Mapping Under the Ice - crustal evolution in Antarctica and the assembly of Gondwanaland. The project will use a novel approach to map the sub-ice geology of Antarctica, and fill a gap in paleogeographical reconstructions. Paleocurrents indicate that Permo-Triassic river sands in Gondwanaland were dispersed from the sub-glacial Gamburtsev Mountains and the Beardmore-Ross region following the collision of Gondwanaland and Laurussia to form Pangea. An integrated U-Pb and Hf-isotope analysis of zi ....Mapping Under the Ice - crustal evolution in Antarctica and the assembly of Gondwanaland. The project will use a novel approach to map the sub-ice geology of Antarctica, and fill a gap in paleogeographical reconstructions. Paleocurrents indicate that Permo-Triassic river sands in Gondwanaland were dispersed from the sub-glacial Gamburtsev Mountains and the Beardmore-Ross region following the collision of Gondwanaland and Laurussia to form Pangea. An integrated U-Pb and Hf-isotope analysis of zircon grains from these sandstones will map the age and crustal evolution of these intracontinental orogens. Comparison with similar data from older Devonian sands in Australia-Antarctica-Africa will allow reconstruction of the pre- and post-collisional tectonics of Australia and adjoining areas of Gondwanaland.Read moreRead less
Partial melting in natural metal-silicate and silicate systems: rheological and geochemical implications for the Earth and other planets. Understanding how fluid and melts migrate through the Earth's crust is vital to predicting how important minerals, metals and oil can be concentrated. Understanding fluid-rock systems therefore contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia (Research Priority 1). Furthering our knowledge of permeable networks through the use of dynamic experiments is a ....Partial melting in natural metal-silicate and silicate systems: rheological and geochemical implications for the Earth and other planets. Understanding how fluid and melts migrate through the Earth's crust is vital to predicting how important minerals, metals and oil can be concentrated. Understanding fluid-rock systems therefore contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia (Research Priority 1). Furthering our knowledge of permeable networks through the use of dynamic experiments is an innovative way to study their development within naturally evolving crustal systems as they respond to changing physical and chemical conditions. Thus, this proposal is also directly concerned with the continuing aim of building a sustainable Australia through knowledge of deep Earth resources.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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100095
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
Frontiers in integrated laser-sampled trace-element and isotopic geoanalysis. Until around 2005 Australia was a leader in the coupling of laser-ablation microprobes (LAM) with inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometers (ICPMS) for geochemical research. However, international developments in femtosecond LAM, sector field instruments and novel instrument coupling possibilities have leap-frogged these achievements. The proposed innovative facility will allow us to regain the leading edge in thi ....Frontiers in integrated laser-sampled trace-element and isotopic geoanalysis. Until around 2005 Australia was a leader in the coupling of laser-ablation microprobes (LAM) with inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometers (ICPMS) for geochemical research. However, international developments in femtosecond LAM, sector field instruments and novel instrument coupling possibilities have leap-frogged these achievements. The proposed innovative facility will allow us to regain the leading edge in this field, help maintain the high profile of Australian geoscience internationally, and to attract high-quality researchers and industry-related research funding. The research is relevant to the Deep Earth Resources National Priority and will include projects of direct relevance to mineral exploration and process technology.Read moreRead less