Deep-sea coral ocean-climate records of the last glacial and recent eras. The project aims to predict the ocean carbon dioxide sink’s long-term capacity and future trajectories of global warming and increasing carbon dioxide. This project will use geochemical proxies encoded in the skeletons of deep-sea corals in the Perth Canyon, Tasman seas, and Antarctica, in the heart of the ocean-climate system, to reveal continuous long-term records of environmental change at annual-decadal resolution for ....Deep-sea coral ocean-climate records of the last glacial and recent eras. The project aims to predict the ocean carbon dioxide sink’s long-term capacity and future trajectories of global warming and increasing carbon dioxide. This project will use geochemical proxies encoded in the skeletons of deep-sea corals in the Perth Canyon, Tasman seas, and Antarctica, in the heart of the ocean-climate system, to reveal continuous long-term records of environmental change at annual-decadal resolution for our recent past (hundreds to thousands of years) and the Last Glacial Maximum. These records are expected to provide a more accurate understanding of Earth’s long-term responses to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely u ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely unknown, and represent key issues in modern geoscience. This CoE will integrate previously disparate fields - geology, tectonics, geochemistry, petrophysics, geophysics and dynamic modelling - to understand the workings of Earth's deep plumbing system.Read moreRead less
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.
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
Are subterranean estuaries a source or sink of greenhouse gases? The aim of this project is to investigate the role of subterranean estuaries and submarine groundwater discharge on the marine cycle of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The expected outcome of this project is a better understanding of the role of coastal environments as a net source or sink of greenhouse gases.
Seagrass denitrification: importance for global nitrogen budgets. The objective of this project is to use cutting-edge techniques to measure denitrification rates in communities dominated by different tropical and temperate seagrass species. Denitrification is a globally significant critical ecosystem process, but it is poorly understood in seagrass communities. This project is significant because of the potential importance of seagrass communities for nitrogen loss via denitrification in coasta ....Seagrass denitrification: importance for global nitrogen budgets. The objective of this project is to use cutting-edge techniques to measure denitrification rates in communities dominated by different tropical and temperate seagrass species. Denitrification is a globally significant critical ecosystem process, but it is poorly understood in seagrass communities. This project is significant because of the potential importance of seagrass communities for nitrogen loss via denitrification in coastal systems and the importance of coastal systems in the global nitrogen budget. The expected outcomes of this study may significantly advance our understanding of the functioning of coastal systems and global nitrogen budgets.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100185
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$464,531.00
Summary
Mass spectrometry for next generation isotope analysis of silicate minerals. This project aims to establish a facility for mass spectrometry and sample preparation to enhance Australian capacity to analyse the stable isotope composition of silicate minerals. The project seeks to implement innovations that will greatly enhance the use of stable isotopes in silicate minerals by increasing analytical throughput and reducing cost. This will provide better understanding of the trajectories of environ ....Mass spectrometry for next generation isotope analysis of silicate minerals. This project aims to establish a facility for mass spectrometry and sample preparation to enhance Australian capacity to analyse the stable isotope composition of silicate minerals. The project seeks to implement innovations that will greatly enhance the use of stable isotopes in silicate minerals by increasing analytical throughput and reducing cost. This will provide better understanding of the trajectories of environmental change, formation of mineral deposits and identifying trade networks in prehistoric societies.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100417
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$358,508.00
Summary
Unlocking critical metals from Australian sediments and ores. This project aims to explore the recrystallization of nickel-bearing minerals in laterites to extract nickel from stable mineral phases under ambient conditions. Highly-weathered Australian soils contain economic quantities of nickel but technologies to extract this metal are inefficient, leaving this vital resource underdeveloped. This project will use stable isotope tracers and three-dimensional atomic-scale tomography to resolve th ....Unlocking critical metals from Australian sediments and ores. This project aims to explore the recrystallization of nickel-bearing minerals in laterites to extract nickel from stable mineral phases under ambient conditions. Highly-weathered Australian soils contain economic quantities of nickel but technologies to extract this metal are inefficient, leaving this vital resource underdeveloped. This project will use stable isotope tracers and three-dimensional atomic-scale tomography to resolve the recrystallization mechanisms, and determine their role in natural environments and their applicability to natural ores. Expected outcomes include strategies to process nickel-rich laterites, of high interest to industry and society in Australia and abroad.This project will exemplify the need to promote novel solutions to reduce the financial and environmental cost of processing natural resources.Read moreRead less
Roles of deep-Earth fluid cycling in the generation of intra-continental magmatism. This project aims to test a provocative and potentially ground-breaking hypothesis that fluid released from subducted oceanic slabs and stored in the mantle transition zone, may trigger or control some major intra-plate geotectonic phenomena. It aims to provide a self-consistent model that links geological processes occurring at plate boundaries with those far-field effects well away from plate boundaries via dee ....Roles of deep-Earth fluid cycling in the generation of intra-continental magmatism. This project aims to test a provocative and potentially ground-breaking hypothesis that fluid released from subducted oceanic slabs and stored in the mantle transition zone, may trigger or control some major intra-plate geotectonic phenomena. It aims to provide a self-consistent model that links geological processes occurring at plate boundaries with those far-field effects well away from plate boundaries via deep-Earth fluid cycling. The outcomes of this project aim to help to better understand links between plume and plate tectonic processes in the first-order dynamic system of Earth, and identify ways to improve success in future mineral exploration.Read moreRead less