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The enigmatic link between crustal growth and supercontinent formation. This project links with major energy and resource initiatives from the Australian Government. It will provide detailed geological information that will help constrain our understanding of the deep structure of the Earth in northern and central Australia. This knowledge will assist in mineral and energy resource exploration of these highly prospective regions. The information will also link with other ARC-funded geological st ....The enigmatic link between crustal growth and supercontinent formation. This project links with major energy and resource initiatives from the Australian Government. It will provide detailed geological information that will help constrain our understanding of the deep structure of the Earth in northern and central Australia. This knowledge will assist in mineral and energy resource exploration of these highly prospective regions. The information will also link with other ARC-funded geological studies, to help understand how a large, but enigmatic, part of the Australian continental grew rapidly, almost 2 billion years ago.
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How responsive are continental interiors to the geodynamic evolution of plate margins? An Australian case study. The outcomes of this project will advance our understanding of the evolution and dynamics of the Australian plate by improving knowledge of the way plate driving forces shaped the continental interior. This will lead to a refinement of existing geological models describing the history of the Australian continent, and will provide a valuable backdrop for the current focus on the cont ....How responsive are continental interiors to the geodynamic evolution of plate margins? An Australian case study. The outcomes of this project will advance our understanding of the evolution and dynamics of the Australian plate by improving knowledge of the way plate driving forces shaped the continental interior. This will lead to a refinement of existing geological models describing the history of the Australian continent, and will provide a valuable backdrop for the current focus on the contemporary state of the Australian plate. The study will also provide a framework for petroleum exploration models in the central Australian basins, since they rely crucially on the thermal and structural datasets that will be produced in this project.Read moreRead less
Thermal regimes, flexure and duration: establishing the framework for intracratonic orogeny in central Australia. Intracratonic orogeny is a confronting phenomena because it contradicts the plate tectonic paradigm, which highlights the apparently rigidity of the lithospheric plates. Central Australia contains an exceptional record of intracratonic orogeny, expressed by the formation of the Petermann and Alice Springs orogens. This project will quantify the duration, and thermal conditions assoc ....Thermal regimes, flexure and duration: establishing the framework for intracratonic orogeny in central Australia. Intracratonic orogeny is a confronting phenomena because it contradicts the plate tectonic paradigm, which highlights the apparently rigidity of the lithospheric plates. Central Australia contains an exceptional record of intracratonic orogeny, expressed by the formation of the Petermann and Alice Springs orogens. This project will quantify the duration, and thermal conditions associated with the comparatively poorly known Petermann Orogen. Given the importance of intracratonic deformation in shaping the lithospheric architecture of central Australia, understanding the history of the Petermann Orogeny is essential to developing models that describe the evolution of the Australian continent, and continental interiors in general.Read moreRead less
Plumbing the gap: a mantle solution to the enigma of bimodal arc volcanism. Subduction zones and volcanic arcs are the most tectonically active regions on Earth and are crucial to understanding, geochemical cycles, tectonic-climate coupling, ore genesis and natural hazards. Bimodal volcanism is a long-recognised characteristic of arc crust that has never been satisfactorily explained, yet, it controls many of these processes. This project will test a new hypothesis that the two types of magmas .... Plumbing the gap: a mantle solution to the enigma of bimodal arc volcanism. Subduction zones and volcanic arcs are the most tectonically active regions on Earth and are crucial to understanding, geochemical cycles, tectonic-climate coupling, ore genesis and natural hazards. Bimodal volcanism is a long-recognised characteristic of arc crust that has never been satisfactorily explained, yet, it controls many of these processes. This project will test a new hypothesis that the two types of magmas originate from distinct mantle sources. It integrates novel high-pressure experiments with database analysis of natural volcanic rocks, covering magmatic systems from mantle source to volcano. This project will improve our understanding of arc processes, including the association of economic metals with bimodal arc volcanism.Read moreRead less
The Initiation of Early Palaeozoic Subduction in Eastern Australia and North America: causes and effects. Identified thirty or more years ago subduction is the return of cold, dense, oceanic lithosphere to the mantle and is one of the key dynamic elements of the plate tectonic paradigm. It is this process that is responsible for the 'Pacific Ring of Fire'. It is the root cause of many key geological processes and is a primary control of some of the earth's largest-scale physiographic features, i ....The Initiation of Early Palaeozoic Subduction in Eastern Australia and North America: causes and effects. Identified thirty or more years ago subduction is the return of cold, dense, oceanic lithosphere to the mantle and is one of the key dynamic elements of the plate tectonic paradigm. It is this process that is responsible for the 'Pacific Ring of Fire'. It is the root cause of many key geological processes and is a primary control of some of the earth's largest-scale physiographic features, including deep-sea trenches and mountain ranges. Using the important record of Cambrian in eastern Australia and in the comparable Canadian Atlantic margin, we will look at the causes and impact of the earliest stages of subduction as it first developed in the western Pacific and pre-cursor Atlantic 500 million years ago.Read moreRead less
