I guess I don't have to explain based off the title that I am near the completion of the first draft of my manuscript. Small adjustments to the discussion, write the conclusion, edit figures, and a read over is to be completed by the 1st of December. I will then look forward to editing of my manuscript before sending it off to my co-authors at Idaho State University and NASA Aimes after the holidays. While writing my manuscript, I had an idea of what I could present at LPSC in March. Probe data and images I collected last winter have not been discussed in detail in my manuscript, which gave me the idea of writing an LPSC abstract on the quenched textures and mineralogy of COTM lava flows (I will need to discuss this with Dr Catherine Neish if she feels this is worth pursuing).
The past two days, I have been on the electron micro-probe analyzing the impact melts and glass from West Clearwater Lake Impact Structure. The samples included clast-rich and clast-poor fine grained melts and clast-poor coarse grained melts, red and black glass, and shock-metamorphosed bedrock. Compositional images were taken of the melts at different scales to see what textures (crystalline or quenched) were present. The purpose of my project is to see how the textures of the melts change moving up stratigraphy. The stratigraphy described by Osinski et al. (2017) puts the melts in the following order from bottom to top: clast-rich fine grained melts, clast-poor fine grained melts, and clast-poor coarse grained melts. Along with compositional images I will have petrographic images and XRF data from the same samples. The results are to be written up as an extended LPSC abstract. With luck, I will be able to submit this as an actual LPSC abstract immediately after the holidays.
A sneak peak of a compositional image of the coarse grained melt rock under the electron micro-probe:
Mark your calendars because this Friday at 12:30 I will be presenting my Rosetta workshop experience at the CPSX research forum. The presentation will talk about what I learned from the experience, how the mission was organized, brief talk on cometary science, the simulation planning software MAPPS, and opportunities for MSc, PhD, post doctorates, and staff with ESA. I don't want to give anything away so I hope to see you all at the presentation Friday!
I have been looking into more scholarships and searching for summer internships in planetary science. I will be applying for the LPI Exploration Science Summer Intern Program; the intern program to involve students in activities that support missions to the Moon that utilize the Orion crew vehicle, the Deep Space Gateway, and robotic assets on the lunar surface. I was reading over this and it sounded much the same of what I have been involved with in the PHASR project. It also is close to exactly what I want to pursue for after university; mission work experience and exercises, planning traverse routes and selecting landing sites, and understand the procedures of selecting samples along the traverse (I don't know if it is a learning topic in the internship).
I found one scholarship I can apply eligible for UK students wanting to study in Canada, the Canadian Memorial Foundation. I checked with the organization and they said I am eligible to apply even though I am already in the country. The deadline is January 12th, if I can have an updated summary of my experience and accomplishments, and bio before the holidays that will make it less stressful when I return in January.
Wish there was more to talk about, just been writing, writing, and assignments!