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Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will ....Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will for the first time collect a vast comparative data base which will yield clues on the early evolution of the ear, eye and brain. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100047
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,600,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program: This project is for an Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. The Program will recover drill cores, situate observatories, and conduct down-hole experiments in all the world's oceans from lowest to highest latitudes to address fundamental questions about Earth's history and processes within four high-priority scientific themes: clima ....Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program: This project is for an Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. The Program will recover drill cores, situate observatories, and conduct down-hole experiments in all the world's oceans from lowest to highest latitudes to address fundamental questions about Earth's history and processes within four high-priority scientific themes: climate and ocean change - reading the past and informing the future; biosphere frontiers - deep life, biodiversity, and environmental forcing of ecosystems; earth connections - deep processes and their impact on earth's surface environment; earth in motion - processes and hazards on a human time scale.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100067
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program:
This project is for a 5-year membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program, the world’s largest collaborative research program in earth and ocean sciences addressing international priorities. The program conducts seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes to study the history and current activity of the Earth, recorded in sed ....Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program:
This project is for a 5-year membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program, the world’s largest collaborative research program in earth and ocean sciences addressing international priorities. The program conducts seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes to study the history and current activity of the Earth, recorded in sediments and rocks below the seafloor. The program’s aims include understanding past global environments on multiple time scales, the deep biosphere, plate tectonics, occurrence and distribution of resources, and generation of hazards. Several multinational expeditions are scheduled and planned in our marine jurisdiction and within the Australasian region. Read moreRead less
Melting in the Earth and the origin of basalts. This project aims to investigate and link the many studies of natural basalts to better understand Earth’s global tectonics and mineral resources. Much of our knowledge of the deep Earth’s history comes from studying the melting of the mantle to produce basaltic magma. This project will investigate experimentally at high temperatures and pressures, link studies of natural basalts with melting processes in simplified chemical systems. The expected o ....Melting in the Earth and the origin of basalts. This project aims to investigate and link the many studies of natural basalts to better understand Earth’s global tectonics and mineral resources. Much of our knowledge of the deep Earth’s history comes from studying the melting of the mantle to produce basaltic magma. This project will investigate experimentally at high temperatures and pressures, link studies of natural basalts with melting processes in simplified chemical systems. The expected outcome is a comprehensive model for the origin of basalts on Earth and in other rocky planets, which will establish the framework for the geochemical cycles of the elements and lead to a better understanding of mineral resources.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100050
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$970,000.00
Summary
A new national electron microprobe facility. A new national electron microprobe facility: Precise chemical microanalysis underpins research on Earth materials. The Electron Microprobe (EMP) is the main instrument to achieve this. It performs rapid quantitative analysis and element mapping on solid materials at micron resolution. This facility will support an impressive variety of research including experimental, igneous and metamorphic petrology and geochronology. It will foster increased collab ....A new national electron microprobe facility. A new national electron microprobe facility: Precise chemical microanalysis underpins research on Earth materials. The Electron Microprobe (EMP) is the main instrument to achieve this. It performs rapid quantitative analysis and element mapping on solid materials at micron resolution. This facility will support an impressive variety of research including experimental, igneous and metamorphic petrology and geochronology. It will foster increased collaboration between partner organisations including universities and major geoscience institutes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882854
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$6,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) will provide high-leverage access to the largest, and most effective international geoscience program.
Results from drilling within Australia's marine jurisdiction will give understanding of the oceans' state under past climates through high resolution records of the range of oceanographic and biological responses to climate change, the role of the deep biosphere in shapin ....Australian Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Membership of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) will provide high-leverage access to the largest, and most effective international geoscience program.
Results from drilling within Australia's marine jurisdiction will give understanding of the oceans' state under past climates through high resolution records of the range of oceanographic and biological responses to climate change, the role of the deep biosphere in shaping oil and gas deposits, hydrothermal and igneous processes involved in ore genesis, and enhanced understanding of some of the world's largest earthquake- and tsunami-generating processes.
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Argon thermochronometers and the effects of recrystallization. Rocks exhumed from high temperatures in continental settings contain a record of cooling in potassium-bearing minerals, known as thermochronometers, due to the quantitative retention of radiogenic argon below some characteristic closure temperature. However, thermochronometers may be affected by recrystallization processes occurring below such temperatures, and in some cases argon data record the timing of crystallization rather tha ....Argon thermochronometers and the effects of recrystallization. Rocks exhumed from high temperatures in continental settings contain a record of cooling in potassium-bearing minerals, known as thermochronometers, due to the quantitative retention of radiogenic argon below some characteristic closure temperature. However, thermochronometers may be affected by recrystallization processes occurring below such temperatures, and in some cases argon data record the timing of crystallization rather than cooling. Field, microstructural and isotopic analysis will be used to evaluate the effects of recrystallization on the muscovite and potassium-feldspar thermochronometers, particularly in fault zones. Understanding the effects of recrystallization on thermochronometers is critical for studies of the assembly of the continental crust.Read moreRead less
Development of new and high precision noble gas techniques for dating Quaternary volcanic rocks and surfaces: a Thermochronology and Noble Gas Geochronology and Geochemistry Organisation initiative. This project will calibrate noble gas dating methods, providing powerful tools for dating young volcanic rocks, eroded or buried surfaces and glacier/ice retreat. This research has considerable social, national and economic benefits for research training, volcanic hazard assessment, landscape evoluti ....Development of new and high precision noble gas techniques for dating Quaternary volcanic rocks and surfaces: a Thermochronology and Noble Gas Geochronology and Geochemistry Organisation initiative. This project will calibrate noble gas dating methods, providing powerful tools for dating young volcanic rocks, eroded or buried surfaces and glacier/ice retreat. This research has considerable social, national and economic benefits for research training, volcanic hazard assessment, landscape evolution, paleoclimate change and mineral exploration.Read moreRead less
Tectonic Reconstruction of the Evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan Orogenic Chain. This project will construct a computationally explicit model of movements in the solid Earth for the past 150 million years, to study the Earth as a complex system during the collision that produced the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt. This is the youngest collisional mountain belt on Earth, and at times it stretched from Spain to New Zealand. Earth Scientists want to understand the processes that took place to mak ....Tectonic Reconstruction of the Evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan Orogenic Chain. This project will construct a computationally explicit model of movements in the solid Earth for the past 150 million years, to study the Earth as a complex system during the collision that produced the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt. This is the youngest collisional mountain belt on Earth, and at times it stretched from Spain to New Zealand. Earth Scientists want to understand the processes that took place to make it, in particular the role of ribbon continents. As a result of this work ordinary Australians will be able to better perceive their interactions with their nearest neighbours.Read moreRead less
Understanding the stratigraphic and structural architecture of late Archean basins and the context of their gold deposits. Gold mined from Archean rocks contributed $4.0 billion to Australia's export income in 2006 and provided the backbone of support for many remote communities. However, production has fallen 40% since 1997 and will be exhausted within 15 years unless major new discoveries are made. The potential to find additional gold deposits remains high, but urgently requires new data and ....Understanding the stratigraphic and structural architecture of late Archean basins and the context of their gold deposits. Gold mined from Archean rocks contributed $4.0 billion to Australia's export income in 2006 and provided the backbone of support for many remote communities. However, production has fallen 40% since 1997 and will be exhausted within 15 years unless major new discoveries are made. The potential to find additional gold deposits remains high, but urgently requires new data and improved exploration techniques to assist in their discovery. The results of this integrated multidisciplinary project will help to arrest the declining discovery rate and thereby sustain this important Australian industry.Read moreRead less