Coals as methane bioreactors: significance of microbial methane generation in coal seams for coal seam gas (CSG) production and carbon dioxide (CO2) geosequestration. Australian coal seam gas, for domestic and export use, potentially rivals coal mining in national wealth creation. This project aims to demonstrate that coal seams can function as bioreactors, using naturally present micro-organisms to generate methane. The methane could come from injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the coal, cr ....Coals as methane bioreactors: significance of microbial methane generation in coal seams for coal seam gas (CSG) production and carbon dioxide (CO2) geosequestration. Australian coal seam gas, for domestic and export use, potentially rivals coal mining in national wealth creation. This project aims to demonstrate that coal seams can function as bioreactors, using naturally present micro-organisms to generate methane. The methane could come from injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the coal, creating a sustainable supply of clean burning gas by converting the CO2 into methane. A successful outcome will permit the reuse of wells and associated infrastructure, significantly increasing coal seam methane production and reserves, possibly several fold, as well as reducing the cost of their recovery. The project will investigate the geological, microbiological and engineering requirements to accomplish this.Read moreRead less
Multiscale and multiphase modelling of deformable porous media. The physics of our Nation's most pressing engineering problems involve simultaneous processes on multiple scales. Our research conducts massive computer simulations of processes involving fluid flow in rock on a broad range of scales. Simulations of this kind make future technologies such as CO2 sequestration more predictable and manageable.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120103067
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
How does the continental crust get so hot? This project is aimed at constraining the tectonic drivers of high geothermal gradient crustal regimes. The key outcomes of this project are better constraints on the tectonic drivers of high geothermal gradient metamorphism and the development of quantitative tools to assess the evolution of heat within areas of mountain building.
Present-Day Crustal Stress Field of North-Eastern Australia. The key project benefit is to advance fundamental understanding of crustal dynamics in NE Australia and thus Australia as a whole. The project will improve our knowledge of both the nature and sources of the present-day crustal stresses in NE Australia. The project has implications for seismicity and neotectonics in NE Australia. Furthermore, the project has significant implications for both hydrocarbon and hot dry rock geothermal ener ....Present-Day Crustal Stress Field of North-Eastern Australia. The key project benefit is to advance fundamental understanding of crustal dynamics in NE Australia and thus Australia as a whole. The project will improve our knowledge of both the nature and sources of the present-day crustal stresses in NE Australia. The project has implications for seismicity and neotectonics in NE Australia. Furthermore, the project has significant implications for both hydrocarbon and hot dry rock geothermal energy exploration and development.Read moreRead less
Mapping Fluid Flow in the Earth's Crust: a Li and B micro-isotopic and thermodynamic study of serpentinisation. Interaction of fluids with magnesium-rich rocks creates new minerals and, on a global scale, affects the physical and chemical evolution of the Earth. On a more local scale, such fluid: rock interactions can lock up carbon dioxide via the formation of carbonate minerals. However, the extent to which such reactions may self-propagate is unclear. A primary benefit of this study will b ....Mapping Fluid Flow in the Earth's Crust: a Li and B micro-isotopic and thermodynamic study of serpentinisation. Interaction of fluids with magnesium-rich rocks creates new minerals and, on a global scale, affects the physical and chemical evolution of the Earth. On a more local scale, such fluid: rock interactions can lock up carbon dioxide via the formation of carbonate minerals. However, the extent to which such reactions may self-propagate is unclear. A primary benefit of this study will be new constraints on the viability of magnesium-rich rocks in geosequestration applications. Additional benefits will be provided by the development of advanced new analytical methodologies, and an increased level of understanding of the way that fluid flow can modify nickel sulphide ore bodies.Read moreRead less
The Missing link in the Tasmanides: evaluating tectonic evolution and resource exploration potential of the southern Thomson Fold belt. Understanding the Thomson Orogen, a geological region which straddles the New South Wales and Queensland border, is critical for developing geodynamic models for the evolution of eastern Australia, and assessing resource potential. However, it lies under the Great Artesian Basin. This project focusses on ground truthing geophysical acquisition studies using dril ....The Missing link in the Tasmanides: evaluating tectonic evolution and resource exploration potential of the southern Thomson Fold belt. Understanding the Thomson Orogen, a geological region which straddles the New South Wales and Queensland border, is critical for developing geodynamic models for the evolution of eastern Australia, and assessing resource potential. However, it lies under the Great Artesian Basin. This project focusses on ground truthing geophysical acquisition studies using drill core from a targeted drilling program, designed to maximise the available tectono-stratigraphic information. The outcome intends to be a 3D geological map of the region, which can be interrogated for mineral exploration targeting, and from which 4D evolutionary geodynamic models of eastern Australian can be integrated.Read moreRead less
