Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100078
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,000.00
Summary
Controls on the severity of past environmental crises. This project aims to investigate how the rate of volcanic volatile emissions controlled the severity of past environmental crises. Catastrophic mass extinctions and major oceanic anoxia events are principally caused by the emplacement of gigantic volcanic eruptions but the volume of magma does not correlate with environmental severity. This project couples high-precision age and volatile emission measurements to model distinct climatic pertu ....Controls on the severity of past environmental crises. This project aims to investigate how the rate of volcanic volatile emissions controlled the severity of past environmental crises. Catastrophic mass extinctions and major oceanic anoxia events are principally caused by the emplacement of gigantic volcanic eruptions but the volume of magma does not correlate with environmental severity. This project couples high-precision age and volatile emission measurements to model distinct climatic perturbations over Earth’s last 540 million years. The intended outcome is to find a root cause for severity of past environmental crises, with past emission rates to be used as tools to model possible future climatic crises and provide a new fundamental understanding of Earth’s magmatic engine.Read moreRead less
Dynamic earth models for frontier diamond exploration. This project aims to investigate the link between continent motion and mantle upwelling over the last billion years by combining tectonic reconstructions and recently developed dynamic earth models with the global and Australian rock record. Mantle upwelling is thought to cause eruptions of large volcanic provinces and kimberlites, the primary source rock for diamonds. The project expects to develop a technique to map kimberlite potential in ....Dynamic earth models for frontier diamond exploration. This project aims to investigate the link between continent motion and mantle upwelling over the last billion years by combining tectonic reconstructions and recently developed dynamic earth models with the global and Australian rock record. Mantle upwelling is thought to cause eruptions of large volcanic provinces and kimberlites, the primary source rock for diamonds. The project expects to develop a technique to map kimberlite potential in under-explored regions such as Australia. Significant benefits from the project will be the reduction of economic risks in diamond exploration, the training of a researcher in exploration geodynamics, and understanding the link between supercontinents and mantle upwelling.Read moreRead less
Developing and testing a new dating tool for Quaternary science. This project plans to use cutting-edge instrumentation to develop a novel method for dating geological materials formed in a critical time window for which no dating technique currently exists. The last million years of Earth’s history has seen dramatic changes in global climate and environment, with catastrophic volcanic eruptions and numerous other natural processes shaping landforms and ecosystems. A major challenge for studying ....Developing and testing a new dating tool for Quaternary science. This project plans to use cutting-edge instrumentation to develop a novel method for dating geological materials formed in a critical time window for which no dating technique currently exists. The last million years of Earth’s history has seen dramatic changes in global climate and environment, with catastrophic volcanic eruptions and numerous other natural processes shaping landforms and ecosystems. A major challenge for studying these phenomena and their impacts is the dating of geological archives in the time window between 50 000 and 1 000 000 years. This project aims to develop a method for dating young volcanic rocks that can close this critical gap. The result would be a new dating tool with broad implications for the Quaternary sciences globally, including paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstructions, natural hazards assessment, hominin evolution and archaeology.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
High resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. This project aims to establish a high-resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the famed Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya. The Basin hosts a vast array of hominin fossils that cover more than four million years of human evolution, and interbedded volcanic deposits within the Basin sediments has provided much of our current constraints on the timing of hominin evolution. However critical knowledge gaps remain. Using new ins ....High resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. This project aims to establish a high-resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the famed Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya. The Basin hosts a vast array of hominin fossils that cover more than four million years of human evolution, and interbedded volcanic deposits within the Basin sediments has provided much of our current constraints on the timing of hominin evolution. However critical knowledge gaps remain. Using new instrumentation and dating methods, this project will provide an ultra-precise chronological framework for the basin. This is critical for transforming our understanding of hominin evolution and migration, under changing climatic and environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
