Program Overview



	Geodynamics faculty and students at the foot of Sheepeater Cliffs in Yellowstone—columnar jointing in a flow unit. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Geodynamics Program is an integrated program that fosters interdisciplinary research in the earth sciences among faculty, students and postdoctoral fellows. It is centered around an annual spring seminar series that focus on a common theme from the perspective of a wide variety of different disciplines. Traditionally these have ranged from geophysical fluid dynamics, solid earth geochemistry to geobiology. Past topics have included such themes as "The Geological and Biological Evolution of the Ocean Lithosphere", "The Early Earth", "Tectonics and Global Change", "Ice", "Plumes vesus Plates", and "Fluid Flow in the Earth". A wide variety of students and scientists from all the Institution's research departments attend the seminar, with the heaviest participation traditionally coming from Geology & Geophysics, Physical Oceanography, and Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry.

Connected to the seminar is an annual field trip to visit critical geological locations related to the Program's themes. The first purpose of the field trip is to provide marine scientists, particularly students a broad geological background from which to interpret observations made in the oceans where data are largely acquired by remote sensing. Students, postdocs and faculty who regularly attend these trips over the last 6 years, have visited fossil ocean crust in the Oregon coast ranges and Cyprus, active volcanoes in Hawaii, continental rifting in the western United States, and present day plate spreading and glaciation in Iceland. The second and equally important purpose of these trips is to foster extended interactions between students, students and faculty, and faculty away from the distractions of the Institution.

Student Participation
Students can take the seminar for credit every year that they are in residence at the Institution, with the requirement that the present an original talk based on their research after years 1 and 2. For the first two years the students are required to prepare an original research paper, generally related to the seminar theme, in a discipline with a faculty advisor completely outside their own. Experience has shown that these projects are highly successful in promoting interdisciplinary research and that in over half the cases they become an integral part of the students' doctoral dissertation.

Seminar Format
A Geodynamics Seminar is an extended affair, with the visiting scientist (or policy maker) meeting with the graduate students for a half hour before the Institution wide presentation. This affords an opportunity for interactions between the students and the speaker that might not otherwise occur during the main lecture where they are greatly outnumbered by faculty and postdocs. The main lecture then follows, where the speaker presents for a hour, followed by an extended question and answer period that may last up to an additional hour. Generally, attendance averages close to 50 scientists, postdocs and students, representing a significant fraction of the entire scientific staff of the Institution. The formal seminar is followed by individual visits with faculty and students for the remainder of the afternoon. Finally, the speaker attends a dinner at a faculty members home, generally attended by 10 to 20 seminar attendees. Care is given to insure that at least equal numbers of students and postdocs attend with the faculty. These dinners provide a congenial atmosphere for extended discussions with the speaker that could not occur in another setting.

Sponsors
The Geodynamics Program is co-sponsored by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Academic Programs Office and Deep Ocean Exploration Institute.

Last updated: August 19, 2008