Pyrite: a deep-time capsule of ocean chemistry and atmosphere oxidation. Surprisingly little is known about trace element trends in past oceans, even though these data are vital for interpreting the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere, evolutionary pathways of marine life and cycles of major mineral deposits. Using laser-based analysis of sedimentary pyrite in deep marine rocks, this project aims to produce, for the first time, temporal variation curves for 25 trace elements in seawater over the ....Pyrite: a deep-time capsule of ocean chemistry and atmosphere oxidation. Surprisingly little is known about trace element trends in past oceans, even though these data are vital for interpreting the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere, evolutionary pathways of marine life and cycles of major mineral deposits. Using laser-based analysis of sedimentary pyrite in deep marine rocks, this project aims to produce, for the first time, temporal variation curves for 25 trace elements in seawater over the last 3.5 billion years. Preliminary research has validated the technique and demonstrated major changes in certain trace elements over geologically short periods. Outcomes will assist the minerals industry in the discovery of new deposits of zinc, copper, gold and iron ore in Australia.Read moreRead less
Mantle evolution and the origin of Earth's atmosphere. This project aims to investigate Earth’s early evolution and the origin of our atmosphere. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation the project will measure noble gas and tungsten isotopes in unique volcanic glasses that record the composition of the Earth’s mantle. These measurements are expected to clarify the relationship between the formation of Earth’s atmosphere, mantle and core, and to generate new knowledge about convective currents ....Mantle evolution and the origin of Earth's atmosphere. This project aims to investigate Earth’s early evolution and the origin of our atmosphere. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation the project will measure noble gas and tungsten isotopes in unique volcanic glasses that record the composition of the Earth’s mantle. These measurements are expected to clarify the relationship between the formation of Earth’s atmosphere, mantle and core, and to generate new knowledge about convective currents in the modern mantle. The project aims to train the next generation of Earth scientists and to provide new knowledge to assist in overcoming the challenges in mitigating climate change and sustaining a resource-based economy.Read moreRead less
High resolution warm ocean records from laminated sediment. This project will produce environmental records during ocean warming events in the geologic past to reveal processes associated with warm oceans similar to those anticipated in the coming century. New Australian technology allows investigation of sediment records at unprecedented time resolution providing insight into processes operating on societally relevant time scales of decades to centuries. This work will open an archive of climat ....High resolution warm ocean records from laminated sediment. This project will produce environmental records during ocean warming events in the geologic past to reveal processes associated with warm oceans similar to those anticipated in the coming century. New Australian technology allows investigation of sediment records at unprecedented time resolution providing insight into processes operating on societally relevant time scales of decades to centuries. This work will open an archive of climate information revealing feedback, thresholds and tipping points from past events previously inaccessible because of technical and conceptual limitations. It will provide critical inputs into models predicting future climate and to illuminate the risks and compensating feedbacks occurring with warming.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100443
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,434.00
Summary
Resolving nutrient groundwater exports versus soil burial in mangroves. This project aims to examine the role of mangroves in the sequestration and burial of nutrients. Coastal areas increasingly receive enriched nutrient loads, driving anthropogenic eutrophication. Mangrove wetlands naturally filter and bury large quantities of nutrients through soil accretion. This project aims to quantify nutrient groundwater export as related to mangrove soil nutrient retention and determine if these wetland ....Resolving nutrient groundwater exports versus soil burial in mangroves. This project aims to examine the role of mangroves in the sequestration and burial of nutrients. Coastal areas increasingly receive enriched nutrient loads, driving anthropogenic eutrophication. Mangrove wetlands naturally filter and bury large quantities of nutrients through soil accretion. This project aims to quantify nutrient groundwater export as related to mangrove soil nutrient retention and determine if these wetlands have the potential to provide negative feedback to coastal eutrophication. The project plans to use state-of-the-art radionuclide tracer technology to quantify the relationship between groundwater discharge and historical soil nutrient retention.Read moreRead less
Unravelling vanadium biogeochemistry in modern marine sediments. This project aims to unravel the biogeochemistry of vanadium in modern marine sediments for use as a tracer of ancient oxygen concentrations in the oceans of the early Earth. This project will generate fundamental knowledge on the behaviour of vanadium in modern marine sediments by applying advanced analytical tools for imaging its concentration and chemical form at ultra-high resolution. This information is critical for accurate i ....Unravelling vanadium biogeochemistry in modern marine sediments. This project aims to unravel the biogeochemistry of vanadium in modern marine sediments for use as a tracer of ancient oxygen concentrations in the oceans of the early Earth. This project will generate fundamental knowledge on the behaviour of vanadium in modern marine sediments by applying advanced analytical tools for imaging its concentration and chemical form at ultra-high resolution. This information is critical for accurate interpretation of the geological record to infer the oxygen concentration of the oceans at various points in Earth's history. This interdisciplinary project will facilitate strong collaboration between Australian and Danish researchers in the field of marine geochemistry and paleoceanography.Read moreRead less
Australian dust: its response to, and role in, climate change. Atmospheric dust plumes can affect global climate, but the impact of Australian dust on climate is poorly known even though it is a major dust source. This project will study the magnetism of dust deposits in marine sediments to understand how Australian dust influences climate in order to better predict the influence of humans on future climate.
