Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL160100168
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,851,557.00
Summary
The pulse of the earth. The pulse of the earth. This project aims to establish the origin and evolution of the continental crust and its role in the long term development of the Earth system. The continental crust hosts the resources on which we depend and its evolution controls the environment in which we live. The crust’s record (including resources) is episodic in space and time, but the origin of this periodicity is unresolved. Building on recent advances on crustal development, the fellowsh ....The pulse of the earth. The pulse of the earth. This project aims to establish the origin and evolution of the continental crust and its role in the long term development of the Earth system. The continental crust hosts the resources on which we depend and its evolution controls the environment in which we live. The crust’s record (including resources) is episodic in space and time, but the origin of this periodicity is unresolved. Building on recent advances on crustal development, the fellowship would work to resolve the origin of the episodic age pattern, which affects the distribution of mineral systems and their prospectivity.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100431
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,000.00
Summary
Optimising the use of geophysical data for modelling the Australian crust. This project aims to determine the optimal use of geophysical methods to model the Australian crust in four dimensions. These models provide an understanding of the tectonic history of a region and thus its mineral potential. Mineral resources are mostly being found undercover, requiring geophysical data to locate them. This project will combine recent developments in modelling geological uncertainty with data acquired fo ....Optimising the use of geophysical data for modelling the Australian crust. This project aims to determine the optimal use of geophysical methods to model the Australian crust in four dimensions. These models provide an understanding of the tectonic history of a region and thus its mineral potential. Mineral resources are mostly being found undercover, requiring geophysical data to locate them. This project will combine recent developments in modelling geological uncertainty with data acquired for locating zones of mineralisation. The outcomes will help guide Australian government policy to draw on publicly-available datasets that provide a basis for mineral exploration performed by companies, and supported by research institutions.Read moreRead less
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
Garnet speed dating: Innovation for fast tectonic problem solving. This project aims to develop and apply a novel way to rapidly date the mineral garnet within rocks using the analytical technique of laser ablation mass spectrometry to calculate Lutetium-Hafnium ages. Garnet is the most important mineral we have to determine the depths of burial and the temperatures rocks experienced during the tectonic processes that shaped the continents. Our novel in situ laser ablation method will allow ga ....Garnet speed dating: Innovation for fast tectonic problem solving. This project aims to develop and apply a novel way to rapidly date the mineral garnet within rocks using the analytical technique of laser ablation mass spectrometry to calculate Lutetium-Hafnium ages. Garnet is the most important mineral we have to determine the depths of burial and the temperatures rocks experienced during the tectonic processes that shaped the continents. Our novel in situ laser ablation method will allow garnet to be rapidly and easily dated, permitting routine collection of large age datasets for tectonic problem solving. It will also offer a rapid means to determine ages of garnet-bearing rocks across prospective mineral exploration regions, providing explorers with key exploration data.Read moreRead less
Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. This project aims to develop and test models to evaluate past tectonic processes and configurations in South-east Australia, using both new and existing geological, geophysical and isotopic data. Over the past 550 million years, plate tectonic processes have formed metal-rich mineral deposits in South-east Australia. The project will identify areas of ....Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. Ore deposits and tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Orogen, SE Australia. This project aims to develop and test models to evaluate past tectonic processes and configurations in South-east Australia, using both new and existing geological, geophysical and isotopic data. Over the past 550 million years, plate tectonic processes have formed metal-rich mineral deposits in South-east Australia. The project will identify areas of high potential for economically valuable ore deposits, enabling more efficient prioritisation of mineral exploration efforts. This is expected to increase the probability of significant ore deposit discoveries leading to national economic benefit.Read moreRead less
