Eruption and disruption: how Earth’s deep interior and surface communicate. Massive volcanic eruptions are a fundamental part of the Earth System, responsible for globally disruptive events, from airspace disturbance, to extinction of the dinosaurs. This project will reveal relationships between hot, deep sources of volcanic material, and the tectonic processes at the Earth's surface. Expected outcomes of this project include assembling an unprecedented set of new observations from underwater vo ....Eruption and disruption: how Earth’s deep interior and surface communicate. Massive volcanic eruptions are a fundamental part of the Earth System, responsible for globally disruptive events, from airspace disturbance, to extinction of the dinosaurs. This project will reveal relationships between hot, deep sources of volcanic material, and the tectonic processes at the Earth's surface. Expected outcomes of this project include assembling an unprecedented set of new observations from underwater volcanoes offshore Eastern Australia, and the development of innovative geodynamic models of how the deep Earth interacts with the surface to form these volcanoes. This will provide significant benefits by advancing our understanding of the deep Earth, and its impact on Earth’s surface, natural hazards, and mineral systems.Read moreRead less
Unravelling vanadium biogeochemistry in modern marine sediments. This project aims to unravel the biogeochemistry of vanadium in modern marine sediments for use as a tracer of ancient oxygen concentrations in the oceans of the early Earth. This project will generate fundamental knowledge on the behaviour of vanadium in modern marine sediments by applying advanced analytical tools for imaging its concentration and chemical form at ultra-high resolution. This information is critical for accurate i ....Unravelling vanadium biogeochemistry in modern marine sediments. This project aims to unravel the biogeochemistry of vanadium in modern marine sediments for use as a tracer of ancient oxygen concentrations in the oceans of the early Earth. This project will generate fundamental knowledge on the behaviour of vanadium in modern marine sediments by applying advanced analytical tools for imaging its concentration and chemical form at ultra-high resolution. This information is critical for accurate interpretation of the geological record to infer the oxygen concentration of the oceans at various points in Earth's history. This interdisciplinary project will facilitate strong collaboration between Australian and Danish researchers in the field of marine geochemistry and paleoceanography.Read moreRead less
Deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric carbon dioxide changes. This project aims to fill in a critical knowledge gap in global carbon cycle research, by generating the first high-resolution deep Atlantic carbonate ion and nutrient records for the last 150,000 years. The project will derive air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange signals, which permit straightforward evaluation of the deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric CO2 changes under various climate conditions. The intended o ....Deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric carbon dioxide changes. This project aims to fill in a critical knowledge gap in global carbon cycle research, by generating the first high-resolution deep Atlantic carbonate ion and nutrient records for the last 150,000 years. The project will derive air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange signals, which permit straightforward evaluation of the deep Atlantic’s role in millennial atmospheric CO2 changes under various climate conditions. The intended outcome of this project is to substantially improve our understanding of the mechanisms that govern the global carbon cycle. This should provide significant benefits including the assessment of models used to predict future global warming due to anthropogenic CO2.Read moreRead less
Mantle evolution and the origin of Earth's atmosphere. This project aims to investigate Earth’s early evolution and the origin of our atmosphere. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation the project will measure noble gas and tungsten isotopes in unique volcanic glasses that record the composition of the Earth’s mantle. These measurements are expected to clarify the relationship between the formation of Earth’s atmosphere, mantle and core, and to generate new knowledge about convective currents ....Mantle evolution and the origin of Earth's atmosphere. This project aims to investigate Earth’s early evolution and the origin of our atmosphere. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation the project will measure noble gas and tungsten isotopes in unique volcanic glasses that record the composition of the Earth’s mantle. These measurements are expected to clarify the relationship between the formation of Earth’s atmosphere, mantle and core, and to generate new knowledge about convective currents in the modern mantle. The project aims to train the next generation of Earth scientists and to provide new knowledge to assist in overcoming the challenges in mitigating climate change and sustaining a resource-based economy.Read moreRead less
Banded iron formations: life, oxygen and ocean chemistry. This project aims to investigate the co-evolution of life and environments during Earth’s first two billion years using iron-rich chemical sediments deposited from global oceans. The project expects to generate knowledge of Earth’s transition into a planet habitable for complex life by combining nanoscale characterisation techniques, with laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. Expected outcomes include transformative ideas abou ....Banded iron formations: life, oxygen and ocean chemistry. This project aims to investigate the co-evolution of life and environments during Earth’s first two billion years using iron-rich chemical sediments deposited from global oceans. The project expects to generate knowledge of Earth’s transition into a planet habitable for complex life by combining nanoscale characterisation techniques, with laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. Expected outcomes include transformative ideas about the role of life in iron and phosphorus cycles, the chemistry of the early ocean, ancient biological productivity, the antiquity of oxygenic photosynthesis and the rise of oxygen. The project will also deliver new conceptual models for the formation of the host-rocks for most of the world’s iron resources, improving how we explore for iron in the Earth’s crust. This should provide benefits to understanding geobiology on Earth and other planets.Read moreRead less
The Great Barrier Reef in 2100. Our research aims to answer fundamental geomorphic questions about the future of coral reefs, focusing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We will develop cutting-edge, fully open-source numerical models to quantify the eco-morphodynamic evolution of the GBR under IPCC climate-change scenarios. Our geomorphic numerical models will consider biotic/abiotic feedbacks including synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as waves, temperature, acidification and sedime ....The Great Barrier Reef in 2100. Our research aims to answer fundamental geomorphic questions about the future of coral reefs, focusing on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We will develop cutting-edge, fully open-source numerical models to quantify the eco-morphodynamic evolution of the GBR under IPCC climate-change scenarios. Our geomorphic numerical models will consider biotic/abiotic feedbacks including synergistic effects of multiple stressors such as waves, temperature, acidification and sediment transport, at individual reef scales. We will model the future of the GBR’s ecosystem-services, allowing for a quantum leap in the geomorphic knowledge and understanding of coral reef ecosystems. Expected outcomes include a gamechanger tool for future management of the GBR.Read moreRead less
Probing the Australian-Pacific plate boundary: Macquarie Ridge in 3-D. This project aims to advance understanding of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary - the Macquarie Ridge Complex - in the Southern Ocean.
