Unlocking Earth’s inner secrets in deep time using palaeointensities

Z.X. Li, A. Biggin: Support by ARC DP (commenced 2020)

Summary:  The geomagnetic field, generated in Earth’s liquid outer core, provides Earth’s biosphere and atmosphere with a critical protective shield from the bombardment of the solar wind. However, we still know little about the evolution of the geomagnetic field or the deep-time secrets it keeps. This project aims to study the varying intensity of the geomagnetic field during Earth’s middle life. The results will help decipher how the Earth’s core responded to evolving tectonic and dynamic systems, including the supercontinent cycles, and when Earth’s solid inner core initiated. Such knowledge will help us to better understand how the Earth System evolved as a whole, and how such an evolution has led to the present day life and environment on Earth.

Plumbing the gap: a mantle solution to the enigma of bimodal arc volcanism

N. Daczko, S. Foley, H. Handley, T. Raimondo: Support by ARC DP (commenced 2020)

Summary:  Subduction zones and volcanic arcs are the most tectonically active regions on Earth and are crucial to understanding, geochemical cycles, tectonic-climate coupling, ore genesis and natural hazards. Bimodal volcanism is a long-recognised characteristic of arc crust that has never been satisfactorily explained. This project tests the new hypothesis that the two types of magmas originate from distinct mantle sources. It takes the innovative approach of integrating novel high-pressure experiments with database analysis of natural volcanic rocks, covering magmatic systems from mantle source to volcano. This project will improve our understanding of arc processes, including the association of economic metals with arc volcanism.

Testing continental growth models with calcium and strontium isotopes

T. Kemp, S. Wilde, M. Van Kranendonk, T. Elliot: Support by ARC DP (commenced 2020)

Summary:  The Project aims to chart the evolution of the Earth’s primordial mantle and oceans between 3.75 and 2.8 billion years ago using calcium and strontium isotopes in ancient igneous and sedimentary rocks. A novel solution to the controversy over the timing and rate of growth of the Earth’s continents is expected. Anticipated outcomes include the establishment of innovative analytical tools for tracing geological and environmental processes, and stronger collaborative links with premier research institutions abroad. The significant benefits of the Project include an enhanced understanding of the environment in which early life evolved, and fresh insight into the formation of the richly mineralised nucleus of the Australian continent.

Mantle dynamics and ore deposits

A. Cruden, M. Fiorentini, S. Barnes, A. Bunger, C. