Geochemistry of ore metals at very high temperatures. The world’s largest copper and gold mines occur in extinct volcanoes around the Pacific Rim. Understanding how these essential metals are mobilised from magmas in the roots of volcanoes to become ore deposits and how to recognize where this has occurred is crucial in exploration for new deposits.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely u ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Water is essential for human existence, indeed for life's beginning. The circulation of water between the surface and the deep interior lubricates the internal dynamics that keep Earth geologically alive; it is crucial to most Earth systems, including the evolution of the hydrospher/atmosphere/biosphere, and the development of giant ore deposits. However, the origin, abundance, speciation and movements of fluids inside Earth are largely unknown, and represent key issues in modern geoscience. This CoE will integrate previously disparate fields - geology, tectonics, geochemistry, petrophysics, geophysics and dynamic modelling - to understand the workings of Earth's deep plumbing system.Read moreRead less
Mapping mineral systems of deep Australia. We aim at enabling mineral resource discoveries by calibrating geophysical surveys using geochemical and petrophysical properties measured on mantle samples brought to the surface by recent volcanoes. National geophysical surveys deliver images of geophysical gradients in the deeper part of the Australian continent. The interpretation of these gradients in geological terms and in terms of economic mineral systems is the key to unlock deep exploration su ....Mapping mineral systems of deep Australia. We aim at enabling mineral resource discoveries by calibrating geophysical surveys using geochemical and petrophysical properties measured on mantle samples brought to the surface by recent volcanoes. National geophysical surveys deliver images of geophysical gradients in the deeper part of the Australian continent. The interpretation of these gradients in geological terms and in terms of economic mineral systems is the key to unlock deep exploration success. This project will turn Australia’s investment in National geophysical surveys into new discoveries of base metals. The benefit stems from enabling the transition to a clean economy which requires a much broader range of critical minerals and a larger quantity of base metals.Read moreRead less
A terrestrial hot spring setting for the origin of life. This project aims to test the proposal that a terrestrial hot spring field could have been the setting for the origin of life, in preference over the currently favoured site at deep sea vents. The project will involve an integrated, and multi-disciplinary study of the rocks, fluids, and molecules that together make up ancient to modern hot spring systems, and experiments on prebiotic organic chemistry using early Earth materials. Results w ....A terrestrial hot spring setting for the origin of life. This project aims to test the proposal that a terrestrial hot spring field could have been the setting for the origin of life, in preference over the currently favoured site at deep sea vents. The project will involve an integrated, and multi-disciplinary study of the rocks, fluids, and molecules that together make up ancient to modern hot spring systems, and experiments on prebiotic organic chemistry using early Earth materials. Results will be used to develop a terrestrial origin of life setting and assist in the search for life on Mars.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101477
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Identifying a new source of natural volatile organohalogens. Natural volatile organohalogens have recently been linked to significant atmospheric ozone depletion. The fundamental reactions controlling their emission and fate are unresolved within the international scientific literature. This project aims to use novel geochemical techniques to determine the role of ultraviolet radiation in organohalogen emissions from degraded saline and acidic landscapes. The expected outcome will shift our unde ....Identifying a new source of natural volatile organohalogens. Natural volatile organohalogens have recently been linked to significant atmospheric ozone depletion. The fundamental reactions controlling their emission and fate are unresolved within the international scientific literature. This project aims to use novel geochemical techniques to determine the role of ultraviolet radiation in organohalogen emissions from degraded saline and acidic landscapes. The expected outcome will shift our understanding of natural volatile organohalogens and predictions of stratospheric ozone recovery. The project also aims to systematically resolve the feedback between elevated ultraviolet radiation and ozone layer depletion, and is therefore highly innovative.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100156
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,000.00
Summary
A high precision, automated system for studying greenhouse gas cycling in coastal environments. This facility will perform automated, long-term greenhouse gas measurements in coastal waters. The expected outcome of research at this facility is a better understanding of how the coastal ocean acts as a source or sink of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and volatile organic carbon.
Effect of elevated nutrients on carbon and nitrogen cycles in seagrass beds. Seagrass beds play a crucial role in global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. It is unknown how this role is affected by nutrient inputs caused by humans. This study aims to determine, onsite, how elevated nutrients affect seagrass bed C and N cycling. A novel suite of cutting-edge methods will be used, including whole-ecosystem stable isotope labelling. This project is significant because seagrass beds affect the qua ....Effect of elevated nutrients on carbon and nitrogen cycles in seagrass beds. Seagrass beds play a crucial role in global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. It is unknown how this role is affected by nutrient inputs caused by humans. This study aims to determine, onsite, how elevated nutrients affect seagrass bed C and N cycling. A novel suite of cutting-edge methods will be used, including whole-ecosystem stable isotope labelling. This project is significant because seagrass beds affect the quantity and form of C and N exported to the ocean or buried, thereby impacting global budgets. The outcome will be major advances in understanding global C and N cycles. The benefit is that this will facilitate effective coastal management by improving our ability to predict how nutrients affect seagrass ecosystem services.Read moreRead less
Electron flow in iron hyper-enriched acidifying coastal environments: reaction paths and kinetics of iron-sulfur-carbon transformations. Iron hyper-enriched acidifying coastal lowlands have a direct social, economic and environmental impact on communities in many parts of Australia. This project will determine how iron transforms and accumulates. The new knowledge will be of immediate relevance for the remediation of coastal plains.