Deciphering the early Solar System chronology and planetary chemistry using isotope systematics of meteoritic zircon. This project addresses the early evolution of our Solar System that is one of the most important questions in Earth and Planetary sciences. It will use Australia's meteorites and innovative analytical techniques developed in Australia. High impact scientific results produced in this project will be to the national benefit in terms of international recognition of our unique capabi ....Deciphering the early Solar System chronology and planetary chemistry using isotope systematics of meteoritic zircon. This project addresses the early evolution of our Solar System that is one of the most important questions in Earth and Planetary sciences. It will use Australia's meteorites and innovative analytical techniques developed in Australia. High impact scientific results produced in this project will be to the national benefit in terms of international recognition of our unique capability in this high profile and competitive research field. Furthermore, by providing new constraints on the initial state of geochemical evolution of the terrestrial planets, this work will further our knowledge of the subsequent evolution of the Earth's mantle and crust, leading to better models for Australian continent development and its deep-Earth resources.Read moreRead less
The geochemistry of trace elements with variable oxidation states. The understanding of many earth processes is based upon an interpretation of differences in the relative abundance and/or distribution of elements which occur in more than one oxidation state. However, the redox states that control the geochemical behaviour of an element in a melt are not necessarily retained on cooling. This work aims to determine the oxidation states of geologically important elements, in situ under magmatic ....The geochemistry of trace elements with variable oxidation states. The understanding of many earth processes is based upon an interpretation of differences in the relative abundance and/or distribution of elements which occur in more than one oxidation state. However, the redox states that control the geochemical behaviour of an element in a melt are not necessarily retained on cooling. This work aims to determine the oxidation states of geologically important elements, in situ under magmatic conditions, using XANES spectroscopy. The results will allow geological signatures to be correctly interpreted and allow models for topics ranging from ancient mantle temperatures to rates of melt migration to be better constrained.Read moreRead less