Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240101283
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$361,000.00
Summary
Linking Australia’s basement and cover mineral systems . The aim of this research is to use revolutionary new mineral-dating techniques to test the hypothesis that low-temperature fluids can transport metals from Australia's richly endowed geological basement to form new mineral deposits in the sedimentary basins that cover most of the continent. Sedimentary-hosted mineral systems are the largest source of the critical metal cobalt and the second largest source of copper on Earth. These two meta ....Linking Australia’s basement and cover mineral systems . The aim of this research is to use revolutionary new mineral-dating techniques to test the hypothesis that low-temperature fluids can transport metals from Australia's richly endowed geological basement to form new mineral deposits in the sedimentary basins that cover most of the continent. Sedimentary-hosted mineral systems are the largest source of the critical metal cobalt and the second largest source of copper on Earth. These two metals are essential to developing the green energy infrastructure and technologies that underpin a net zero economy. The expected outcomes are a detailed record of paleo-fluid flow and metal cycling in Australia's highly prospective sedimentary basins. 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
Constraining conditions and timing of orogeny and reworking in the west Musgrave Province. The remote Musgrave Province is one of Australia's prime areas of mineral exploration interest, with about 30 companies holding more than 120 leases over the region. A major factor determining the economic prospectivity of a terrane is the availability of high quality geoscientific data. This project will produce pre-competitive structural, petrological, isotopic, geochemical and geophysical datasets for t ....Constraining conditions and timing of orogeny and reworking in the west Musgrave Province. The remote Musgrave Province is one of Australia's prime areas of mineral exploration interest, with about 30 companies holding more than 120 leases over the region. A major factor determining the economic prospectivity of a terrane is the availability of high quality geoscientific data. This project will produce pre-competitive structural, petrological, isotopic, geochemical and geophysical datasets for the west Musgrave Province that will rival or surpass that available for other regions of Australian crust. This project directly aligns with the National Research Priority goal, developing deep Earth resources, and will reduce the risk to mineral explorers and facilitate economic development within the Ngaanyatjarra Native Title Lands of Western Australia.Read moreRead less
Detachments in evaporites and shales: their controls on fold-thrust belt style and wedge geometry. Deepwater fold-thrust belts comprise large structural traps, currently a major focus of Australian petroleum exploration. The structural style of a fold-thrust belt is controlled by its detachment and new field analogues will demonstrate the fundamental role of detachments.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101642
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$357,299.00
Summary
Earth’s mid-life crisis: recipe for a habitable planet? This project aims to establish the state and nature of the physical Earth systems (climate, topography, geography, erosion, carbon cycle, oxygen cycle) during the Neoproterozoic Era that made our planet habitable to complex life. By analysing these systems together, fundamental drivers and contributions to making a habitable planet will be untangled. Expected outcomes include the first ever series of climate models of this time period, as w ....Earth’s mid-life crisis: recipe for a habitable planet? This project aims to establish the state and nature of the physical Earth systems (climate, topography, geography, erosion, carbon cycle, oxygen cycle) during the Neoproterozoic Era that made our planet habitable to complex life. By analysing these systems together, fundamental drivers and contributions to making a habitable planet will be untangled. Expected outcomes include the first ever series of climate models of this time period, as well a series of digital reconstructions of the physical systems themselves. Sedimentary hosted ore deposits, such as copper and cobalt, are formed partly as a function of erosion and climate, allowing us to provide a mechanistic driver to their formation, and consequently exploration.Read moreRead less
A detrital apatite archive to track crustal growth. This project will establish apatite as a new tool to study the evolution of the continental crust. The crust shaped the composition of the atmosphere and the oceans with consequences for the evolution of life through the availability of oxygen and nutrients. However, when and how the continental crust was generated remains a core question. Current models for continental crust development rely on the mineral zircon. However, zircons only record ....A detrital apatite archive to track crustal growth. This project will establish apatite as a new tool to study the evolution of the continental crust. The crust shaped the composition of the atmosphere and the oceans with consequences for the evolution of life through the availability of oxygen and nutrients. However, when and how the continental crust was generated remains a core question. Current models for continental crust development rely on the mineral zircon. However, zircons only record the history of evolved rocks. To address this bias we will use the mineral apatite which forms in less evolved rocks. We will develop a detrital apatite database of Pb-Nd (model) ages and integrate this with the zircon record to provide a more holistic description for how our planet developed.Read moreRead less
What goes on inside subduction zones? This project aims to decipher how rocks behave inside subduction zones. Subduction is a central tenant of plate tectonic theory and the project will test the hypothesis rocks can become trapped within giant long-lived eddies that circulate material within subduction zones. This international collaborative project will generate new knowledge regarding the time scales rocks can remain trapped inside subduction zones using pressure–temperature–age constraints f ....What goes on inside subduction zones? This project aims to decipher how rocks behave inside subduction zones. Subduction is a central tenant of plate tectonic theory and the project will test the hypothesis rocks can become trapped within giant long-lived eddies that circulate material within subduction zones. This international collaborative project will generate new knowledge regarding the time scales rocks can remain trapped inside subduction zones using pressure–temperature–age constraints from subducted rocks. We will use this information as a framework for numerical simulations of subduction zone behaviour. The project will provide significant benefits in training a new generation of Earth scientists, and in broadening public awareness of fundamental Earth science.Read moreRead less
Iron isotope variation in subduction magmas: Links to fluid flux and oxidation of the mantle wedge? The plates of the outer tectonic shell of our Earth are in ceaseless motion; their collisions create huge earthquakes and their collapse into the Earth introduces surface water to these hot regions at >150km depth, creating melting and volcanic eruption. This project will use iron isotopes to map this surface water as it is introduced to the mantle.
The origin of Australian Gondwana: using isotopic proxies for subduction to reconstruct ancient oceans. This project will, for the first time, include ancient ocean basins in Neoproterozoic plate tectonic reconstructions. It will provide new insights into the geography of Australia between 850 and 500 million years ago, a time of major climatic extremes, the origin of multi-cellular life and the accumulation of the first major petroleum deposits.
Compressional Deformation and Uplift of Australia's Passive Southern Margin. The key project benefit will be to advance our understanding of the processes which cause active deformation of continental margins that are predicted by plate tectonic theory to be passive. We will analyse Australia's 'passive' southern margin because it is an ideal natural laboratory in which to investigate the causes of the deformation of 'passive' continental margins. Hydrocarbon exploration interest and investment ....Compressional Deformation and Uplift of Australia's Passive Southern Margin. The key project benefit will be to advance our understanding of the processes which cause active deformation of continental margins that are predicted by plate tectonic theory to be passive. We will analyse Australia's 'passive' southern margin because it is an ideal natural laboratory in which to investigate the causes of the deformation of 'passive' continental margins. Hydrocarbon exploration interest and investment has waned along much of Australia's southern margin because of lack of understanding of the relative age of the formation of potentially hydrocarbon-bearing structures and the timing of hydrocarbon charge. This project will clarify their relative ages.Read moreRead less