The deep-sea carbon reservoir through geological time. Despite being by far the largest carbon reservoir on Earth, deep-sea carbonate and its recycling through the Earth system are the most significant missing links in our knowledge of the global carbon cycle. This project aims to track the evolution of the deep-sea carbon reservoir over the last 150 million years by using recently developed spatio-temporal computational and model-data synthesis tools. The project will provide the first rigorous ....The deep-sea carbon reservoir through geological time. Despite being by far the largest carbon reservoir on Earth, deep-sea carbonate and its recycling through the Earth system are the most significant missing links in our knowledge of the global carbon cycle. This project aims to track the evolution of the deep-sea carbon reservoir over the last 150 million years by using recently developed spatio-temporal computational and model-data synthesis tools. The project will provide the first rigorous quantification of the distribution and volume of carbon in deep-sea carbonate, and its fluxes between the Earth’s surface and interior. It will advance our understanding of the history and rate of carbon dioxide storage and degassing over geological time, and inform public debate on climate change.Read moreRead less
Oceanic gateways: a primary control on global climate change? The opening and closing of oceanic gateways, narrow passageways facilitating exchange between ocean basins, has been linked to major changes in Earth’s climate. This project will link the disparate fields of geodynamics and palaeo-climatology, for the first time, through an innovative methodology that models the changing width and depth of ocean gateways through time. It will address the role of gateways in modulating Earth’s climate ....Oceanic gateways: a primary control on global climate change? The opening and closing of oceanic gateways, narrow passageways facilitating exchange between ocean basins, has been linked to major changes in Earth’s climate. This project will link the disparate fields of geodynamics and palaeo-climatology, for the first time, through an innovative methodology that models the changing width and depth of ocean gateways through time. It will address the role of gateways in modulating Earth’s climate at key periods during the planet’s transition from a “Greenhouse” to “Icehouse” World.Read moreRead less
Novel dating methods for marine sediments of relevance to determining past climate changes. Future climate change is a subject of enormous contemporary interest with economic and social implications for much of humanity. Accurate knowledge of past climates is, however, crucial to understanding how the global climate will evolve into the future. This proposal aims to develop novel methods for dating marine sediments using cosmogenic isotopes, in order to extract the palaeoclimatic signals that ar ....Novel dating methods for marine sediments of relevance to determining past climate changes. Future climate change is a subject of enormous contemporary interest with economic and social implications for much of humanity. Accurate knowledge of past climates is, however, crucial to understanding how the global climate will evolve into the future. This proposal aims to develop novel methods for dating marine sediments using cosmogenic isotopes, in order to extract the palaeoclimatic signals that are locked into these sediments. We will concentrate on the Southern Ocean which plays a crucial role in the world's climate. This proposal will also contribute to Australia's international obligation to conduct research in this critical area.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
How the complexity of continental breakup controls ocean circulation. This project aims to address the evolution of oceanic seaways formed during separation of tectonic plates (such as Australia and Antarctica). The seaways that form are key components modulating the global ocean circulation system and are implicated in major glacial expansion events. This project aims to unravel their role relative to other drivers for example carbon dioxide (CO2). Unravelling the influence of seaway opening co ....How the complexity of continental breakup controls ocean circulation. This project aims to address the evolution of oceanic seaways formed during separation of tectonic plates (such as Australia and Antarctica). The seaways that form are key components modulating the global ocean circulation system and are implicated in major glacial expansion events. This project aims to unravel their role relative to other drivers for example carbon dioxide (CO2). Unravelling the influence of seaway opening compared with declining CO2 in the onset of Antarctic and Northern hemisphere glaciation will enable more accurate future climate simulations. The project will also give international exposure and training to the next generation of numerically adept geoscientists and oceanographers.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
Dynamics of carbonate sands and morphodynamics of coral reef environments. Coral reefs are mainly composed of mobile sedimentary deposits that influence the living regions of the coral reefs. Using sites on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the project will learn how, why and how fast sand advances, and will predict how these processes will change in response to predicted rises in sea levels.
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
Utilizing the geological record to constrain the response of marine ecosystems and global carbon cycling to warming and de-oxygenation. Earth history is punctuated by a huge variety of transitions and perturbations in climate, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystems, some of which may hold direct future-relevant information. In the oceans, these are closely linked in a complex web of feedbacks, as well as to the oxygenation of the ocean and the ultimate geological fate of excessive carbon release ....Utilizing the geological record to constrain the response of marine ecosystems and global carbon cycling to warming and de-oxygenation. Earth history is punctuated by a huge variety of transitions and perturbations in climate, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystems, some of which may hold direct future-relevant information. In the oceans, these are closely linked in a complex web of feedbacks, as well as to the oxygenation of the ocean and the ultimate geological fate of excessive carbon released into the atmosphere – burial of carbon in sediments. This project will develop a computer model representation of this coupled carbon-climate-life system and test this against the geological record, explore the causes and consequences of carbon release events and extinctions as well as how the ocean floor delivery and preservation of organic carbon responds.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