Just add water: a recipe for the deformation of continental interiors. By integrating geochemical, geochronological and microstructural datasets, this project aims to provide a novel framework for fluid–rock systems in the lithosphere. Plate tectonics argues that continental interiors are usually stable, rigid and undeformable, yet mountain belts have formed in these locations. Their existence suggests that strong crust can be weakened to allow the accommodation of deforming forces, but the unde ....Just add water: a recipe for the deformation of continental interiors. By integrating geochemical, geochronological and microstructural datasets, this project aims to provide a novel framework for fluid–rock systems in the lithosphere. Plate tectonics argues that continental interiors are usually stable, rigid and undeformable, yet mountain belts have formed in these locations. Their existence suggests that strong crust can be weakened to allow the accommodation of deforming forces, but the underlying causes for this change in behaviour are not clear. This project aims to investigate the largely unexplored impact of fluid flow on the characteristics of intraplate deformation. This would improve our understanding of what modulates the strength of continental crust, including its susceptibility to seismic activity, and the ways in which fluids interact with the deep crust, including their mineralisation potential.Read moreRead less
Evolution of Proterozoic multistage rift basins – key to mineral systems. This project will deliver a new quantitative and integrated exploratory framework for the mineral industry in Australia’s frontier sedimentary basins by integrating the latest advances in laboratory experimental tectonics with thermo-mechanical numerical, surface process and geophysical modelling. The project will use northern Australian basins as a natural laboratory to address the fundamental processes involved in the de ....Evolution of Proterozoic multistage rift basins – key to mineral systems. This project will deliver a new quantitative and integrated exploratory framework for the mineral industry in Australia’s frontier sedimentary basins by integrating the latest advances in laboratory experimental tectonics with thermo-mechanical numerical, surface process and geophysical modelling. The project will use northern Australian basins as a natural laboratory to address the fundamental processes involved in the development of sedimentary ore systems. The project will investigate how they can be detected by modern exploration techniques using a multidisciplinary approach with a team of experts with backgrounds in mineral and petroleum systems. Read moreRead less
Craton modification and growth: the east Albany-Fraser Orogen in three-dimensions. The objective of this work is to achieve new, synergistic techniques for delineating the three-dimensional structure of the east Albany-Fraser Orogen in Western Australia, and the lithospheric structure below it. These methods will guide understanding of the potential for mineral resources in this region with little surface geological exposure.
Unlocking Earth’s inner secrets in deep time using palaeointensities. The geomagnetic field, generated in Earth's liquid outer core, provides Earth's biosphere and atmosphere with a critical protective shield from the bombardment of the solar wind. However, we still know little about the evolution of the geomagnetic field or the deep-time secrets it keeps. This project aims to study the varying intensity of the geomagnetic field during Earth’s middle life. The results will help decipher how the ....Unlocking Earth’s inner secrets in deep time using palaeointensities. The geomagnetic field, generated in Earth's liquid outer core, provides Earth's biosphere and atmosphere with a critical protective shield from the bombardment of the solar wind. However, we still know little about the evolution of the geomagnetic field or the deep-time secrets it keeps. This project aims to study the varying intensity of the geomagnetic field during Earth’s middle life. The results will help decipher how the Earth’s core responded to evolving tectonic and dynamic systems, including the supercontinent cycles, and when Earth’s solid inner core initiated. Such knowledge will help us to better understand how the Earth System evolved as a whole, and how such an evolution has led to the present day life and environment on Earth.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL150100133
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,917,436.00
Summary
How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm. How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm: This fellowship project aims to build on the latest technological and conceptual advances to establish the patterns of Earth evolution, and use this information to examine a ground-breaking geodynamic hypothesis which links cyclic plate aggregation and dispersion to deep Earth processes. Half a century after the inception of plate tectonics theory, we are still unsure how ....How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm. How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm: This fellowship project aims to build on the latest technological and conceptual advances to establish the patterns of Earth evolution, and use this information to examine a ground-breaking geodynamic hypothesis which links cyclic plate aggregation and dispersion to deep Earth processes. Half a century after the inception of plate tectonics theory, we are still unsure how the Earth 'engine' works, particularly the forces that drive plate tectonics. The project involves extensive national and international collaboration to potentially create a paradigm shift in our understanding of global tectonics, and hopes to contribute to an understanding of the formation and distribution of Earth resources to provide a conceptual framework for their exploration.Read moreRead less