Single-sample unmixing with machine learning: a rock magnetic frontier. Magnetic rock-forming minerals can record important information about Earth’s magnetic field and climatic changes. In rock magnetism, we seek to quantify magnetic property variations in geological materials. Existing quantification methods are limited and provide bulk characterisation of all magnetic particles in a material rather than diagnostic information concerning individual mineral components. This Project aims to deve ....Single-sample unmixing with machine learning: a rock magnetic frontier. Magnetic rock-forming minerals can record important information about Earth’s magnetic field and climatic changes. In rock magnetism, we seek to quantify magnetic property variations in geological materials. Existing quantification methods are limited and provide bulk characterisation of all magnetic particles in a material rather than diagnostic information concerning individual mineral components. This Project aims to develop a machine-learning framework to “unmix” and quantify each magnetic mineral component in single natural samples, and will unlock a new quantitative era in rock magnetism. It is expected to have impact beyond Earth science by enabling magnetic characterisation in physics, materials science, and industry.Read moreRead less
First-order reversal curve diagrams & quantitative environmental magnetism. The project intends to enable full quantitative separation of magnetic mineral mixtures in natural materials to unlock details of important environmental processes. Most efforts to understand ancient variations of Earth’s magnetic field using palaeomagnetism, or climate change using environmental magnetism, are complicated by the presence of mixed assemblages of magnetic rock-forming minerals. Understanding the recording ....First-order reversal curve diagrams & quantitative environmental magnetism. The project intends to enable full quantitative separation of magnetic mineral mixtures in natural materials to unlock details of important environmental processes. Most efforts to understand ancient variations of Earth’s magnetic field using palaeomagnetism, or climate change using environmental magnetism, are complicated by the presence of mixed assemblages of magnetic rock-forming minerals. Understanding the recording of palaeomagnetic information or decoding environmental processes requires separate quantification of each mineral component. The main aim of the project is to develop a method to unmix the magnetic components present in environmental and geological materials. The proposed approach is expected to unlock a new quantitative era in rock magnetism, and to have impacts in physics as well as Earth science.Read moreRead less
A 140,000 year insight into the imprint of climate and humans on Australia. Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped Australia's current landscapes and biota more than any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the full scale of these events is not well understood. High resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill this void and answer fundamental questions abou ....A 140,000 year insight into the imprint of climate and humans on Australia. Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped Australia's current landscapes and biota more than any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the full scale of these events is not well understood. High resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill this void and answer fundamental questions about how current Australian environments came to be.Read moreRead less
U/Th dating of coral mortality and recovery rates in the Great Barrier Reef. This project aims to use high-efficiency U-Th geochronology and palaeoecology to identify past coral mortality events and community changes in the inshore Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and quantify subsequent recovery rates across a water quality gradient. These records will then be linked to natural and human impacts, especially since European settlement. The project outcomes will improve understanding of past disturbances ....U/Th dating of coral mortality and recovery rates in the Great Barrier Reef. This project aims to use high-efficiency U-Th geochronology and palaeoecology to identify past coral mortality events and community changes in the inshore Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and quantify subsequent recovery rates across a water quality gradient. These records will then be linked to natural and human impacts, especially since European settlement. The project outcomes will improve understanding of past disturbances and recovery rates in the GBR ecosystem and help focus management in the face of increased human pressure and environmental changes.Read moreRead less
The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understa ....The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understanding of past environmental change as a driver of megafaunal extinction in comparison with human adaption and survival.Read moreRead less
Understanding total long-term sea-level consequences. This project addresses the urgency in long-term infrastructure planning to understand the long-term "equilibrium" sea-level-change consequences from today’s exceptionally rapid climate change. Understanding this requires detailed sea-level reconstructions back to warm periods with similar CO2 levels to today (~3.5 million years ago), but these remain insufficiently defined. To advance, the project will deliver a next-generation, multi-million ....Understanding total long-term sea-level consequences. This project addresses the urgency in long-term infrastructure planning to understand the long-term "equilibrium" sea-level-change consequences from today’s exceptionally rapid climate change. Understanding this requires detailed sea-level reconstructions back to warm periods with similar CO2 levels to today (~3.5 million years ago), but these remain insufficiently defined. To advance, the project will deliver a next-generation, multi-million-year sea-level reconstruction that includes dynamically evolving (time-dependent) interactions between critical climate factors. This will then be applied with other palaeoclimate data to reconstruct equilibrium relationships between sea level, temperature, and CO2 at currently unattainable precision. Read moreRead less