Gas-Solid Reactions in Earth and Planetary Systems. High temperature gases circulate through Earth's interior and atmosphere, but little is known about how they react. Recent work shows that exceptionally rapid reactions occur between gases and solids at surfaces. These reactions are instrumental in forming ore deposits and transporting gases and salts to Earth's surface, atmosphere and oceans - affecting climate and biological productivity. This project aims to examine natural samples and inves ....Gas-Solid Reactions in Earth and Planetary Systems. High temperature gases circulate through Earth's interior and atmosphere, but little is known about how they react. Recent work shows that exceptionally rapid reactions occur between gases and solids at surfaces. These reactions are instrumental in forming ore deposits and transporting gases and salts to Earth's surface, atmosphere and oceans - affecting climate and biological productivity. This project aims to examine natural samples and investigate gas-solid reactions experimentally to constrain reaction mechanisms. It is expected that the project outcomes will open up a new field of geochemistry with novel experiments, state-of-the-art analysis and the development of innovative models that account for the role of gas-solid reactions in Earth and planetary processes.Read moreRead less
Eruption dynamics and tsunami potential from submarine volcanoes. This project is based on recently acquired seafloor samples and geophysical data from extraordinary deposits at a modern submarine volcano. This project aims to determine the conditions that lead to explosive eruption underwater, the dynamics of associated sediment flows, and if these events can trigger tsunami. Expected outcomes include an unprecedented reconstruction of the architecture of submarine caldera volcanoes, new innova ....Eruption dynamics and tsunami potential from submarine volcanoes. This project is based on recently acquired seafloor samples and geophysical data from extraordinary deposits at a modern submarine volcano. This project aims to determine the conditions that lead to explosive eruption underwater, the dynamics of associated sediment flows, and if these events can trigger tsunami. Expected outcomes include an unprecedented reconstruction of the architecture of submarine caldera volcanoes, new innovative models applicable globally for a richer understanding of volcanic tsunami and eruptions that shape the seafloor. This project will provide significant benefits through mitigation of global marine natural hazards, and by improving knowledge on the volcanic hosts of ore deposits.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,000.00
Summary
Deep-sea magnetics: a key tool for enhanced 4D hydrothermal exploration. This project aims to constrain the magnetic response and detectability of mantle and hotspot-related vents. Deep-sea hydrothermal systems are oases of unique life and are considered as the most valuable scientific and mining targets ever discovered in the oceans. The project is expected to enable a better understanding of these enigmatic features, in both their active and inactive phases. It will use new and highly powerful ....Deep-sea magnetics: a key tool for enhanced 4D hydrothermal exploration. This project aims to constrain the magnetic response and detectability of mantle and hotspot-related vents. Deep-sea hydrothermal systems are oases of unique life and are considered as the most valuable scientific and mining targets ever discovered in the oceans. The project is expected to enable a better understanding of these enigmatic features, in both their active and inactive phases. It will use new and highly powerful processing methods on existing data and on data collected off the Tasmanian continental shelf. The project is expected to unveil the characteristics of hydrothermalism in a wide range of contexts and improve Australia’s competitiveness in scientific and mining hydrothermal exploration and to potentially guarantee the supply of raw materials for future generations.Read moreRead less
Novel tools for dating explosive volcanic eruptions in the critical window. This project will develop novel dating methods necessary for precise reconstruction of the eruption histories of super-volcanoes in the Asia-Pacific region over the last million years. The project outcomes will provide better models for predicting super-eruptions, thereby informing global climate change research, urban planning, and transport and telecommunications infrastructure engineering. Results will also improve ex ....Novel tools for dating explosive volcanic eruptions in the critical window. This project will develop novel dating methods necessary for precise reconstruction of the eruption histories of super-volcanoes in the Asia-Pacific region over the last million years. The project outcomes will provide better models for predicting super-eruptions, thereby informing global climate change research, urban planning, and transport and telecommunications infrastructure engineering. Results will also improve existing volcanic risk models used by insurers to quantify volcanic risks and calculate expected losses from volcanic eruptions, and greatly improve our ability to use eruption deposits as time markers for important events in human evolution.Read moreRead less
Timescales of mixing and volatile transfer leading to volcanic eruptions. The short-lived lead isotope, 210Pb, has the unique ability to place timescale constraints on volcanic processes, such as the input, mixing and degassing of magma. These processes are believed to be of fundamental importance in the triggering of volcanic eruptions. This project will measure 210Pb isotopic compositions and elemental diffusion profiles in crystals of volcanic rocks that represent the end members of mixed ma ....Timescales of mixing and volatile transfer leading to volcanic eruptions. The short-lived lead isotope, 210Pb, has the unique ability to place timescale constraints on volcanic processes, such as the input, mixing and degassing of magma. These processes are believed to be of fundamental importance in the triggering of volcanic eruptions. This project will measure 210Pb isotopic compositions and elemental diffusion profiles in crystals of volcanic rocks that represent the end members of mixed magmas to constrain the volume and timescale of volatile transfer from magmatic recharge and also the time between magma mixing events and eruptions. The project aims to test the paradigm that magma recharge triggers volcanic eruptions and aims to yield significant outcomes for understanding eruption triggers at hazardous volcanoes.Read moreRead less