Subsurface fluid flow through fractures in sedimentary basins. This project aims to improve understanding of subsurface fluid transport through fractures. Fractures in rock provide interconnected, hydraulically conductive networks enabling large-volume fluid transport through sedimentary basins. The ability of a fracture to transmit fluid is primarily controlled by the in situ stress field, but also by rock strength, fracture plane orientation and roughness and pore-fluid pressure. We have a goo ....Subsurface fluid flow through fractures in sedimentary basins. This project aims to improve understanding of subsurface fluid transport through fractures. Fractures in rock provide interconnected, hydraulically conductive networks enabling large-volume fluid transport through sedimentary basins. The ability of a fracture to transmit fluid is primarily controlled by the in situ stress field, but also by rock strength, fracture plane orientation and roughness and pore-fluid pressure. We have a good understanding of in situ stress within many sedimentary basins, but know very little about the nature and origin of natural fractures. This project aims to provide a detailed, quantitative understanding of the nature and origin of natural fractures in the subsurface, which is critical for predicting fluid migration within aquifers, carbon dioxide storage sites, and geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100047
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
Events through time: eruptions, extinctions, impacts, ore-bodies and orogenies - upgrading the national argon geochronology network. Nine universities and the CSIRO will replace aged and obsolete equipment with new mass spectrometers which will be strategically placed at opposite ends of our continent to improve access for Australian researchers to these instruments for which there is high demand. These instruments will allow more exact dating of events such as eruptions, impacts, climate change ....Events through time: eruptions, extinctions, impacts, ore-bodies and orogenies - upgrading the national argon geochronology network. Nine universities and the CSIRO will replace aged and obsolete equipment with new mass spectrometers which will be strategically placed at opposite ends of our continent to improve access for Australian researchers to these instruments for which there is high demand. These instruments will allow more exact dating of events such as eruptions, impacts, climate change, biological extinctions, mineral deposits and mountain building.Read moreRead less
Numerical modelling of coupled deformation, fluid flow and heat flow in modern and ancient rifts. Computer modeling of geological processes is increasingly important to mineral and hydrocarbon exploration, to hazard prediction (e.g. earthquakes) and to plate tectonics. Because it is difficult to understand geological processes from ancient rocks, we will use new computer models to study fluid circulation in an active volcanic fault zone in New Zealand, where many of the parameters obscured in an ....Numerical modelling of coupled deformation, fluid flow and heat flow in modern and ancient rifts. Computer modeling of geological processes is increasingly important to mineral and hydrocarbon exploration, to hazard prediction (e.g. earthquakes) and to plate tectonics. Because it is difficult to understand geological processes from ancient rocks, we will use new computer models to study fluid circulation in an active volcanic fault zone in New Zealand, where many of the parameters obscured in ancient rocks can be measured directly. We will determine processes of fluid migration that contributed to the formation of mineral deposits in ancient rocks, such as those mined in eastern Australia for gold. The project also has implications for discovery and development of energy resources including fossil fuels and geothermal waters.Read moreRead less
A unified model for the closure dynamics of ancient Tethys constrained by geodesy, structural geology, argon geochronology and tectonic reconstruction. The project will elucidate complex planetary dynamics involved in the interaction of the oceanic plates with the continental crust. Such aspects underpin the ability of geoscientists to effectively simulate and model, impacting on issues ranging from forecasting earthquakes to how to conduct greenfields exploration for energy and mineral resource ....A unified model for the closure dynamics of ancient Tethys constrained by geodesy, structural geology, argon geochronology and tectonic reconstruction. The project will elucidate complex planetary dynamics involved in the interaction of the oceanic plates with the continental crust. Such aspects underpin the ability of geoscientists to effectively simulate and model, impacting on issues ranging from forecasting earthquakes to how to conduct greenfields exploration for energy and mineral resources.Read moreRead less