The pace and rhythm of climate: 600,000 years in a biological hotspot. This project aims to generate knowledge of long-term changes in vegetation and rainfall for the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP). The IPWP exerts enormous influence on the Earth’s climate through its interactions with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Austral–Asian monsoons and the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone. Yet despite its importance, the response of the IPWP to global climate change remains uncertain. Through palynol ....The pace and rhythm of climate: 600,000 years in a biological hotspot. This project aims to generate knowledge of long-term changes in vegetation and rainfall for the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP). The IPWP exerts enormous influence on the Earth’s climate through its interactions with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Austral–Asian monsoons and the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone. Yet despite its importance, the response of the IPWP to global climate change remains uncertain. Through palynology, ancient sedimentary DNA and compound specific stable isotope analyses, this project aims to produce a terrestrial vegetation, fire and biodiversity record for the last 600 000 years in Sulawesi. The unrivalled length and resolution of this record for the region would make it a benchmark reconstruction of palaeoclimate that may transform our understanding of the IPWP.Read moreRead less
Sedimentary processes on sandy coasts in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct sedimentary processes and evolution of key coastal plains in southern Australia. These low-lying coasts, and the settlements and infrastructure on them, are vulnerable to inundation and shoreline erosion. Past behaviour of different types of coasts will be determined by combining innovative geospatial techniques to map morphology and past changes, geophysical imaging of stratigraphy and geochronology. T ....Sedimentary processes on sandy coasts in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct sedimentary processes and evolution of key coastal plains in southern Australia. These low-lying coasts, and the settlements and infrastructure on them, are vulnerable to inundation and shoreline erosion. Past behaviour of different types of coasts will be determined by combining innovative geospatial techniques to map morphology and past changes, geophysical imaging of stratigraphy and geochronology. The outcome will be models that explain responses to sediment availability, past storm history and sea-level changes. This will benefit sustainable coastal planning and management, providing geomorphological evidence to support erosion hazard assessments of these and adjacent coasts.Read moreRead less
Global climate change and coastal landscape evolution in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct environmental changes that occurred in southern Australia during a geologically recent time interval termed the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition (1.2 million to 700 thousand years ago) and an interglacial period some 400,000 years ago. Using innovative geochronological, geochemical and modelling techniques, the environmental changes that shaped modern Australian coastal landscapes, in ....Global climate change and coastal landscape evolution in southern Australia. This project aims to reconstruct environmental changes that occurred in southern Australia during a geologically recent time interval termed the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition (1.2 million to 700 thousand years ago) and an interglacial period some 400,000 years ago. Using innovative geochronological, geochemical and modelling techniques, the environmental changes that shaped modern Australian coastal landscapes, including the intensification of aridity and their timing will be examined. The project will yield new knowledge about the sensitivity of landscapes to current and ongoing environmental changes and derive explanatory models of the rates and characteristics of landscape response to assist future coastal environmental management.Read moreRead less
Deep-time history of culturally significant lands and waters in Timor-Leste. This project aims to provide a new framework for understanding and managing lands and waters of exceptional biological and cultural value. The project expects to generate the first long-term records of ecological change in Timor-Leste's unique forest and tropical savanna ecosystems, providing novel insights into ancient cultural landscapes threatened by climate change. Expected outcomes include enhanced collaboration be ....Deep-time history of culturally significant lands and waters in Timor-Leste. This project aims to provide a new framework for understanding and managing lands and waters of exceptional biological and cultural value. The project expects to generate the first long-term records of ecological change in Timor-Leste's unique forest and tropical savanna ecosystems, providing novel insights into ancient cultural landscapes threatened by climate change. Expected outcomes include enhanced collaboration between Australia and Timor-Leste and comprehensive data and educational resources relevant to managing climate impacts on livelihoods. This should provide significant benefits to scientific dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region and help support economic opportunities that respect indigenous environmental knowledge.Read moreRead less