Driving a palaeomagnetic revolution: geophysical and environmental signals from magnetic biominerals. Magnetotactic bacteria biomineralise magnetic nanoparticles. They are ubiquitous in aquatic environments, so their inorganic remains (magnetofossils) should give rise to sedimentary palaeomagnetic signals. Ancient magnetofossil identifications were sparse until new techniques recently demonstrated their extensive geological occurrence. This project proposes to determine: the mechanisms by which ....Driving a palaeomagnetic revolution: geophysical and environmental signals from magnetic biominerals. Magnetotactic bacteria biomineralise magnetic nanoparticles. They are ubiquitous in aquatic environments, so their inorganic remains (magnetofossils) should give rise to sedimentary palaeomagnetic signals. Ancient magnetofossil identifications were sparse until new techniques recently demonstrated their extensive geological occurrence. This project proposes to determine: the mechanisms by which magnetofossils contribute to sedimentary palaeomagnetic signals; if magnetofossil occurrences provide information about the marine carbon cycle; and, if magnetofossil chemistry can constrain the depth of sedimentary palaeomagnetic signal acquisition. These are major outstanding questions in sedimentary palaeomagnetism.Read moreRead less
Probing the Australian-Pacific plate boundary: Macquarie Ridge in 3-D. This project aims to advance understanding of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary - the Macquarie Ridge Complex - in the Southern Ocean.
It will be the first study to elucidate the processes generating the world's largest submarine earthquakes not associated with active subduction, which may lead to understanding of how subduction initiates, the mechanism of earthquakes occurring at convergent margins, and more accurate est ....Probing the Australian-Pacific plate boundary: Macquarie Ridge in 3-D. This project aims to advance understanding of the Australia-Pacific plate boundary - the Macquarie Ridge Complex - in the Southern Ocean.
It will be the first study to elucidate the processes generating the world's largest submarine earthquakes not associated with active subduction, which may lead to understanding of how subduction initiates, the mechanism of earthquakes occurring at convergent margins, and more accurate estimates of earthquake and tsunami potential.
This study will put Australia at the forefront of Earth Science research into the evolution of tectonic plates and has the potential to better inform hazard assessment efforts in the region, benefiting policy-makers and at–risk communities along the Australia coastline.Read moreRead less
Banded iron formations: life, oxygen and ocean chemistry. This project aims to investigate the co-evolution of life and environments during Earth’s first two billion years using iron-rich chemical sediments deposited from global oceans. The project expects to generate knowledge of Earth’s transition into a planet habitable for complex life by combining nanoscale characterisation techniques, with laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. Expected outcomes include transformative ideas abou ....Banded iron formations: life, oxygen and ocean chemistry. This project aims to investigate the co-evolution of life and environments during Earth’s first two billion years using iron-rich chemical sediments deposited from global oceans. The project expects to generate knowledge of Earth’s transition into a planet habitable for complex life by combining nanoscale characterisation techniques, with laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. Expected outcomes include transformative ideas about the role of life in iron and phosphorus cycles, the chemistry of the early ocean, ancient biological productivity, the antiquity of oxygenic photosynthesis and the rise of oxygen. The project will also deliver new conceptual models for the formation of the host-rocks for most of the world’s iron resources, improving how we explore for iron in the Earth’s crust. This should provide benefits to understanding geobiology on Earth and other planets.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,000.00
Summary
Deep-sea magnetics: a key tool for enhanced 4D hydrothermal exploration. This project aims to constrain the magnetic response and detectability of mantle and hotspot-related vents. Deep-sea hydrothermal systems are oases of unique life and are considered as the most valuable scientific and mining targets ever discovered in the oceans. The project is expected to enable a better understanding of these enigmatic features, in both their active and inactive phases. It will use new and highly powerful ....Deep-sea magnetics: a key tool for enhanced 4D hydrothermal exploration. This project aims to constrain the magnetic response and detectability of mantle and hotspot-related vents. Deep-sea hydrothermal systems are oases of unique life and are considered as the most valuable scientific and mining targets ever discovered in the oceans. The project is expected to enable a better understanding of these enigmatic features, in both their active and inactive phases. It will use new and highly powerful processing methods on existing data and on data collected off the Tasmanian continental shelf. The project is expected to unveil the characteristics of hydrothermalism in a wide range of contexts and improve Australia’s competitiveness in scientific and mining hydrothermal exploration and to potentially guarantee the supply of raw materials for future generations.Read moreRead less