Molecular fossils, the evolution of Earth's early oceans and the origin of the oldest oil. Australia retains undiscovered oil reserves. We believe that a change in primitive marine life forms may have fundamentally changed the chemistry of the Earth's oceans and is responsible for the world's oldest oil reserves. While these reserves have been found, and successfully commercialised, overseas, similar reservoirs in Australia remain elusive. The project will develop and apply technologies based on ....Molecular fossils, the evolution of Earth's early oceans and the origin of the oldest oil. Australia retains undiscovered oil reserves. We believe that a change in primitive marine life forms may have fundamentally changed the chemistry of the Earth's oceans and is responsible for the world's oldest oil reserves. While these reserves have been found, and successfully commercialised, overseas, similar reservoirs in Australia remain elusive. The project will develop and apply technologies based on hydrocarbon biomarkers to help determine the oil-producing rock types of Precambrian sedimentary rocks. This allows us to estimate the oil's age and predict where petroleum reservoirs may be hidden. PhD students involved in the project will gain valuable knowledge about the link between changes in ecology and the carbon cycle.Read moreRead less
Understanding mass extinctions and deep-time climate change: International Timescale Calibration of the Late Permian-Early Triassic of Australia. The project will enhance Australia's research strength as world leaders in isotope geochronology, geological timescale calibration, and global biological evolution studies, and will expand knowledge and provide a long overdue robust chronostratigraphic framework for a critical part of Earth's history that is a particular focus for energy resources in A ....Understanding mass extinctions and deep-time climate change: International Timescale Calibration of the Late Permian-Early Triassic of Australia. The project will enhance Australia's research strength as world leaders in isotope geochronology, geological timescale calibration, and global biological evolution studies, and will expand knowledge and provide a long overdue robust chronostratigraphic framework for a critical part of Earth's history that is a particular focus for energy resources in Australia. Our work will provide vital input to enhanced models for deep-time biotic turnover, climate change and global warming that will aid prediction of modern global atmospheric and climate changes due to human impact and provide vital data and information for Australian policy makers.Read moreRead less
Characteristics of organic matter formed in toxic, sulfide-rich modern and ancient environments. This project will help scientists understand past climate changes and understand the mechanisms of global warming. This in turn will improve our ability to forecast future climate change, and help Australia manage current threats to its biodiversity. Furthermore, this research involving Australia's major petroleum rocks will increase the ability to identify crude oil sources, to the benefit of petrol ....Characteristics of organic matter formed in toxic, sulfide-rich modern and ancient environments. This project will help scientists understand past climate changes and understand the mechanisms of global warming. This in turn will improve our ability to forecast future climate change, and help Australia manage current threats to its biodiversity. Furthermore, this research involving Australia's major petroleum rocks will increase the ability to identify crude oil sources, to the benefit of petroleum exploration in Australia and world-wide. Importantly, this project will enable students and young professionals to be trained in state-of-the-art technologies, leading to quality scientists ready for employment in geoscience industries, and raising the profile of science careers in Australia.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560734
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$110,000.00
Summary
Accelerated solvent extractor and evaporator for molecular and stable isotope analyses of sedimentary organic matter. The accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) uses pressurised liquid extraction to obtain the bitumen fraction easily measurable for molecular and isotopic composition of organic sediments in just a few minutes. This compares favourably to traditional extraction procedures, which can take two to three days. Our projects often require the analyses of large numbers of sediment extracts ....Accelerated solvent extractor and evaporator for molecular and stable isotope analyses of sedimentary organic matter. The accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) uses pressurised liquid extraction to obtain the bitumen fraction easily measurable for molecular and isotopic composition of organic sediments in just a few minutes. This compares favourably to traditional extraction procedures, which can take two to three days. Our projects often require the analyses of large numbers of sediment extracts to obtain chemical data at high geological resolution. The ASE/Evaporator will greatly assist these endeavours which aim to improve our understanding of Australian environments (incorporating the effects of natural and human-related processes) and identify source rocks offering good petroleum reserves.Read moreRead less