Role of water in earth and planetary evolution. This project aims to understand the role of water in the building of our solar system, Mars and Earth. Surprisingly little is known about key issues surrounding the origin of water and its subsequent recycling on Earth. This project will use new techniques for measuring low abundances of water along with oxygen isotopes, to measure water abundances and oxygen isotopes in meteorites and terrestrial rocks to establish how water was delivered to Earth ....Role of water in earth and planetary evolution. This project aims to understand the role of water in the building of our solar system, Mars and Earth. Surprisingly little is known about key issues surrounding the origin of water and its subsequent recycling on Earth. This project will use new techniques for measuring low abundances of water along with oxygen isotopes, to measure water abundances and oxygen isotopes in meteorites and terrestrial rocks to establish how water was delivered to Earth and to understand how water is geologically recycled. This is expected to have direct bearing on where and how Earth's water originated, how water is retained in mantle and crustal minerals and it will have broad implications for understanding volcanic hazards and formation of ore deposits. This will lead to a new capability for combined water and oxygen isotope analysis in Australian geoscience leading to technological development and commercialisation of instrumentation.Read moreRead less
Experimental and empirical insight into melting of the early Earth's mantle. The early Earth's mantle produced melt at much higher temperature than today, creating rocks with unique chemistries and mineralogies. But pressing knowledge gaps about hot mantle melting remain. The aim of this project is to generate new experimental and empirical knowledge to help closing these gaps by:
(i) conducting high pressure experiments to refine phase-composition relationships and element partitioning;
(ii) qu ....Experimental and empirical insight into melting of the early Earth's mantle. The early Earth's mantle produced melt at much higher temperature than today, creating rocks with unique chemistries and mineralogies. But pressing knowledge gaps about hot mantle melting remain. The aim of this project is to generate new experimental and empirical knowledge to help closing these gaps by:
(i) conducting high pressure experiments to refine phase-composition relationships and element partitioning;
(ii) quantifying mineral fabrics in cratonic peridotites to understand the movement of early continents; and
(iii) constructing the first petrological deep time model for greenstone belt volcanic rocks.
The expected outcomes are better models for the early Earth's melting and tectonic regimes and insight into the emergence of land.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
Maximising accuracy and reliability of carbonate climate proxy archives. This project brings together expertise and cutting-edge methodology from different disciplines to identify the controls on the compositions of the shells and skeletons of marine organisms. The compositions of these materials are essential tools to reconstruct environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, recent insights into how they form profoundly complicate and affect their interpretations.
The r ....Maximising accuracy and reliability of carbonate climate proxy archives. This project brings together expertise and cutting-edge methodology from different disciplines to identify the controls on the compositions of the shells and skeletons of marine organisms. The compositions of these materials are essential tools to reconstruct environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, recent insights into how they form profoundly complicate and affect their interpretations.
