The Southern Ocean is characterized by a large pool of unused nutrients, primarily because the availability of micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) is limited inthe surface waters. Past climate intervals experienced increased input of mineral dust to the Southern Ocean. The partial dissolution of this input reduced the Fe/Mn limitation and promoted primary productivity resulting in a net drawdown of atmospheric CO₂ during the ice age intervals. It is known that South America is a major source of mineral dust for the Southern Ocean, but tracing the signal from existing marine records across the land-ocean interface back to the dust source regions is still incomplete thus limiting our understanding of the paleoclimatic mechanisms involved in the Southern Ocean dust-Fe/Mn feedback. 
This MSc project is part of an international collaboration that aims to address this problem with an extensive suite of advanced geochemical tools applied to sediment samples from across the continent. The work at the ICBM will quantify the partial solubility of the mineral dust fraction using sequential leaching and ICP-OES analysis. Full chemical digestions of the insoluble mineral dust fraction will then be prepared for mass spectrometric analysis of trace element content as well as lead (Pb), neodymium (Nd) and strontium (Sr) isotopes to constrain the transport routes of the mineral dust across South America.

Requirements:
- Lab experience
- Good English skills
- Interest in geochemical and paleoclimatological questions

We offer:
- Experience in wet-chemical sediment sample processing and mass spectrometric analysis
- Friendly work environment