It will be the first study to elucidate the processes generating the world's largest submarine earthquakes not associated with active subduction, which may lead to understanding of how subduction initiates, the mechanism of earthquakes occurring at convergent margins, and more accurate est ....Probing the Australian-Pacific plate boundary: Macquarie Ridge in 3-D. This project aims to advance understanding of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary - the Macquarie Ridge Complex - in the Southern Ocean.
It will be the first study to elucidate the processes generating the world's largest submarine earthquakes not associated with active subduction, which may lead to understanding of how subduction initiates, the mechanism of earthquakes occurring at convergent margins, and more accurate estimates of earthquake and tsunami potential.
This study will put Australia at the forefront of Earth Science research into the evolution of tectonic plates and has the potential to better inform hazard assessment efforts in the region, benefiting policy-makers and at–risk communities along the Australia coastline.Read moreRead less
Understanding marine migratory connectivity for more sustainable oceans. Ocean basin-scale migrations of iconic sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and fish expose them to multiple stressors and governance regimes, leading to gaps in management and population declines. The project aims to deliver the methods and evidence base of cross-taxa migratory connectivity that is essential to support the
conservation of these species. Expected outcomes include comprehensive and integrated models of mig ....Understanding marine migratory connectivity for more sustainable oceans. Ocean basin-scale migrations of iconic sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and fish expose them to multiple stressors and governance regimes, leading to gaps in management and population declines. The project aims to deliver the methods and evidence base of cross-taxa migratory connectivity that is essential to support the
conservation of these species. Expected outcomes include comprehensive and integrated models of migratory connectivity, conservation theory development, and new methods that allow incorporation of migratory connectivity in conservation planning. Benefits include: a cross-taxa baseline that will enable Australia to measure environmental change in marine migratory connectivity for the first time.Read moreRead less
Improving the effectiveness of marine habitat restoration. Habitat restoration is a global priority to halt and reverse declines in biodiversity, but many of these efforts fail to achieve these goals. This project aims to improve the outcomes of marine habitat restoration through greater consideration of animal behaviour. Insights into how animals evaluate restored habitats and which components of habitats are most important to animals are essential but missing ingredients in modern restoration ....Improving the effectiveness of marine habitat restoration. Habitat restoration is a global priority to halt and reverse declines in biodiversity, but many of these efforts fail to achieve these goals. This project aims to improve the outcomes of marine habitat restoration through greater consideration of animal behaviour. Insights into how animals evaluate restored habitats and which components of habitats are most important to animals are essential but missing ingredients in modern restoration methodology. By applying novel experimental and modelling approaches to current marine habitat restoration programs, this project will generate new knowledge to underpin a fundamental change in how natural resource managers restore marine habitats, with significantly improved outcomes for biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Blue carbon potential of the Great Southern Reef. As one of Australia’s largest vegetated coastal ecosystems, kelp forests provide substantial climate mitigation opportunities. Although kelp carbon is ubiquitous in the deep ocean, the mechanism of transport and amount of kelp carbon reaching deep sinks remains largely unknown, significantly hampering their inclusion in ocean carbon budgets and mitigation action. We will use Australia-wide field data on kelp export, cross-shelf measurements of tr ....Blue carbon potential of the Great Southern Reef. As one of Australia’s largest vegetated coastal ecosystems, kelp forests provide substantial climate mitigation opportunities. Although kelp carbon is ubiquitous in the deep ocean, the mechanism of transport and amount of kelp carbon reaching deep sinks remains largely unknown, significantly hampering their inclusion in ocean carbon budgets and mitigation action. We will use Australia-wide field data on kelp export, cross-shelf measurements of transport and decay, coastal ocean circulation and future distribution models to vastly improve estimates of kelp carbon transfer to deep ocean sinks. Our comprehensive data-driven assessment of kelp carbon sequestration aims to uncover the carbon sink capacity of seaweed forests now and in the futureRead moreRead less