The results will enable us to develop new, realistic models for the behaviour of chemical elements in these materials. This will significantly improve paleoclimate interpretations and provide critical benefit for protecting Australia’s marine resources in the future. 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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100028
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. This proposal is for an 18-month membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and Ocean sciences. The Program studies the history and current activity of the Earth by conducting seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes, using globally unique infrastructure that Australians would otherwise have no access to. Program outcomes ....Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. This proposal is for an 18-month membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and Ocean sciences. The Program studies the history and current activity of the Earth by conducting seagoing coring expeditions and monitoring of instrumented boreholes, using globally unique infrastructure that Australians would otherwise have no access to. Program outcomes include understanding past global environmental change on multiple time scales, the deep biosphere, plate tectonics, formation and distribution of resources, and generation of hazards. These outcomes are paramount to Australia’s national science and research priorities, and societal and economic prosperity.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the Beetaloo/Greater McArthur Basin System . This project aims to build a stratigraphic and water chemistry framework for the greater McArthur Basin—a rock system that covers northern Australia from WA to Queensland. This will be a vital resource for researchers and energy/mineral explorers. This project expects to develop novel sediment dating and isotopic proxies for salinity, redox and bioproductivity and use them to build a sequence stratigraphic framework of the basin. The ex ....Reconstructing the Beetaloo/Greater McArthur Basin System . This project aims to build a stratigraphic and water chemistry framework for the greater McArthur Basin—a rock system that covers northern Australia from WA to Queensland. This will be a vital resource for researchers and energy/mineral explorers. This project expects to develop novel sediment dating and isotopic proxies for salinity, redox and bioproductivity and use them to build a sequence stratigraphic framework of the basin. The expected outcome is a unique 3D lithological, geochronological and geochemical framework for the basin. Expected benefits include de-risked information for the petroleum and minerals industry, assisting northern Australia's resources economy, as well as insights into the development of our planet in deep time.Read moreRead less
Impact of hot gas on volcanic rocks and ore-forming processes. High temperature gases move from Earth's interior to the atmosphere at volcanoes, but little is known about how they react. Recent work shows that exceptionally rapid reactions occur between hot gases and the surfaces of solids. These reactions are instrumental in forming ore deposits. The proposed work aims to apply state-of-the-art chemical analysis of natural samples and investigate gas-solid reactions experimentally to determine ....Impact of hot gas on volcanic rocks and ore-forming processes. High temperature gases move from Earth's interior to the atmosphere at volcanoes, but little is known about how they react. Recent work shows that exceptionally rapid reactions occur between hot gases and the surfaces of solids. These reactions are instrumental in forming ore deposits. The proposed work aims to apply state-of-the-art chemical analysis of natural samples and investigate gas-solid reactions experimentally to determine how chemical elements, including metals, are distributed in these reactions. The study seeks to create robust geochenmical models for understanding geochemical and ore-forming processes. Improved understanding of ore deposition will enhance the long-term viability of Australia's metals sector.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of proxy uptake in biominerals. This project plans to combine nano-analytical and aquaculture methods to develop new models that improve the reliability of paleoclimate reconstructions. The compositions of shells and skeletal materials of marine invertebrates are essential archives for quantifying temperatures and environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, their reliability relies on understanding their formation. Emerging knowledge from material sciences i ....Mechanisms of proxy uptake in biominerals. This project plans to combine nano-analytical and aquaculture methods to develop new models that improve the reliability of paleoclimate reconstructions. The compositions of shells and skeletal materials of marine invertebrates are essential archives for quantifying temperatures and environmental conditions before modern climate records began. However, their reliability relies on understanding their formation. Emerging knowledge from material sciences indicates that these biocarbonates form via transient precursors rather than direct precipitation from seawater, profoundly affecting their interpretation. This project plans to transfer this new understanding to the earth sciences using nanoscale analytical methods including in vitro geochemical partitioning experiments. This would enable realistic models for geochemical proxy behaviour to be developed, significantly improving paleoclimate interpretations and assessments of ocean acidification effects on marine calcifiers.Read moreRead less
Determining fossilisation processes of a rare iron-rich Lagerstätte. Most fossil sites only preserve resistant elements such as bones and teeth, leading to questions about how soft animals and structures have evolved over time. The recent discovery of a fossil deposit in New South Wales appears to demonstrate a new set of conditions for the preservation of soft tissues. This project aims to constrain the age of and assess the fossilisation processes that produced this unique fossil site. We will ....Determining fossilisation processes of a rare iron-rich Lagerstätte. Most fossil sites only preserve resistant elements such as bones and teeth, leading to questions about how soft animals and structures have evolved over time. The recent discovery of a fossil deposit in New South Wales appears to demonstrate a new set of conditions for the preservation of soft tissues. This project aims to constrain the age of and assess the fossilisation processes that produced this unique fossil site. We will use an integrative approach to reconstruct the formation of this Lagerstätte. The work will provide significant advances in our understanding of the process of fossilisation and guide the discovery of other exceptionally-well preserved fossil deposits, critical in reconstructing the biological history of Australia.Read moreRead less