and office work. You will be sleeping in mountaineering tents, which are not heated but are private. There is a small bandwidth link for personal email, but there is no Internet connectivity. A satellite phone is available for short and occasional personal phone calls.

Working in two person shifts, the science technicians will receive the core as it is removed from the drill, measure the length and quality of the core, and pack the core for shipping. You must be able to lift 20 pounds on a regular basis and occasionally 40 pounds. There are three shifts per day; each is ten hours long counting a shift overlap. Typically we work 6 days per week and usually take Sundays off, although we sometimes change the schedule around the holidays to avoid working on a holiday. This work takes place inside a building with an internal temperature of -30 C. Although there are ample opportunities for breaks in a warm building, you must be comfortable working in a cold environment.

The field season will end in late January 2011 or early February 2011. Do not plan on being back to the USA before February 5, 2011.

These positions provide the field experience you need to understand the possibilities and limitations of polar field research. Although the day-to-day processing of the ice cores is tedious, you will learn how research is done in Antarctica and become familiar with established researchers and current research activities.

If you are interested in applying for the science technician position, complete the job application located at:
http://www.waisdivide.unh.edu/Employment/Application

We will begin reviewing the applications in March, and will continue to review applications until all positions are filled.

After receiving an offer of employment, you will be required to pass: