The geochemistry of rare earth elements in carbonate melts. This project aims to determine why deposits of rare earth elements, which are critical for modern devices and technologies such as phones, tablets and plasma screens, are associated with carbonate magmas. The global supply of these critical metals is geopolitically unstable and, although Australia has significant reserves, there is very limited production. By improving our understanding of the geochemical behaviour of the rare earths th ....The geochemistry of rare earth elements in carbonate melts. This project aims to determine why deposits of rare earth elements, which are critical for modern devices and technologies such as phones, tablets and plasma screens, are associated with carbonate magmas. The global supply of these critical metals is geopolitically unstable and, although Australia has significant reserves, there is very limited production. By improving our understanding of the geochemical behaviour of the rare earths this project aims to develop new reverse-engineering methods for their extraction, which will improve the security of supply of these elements and enhance Australia's role in high-tech industries. The project will enhance the profitability of the Australian resources sector through improved extraction economics and will secure the supply of these critical metals for Australian high-tech industries and export. The outcomes will be targeted initially at junior resource companies that are not yet profitable.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
Plumbing the gap: a mantle solution to the enigma of bimodal arc volcanism. Subduction zones and volcanic arcs are the most tectonically active regions on Earth and are crucial to understanding, geochemical cycles, tectonic-climate coupling, ore genesis and natural hazards. Bimodal volcanism is a long-recognised characteristic of arc crust that has never been satisfactorily explained, yet, it controls many of these processes. This project will test a new hypothesis that the two types of magmas .... Plumbing the gap: a mantle solution to the enigma of bimodal arc volcanism. Subduction zones and volcanic arcs are the most tectonically active regions on Earth and are crucial to understanding, geochemical cycles, tectonic-climate coupling, ore genesis and natural hazards. Bimodal volcanism is a long-recognised characteristic of arc crust that has never been satisfactorily explained, yet, it controls many of these processes. This project will test a new hypothesis that the two types of magmas originate from distinct mantle sources. It integrates novel high-pressure experiments with database analysis of natural volcanic rocks, covering magmatic systems from mantle source to volcano. This project will improve our understanding of arc processes, including the association of economic metals with bimodal arc volcanism.Read moreRead less
Rehydration of the lower crust, fluid sources and geophysical expression. This project aims to explore a long-standing mystery: the origin of deep crustal electrical conductors detected by magnetotelluric imaging of tectonically stable crust. These features occur in cratons of all ages, and commonly cross cut structures and lithologies. This project aims to investigate the hypothesis that such features are the record of ancient deep crustal fluid flow, which modified the rock electrical properti ....Rehydration of the lower crust, fluid sources and geophysical expression. This project aims to explore a long-standing mystery: the origin of deep crustal electrical conductors detected by magnetotelluric imaging of tectonically stable crust. These features occur in cratons of all ages, and commonly cross cut structures and lithologies. This project aims to investigate the hypothesis that such features are the record of ancient deep crustal fluid flow, which modified the rock electrical properties. Using an exceptionally exposed natural laboratory preserving large-scale rehydration of anhydrous lower crust, the project plans to determine the source of fluids and the compositional changes they induced. It then plans to experimentally determine changes in resistivity induced by fluid flow and use that data to model the magnetotelluric response at crustal scale.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101126
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,419.00
Summary
Stability of accessory minerals during low temperature geological processes. The project aims to improve Australia’s ability to discover mineral deposits beneath sedimentary basins by determining whether detrital accessory minerals in sedimentary basins can be an effective exploration tool. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the stability of detrital accessory minerals in the sedimentary cycle using observations from natural rocks and laboratory experiments. Expected outcomes incl ....Stability of accessory minerals during low temperature geological processes. The project aims to improve Australia’s ability to discover mineral deposits beneath sedimentary basins by determining whether detrital accessory minerals in sedimentary basins can be an effective exploration tool. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the stability of detrital accessory minerals in the sedimentary cycle using observations from natural rocks and laboratory experiments. Expected outcomes include an assessment of the accessory minerals that are best suited to exploration vectoring studies in sedimentary basins. This should provide significant benefits to government and industry by improving mineral exploration methods and also has implications for geochronology and provenance studies.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
What goes on inside subduction zones? This project aims to decipher how rocks behave inside subduction zones. Subduction is a central tenant of plate tectonic theory and the project will test the hypothesis rocks can become trapped within giant long-lived eddies that circulate material within subduction zones. This international collaborative project will generate new knowledge regarding the time scales rocks can remain trapped inside subduction zones using pressure–temperature–age constraints f ....What goes on inside subduction zones? This project aims to decipher how rocks behave inside subduction zones. Subduction is a central tenant of plate tectonic theory and the project will test the hypothesis rocks can become trapped within giant long-lived eddies that circulate material within subduction zones. This international collaborative project will generate new knowledge regarding the time scales rocks can remain trapped inside subduction zones using pressure–temperature–age constraints from subducted rocks. We will use this information as a framework for numerical simulations of subduction zone behaviour. The project will provide significant benefits in training a new generation of Earth scientists, and in broadening public awareness of fundamental Earth science.Read moreRead less
Iron isotope variation in subduction magmas: Links to fluid flux and oxidation of the mantle wedge? The plates of the outer tectonic shell of our Earth are in ceaseless motion; their collisions create huge earthquakes and their collapse into the Earth introduces surface water to these hot regions at >150km depth, creating melting and volcanic eruption. This project will use iron isotopes to map this surface water as it is introduced to the mantle.
Constraining conditions and timing of orogeny and reworking in the west Musgrave Province. The remote Musgrave Province is one of Australia's prime areas of mineral exploration interest, with about 30 companies holding more than 120 leases over the region. A major factor determining the economic prospectivity of a terrane is the availability of high quality geoscientific data. This project will produce pre-competitive structural, petrological, isotopic, geochemical and geophysical datasets for t ....Constraining conditions and timing of orogeny and reworking in the west Musgrave Province. The remote Musgrave Province is one of Australia's prime areas of mineral exploration interest, with about 30 companies holding more than 120 leases over the region. A major factor determining the economic prospectivity of a terrane is the availability of high quality geoscientific data. This project will produce pre-competitive structural, petrological, isotopic, geochemical and geophysical datasets for the west Musgrave Province that will rival or surpass that available for other regions of Australian crust. This project directly aligns with the National Research Priority goal, developing deep Earth resources, and will reduce the risk to mineral explorers and facilitate economic development within the Ngaanyatjarra Native Title Lands of Western Australia.Read moreRead less