Geochemistry of ore metals at very high temperatures. The world’s largest copper and gold mines occur in extinct volcanoes around the Pacific Rim. Understanding how these essential metals are mobilised from magmas in the roots of volcanoes to become ore deposits and how to recognize where this has occurred is crucial in exploration for new deposits.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely u ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely unknown, and represent key issues in modern geoscience. This CoE will integrate previously disparate fields - geology, tectonics, geochemistry, petrophysics, geophysics and dynamic modelling - to understand the workings of Earth's deep plumbing system.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100156
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
A high precision, automated system for studying greenhouse gas cycling in coastal environments. This facility will perform automated, long-term greenhouse gas measurements in coastal waters. The expected outcome of research at this facility is a better understanding of how the coastal ocean acts as a source or sink of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and volatile organic carbon.
Effect of elevated nutrients on carbon and nitrogen cycles in seagrass beds. Seagrass beds play a crucial role in global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. It is unknown how this role is affected by nutrient inputs caused by humans. This study aims to determine, onsite, how elevated nutrients affect seagrass bed C and N cycling. A novel suite of cutting-edge methods will be used, including whole-ecosystem stable isotope labelling. This project is significant because seagrass beds affect the qua ....Effect of elevated nutrients on carbon and nitrogen cycles in seagrass beds. Seagrass beds play a crucial role in global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. It is unknown how this role is affected by nutrient inputs caused by humans. This study aims to determine, onsite, how elevated nutrients affect seagrass bed C and N cycling. A novel suite of cutting-edge methods will be used, including whole-ecosystem stable isotope labelling. This project is significant because seagrass beds affect the quantity and form of C and N exported to the ocean or buried, thereby impacting global budgets. The outcome will be major advances in understanding global C and N cycles. The benefit is that this will facilitate effective coastal management by improving our ability to predict how nutrients affect seagrass ecosystem services.Read moreRead less
Roles of deep-Earth fluid cycling in the generation of intra-continental magmatism. This project aims to test a provocative and potentially ground-breaking hypothesis that fluid released from subducted oceanic slabs and stored in the mantle transition zone, may trigger or control some major intra-plate geotectonic phenomena. It aims to provide a self-consistent model that links geological processes occurring at plate boundaries with those far-field effects well away from plate boundaries via dee ....Roles of deep-Earth fluid cycling in the generation of intra-continental magmatism. This project aims to test a provocative and potentially ground-breaking hypothesis that fluid released from subducted oceanic slabs and stored in the mantle transition zone, may trigger or control some major intra-plate geotectonic phenomena. It aims to provide a self-consistent model that links geological processes occurring at plate boundaries with those far-field effects well away from plate boundaries via deep-Earth fluid cycling. The outcomes of this project aim to help to better understand links between plume and plate tectonic processes in the first-order dynamic system of Earth, and identify ways to improve success in future mineral exploration.Read moreRead less
Dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments in an acidifying ocean. Dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in sediments in the context of ocean acidification is poorly understood. This project will use in situ advective benthic chamber incubations and experimental manipulations under future ocean acidification scenarios to determine the controls on the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments. This project is significant because changes in the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments in an acidifying ocean are at lea ....Dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments in an acidifying ocean. Dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in sediments in the context of ocean acidification is poorly understood. This project will use in situ advective benthic chamber incubations and experimental manipulations under future ocean acidification scenarios to determine the controls on the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments. This project is significant because changes in the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments in an acidifying ocean are at least as important, and potentially more important, than calcification to the future accretion and survival of carbonate ecosystems. It is expected that outcomes of this project will significantly advance our understanding of the drivers of the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments and the functioning of globally important carbonate ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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Resolving the mystery of how rare earth elements are mobilised and concentrated in continental crust. Rare earth elements are regarded as the vitamins for modern industries and technologies. This project will investigate the geological processes that mobilise and concentrate these elements in the Earth's crust. The results will aid discovery of new ore deposits, which is essential to meet rapidly growing demand for these elements.
Seagrass denitrification: importance for global nitrogen budgets. The objective of this project is to use cutting-edge techniques to measure denitrification rates in communities dominated by different tropical and temperate seagrass species. Denitrification is a globally significant critical ecosystem process, but it is poorly understood in seagrass communities. This project is significant because of the potential importance of seagrass communities for nitrogen loss via denitrification in coasta ....Seagrass denitrification: importance for global nitrogen budgets. The objective of this project is to use cutting-edge techniques to measure denitrification rates in communities dominated by different tropical and temperate seagrass species. Denitrification is a globally significant critical ecosystem process, but it is poorly understood in seagrass communities. This project is significant because of the potential importance of seagrass communities for nitrogen loss via denitrification in coastal systems and the importance of coastal systems in the global nitrogen budget. The expected outcomes of this study may significantly advance our understanding of the functioning of coastal systems and global nitrogen budgets.Read moreRead less