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
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
The link between cratonic roots, redox state, and mantle geodynamics. This project aims to understand the role of Earth's redox state on the geodynamic evolution of continental cratonic roots. Cratonic roots form strong, buoyant rafts upon which Australia's oldest crust and mineral deposits survived. Cratons preserve a record of planetary-scale chemical shifts, including the rise of surface oxygen, but it is unclear how these redox shifts themselves affected lithospheric processes. This project ....The link between cratonic roots, redox state, and mantle geodynamics. This project aims to understand the role of Earth's redox state on the geodynamic evolution of continental cratonic roots. Cratonic roots form strong, buoyant rafts upon which Australia's oldest crust and mineral deposits survived. Cratons preserve a record of planetary-scale chemical shifts, including the rise of surface oxygen, but it is unclear how these redox shifts themselves affected lithospheric processes. This project integrates new developments in geochemistry, geophysics, and geodynamics, to map the geochemical state and structure of cratonic roots, aiding mineral exploration, and also shedding light on the processes that modify, mineralise, and sometimes destroy cratonic roots.Read moreRead less
Melting in the Earth and the origin of basalts. This project aims to investigate and link the many studies of natural basalts to better understand Earth’s global tectonics and mineral resources. Much of our knowledge of the deep Earth’s history comes from studying the melting of the mantle to produce basaltic magma. This project will investigate experimentally at high temperatures and pressures, link studies of natural basalts with melting processes in simplified chemical systems. The expected o ....Melting in the Earth and the origin of basalts. This project aims to investigate and link the many studies of natural basalts to better understand Earth’s global tectonics and mineral resources. Much of our knowledge of the deep Earth’s history comes from studying the melting of the mantle to produce basaltic magma. This project will investigate experimentally at high temperatures and pressures, link studies of natural basalts with melting processes in simplified chemical systems. The expected outcome is a comprehensive model for the origin of basalts on Earth and in other rocky planets, which will establish the framework for the geochemical cycles of the elements and lead to a better understanding of mineral resources.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
Continents in the Mantle Transition Zone? Sediment Recycling and the Geochemical Fertilization of the Deep Mantle. Because of its intrinsic compositional buoyancy, continental crust has traditionally been considered to be unsubductable in the denser underlying mantle. Yet some ocean island basalts carry a geochemical signature of recycled continental material in their plume source in the deep mantle. This project will reconcile this paradox through high-pressure experiments that will simulate su ....Continents in the Mantle Transition Zone? Sediment Recycling and the Geochemical Fertilization of the Deep Mantle. Because of its intrinsic compositional buoyancy, continental crust has traditionally been considered to be unsubductable in the denser underlying mantle. Yet some ocean island basalts carry a geochemical signature of recycled continental material in their plume source in the deep mantle. This project will reconcile this paradox through high-pressure experiments that will simulate subduction of continental sediments into the deep mantle. These experiments will provide the first empirical constraints on the role of sediment-derived fluids in mantle metasomatism and the origin of economically-rich potassic magmas, and the nature of the ultrarefractory continental component that ultimately reaches the plume source for ocean-island basalts.Read moreRead less
Deciphering the tectonic record of the early Earth. This project aims to decipher how and why plate tectonics emerged, and how any precursor tectonic system modulated planetary heat loss. The project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the tectonic record of the early Earth using pressure–temperature–age constraints from truly ancient (2.8–4.0 billion year old) metamorphosed rocks worldwide. Expected outcomes of this collaborative international project include the development of a concep ....Deciphering the tectonic record of the early Earth. This project aims to decipher how and why plate tectonics emerged, and how any precursor tectonic system modulated planetary heat loss. The project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the tectonic record of the early Earth using pressure–temperature–age constraints from truly ancient (2.8–4.0 billion year old) metamorphosed rocks worldwide. Expected outcomes of this collaborative international project include the development of a conceptual geodynamic model for the early Earth. This should provide significant benefits in permitting a better understanding of the where and why of Australia’s natural resources, in training a new generation of Earth system scientists, and in broadening public awareness of fundamental Earth science.
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Magnetite and metal-rich sulphides in arc magmas. Ascending magmas cool and crystallise a variety of minerals. Triggering sulfide deposition which hosts base and precious metals is a critical point in magma evolution. This research will explore the role of magnetite as this trigger and its potential as a tracer of this process.
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
Water-fluxed continental melting. Melting of rocks happen during active continental tectonics, where rock deformation, water flow and melting feed into each other in a complex system. This project studies how water gets into and melt gets out of hot continental rocks to form magmatic bodies that control continent chemical evolution and origin of magmatic mineral deposits.