Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882818
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
Investigating the Structure and Evolution of the Continental Crust: A Virtual Facility for Thermochronology, Noble Gas Geochemistry and Geochronology. Australian research groups have been responsible for a number of leading technical developments in geological dating. This project will continue that track record and provide the core infrastructure to support a major collaborative research strength that can address both fundamental scientific questions about the evolution of the Earth's crust and ....Investigating the Structure and Evolution of the Continental Crust: A Virtual Facility for Thermochronology, Noble Gas Geochemistry and Geochronology. Australian research groups have been responsible for a number of leading technical developments in geological dating. This project will continue that track record and provide the core infrastructure to support a major collaborative research strength that can address both fundamental scientific questions about the evolution of the Earth's crust and surface environment, as well as important economic applications of that knowledge. These include the search for petroleum and mineral deposits, thereby addressing the National Priority Goal: Developing deep-earth resources. The project will strengthen links with other national and international researchers, and build Australia's research profile in an area of significant worldwide scientific interest.Read moreRead less
Developing a fully automated analytical system for the next generation of fission-track thermochronology. This project aims to develop a revolutionary new generation of research tools for analysing the temperature history of rocks in the upper several kilometres of the earth's crust with new opportunities for the commercialisation of the outcomes. The approach will bring together and integrate several rapidly-developing technologies at the forefront of international developments in this field. ....Developing a fully automated analytical system for the next generation of fission-track thermochronology. This project aims to develop a revolutionary new generation of research tools for analysing the temperature history of rocks in the upper several kilometres of the earth's crust with new opportunities for the commercialisation of the outcomes. The approach will bring together and integrate several rapidly-developing technologies at the forefront of international developments in this field. The information obtained will contain vital clues about the processes that operate within the crust, the evolution of its surface environments over long periods of time, the long-term stability of the ancient continental cores, and the formation of important hydrocarbon and mineral resources.Read moreRead less
Precise constraints on the timing and nature of late Quaternary glacial-interglacial climatic transitions in the Southwest Pacific region. An accurate understanding of major climatic transitions during the recent geological past is critical to efforts to understand global climate. This project seeks to investigate precisely when the most recent ice ages began and ended in the Southwest Pacific region relative to other regions of the world, by examining chemical and isotopic records contained in ....Precise constraints on the timing and nature of late Quaternary glacial-interglacial climatic transitions in the Southwest Pacific region. An accurate understanding of major climatic transitions during the recent geological past is critical to efforts to understand global climate. This project seeks to investigate precisely when the most recent ice ages began and ended in the Southwest Pacific region relative to other regions of the world, by examining chemical and isotopic records contained in New Zealand cave deposits. Using state-of-the-art analytical technology, precisely dated records of glacier activity and environmental change will be produced.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the Phanerozoic thermal evolution and long-term stability of cratonic lithosphere using integrated low temperature thermochronology. The Earth's most ancient crustal regions (i.e. cratons) are thought to have remained remarkably stable since their formation >2.5 billion years ago. This project will re-evaluate this paradigm by applying low temperature thermochronology by the fission track and (U-Th)/He methods to three key cratons, to detect and quantify previously unknown episodes o ....Quantifying the Phanerozoic thermal evolution and long-term stability of cratonic lithosphere using integrated low temperature thermochronology. The Earth's most ancient crustal regions (i.e. cratons) are thought to have remained remarkably stable since their formation >2.5 billion years ago. This project will re-evaluate this paradigm by applying low temperature thermochronology by the fission track and (U-Th)/He methods to three key cratons, to detect and quantify previously unknown episodes of significant cooling and denudation (i.e. low-level instability) which are invisible to other analytical techniques. The outcomes will open a new research avenue in these terrains, which host some of the world's most valuable mineral resources, underlie important petroleum basins and are potential long-term repositories for radioactive waste. Read moreRead less
Argon thermochronometers and the effects of recrystallization. Rocks exhumed from high temperatures in continental settings contain a record of cooling in potassium-bearing minerals, known as thermochronometers, due to the quantitative retention of radiogenic argon below some characteristic closure temperature. However, thermochronometers may be affected by recrystallization processes occurring below such temperatures, and in some cases argon data record the timing of crystallization rather tha ....Argon thermochronometers and the effects of recrystallization. Rocks exhumed from high temperatures in continental settings contain a record of cooling in potassium-bearing minerals, known as thermochronometers, due to the quantitative retention of radiogenic argon below some characteristic closure temperature. However, thermochronometers may be affected by recrystallization processes occurring below such temperatures, and in some cases argon data record the timing of crystallization rather than cooling. Field, microstructural and isotopic analysis will be used to evaluate the effects of recrystallization on the muscovite and potassium-feldspar thermochronometers, particularly in fault zones. Understanding the effects of recrystallization on thermochronometers is critical for studies of the assembly of the continental crust.Read moreRead less
