*OPPORTUNITY* 2 year Postdoc: Deformation, Magmatism, and Fluid-Rock Interactions in Oceanic Core Complexes

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Mid-Ocean Ridge Hydrothermal Systems role at the University of Plymouth available now!

Researchers at the University of Plymouth are seeking a 2-year Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join their NERC-funded project, “LITHO-FLUCHS: A toolbox for constraining lithospheric-to-grainscale controls on fluid-rock interactions in Peridotite-Hosted Hydrothermal Systems (PHHSs)”.

LITHO-FLUCHS aims to constrain how deformation, magmatism, and fluid-rock interactions in PHHSs control the uptake and/or release of H, C, and S. Focus is directed towards the controls of PHHS fluid properties in the deep lithospheric roots of oceanic core complexes (OCCs). This will be achieved through micro-scale analyses (this vacancy) of drill-core samples collected from the Atlantis Massif OCC during IODP Expedition 399 (Lang et al. 2025; https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.proc.399.104.2025), combined with numerical modelling of PHHSs.

This role will combine quantitative petrographic and petrological techniques (SEM-QEDS) with state-of-the-art, in-situ, trace element and isotope micro-mapping and spot/traverse analyses (fs-LIBS, Vitesse-TOF-ICP-MS, and  Neoma-LA-MS/MS-MC-ICP-MS) to quantify spatial and temporal variations of fluid properties with respect to deformation and magmatism within the Atlantis Massif OCC. These analyses will yield a new and fundamentally ground-breaking understanding of the controls of fluid properties in PHHSs, and how those controls dictate H2-production, CO2-uptake, and metal-sulphide mineralization.

Enquiries should be sent to andy.parsons@plymouth.ac.uk AND michelle.harris@plymouth.ac.uk