DEADLINE: CASW's GEOTRACES Reporting Fellowship in Antarctica

CASW invites applications for Antarctic expedition reporting opportunity

The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing invites science and environmental journalists to apply for a fellowship that will enable an early-career journalist to accompany a major oceanographic expedition to Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea. The project will investigate how rapid glacier melting and associated processes are affecting the chemistry of the world’s oceans, a less-known aspect of global climate change.

The selected journalist will receive a reporting grant and a berth aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer, a research icebreaker, from November 2023 through January 2024. CASW will accept applications until January 31, 2023. The journalist will be expected to attend an expedition planning meeting March 13-14, 2023 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Travel costs for the planning meeting will be reimbursed. All necessary travel to and from foreign ports will be arranged and paid for by the U.S. Antarctic Program.

The planned 65-day expedition is part of GEOTRACES, an international research effort that aims to better understand the oceanic cycling of trace elements and isotopes, which play critical roles in regulating ocean ecosystems and the global carbon cycle, and provide critical records of past environmental conditions. A group of U.S.-based researchers, supported by the National Science Foundation, will co-lead the cruise to collect seawater, sediment and atmospheric samples in a region where warm ocean waters are melting glacial ice shelves at an increasing rate.

CASW will award the fellowship with help from the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program, will match the journalist with a project mentor, and will ensure that the journalist can work independently. Like others onboard ship, the journalist may be asked to assist with sampling and sample processing.

The expedition journalist will have opportunities to photograph, record, and report during the voyage, blog and share news via social media. Links to coverage by others who have traveled on earlier cruises to the Amundsen Sea, on topics including glacial collapse and sea level rise, can be found in the FAQ.

The reporting grant of $15,000 is intended to cover direct costs such as equipment and cold-weather gear, required medical/dental exams, and any travel costs not covered by the program, and to partially replace forgone income during time away.

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