Modern-Style Subduction Reflected in the 2.0 Billion Year Old East African Eclogites. Plate tectonics is the crustal expression of the dynamic Earth, and has been so for the past 2 billion years (Ga). As the link between the deep Earth, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere, plate tectonics is fundamental to life on Earth: it is what stands us apart from our planetary neighbours. Yet, plate tectonics may not have existed in the same form for the first half of the planet's life. This project will 1) ....Modern-Style Subduction Reflected in the 2.0 Billion Year Old East African Eclogites. Plate tectonics is the crustal expression of the dynamic Earth, and has been so for the past 2 billion years (Ga). As the link between the deep Earth, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere, plate tectonics is fundamental to life on Earth: it is what stands us apart from our planetary neighbours. Yet, plate tectonics may not have existed in the same form for the first half of the planet's life. This project will 1) increase our understanding of the Earth at the dawn of plate tectonics and foster community knowledge of the evolving Earth; 2) address the fundamental nature of the Earth at the time of much Australian ore formation, thus assisting in deep Earth resource exploration.Read moreRead less
What goes on inside subduction zones? This project aims to decipher how rocks behave inside subduction zones. Subduction is a central tenant of plate tectonic theory and the project will test the hypothesis rocks can become trapped within giant long-lived eddies that circulate material within subduction zones. This international collaborative project will generate new knowledge regarding the time scales rocks can remain trapped inside subduction zones using pressure–temperature–age constraints f ....What goes on inside subduction zones? This project aims to decipher how rocks behave inside subduction zones. Subduction is a central tenant of plate tectonic theory and the project will test the hypothesis rocks can become trapped within giant long-lived eddies that circulate material within subduction zones. This international collaborative project will generate new knowledge regarding the time scales rocks can remain trapped inside subduction zones using pressure–temperature–age constraints from subducted rocks. We will use this information as a framework for numerical simulations of subduction zone behaviour. The project will provide significant benefits in training a new generation of Earth scientists, and in broadening public awareness of fundamental Earth science.Read moreRead less
Tectonic links between the Musgrave Province and the North Australian Craton: correlations, event chronology, and tectonothermal regimes. Developing effective mineral exploration strategies relies on data-rich tectonic models that seek to explain the full history of a terrain. In the Australian context the tectonic evolution of the Musgrave Province is a key focus of the minerals industry due to its widely recognised potential for base-metal mineralisation. This project will develop tectonic mod ....Tectonic links between the Musgrave Province and the North Australian Craton: correlations, event chronology, and tectonothermal regimes. Developing effective mineral exploration strategies relies on data-rich tectonic models that seek to explain the full history of a terrain. In the Australian context the tectonic evolution of the Musgrave Province is a key focus of the minerals industry due to its widely recognised potential for base-metal mineralisation. This project will develop tectonic models that encompass the evolution of the Musgrave Province and the adjacent North Australia Craton. The outcomes of the project will reduce risk to mineral explorers and make an important contribution to the broader question Australia's Proterozoic evolution.Read moreRead less
Iron isotope variation in subduction magmas: Links to fluid flux and oxidation of the mantle wedge? The plates of the outer tectonic shell of our Earth are in ceaseless motion; their collisions create huge earthquakes and their collapse into the Earth introduces surface water to these hot regions at >150km depth, creating melting and volcanic eruption. This project will use iron isotopes to map this surface water as it is introduced to the mantle.
Aiding the Search for Diamonds in South Australia: Source and origin of Mesozoic kimberlite dyke swarms and their mantle samples. Because of significant, yet tantalising, alluvial diamond discoveries in the Adelaide Hills and Flinders Ranges over more than 100 years, South Australia can be viewed to have considerable potential as a diamond producer. Yet this potential is unresolved because little is known about the occurrence and diamond content of the kimberlite source rocks that have carried t ....Aiding the Search for Diamonds in South Australia: Source and origin of Mesozoic kimberlite dyke swarms and their mantle samples. Because of significant, yet tantalising, alluvial diamond discoveries in the Adelaide Hills and Flinders Ranges over more than 100 years, South Australia can be viewed to have considerable potential as a diamond producer. Yet this potential is unresolved because little is known about the occurrence and diamond content of the kimberlite source rocks that have carried the diamonds to the near surface and shed them into the weathering environment. This collaborative research project will use new uncommonly available samples provided by commercial diamond exploration to determine the structure , geochemistry and history of the mantle that underlies the Flinders Ranges and Adelaide Hills at depths between 40 and 250km.Read moreRead less