Development of new and high precision noble gas techniques for dating Quaternary volcanic rocks and surfaces: a Thermochronology and Noble Gas Geochronology and Geochemistry Organisation initiative. This project will calibrate noble gas dating methods, providing powerful tools for dating young volcanic rocks, eroded or buried surfaces and glacier/ice retreat. This research has considerable social, national and economic benefits for research training, volcanic hazard assessment, landscape evoluti ....Development of new and high precision noble gas techniques for dating Quaternary volcanic rocks and surfaces: a Thermochronology and Noble Gas Geochronology and Geochemistry Organisation initiative. This project will calibrate noble gas dating methods, providing powerful tools for dating young volcanic rocks, eroded or buried surfaces and glacier/ice retreat. This research has considerable social, national and economic benefits for research training, volcanic hazard assessment, landscape evolution, paleoclimate change and mineral exploration.Read moreRead less
Walking with dinosaurs in the Kimberley: mapping the Cretaceous landscapes of the Dampier Peninsula. The coastline of the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, preserves what is arguably one the largest and most significant stretches of dinosaur track-sites in the world. Despite recent National Heritage listing, the majority of these tracksites are largely undocumented, such that their full scientific significance is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to digitally map the dinosaur tra ....Walking with dinosaurs in the Kimberley: mapping the Cretaceous landscapes of the Dampier Peninsula. The coastline of the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, preserves what is arguably one the largest and most significant stretches of dinosaur track-sites in the world. Despite recent National Heritage listing, the majority of these tracksites are largely undocumented, such that their full scientific significance is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to digitally map the dinosaur tracksites of the Dampier Peninsula, utilising high-resolution aerial photography with both manned and unmanned aircraft, airborne and hand-held LiDAR imaging, and digital photogrammetry. The results will allow us to construct high-resolution, three-dimensional digital outcrop models of the tracksites, and bring the 130 million-year-old landscapes back to life.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100050
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$970,000.00
Summary
A new national electron microprobe facility. A new national electron microprobe facility: Precise chemical microanalysis underpins research on Earth materials. The Electron Microprobe (EMP) is the main instrument to achieve this. It performs rapid quantitative analysis and element mapping on solid materials at micron resolution. This facility will support an impressive variety of research including experimental, igneous and metamorphic petrology and geochronology. It will foster increased collab ....A new national electron microprobe facility. A new national electron microprobe facility: Precise chemical microanalysis underpins research on Earth materials. The Electron Microprobe (EMP) is the main instrument to achieve this. It performs rapid quantitative analysis and element mapping on solid materials at micron resolution. This facility will support an impressive variety of research including experimental, igneous and metamorphic petrology and geochronology. It will foster increased collaboration between partner organisations including universities and major geoscience institutes.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
Analysis of asteroid samples returned by Hayabusa 2 and Osiris-REx . This year sees the highly anticipated return of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to Woomera carrying samples of the asteroid Ryugu. This is only the fifth extraterrestrial sample return mission in history. The research team has been invited to participate in the preliminary examination which will take place in Japan in early 2021. The investigators have developed unique analytical skills that allow measurement of small amounts of rock ....Analysis of asteroid samples returned by Hayabusa 2 and Osiris-REx . This year sees the highly anticipated return of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to Woomera carrying samples of the asteroid Ryugu. This is only the fifth extraterrestrial sample return mission in history. The research team has been invited to participate in the preliminary examination which will take place in Japan in early 2021. The investigators have developed unique analytical skills that allow measurement of small amounts of rock for oxygen isotope compositions at unprecedented precision. This project aims to characterise a suite of carbonaceous chondrites, which appear to be the best match to Ryugu, and therefore will provide the exemplar data to understand the provenance of Ryugu, and place it in the context of solar system materials.
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Precise cross-calibration of 40Ar/39Ar, Rb-Sr and U-Pb chronometers: towards an integrated geochronology toolbox. Application of the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic geochronometer to dating rocks, minerals, fossils and meteorites is limited by insufficient precision and consistency in existing determinations of the half-life of its parent isotope 40K. This project proposes novel methods for determination of the half-life and branching ratio of 40K, by age comparison against well calibrated 87Rb-87Sr and 40K- ....Precise cross-calibration of 40Ar/39Ar, Rb-Sr and U-Pb chronometers: towards an integrated geochronology toolbox. Application of the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic geochronometer to dating rocks, minerals, fossils and meteorites is limited by insufficient precision and consistency in existing determinations of the half-life of its parent isotope 40K. This project proposes novel methods for determination of the half-life and branching ratio of 40K, by age comparison against well calibrated 87Rb-87Sr and 40K-40Ca geochronometers. The ages with all isotopic systems will be determined in the same minerals, thus eliminating the main source of uncertainty in the previous studies. Independently The project will measure the 40K decay rate by decay counting of highly enriched 40K salt and expects a five-fold improvement in precision and accuracy of known 40K decay rate.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
High resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. This project aims to establish a high-resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the famed Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya. The Basin hosts a vast array of hominin fossils that cover more than four million years of human evolution, and interbedded volcanic deposits within the Basin sediments has provided much of our current constraints on the timing of hominin evolution. However critical knowledge gaps remain. Using new ins ....High resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the Turkana Basin, Kenya. This project aims to establish a high-resolution timeframe for hominin evolution in the famed Omo-Turkana Basin, Kenya. The Basin hosts a vast array of hominin fossils that cover more than four million years of human evolution, and interbedded volcanic deposits within the Basin sediments has provided much of our current constraints on the timing of hominin evolution. However critical knowledge gaps remain. Using new instrumentation and dating methods, this project will provide an ultra-precise chronological framework for the basin. This is critical for transforming our understanding of hominin evolution and migration, under changing climatic and environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
Carbon dioxide sequestration more than 3.7 billion years ago and the oldest climate cycles. More than 3.7 billion years ago atmospheric greenhouse CO2 was sequestered into limestone sedimentary rocks deposited in ice-free oceans. Why then, with the 30-25 per cent cooler sun in those times, was our earth not frozen over? Solving this oldest climate problem, will give the deepest-time perspective to the earth's changing climate feedback loops.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100044
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$905,654.00
Summary
Ultra-precise dating in Earth, planetary and archaeological science. An advanced facility incorporating next generation, multi-collector mass spectrometer and ultra-clean gas line systems, capable of ultra-precise dating of Earth, planetary and archaeological material. This joint Melbourne-Curtin facility seeks to generate ultra-precise age data from ever smaller and younger samples, such as minute particles from space return missions and tiny inclusions in diamonds. The facility is expected to ....Ultra-precise dating in Earth, planetary and archaeological science. An advanced facility incorporating next generation, multi-collector mass spectrometer and ultra-clean gas line systems, capable of ultra-precise dating of Earth, planetary and archaeological material. This joint Melbourne-Curtin facility seeks to generate ultra-precise age data from ever smaller and younger samples, such as minute particles from space return missions and tiny inclusions in diamonds. The facility is expected to revolutionise noble gas dating techniques, resulting in new knowledge on solar system genesis, hominid evolution, indigenous migrations, palaeo-climate change, natural hazards and ore deposit formation, while further enhancing Australia’s international leadership and competitive advantage in the discipline.
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