Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347662
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$195,000.00
Summary
Laser Ablation System for Elemental Analysis and Tropical Environmental Research. This application seeks funding for a Laser Ablation system as a sample introduction system for the current Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (LA-ICPMS). The proposed LA-ICPMS facility will provide a trace element analytical facility that will be used for research in northern Australia which will enhance and develop strong and sustainable collaborative partnerships in the areas of conservation biology, ....Laser Ablation System for Elemental Analysis and Tropical Environmental Research. This application seeks funding for a Laser Ablation system as a sample introduction system for the current Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (LA-ICPMS). The proposed LA-ICPMS facility will provide a trace element analytical facility that will be used for research in northern Australia which will enhance and develop strong and sustainable collaborative partnerships in the areas of conservation biology, living resource management, tropical environmental science and resource development. The facility will not be simply providing a routine analytical service. It will be used to develop innovative approaches to environmental management and sustainable development and ensure a continued high level of research and research training which will contribute to regional development.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100053
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$358,031.00
Summary
A national facility for the analysis of pyrogenic carbon. This project aims to develop a national facility for pyrogenic carbon analysis. Pyrogenic carbon is a poorly constrained, slow-cycling terrestrial carbon pool with significant carbon sequestration potential. The project expects to expand the newly developed hydrogen pyrolysis analytical capability to provide high throughput, robust measurement of the abundance and isotope composition of pyrogenic carbon in soils and sediments. This will p ....A national facility for the analysis of pyrogenic carbon. This project aims to develop a national facility for pyrogenic carbon analysis. Pyrogenic carbon is a poorly constrained, slow-cycling terrestrial carbon pool with significant carbon sequestration potential. The project expects to expand the newly developed hydrogen pyrolysis analytical capability to provide high throughput, robust measurement of the abundance and isotope composition of pyrogenic carbon in soils and sediments. This will provide significant benefit, such as the ability to make significant advances in areas as diverse as geochronology, archaeology, palaeoecology, soil science geomorphology and carbon cycle/sequestration science.Read moreRead less
Deciphering the tectonic history of the Musgrave Block to assist mineral explorers and regional synthesis programs. Effective mineral exploration strategies in complex basement terrains are increasingly reliant on integrated, data-rich, tectonic models. In this project we will focus a large multidisciplinary team to develop a tectonic model for the evolution of the Musgrave Block in central Australia. This large, poorly understood terrain occupies a critical structural location, separating the ....Deciphering the tectonic history of the Musgrave Block to assist mineral explorers and regional synthesis programs. Effective mineral exploration strategies in complex basement terrains are increasingly reliant on integrated, data-rich, tectonic models. In this project we will focus a large multidisciplinary team to develop a tectonic model for the evolution of the Musgrave Block in central Australia. This large, poorly understood terrain occupies a critical structural location, separating the northern and southern Australian cratons. By constraining models of crustal evolution and architecture, the project will underpin future mineral exploration programs in this highly prospective greenfields region and define the role of the Musgrave Block in the assembly of Proterozoic Australia.Read moreRead less
Genesis of platinum group element-rich, unconformity-style, hydrothermal mineral deposits, as inferred from a Northern Territory example. Mineral products currently provide a great deal of Australia's exports to international markets, and underpin much of our economy. However, Australia can only maintain this position through continued improvement of mineral discovery rates, particularly for high value, deep earth resources. This project aims to improve the likelihood of the discovery of higher ....Genesis of platinum group element-rich, unconformity-style, hydrothermal mineral deposits, as inferred from a Northern Territory example. Mineral products currently provide a great deal of Australia's exports to international markets, and underpin much of our economy. However, Australia can only maintain this position through continued improvement of mineral discovery rates, particularly for high value, deep earth resources. This project aims to improve the likelihood of the discovery of higher value hydrothermal orebodies. This will improve the value of mineral exports, raise exploration levels in some Australian provinces (thus stimulating economic activity in regional and industrial sectors), and help invigorate training within the geoscience arm of the university sector. Read moreRead less
Beyond burial: redefining the blue carbon paradigm. This project aims to constrain the magnitude and drivers of alkalinity and greenhouse gas fluxes in mangroves. Mangroves cover less than 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface yet account for approximately 14 per cent of oceanic carbon burial. Mangroves also export alkalinity to the coastal ocean, and act as sources of methane and nitrous oxide. The effect of these fluxes on climate may exceed carbon burial by several-fold, but are unaccounted fo ....Beyond burial: redefining the blue carbon paradigm. This project aims to constrain the magnitude and drivers of alkalinity and greenhouse gas fluxes in mangroves. Mangroves cover less than 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface yet account for approximately 14 per cent of oceanic carbon burial. Mangroves also export alkalinity to the coastal ocean, and act as sources of methane and nitrous oxide. The effect of these fluxes on climate may exceed carbon burial by several-fold, but are unaccounted for in blue carbon budgets. This project will couple high-resolution radionuclide geochronology of soil carbon cycling with autonomous measurements of aquatic exports and greenhouse gas fluxes. This study will provide the detailed data required to refine the blue carbon paradigm.Read moreRead less
