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From Synchrotron Characterisation of Single Fluid Inclusions to Archaean Geodynamics: An Integrated Study of Fluid-Rock Interaction in the Primitive Crust. In the primitive Earth, a wide range of phenomena including the initiation of biological activity and the formation of ore deposits were related to the mobilisation of mineralised fluids through the crust. In the Archaean craton of the Pilbara (WA), we have identified, within its tectonic framework, a crustal-scale plumbing system that channe ....From Synchrotron Characterisation of Single Fluid Inclusions to Archaean Geodynamics: An Integrated Study of Fluid-Rock Interaction in the Primitive Crust. In the primitive Earth, a wide range of phenomena including the initiation of biological activity and the formation of ore deposits were related to the mobilisation of mineralised fluids through the crust. In the Archaean craton of the Pilbara (WA), we have identified, within its tectonic framework, a crustal-scale plumbing system that channelled large volumes of mineralised hydrothermal solutions. Our objective is to understand the development of this plumbing system in relation to Archaean crustal geodynamics using a combination of structural geology, metamorphic petrology, geochronology, geochemistry, and the analysis of single-fluid inclusion using synchrotron and other X-ray sources.Read moreRead less
Molecular fossils, the evolution of Earth's early oceans and the origin of the oldest oil. Australia retains undiscovered oil reserves. We believe that a change in primitive marine life forms may have fundamentally changed the chemistry of the Earth's oceans and is responsible for the world's oldest oil reserves. While these reserves have been found, and successfully commercialised, overseas, similar reservoirs in Australia remain elusive. The project will develop and apply technologies based on ....Molecular fossils, the evolution of Earth's early oceans and the origin of the oldest oil. Australia retains undiscovered oil reserves. We believe that a change in primitive marine life forms may have fundamentally changed the chemistry of the Earth's oceans and is responsible for the world's oldest oil reserves. While these reserves have been found, and successfully commercialised, overseas, similar reservoirs in Australia remain elusive. The project will develop and apply technologies based on hydrocarbon biomarkers to help determine the oil-producing rock types of Precambrian sedimentary rocks. This allows us to estimate the oil's age and predict where petroleum reservoirs may be hidden. PhD students involved in the project will gain valuable knowledge about the link between changes in ecology and the carbon cycle.Read moreRead less
Uncoupling past salinity and temperature signals in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool: implications for climate change in the Australian region. The tropical oceans and in particular the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, immediately to Australia's north, play a key role in modulating global and Australian climate through El-Niño and related phenomena. Using a new microanalysis approach to analyse individual foraminifera from deep-sea cores, we will reconstruct past salinity and temperature variability within the ....Uncoupling past salinity and temperature signals in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool: implications for climate change in the Australian region. The tropical oceans and in particular the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, immediately to Australia's north, play a key role in modulating global and Australian climate through El-Niño and related phenomena. Using a new microanalysis approach to analyse individual foraminifera from deep-sea cores, we will reconstruct past salinity and temperature variability within the Warm Pool, and determine changing rainfall patterns and, ENSO and monsoon behaviour under climate conditions that lie outside modern records. This information is vital for understanding past climate and predicting the future intensity and frequency of El-Niño related drought and wet cycles in Australia.Read moreRead less
Early Archaean Ecology - Exploring the Evidence and Habitats for Early (3.6-3.85 billion year old) Life. The prime scientific quest of the 21st century will be the origin of life. The earliest evidence for life is at 3.85 Ga (billion-years) in the world's oldest-known sediments from Akilia, Greenland. These rocks were contorted and heated during later crustal upheavals, and the evidence for life at 3.85 Ga is controversial. Such life would be highly significant, because then first, primitive li ....Early Archaean Ecology - Exploring the Evidence and Habitats for Early (3.6-3.85 billion year old) Life. The prime scientific quest of the 21st century will be the origin of life. The earliest evidence for life is at 3.85 Ga (billion-years) in the world's oldest-known sediments from Akilia, Greenland. These rocks were contorted and heated during later crustal upheavals, and the evidence for life at 3.85 Ga is controversial. Such life would be highly significant, because then first, primitive life arose before the known stratigraphic record. The project will extend the methods used to detect earliest life, and use Greenland rocks to explore other possible early habitats (submarine volcanic rocks and hot springs) and understand its environment.Read moreRead less
Toppling the Boring Billion: Biomarkers, orbital cycles and primordial life. This project aims to discover microbiological processes involved in ore formation in order to understand how zinc and lead minerals formed in the sediments of Australia’s ancient seas. The apparent ‘Boring Billion’ – the geological period 1800 to 800 million years ago – may have harboured seas of fluctuating colours. Fossil biomolecules, unearthed from 1.6 billion years old sediments, draw a picture of ancient seas osci ....Toppling the Boring Billion: Biomarkers, orbital cycles and primordial life. This project aims to discover microbiological processes involved in ore formation in order to understand how zinc and lead minerals formed in the sediments of Australia’s ancient seas. The apparent ‘Boring Billion’ – the geological period 1800 to 800 million years ago – may have harboured seas of fluctuating colours. Fossil biomolecules, unearthed from 1.6 billion years old sediments, draw a picture of ancient seas oscillating between blooms of purple and green bacteria, with waters rapidly alternating between toxic and sulphidic and rich in dissolved iron. Based on these observations, the project aims to discover the dynamic nature of primordial ecosystems, investigate how ancient seas were controlled by the Earth’s orbit around the sun, and explore how microorganisms may have formed the world’s largest zinc deposits.Read moreRead less
