The rise of algae and the emergence of animals. This project aims to uncover the environmental changes that transformed the oceans 650 million years ago when complex algal cells started to replace bacteria as the dominant forms of life. Using a groundbreaking combination of molecular fossils and isotopes from ancient sedimentary rocks, the project aims to reveal how the flow of energy changed through Earth’s ecosystems. The expected outcomes include new knowledge about our own origins and the ev ....The rise of algae and the emergence of animals. This project aims to uncover the environmental changes that transformed the oceans 650 million years ago when complex algal cells started to replace bacteria as the dominant forms of life. Using a groundbreaking combination of molecular fossils and isotopes from ancient sedimentary rocks, the project aims to reveal how the flow of energy changed through Earth’s ecosystems. The expected outcomes include new knowledge about our own origins and the events that led to the emergence of the first animals. Additionally, new insights about the mechanisms that generated the oldest hydrocarbon reserves may lead to a new biomarker tool to aid discovery of major new oil or gas reserves in Australia’s Red Centre.Read moreRead less
Diatom lipids to reveal sea-ice history in remote Antarctic regions. This project aims to understand seasonal Antarctic sea-ice extent using molecular, geochemical, elemental and genomic characteristics of specific marine phytoplankton (diatoms). Little is known of the seasonal sea-ice variation and the position of the summer sea-ice extent a million years before satellite records, but this information is critical to determining air-sea gas exchange and ecosystem food web regulation. This projec ....Diatom lipids to reveal sea-ice history in remote Antarctic regions. This project aims to understand seasonal Antarctic sea-ice extent using molecular, geochemical, elemental and genomic characteristics of specific marine phytoplankton (diatoms). Little is known of the seasonal sea-ice variation and the position of the summer sea-ice extent a million years before satellite records, but this information is critical to determining air-sea gas exchange and ecosystem food web regulation. This project will unite geochemical and biological approaches to provide the data to improve past Antarctic ecosystem and climate models where sea-ice data is missing. Studying diatom biomarkers in deep sea cores from Australia’s Southern Ocean will redefine knowledge of Antarctic climate and provide data necessary to improve global ecosystem and climate models.Read moreRead less