Tectonic geography of the world's oldest petroleum play, the McArthur Basin. This projects aims to develop a 4D tectonic geography framework to support the effective exploration of the McArthur Basin. This project will construct this by a) investigating the evolving tectonic setting, b) examining intra-basin correlations and trace the source to sink sediment provenance, c) unraveling the depositional geography using novel isotopic proxies, and, d) constructing the subsequent thermal history of ....Tectonic geography of the world's oldest petroleum play, the McArthur Basin. This projects aims to develop a 4D tectonic geography framework to support the effective exploration of the McArthur Basin. This project will construct this by a) investigating the evolving tectonic setting, b) examining intra-basin correlations and trace the source to sink sediment provenance, c) unraveling the depositional geography using novel isotopic proxies, and, d) constructing the subsequent thermal history of the basin. The techniques developed through this project will de-risk the exploration for petroleum in this basin, and be applicable in opening up Proterozoic petroleum elsewhere in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100159
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,000.00
Summary
Mobile Australian field isotope alliance. This project will enable a quantum leap in capacity to undertake, real-time, field-based studies of environmental processes using the natural isotope tracers of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. This will enable the project to address a range of fundamental research questions in climate change, water resources, ecology and human impact in tropical Australia.
The Missing link in the Tasmanides: evaluating tectonic evolution and resource exploration potential of the southern Thomson Fold belt. Understanding the Thomson Orogen, a geological region which straddles the New South Wales and Queensland border, is critical for developing geodynamic models for the evolution of eastern Australia, and assessing resource potential. However, it lies under the Great Artesian Basin. This project focusses on ground truthing geophysical acquisition studies using dril ....The Missing link in the Tasmanides: evaluating tectonic evolution and resource exploration potential of the southern Thomson Fold belt. Understanding the Thomson Orogen, a geological region which straddles the New South Wales and Queensland border, is critical for developing geodynamic models for the evolution of eastern Australia, and assessing resource potential. However, it lies under the Great Artesian Basin. This project focusses on ground truthing geophysical acquisition studies using drill core from a targeted drilling program, designed to maximise the available tectono-stratigraphic information. The outcome intends to be a 3D geological map of the region, which can be interrogated for mineral exploration targeting, and from which 4D evolutionary geodynamic models of eastern Australian can be integrated.Read moreRead less
Mid-Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IM230100767
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,013,416.00
Summary
Securing the pipeline of lithium for the renewable energy transition. A major risk to global renewable energy is sustaining the supply of lithium needed for green energy storage via batteries. This project aims to fast-track new lithium resource discoveries, both from conventional hard rock deposits in Australia and newly emerging targets such as saline groundwater reservoirs. It will accelerate our ability to determine how and where lithium ore deposits form in the Australian continent, and dev ....Securing the pipeline of lithium for the renewable energy transition. A major risk to global renewable energy is sustaining the supply of lithium needed for green energy storage via batteries. This project aims to fast-track new lithium resource discoveries, both from conventional hard rock deposits in Australia and newly emerging targets such as saline groundwater reservoirs. It will accelerate our ability to determine how and where lithium ore deposits form in the Australian continent, and develop novel mineral-based exploration tools for rapid and cost-effective discovery of new deposits. This will be advanced by a strong nexus between the minerals industry, government and academia, benefitting Australia as a dominant global lithium supplier by realising the potential of its enormous lithium resources. Read moreRead less
Novel isotope techniques to explore the Centralian Superbasin, Australia. This project will leverage new advances in analytical instrumentation and isotope techniques to generate improved geochronological and stratigraphic framework for the Centralian Superbasin, a vast ancient depositional system covering much of central Australia. The project aims to apply novel laser-based dating of sedimentary rocks, coupled with metal isotope proxy reconstructions of the basin’s palaeogeography, hydrologica ....Novel isotope techniques to explore the Centralian Superbasin, Australia. This project will leverage new advances in analytical instrumentation and isotope techniques to generate improved geochronological and stratigraphic framework for the Centralian Superbasin, a vast ancient depositional system covering much of central Australia. The project aims to apply novel laser-based dating of sedimentary rocks, coupled with metal isotope proxy reconstructions of the basin’s palaeogeography, hydrological connectivity and past redox conditions, which are all critical parameters to guide and de-risk future exploration of sediment-hosted resources in this frontier basin. Anticipated outcomes will benefit Australia's resources economy, while providing insights into the evolution of Earth’s surface environment in deep time.Read moreRead less