Reconstruction of anoxic and toxic conditions in Australian lakes and ancient oceans. Sustainable water quality is a critically important issue for Australia's economic and social development. To be able to predict and plan the future of Australia's lakes and estuaries, it is crucial to understand their ecological past and to determine their state prior to and post-European settlement. This project develops and applies novel methodologies to reconstruct the history of cyanobacterial blooms, eutr ....Reconstruction of anoxic and toxic conditions in Australian lakes and ancient oceans. Sustainable water quality is a critically important issue for Australia's economic and social development. To be able to predict and plan the future of Australia's lakes and estuaries, it is crucial to understand their ecological past and to determine their state prior to and post-European settlement. This project develops and applies novel methodologies to reconstruct the history of cyanobacterial blooms, eutrophication and anoxia in Australian waterways. It will help to identify human impact on water quality. The new methodologies, applied to ancient sedimentary rocks, will also yield information about the effect of environmental changes on early life on Earth, enforcing Australia's position in the study of global geochemical cycles.Read moreRead less
Magnetite and metal-rich sulphides in arc magmas. Ascending magmas cool and crystallise a variety of minerals. Triggering sulfide deposition which hosts base and precious metals is a critical point in magma evolution. This research will explore the role of magnetite as this trigger and its potential as a tracer of this process.
The Southern Ocean's role in determining atmospheric CO2 levels: new insights from novel biogenic silica records of seawater pH. About half the emissions from the burning of fossil fuel since the Industrial Revolution have been absorbed by the oceans. However, considerable uncertainty surrounds the consequences of and the extent to which the oceans will continue to sequester CO2 into the future. This research will improve existing limited knowledge of the key biological and related ocean process ....The Southern Ocean's role in determining atmospheric CO2 levels: new insights from novel biogenic silica records of seawater pH. About half the emissions from the burning of fossil fuel since the Industrial Revolution have been absorbed by the oceans. However, considerable uncertainty surrounds the consequences of and the extent to which the oceans will continue to sequester CO2 into the future. This research will improve existing limited knowledge of the key biological and related ocean processes that transfer CO2 between the surface and depth, and the poorly understood effects on marine ecosystems of increasing ocean acidity due to CO2 absorption. This knowledge will contribute to predicting the course of future climate change and gauging the impacts on marine life and production systems.Read moreRead less
MILLENIAL-SCALE INSTABILITY OF SEA LEVEL AND THE CLIMATE SYSTEM: NEW ANALYSIS OF CORAL TERRACES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Northern hemisphere climates switched repeatedly and abruptly between cold and warm states during the ice ages. This unexplained finding poses uncertainties about future climate. The exact chronology of past sea level and climatic changes is a key to the problem: this project aims to establish precise chronology through re-analysis of coral terraces at Huon Peninsula, PNG. New U-s ....MILLENIAL-SCALE INSTABILITY OF SEA LEVEL AND THE CLIMATE SYSTEM: NEW ANALYSIS OF CORAL TERRACES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Northern hemisphere climates switched repeatedly and abruptly between cold and warm states during the ice ages. This unexplained finding poses uncertainties about future climate. The exact chronology of past sea level and climatic changes is a key to the problem: this project aims to establish precise chronology through re-analysis of coral terraces at Huon Peninsula, PNG. New U-series dating methods will give an accurately-timed record of sea level changes, which will be tightly locked to marine-sediment records of climatic change, by using sharp changes in atmospheric radiocarbon as universal marker horizons.Read moreRead less
A new approach to the U-series dating of fossil molluscs - a major advance for the earth and archaeological sciences. The development of a reliable method for accurately determining the age of fossil shells represents a breakthrough in the ability to date marine shoreline, lake, and other shell-bearing deposits (e.g. middens). This will present new opportunities for research of significant national benefit, particularly into the effects of climate change, including linked sea-level change and me ....A new approach to the U-series dating of fossil molluscs - a major advance for the earth and archaeological sciences. The development of a reliable method for accurately determining the age of fossil shells represents a breakthrough in the ability to date marine shoreline, lake, and other shell-bearing deposits (e.g. middens). This will present new opportunities for research of significant national benefit, particularly into the effects of climate change, including linked sea-level change and melting of ice sheets, the impact of sea-level change on coastal zones, and shifts in the amount and variability of rainfall in different regions. The method may also be used to estimate the frequency and size of large storm and tsunami events, earthquake risk, and the timing of prehistoric human migration and associated environmental impacts. Read moreRead less