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
Integrated provenance analysis: towards better ways of interpreting the source of ancient sediments. Determining the provenance of sedimentary grains is a key element of testing competing geological hypotheses. Most provenance analyses are based on single-grain analytical techniques that may miss vital information. This project will develop an integrated, systematic approach to provenance analysis by applying a broad range of modal, geochemical and isotopic techniques to enable the effective i ....Integrated provenance analysis: towards better ways of interpreting the source of ancient sediments. Determining the provenance of sedimentary grains is a key element of testing competing geological hypotheses. Most provenance analyses are based on single-grain analytical techniques that may miss vital information. This project will develop an integrated, systematic approach to provenance analysis by applying a broad range of modal, geochemical and isotopic techniques to enable the effective identification of sources of grains in sedimentary rocks. The new system will be used to test hypotheses of when the Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons amalgamated to form the core of the Australian continent.Read moreRead less
Magmatism, Metamorphism and Mineralisation: The Development of an Isotopic and Geochemical Framework for the Curnamona Cu-Au Province. Recent advances have highlighted the potential significance of the Olary Domain in the Curnamona Province in southern Australia as an important Proterozoic copper-gold district. However, an outstanding problem yet to be solved is the interplay between mineralisation, granitic magmatism and the metamorphic history of the Province. This multi-disciplinary project ....Magmatism, Metamorphism and Mineralisation: The Development of an Isotopic and Geochemical Framework for the Curnamona Cu-Au Province. Recent advances have highlighted the potential significance of the Olary Domain in the Curnamona Province in southern Australia as an important Proterozoic copper-gold district. However, an outstanding problem yet to be solved is the interplay between mineralisation, granitic magmatism and the metamorphic history of the Province. This multi-disciplinary project will use isotopic and geochemical tools to develop an integrated geologic framework within which to view mineralisation. The outcomes will enhance the prospectivity of the region and make an important contribution to the globally relevant question of controls on Proterozoic copper-gold systems.Read moreRead less
Evolution of a two billion year subduction zone: Insights from the integration of microstructure and geochronology. The dynamic evolution of the earth is fundamentally linked to its thermal history. Since, the internal heat production of the earth has changed over time, plate tectonic processes may also have changed over earth history. The manner and timing of this change is highly controversial. We aim to address the nature of tectonic processes 2 billion years ago by studying one of the wor ....Evolution of a two billion year subduction zone: Insights from the integration of microstructure and geochronology. The dynamic evolution of the earth is fundamentally linked to its thermal history. Since, the internal heat production of the earth has changed over time, plate tectonic processes may also have changed over earth history. The manner and timing of this change is highly controversial. We aim to address the nature of tectonic processes 2 billion years ago by studying one of the world's oldest subduction zones (the Usagarian belt in Tanzania). The geometry, kinematics and deformation history of the subduction complex will be integrated with radiometric age dating to quantify the style and rates of ancient tectonic processes.Read moreRead less
Middle Age Earth: ocean chemistry and evolution in the Boring Billion. This project aims to investigate the role of ocean chemistry on the evolution of eukaryotes during the “Boring Billion” (1800-800 million years ago) and how sedimentary rocks record past ocean chemistry, by using innovative geochemical proxies. This project expects to generate new knowledge in geochemistry, sedimentology and paaleo-biology using interdisciplinary approaches. Expected outcomes include a quantitative understand ....Middle Age Earth: ocean chemistry and evolution in the Boring Billion. This project aims to investigate the role of ocean chemistry on the evolution of eukaryotes during the “Boring Billion” (1800-800 million years ago) and how sedimentary rocks record past ocean chemistry, by using innovative geochemical proxies. This project expects to generate new knowledge in geochemistry, sedimentology and paaleo-biology using interdisciplinary approaches. Expected outcomes include a quantitative understanding of the formation of sedimentary rocks, and of the links between evolution and marine nutrient and metal abundance. This should provide significant benefits, such as understanding the formation and alteration of ore-bearing sedimentary rocks and how life has evolved during Earth's Middle Age.Read moreRead less
Precise cross-calibration of 40Ar/39Ar, Rb-Sr and U-Pb chronometers: towards an integrated geochronology toolbox. Application of the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic geochronometer to dating rocks, minerals, fossils and meteorites is limited by insufficient precision and consistency in existing determinations of the half-life of its parent isotope 40K. This project proposes novel methods for determination of the half-life and branching ratio of 40K, by age comparison against well calibrated 87Rb-87Sr and 40K- ....Precise cross-calibration of 40Ar/39Ar, Rb-Sr and U-Pb chronometers: towards an integrated geochronology toolbox. Application of the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic geochronometer to dating rocks, minerals, fossils and meteorites is limited by insufficient precision and consistency in existing determinations of the half-life of its parent isotope 40K. This project proposes novel methods for determination of the half-life and branching ratio of 40K, by age comparison against well calibrated 87Rb-87Sr and 40K-40Ca geochronometers. The ages with all isotopic systems will be determined in the same minerals, thus eliminating the main source of uncertainty in the previous studies. Independently The project will measure the 40K decay rate by decay counting of highly enriched 40K salt and expects a five-fold improvement in precision and accuracy of known 40K decay rate.Read moreRead less
