[Oppslist] USGS Postdoctoral Opportunity Mercury and Trace Metals

[Allan Kolker]

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               Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Opportunity

         Sources of Atmospheric Mercury and Trace Metal Deposition

A postdoctoral research associate is sought to conduct integrated research
on the provenance of atmospheric mercury and trace metals.  The successful
applicant will conduct field sampling of mercury and trace metals in wet
and dry atmospheric deposition in a study area defined by his/her research
proposal, in mutual agreement with the project research advisors.  Projects
should seek to integrate results from the study area with existing
measurements, such as those of the continent-wide Mercury Deposition
Network (MDN), and other sources.  The incumbent will work closely with
USGS staff engaged in trace-element research, USGS researchers working in
the area of water quality, and collaborators outside the USGS who are
quantifying the international budget of mercury sources, and developing
atmospheric transport models for global mercury deposition.  The incumbent
will have an opportunity to assist in deployment of a state-of-the-art
mobile atmospheric mercury lab, and would be responsible in part for the
operation of an MDN station in the vicinity of the duty area.  Sampling
using these facilities is automated to a large degree, but experience in
clean methods of environmental sampling for mercury and/or trace-metals is
highly desirable.  Experience in microbeam analysis methods (SEM, electron
microprobe) is also desirable for characterization of fine particulate
matter.

Major supporting laboratory facilities are available in Middleton
(Madison), WI, Denver, CO, and Reston, VA.  With the exception of MDN
samples, the USGS low-level mercury speciation laboratory in Middleton, WI,
and its mobile atmospheric mercury facility, are primary sources of mercury
analyses.  The mobile mercury laboratory has the capacity to make real-time
determinations of dry mercury species (gaseous Hg0, particulate Hg(II) and
reactive gaseous Hg(II)), wet mercury deposition, fine particulate matter
(PM2.5), NOx, SOx, ozone, and meteorological data.  This facility
substantially augments previous capabilities of the USGS, allowing us to
compare results for these diagnostic parameters in the vicinity of known
sources such as power stations, vs. remote areas that lack local sources.
Facilities available in Denver include a cold vapor atomic absorption
analyzer (for solid phase mercury analysis), a laser ablation ICP-MS
laboratory, and a trace element laboratory equipped with ICP-MS and ICP-AES
analyzers.  Microbeam facilities in Reston, VA include a JEOL 840 scanning
electron microscope and a JEOL 8900R electron microprobe.  The USGS also
maintains extensive domestic and international databases of coal analyses
that include mercury and trace element data.

Applicants should have completed doctoral studies in geochemistry,
environmental science, or atmospheric chemistry, and be able to readily
communicate their results in oral and written formats.  Priority is given
to applicants who are U.S. citizens and nationals, but non-citizens may be
considered under certain circumstances.  We encourage applicants to consult
one of the research supervisors- Allan Kolker (akolker at usgs.gov ), or David
Krabbenhoft (dpkrabbe at usgs.gov), prior to submitting research proposals.
Selection will be based on the qualifications of the candidates and the
quality of their research proposals.  About 15 candidates will be selected
among applicants for all 30 advertised Mendenhall Research Opportunities.
See http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/  and
http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2006/opps/opp4.html for further details.
The closing date for applications is December 1, 2004.  This position is
located in Reston, VA, in suburban Washington, DC, with travel to
Middleton, WI, and field sites.
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