Resolving the geochemistry of coastal floodplain blackwaters. Deoxygenated dead zones are a rapidly growing global crisis in coastal areas. A major cause of dead zones in our estuaries is the formation and release of blackwaters from coastal wetlands. This project will provide the knowledge necessary to manage blackwaters in these wetlands and to greatly improve the health and sustainability of our estuaries.
Geochemistry of ore metals at very high temperatures. The world’s largest copper and gold mines occur in extinct volcanoes around the Pacific Rim. Understanding how these essential metals are mobilised from magmas in the roots of volcanoes to become ore deposits and how to recognize where this has occurred is crucial in exploration for new deposits.
Controls on Gold Mineralisation in Central Victoria: Towards New Exploration Models. The proposed project will develop and evaluate new exploration models with implications for gold exploration and mining/investment in Victoria. The frontier research techniques to be employed will ensure that Australian geoscience remains at the forefront of international research. This project will also provide unprecedented research training opportunities for the next generation of Australian Earth Scientists. ....Controls on Gold Mineralisation in Central Victoria: Towards New Exploration Models. The proposed project will develop and evaluate new exploration models with implications for gold exploration and mining/investment in Victoria. The frontier research techniques to be employed will ensure that Australian geoscience remains at the forefront of international research. This project will also provide unprecedented research training opportunities for the next generation of Australian Earth Scientists. As prospective gold terranes are located in regional Australia, enhanced exploration and mining activity in future years may have significant economic and infrastructure benefits for rural and regional communities.Read moreRead less
Experimental constraints on the genesis of gold-rich ore deposits. The project will provide a new set of tools to explore for gold-rich ore deposits in Australia and globally. By integrating geochemical studies with cutting-edge experiments carried out at three Australian universities in strategic partnership with industry, the outcomes of this project will provide much needed knowledge to predict the locations of large gold-rich deposits that are concealed beneath vast expanses of the Australia ....Experimental constraints on the genesis of gold-rich ore deposits. The project will provide a new set of tools to explore for gold-rich ore deposits in Australia and globally. By integrating geochemical studies with cutting-edge experiments carried out at three Australian universities in strategic partnership with industry, the outcomes of this project will provide much needed knowledge to predict the locations of large gold-rich deposits that are concealed beneath vast expanses of the Australian continent. The new results will translate into smarter exploration practice, significantly enhancing success in targeting ore deposits that are rich in high-value metal and display the smallest have a small environmental footprint, to underpin the sustainability of our nation into the future.
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Untangling metabolism and greenhouse gas production in intermittent streams. Freshwater streams are disproportionately large producers of greenhouse gases. Identifying the factors controlling their greenhouse gas production is critical as stream function is increasingly altered by both changing rainfall patterns and human pollution. This project aims to resolve the factors controlling stream greenhouse gas production. It will apply an unprecedented combination of continuous stream function and i ....Untangling metabolism and greenhouse gas production in intermittent streams. Freshwater streams are disproportionately large producers of greenhouse gases. Identifying the factors controlling their greenhouse gas production is critical as stream function is increasingly altered by both changing rainfall patterns and human pollution. This project aims to resolve the factors controlling stream greenhouse gas production. It will apply an unprecedented combination of continuous stream function and intensive isotope measurements to perennially flowing and intermittent streams in disturbed and undisturbed landscapes. This project is significant because it will quantify the changing role of streams in greenhouse gas emissions. Outcomes will provide critical information for managing Australia’s freshwater resources. Read moreRead less
Correction of non-linearity in inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry. Chemical analyses by mass spectrometers underpin key Australian economic sectors, particularly minerals and agriculture. The quadrupole inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometer has seen a particular rise in prominence over last 25 years. In this collaboration between mass spectrometrists and the leading instrument designer, we will improve the linearity of its detection system for more precise and accurate data. Bet ....Correction of non-linearity in inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry. Chemical analyses by mass spectrometers underpin key Australian economic sectors, particularly minerals and agriculture. The quadrupole inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometer has seen a particular rise in prominence over last 25 years. In this collaboration between mass spectrometrists and the leading instrument designer, we will improve the linearity of its detection system for more precise and accurate data. Better elemental and isotope ratio data from these high-throughput instruments will open up new real-world applications in many areas of Australian interest, such as biosecurity, forensics, groundwater management, and drug design. The research will also inform design of the next generation instruments by the industry partner.Read moreRead less
Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich so ....Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich soils, northwest Queensland, for their capabilities and revegetation potential when grown in mine wastes of the Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn mine. Outcomes will include practical, innovative methods of mine site rehabilitation that are low-cost and environmentally-friendly.Read moreRead less
What controls trace element levels in ore sulfides? A laser-ICPMS perspective. Sub-surface hydrothermal gold and base metal orebodies are surrounded by aprons of elevated metal concentrations, mainly within micro-sulfides, which is one sign mineral explorers use to widen their target. Here we test whether the hostrock contributes metal in the most distant parts of such halos, and if so, what factors control where hostrock metal begins to be detectable in a given system. We will make better model ....What controls trace element levels in ore sulfides? A laser-ICPMS perspective. Sub-surface hydrothermal gold and base metal orebodies are surrounded by aprons of elevated metal concentrations, mainly within micro-sulfides, which is one sign mineral explorers use to widen their target. Here we test whether the hostrock contributes metal in the most distant parts of such halos, and if so, what factors control where hostrock metal begins to be detectable in a given system. We will make better models of how metalliferous waters react with rock, potentially translating into million dollar savings through more efficient exploration. The ultrafine sampling and precision analyses required for this are possible because of an ARC-funded core program at CODES.Read moreRead less
Electron flow in iron hyper-enriched acidifying coastal environments: reaction paths and kinetics of iron-sulfur-carbon transformations. Iron hyper-enriched acidifying coastal lowlands have a direct social, economic and environmental impact on communities in many parts of Australia. This project will determine how iron transforms and accumulates. The new knowledge will be of immediate relevance for the remediation of coastal plains.
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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