Impact craters as probes into planetary crusts and prospect for resources. The project aims to investigate the structure of earth’s crust in Australian impact crater sites, impact crater morphologies on Mars, and expand our understanding of the origins of our solar system. The project could transfer knowledge from exploration to exploitation at impact crater sites, on and off Earth. The outcomes include placing constraints on potential economic deposits (such as precious metals, hydrocarbons, wa ....Impact craters as probes into planetary crusts and prospect for resources. The project aims to investigate the structure of earth’s crust in Australian impact crater sites, impact crater morphologies on Mars, and expand our understanding of the origins of our solar system. The project could transfer knowledge from exploration to exploitation at impact crater sites, on and off Earth. The outcomes include placing constraints on potential economic deposits (such as precious metals, hydrocarbons, water) in Australia and the presence of water on Mars. The project could provide significant national economic benefits when applied in practice to discovering resources hidden in the Australian cratering record. Internationally, Australia would participate in future space exploration endeavours.Read moreRead less
Banded iron formations: life, oxygen and ocean chemistry. This project aims to investigate the co-evolution of life and environments during Earth’s first two billion years using iron-rich chemical sediments deposited from global oceans. The project expects to generate knowledge of Earth’s transition into a planet habitable for complex life by combining nanoscale characterisation techniques, with laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. Expected outcomes include transformative ideas abou ....Banded iron formations: life, oxygen and ocean chemistry. This project aims to investigate the co-evolution of life and environments during Earth’s first two billion years using iron-rich chemical sediments deposited from global oceans. The project expects to generate knowledge of Earth’s transition into a planet habitable for complex life by combining nanoscale characterisation techniques, with laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. Expected outcomes include transformative ideas about the role of life in iron and phosphorus cycles, the chemistry of the early ocean, ancient biological productivity, the antiquity of oxygenic photosynthesis and the rise of oxygen. The project will also deliver new conceptual models for the formation of the host-rocks for most of the world’s iron resources, improving how we explore for iron in the Earth’s crust. This should provide benefits to understanding geobiology on Earth and other planets.Read moreRead less