Crustal Growth in the Northern Tasmanides. The Australian and Queensland governments have invested over $3 million to undertake deep crustal seismic imaging in northern Queensland, providing an extensive new geophysical dataset capable of modelling crustal architecture and geological evolution to unprecedented levels. However, such models will remain untested unless the data is groundtruthed by analysis of rocks at the surface, providing a geological framework for extrapolation into the deep Ea ....Crustal Growth in the Northern Tasmanides. The Australian and Queensland governments have invested over $3 million to undertake deep crustal seismic imaging in northern Queensland, providing an extensive new geophysical dataset capable of modelling crustal architecture and geological evolution to unprecedented levels. However, such models will remain untested unless the data is groundtruthed by analysis of rocks at the surface, providing a geological framework for extrapolation into the deep Earth. The framework critically describes when and how crustal blocks were assembled, and the integrated information will generate evolutionary 3D models that will substantially improve mineral exploration targeting in the region.Read moreRead less
Revisiting The Alpine Paradigm: The Role Of Inversion Cycles In The Evolution Of The European Alps. This project aims to evaluate a new theory that suggests mountain belts are repeatedly built and then destroyed, taking advantage of the youthful and classic natural laboratory offered by the European Alps. We will use geochronology, structural geology and metamorphic petrology to track individual rocks through time and space, and compare the results with predictions made by computer simulations. ....Revisiting The Alpine Paradigm: The Role Of Inversion Cycles In The Evolution Of The European Alps. This project aims to evaluate a new theory that suggests mountain belts are repeatedly built and then destroyed, taking advantage of the youthful and classic natural laboratory offered by the European Alps. We will use geochronology, structural geology and metamorphic petrology to track individual rocks through time and space, and compare the results with predictions made by computer simulations. The initiation of these episodes of immense destruction in mountain belts occurs at the same time as the creation of deep Earth resources. This project will, as its main outcome, provide the foundation for future theoretical understanding of these remarkable coincidences.Read moreRead less
Mantle Melting Dynamics and the Influence of Recycled Components. This proposal is directly concerned with the continuing aim of building a sustainable Australia through knowledge of deep earth resources. The more we know about the processes of melting and melt and fluid migration the better we will be able to inform models for resource exploration and volcanic hazard mitigation. Uranium series isotopes are relevant to the very recent history of the planet (< 350 000 years) - time scales which a ....Mantle Melting Dynamics and the Influence of Recycled Components. This proposal is directly concerned with the continuing aim of building a sustainable Australia through knowledge of deep earth resources. The more we know about the processes of melting and melt and fluid migration the better we will be able to inform models for resource exploration and volcanic hazard mitigation. Uranium series isotopes are relevant to the very recent history of the planet (< 350 000 years) - time scales which are often overlooked. Application to mantle melting as described in this proposal may also have direct application to gold exploration in the Manus basin and elsewhere. It is to these techniques we must look if we are to understand the immediate past as a clue to the immediate future of our planet.Read moreRead less
How responsive are continental interiors to the geodynamic evolution of plate margins? An Australian case study. The outcomes of this project will advance our understanding of the evolution and dynamics of the Australian plate by improving knowledge of the way plate driving forces shaped the continental interior. This will lead to a refinement of existing geological models describing the history of the Australian continent, and will provide a valuable backdrop for the current focus on the cont ....How responsive are continental interiors to the geodynamic evolution of plate margins? An Australian case study. The outcomes of this project will advance our understanding of the evolution and dynamics of the Australian plate by improving knowledge of the way plate driving forces shaped the continental interior. This will lead to a refinement of existing geological models describing the history of the Australian continent, and will provide a valuable backdrop for the current focus on the contemporary state of the Australian plate. The study will also provide a framework for petroleum exploration models in the central Australian basins, since they rely crucially on the thermal and structural datasets that will be produced in this project.Read moreRead less
The Initiation of Early Palaeozoic Subduction in Eastern Australia and North America: causes and effects. Identified thirty or more years ago subduction is the return of cold, dense, oceanic lithosphere to the mantle and is one of the key dynamic elements of the plate tectonic paradigm. It is this process that is responsible for the 'Pacific Ring of Fire'. It is the root cause of many key geological processes and is a primary control of some of the earth's largest-scale physiographic features, i ....The Initiation of Early Palaeozoic Subduction in Eastern Australia and North America: causes and effects. Identified thirty or more years ago subduction is the return of cold, dense, oceanic lithosphere to the mantle and is one of the key dynamic elements of the plate tectonic paradigm. It is this process that is responsible for the 'Pacific Ring of Fire'. It is the root cause of many key geological processes and is a primary control of some of the earth's largest-scale physiographic features, including deep-sea trenches and mountain ranges. Using the important record of Cambrian in eastern Australia and in the comparable Canadian Atlantic margin, we will look at the causes and impact of the earliest stages of subduction as it first developed in the western Pacific and pre-cursor Atlantic 500 million years ago.Read moreRead less
