Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors. This project aims to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus, from 2.6 to 1.8 million years ago. This was a time of faunal and environmental change, the extinction of apelike human ancestors (Australopithecus), the speciation of a specialised human genus, Paranthropus, and the origin of our own genus, Homo. This project will study South African cave sites, the surrounding karst, and the oldest known Homo ergaster fossil to model chan ....Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors. This project aims to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus, from 2.6 to 1.8 million years ago. This was a time of faunal and environmental change, the extinction of apelike human ancestors (Australopithecus), the speciation of a specialised human genus, Paranthropus, and the origin of our own genus, Homo. This project will study South African cave sites, the surrounding karst, and the oldest known Homo ergaster fossil to model changing dietary patterns and landscape use by hominins. This project expects to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus and to address how species reacted to changing environmental conditions and increasing aridity.Read moreRead less
The impact of India-Asia tectonics on climate. This interdisciplinary project aims to determine the controls of tectonics on global climate in the last 50 million years. A combination of tectonics, paleogeography, climate modelling and high-performance computing will be applied to test systematically outstanding issues in the reconstruction of the Indo-Asia region and their landmass/seaways configurations and topography, which have bedevilled previous models of paleoclimate evolution. The propos ....The impact of India-Asia tectonics on climate. This interdisciplinary project aims to determine the controls of tectonics on global climate in the last 50 million years. A combination of tectonics, paleogeography, climate modelling and high-performance computing will be applied to test systematically outstanding issues in the reconstruction of the Indo-Asia region and their landmass/seaways configurations and topography, which have bedevilled previous models of paleoclimate evolution. The proposal expects to generate novel knowledge in the area at the boundary between tectonics, paleoclimate modelling and present-day climate. This provides significant benefits to the interpretation of tectonics–climate coupling as current drivers of climate evolution.Read moreRead less
Sumatra’s role in ancient human movements and evolution. This project aims to test whether humans moving through Southeast Asia used a savannah corridor, facilitating their migrations into Sumatra and Java, and examine the effect of rainforests on human movements and evolution. This will be accomplished by examining ecological proxies from vertebrate remains found in established and newly identified fossil sites in Sumatra. These results are expected to provide a new understanding of the environ ....Sumatra’s role in ancient human movements and evolution. This project aims to test whether humans moving through Southeast Asia used a savannah corridor, facilitating their migrations into Sumatra and Java, and examine the effect of rainforests on human movements and evolution. This will be accomplished by examining ecological proxies from vertebrate remains found in established and newly identified fossil sites in Sumatra. These results are expected to provide a new understanding of the environmental context of human evolution in Asia, and identify routes ancient people took as they moved south through Asia and into Australia.Read moreRead less
The Great Barrier Reef in 2100. Our research aims to answer fundamental geomorphic questions about the future of coral reefs, focusing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We will develop cutting-edge, fully open-source numerical models to quantify the eco-morphodynamic evolution of the GBR under IPCC climate-change scenarios. Our geomorphic numerical models will consider biotic/abiotic feedbacks including synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as waves, temperature, acidification and sedime ....The Great Barrier Reef in 2100. Our research aims to answer fundamental geomorphic questions about the future of coral reefs, focusing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We will develop cutting-edge, fully open-source numerical models to quantify the eco-morphodynamic evolution of the GBR under IPCC climate-change scenarios. Our geomorphic numerical models will consider biotic/abiotic feedbacks including synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as waves, temperature, acidification and sediment transport, at individual reef scales. We will model the future of the GBR’s ecosystem-services, allowing for a quantum leap in the geomorphic knowledge and understanding of coral reef ecosystems. Expected outcomes include a gamechanger tool for future management of the GBR.Read moreRead less
Maximising accuracy and reliability of carbonate climate proxy archives. This project brings together expertise and cutting-edge methodology from different disciplines to identify the controls on the compositions of the shells and skeletons of marine organisms. The compositions of these materials are essential tools to reconstruct environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, recent insights into how they form profoundly complicate and affect their interpretations.
The r ....Maximising accuracy and reliability of carbonate climate proxy archives. This project brings together expertise and cutting-edge methodology from different disciplines to identify the controls on the compositions of the shells and skeletons of marine organisms. The compositions of these materials are essential tools to reconstruct environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, recent insights into how they form profoundly complicate and affect their interpretations.
The results will enable us to develop new, realistic models for the behaviour of chemical elements in these materials. This will significantly improve paleoclimate interpretations and provide critical benefit for protecting Australia’s marine resources in the future. Read moreRead less
The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understa ....The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understanding of past environmental change as a driver of megafaunal extinction in comparison with human adaption and survival.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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100028
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. This proposal is for an 18-month membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and Ocean sciences. The Program studies the history and current activity of the Earth by conducting seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes, using globally unique infrastructure that Australians would otherwise have no access to. Program outcomes ....Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. This proposal is for an 18-month membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and Ocean sciences. The Program studies the history and current activity of the Earth by conducting seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes, using globally unique infrastructure that Australians would otherwise have no access to. Program outcomes include understanding past global environmental change on multiple time scales, the deep biosphere, plate tectonics, formation and distribution of resources, and generation of hazards. These outcomes are paramount to Australia’s national science and research priorities, and societal and economic prosperity.Read moreRead less
Deep time extinctions and environments in Australian underwater caves. This project aims to investigate the unique submerged Mt Gambier fossil deposits to determine the role environmental change had on large Australian mammal extinctions. By using a combination of technical diving and scientific expertise to study untouched fossil deposits from underwater caves, this project expects to provide greater understanding of past ecosystems and animals, advancements in geochronological techniques, and ....Deep time extinctions and environments in Australian underwater caves. This project aims to investigate the unique submerged Mt Gambier fossil deposits to determine the role environmental change had on large Australian mammal extinctions. By using a combination of technical diving and scientific expertise to study untouched fossil deposits from underwater caves, this project expects to provide greater understanding of past ecosystems and animals, advancements in geochronological techniques, and data critical to prepare Australians for action in protecting our biological heritage. Expected outcomes include insights into cave conservation and protection of underwater cave systems, updated policies on cave management, and promotion of our understanding of Australian geo-heritage through education and displays.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of proxy uptake in biominerals. This project plans to combine nano-analytical and aquaculture methods to develop new models that improve the reliability of paleoclimate reconstructions. The compositions of shells and skeletal materials of marine invertebrates are essential archives for quantifying temperatures and environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, their reliability relies on understanding their formation. Emerging knowledge from material sciences i ....Mechanisms of proxy uptake in biominerals. This project plans to combine nano-analytical and aquaculture methods to develop new models that improve the reliability of paleoclimate reconstructions. The compositions of shells and skeletal materials of marine invertebrates are essential archives for quantifying temperatures and environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, their reliability relies on understanding their formation. Emerging knowledge from material sciences indicates that these biocarbonates form via transient precursors rather than direct precipitation from seawater, profoundly affecting their interpretation. This project plans to transfer this new understanding to the earth sciences using nanoscale analytical methods including in vitro geochemical partitioning experiments. This would enable realistic models for geochemical proxy behaviour to be developed, significantly improving paleoclimate interpretations and assessments of ocean acidification effects on marine calcifiers.Read moreRead less