From crystal to craton: unravelling the low-temperature thermal evolution and long-term stability of cratonic lithosphere. The project will expand Australia's knowledge base by increasing fundamental scientific knowledge about the evolution of cratons, the old nuclei of the continents. These areas are important for the resources they contain and their potential elsewhere as stable sites for long-term nuclear waste repositories. The project will also enhance our research capability by developin ....From crystal to craton: unravelling the low-temperature thermal evolution and long-term stability of cratonic lithosphere. The project will expand Australia's knowledge base by increasing fundamental scientific knowledge about the evolution of cratons, the old nuclei of the continents. These areas are important for the resources they contain and their potential elsewhere as stable sites for long-term nuclear waste repositories. The project will also enhance our research capability by developing new methods and help to build and sustain world leading research capability in Australia. In addition, the project will forge strong international links with researchers overseas. Whilst not focussed directly on the National Research Priorities the project will nonetheless provide important background information to 'deep-earth resources' and 'geoinformatics'.Read moreRead less
Integrated Chronologies and Dynamics of Continental Extension. Knowledge about how the Earth's crust is stretched and eventually broken apart to form new ocean basins is fundamental to understanding the evolution of the continents, their resources and the surface environment of our planet. This project combines new methods of analysing the temperature history of rocks to trace their progress towards the surface with direct measurements of the rate of surface erosion following extensional moveme ....Integrated Chronologies and Dynamics of Continental Extension. Knowledge about how the Earth's crust is stretched and eventually broken apart to form new ocean basins is fundamental to understanding the evolution of the continents, their resources and the surface environment of our planet. This project combines new methods of analysing the temperature history of rocks to trace their progress towards the surface with direct measurements of the rate of surface erosion following extensional movements. This integrated approach will be used to examine some of the best-characterised examples of continental extension in Arizona, Mexico and Africa to cast new light on the development of older extensional environments in Australia.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the morphotectonic evolution of rifted continental margins from low-temperature thermochronology. Knowledge of how continental rifting occurs will improve our ability to predict the locations of important oil and gas resources on the margins of Australia and elsewhere, which is directly relevant to the National Research Priority goal of 'Developing Deep Earth Resources'. The project will enhance our national scientific standing by developing and maintaining key expertise and facil ....Reconstructing the morphotectonic evolution of rifted continental margins from low-temperature thermochronology. Knowledge of how continental rifting occurs will improve our ability to predict the locations of important oil and gas resources on the margins of Australia and elsewhere, which is directly relevant to the National Research Priority goal of 'Developing Deep Earth Resources'. The project will enhance our national scientific standing by developing and maintaining key expertise and facilities that can sustain a world-leading research capability in Australia. The project will also forge strong international links with researchers outside Australia, build our research profile in an area of significant worldwide scientific interest at the present time, and provide a training ground for a new generation of younger scientists in Australia.Read moreRead less
Geodynamics and continental extension in the East African Rift System: origin and evolution of the Turkana Depression in northern Kenya. The Lake Turkana region in northern Kenya, famous for its fossil evidence of human origins, occupies a critical position within the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. This project seeks to explain how this complex region evolved and also the dynamic earth processes responsible for its formation between two great uplifted domes in Ethiopia and Kenya.
The dynamic evolution of sheared continental margins. This project will contribute to the fundamental science of understanding plate tectonic processes, and also have important practical implications for the oil and gas resources that are developed and hosted in continental margin settings. The study is therefore relevant to the National Research Priority goal of 'Developing Deep Earth Resources'. The project will also enhance our national scientific standing by addressing important scientific q ....The dynamic evolution of sheared continental margins. This project will contribute to the fundamental science of understanding plate tectonic processes, and also have important practical implications for the oil and gas resources that are developed and hosted in continental margin settings. The study is therefore relevant to the National Research Priority goal of 'Developing Deep Earth Resources'. The project will also enhance our national scientific standing by addressing important scientific questions of global significance, and by establishing strong international collaborations with prominent researchers outside Australia. In addition, the work will help sustain a world-leading research capability and provide a training ground for a new generation of younger scientists in Australia.Read moreRead less