Tracking mass transport during metamorphism using in situ micro-analysis of minerals. The continental masses we inhabit developed in response to the colossal forces of plate tectonics. Through compression and heating, rocks of the crust can experience fluid loss or melting. Movement of these fluids or magmas can, among other things, impact on the heat budget of Earth, the carbon and water cycles and the formation of ores in the crust. This project will utilize state-of-the-art scientific instrum ....Tracking mass transport during metamorphism using in situ micro-analysis of minerals. The continental masses we inhabit developed in response to the colossal forces of plate tectonics. Through compression and heating, rocks of the crust can experience fluid loss or melting. Movement of these fluids or magmas can, among other things, impact on the heat budget of Earth, the carbon and water cycles and the formation of ores in the crust. This project will utilize state-of-the-art scientific instruments and methods to greatly improve our understanding of these issues, which, in turn, will enhance our knowledge of how the Earth's crust develops. Research training and development will be provided through two PhD projects supported through this project.Read moreRead less
An experimental study of trace element equilibria during metamorphism. The analytical methods and experimental data to be developed will enable an Australian team to become world leaders in determining pressures and temperatures of mineral growth that correspond to a range of depths and temperature gradients in the Earth tha t is wider than accessible previously. Obtaining this information from small zones within single grains will allow determination of rates of change, and give us a detailed p ....An experimental study of trace element equilibria during metamorphism. The analytical methods and experimental data to be developed will enable an Australian team to become world leaders in determining pressures and temperatures of mineral growth that correspond to a range of depths and temperature gradients in the Earth tha t is wider than accessible previously. Obtaining this information from small zones within single grains will allow determination of rates of change, and give us a detailed picture of how the host rock has evolved, even from very small samples. One application would be checking the origin of relatively common minerals for whether they could be associated with diamonds.Read moreRead less
Water storage in the earth's mantle - understanding the process of OH incorporation in olivine. The amount of water in the Earth's mantle is thought to be sufficient to replace the surface oceans more than ten times. Whether this water exists in a fluid, melt, or mineral is important for understanding a range of mantle properties. The entire upper mantle water budget may be accommodated at defect sites in the mineral olivine. However, defects found in natural olivine do not correspond to thos ....Water storage in the earth's mantle - understanding the process of OH incorporation in olivine. The amount of water in the Earth's mantle is thought to be sufficient to replace the surface oceans more than ten times. Whether this water exists in a fluid, melt, or mineral is important for understanding a range of mantle properties. The entire upper mantle water budget may be accommodated at defect sites in the mineral olivine. However, defects found in natural olivine do not correspond to those produced
experimentally. Therefore, previous conclusions on water storage in the mantle are questionable. To address this problem the mechanism of water incorporation in olivine will be investigated using experimental petrology and spectroscopy.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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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347677
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$750,000.00
Summary
An electron probe microanalysis system to replace an existing 14 year-old instrument. Compositional data determined on inorganic materials by electron microprobe analysis (EPMA) underpins a considerable amount research in Earth/planetary sciences. Spots down to 2/1000mm may be analysed quantitatively for major elements and some trace elements with an accuracy of <1%, and digital composition maps of the elemental spatial distribution can be generated. Increasing downtime on the 14 year-old UTasma ....An electron probe microanalysis system to replace an existing 14 year-old instrument. Compositional data determined on inorganic materials by electron microprobe analysis (EPMA) underpins a considerable amount research in Earth/planetary sciences. Spots down to 2/1000mm may be analysed quantitatively for major elements and some trace elements with an accuracy of <1%, and digital composition maps of the elemental spatial distribution can be generated. Increasing downtime on the 14 year-old UTasmania microprobe, coupled with diverse new and exciting applications in ore deposit research, environmental geoscience and geochronology force us to seek funds to replace the existing EPMA facility, which has logged ~101,000 hours of use involving ~250 researchers, and produced more than 500 refereed papers.Read moreRead less