A Multi-Isotope, Multi-Mineral Approach to Chronology of Deformation, Metamorphism and Gold Mineralisation in the Eastern Goldfields Province, Western Australia. Following recent research, an excellent framework is emerging for the evolution of the Eastern Goldfields Province. However, the weak link remaining is the precise timing of post-depositional geological events. The majority of available ages are equivocal because only single ?non-robust? isotope systems were used. This project will be t ....A Multi-Isotope, Multi-Mineral Approach to Chronology of Deformation, Metamorphism and Gold Mineralisation in the Eastern Goldfields Province, Western Australia. Following recent research, an excellent framework is emerging for the evolution of the Eastern Goldfields Province. However, the weak link remaining is the precise timing of post-depositional geological events. The majority of available ages are equivocal because only single ?non-robust? isotope systems were used. This project will be the first to take a multi-isotope and multi-mineral approach to constrain the temporal framework for the geological history of the Province. It will also provide an unequivocal guide to the robustness of the various isotopic methods and enable a careful reassessment of existing data and identification of appropriate methodology for future research.Read moreRead less
Tracking mass transport during metamorphism using in situ micro-analysis of minerals. The continental masses we inhabit developed in response to the colossal forces of plate tectonics. Through compression and heating, rocks of the crust can experience fluid loss or melting. Movement of these fluids or magmas can, among other things, impact on the heat budget of Earth, the carbon and water cycles and the formation of ores in the crust. This project will utilize state-of-the-art scientific instrum ....Tracking mass transport during metamorphism using in situ micro-analysis of minerals. The continental masses we inhabit developed in response to the colossal forces of plate tectonics. Through compression and heating, rocks of the crust can experience fluid loss or melting. Movement of these fluids or magmas can, among other things, impact on the heat budget of Earth, the carbon and water cycles and the formation of ores in the crust. This project will utilize state-of-the-art scientific instruments and methods to greatly improve our understanding of these issues, which, in turn, will enhance our knowledge of how the Earth's crust develops. Research training and development will be provided through two PhD projects supported through this project.Read moreRead less
High resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. This project aims to establish a high-resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the famed Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya. The Basin hosts a vast array of hominin fossils that cover more than four million years of human evolution, and interbedded volcanic deposits within the Basin sediments has provided much of our current constraints on the timing of hominin evolution. However critical knowledge gaps remain. Using new ins ....High resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. This project aims to establish a high-resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the famed Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya. The Basin hosts a vast array of hominin fossils that cover more than four million years of human evolution, and interbedded volcanic deposits within the Basin sediments has provided much of our current constraints on the timing of hominin evolution. However critical knowledge gaps remain. Using new instrumentation and dating methods, this project will provide an ultra-precise chronological framework for the basin. This is critical for transforming our understanding of hominin evolution and migration, under changing climatic and environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
A detrital apatite archive to track crustal growth. This project will establish apatite as a new tool to study the evolution of the continental crust. The crust shaped the composition of the atmosphere and the oceans with consequences for the evolution of life through the availability of oxygen and nutrients. However, when and how the continental crust was generated remains a core question. Current models for continental crust development rely on the mineral zircon. However, zircons only record ....A detrital apatite archive to track crustal growth. This project will establish apatite as a new tool to study the evolution of the continental crust. The crust shaped the composition of the atmosphere and the oceans with consequences for the evolution of life through the availability of oxygen and nutrients. However, when and how the continental crust was generated remains a core question. Current models for continental crust development rely on the mineral zircon. However, zircons only record the history of evolved rocks. To address this bias we will use the mineral apatite which forms in less evolved rocks. We will develop a detrital apatite database of Pb-Nd (model) ages and integrate this with the zircon record to provide a more holistic description for how our planet developed.Read moreRead less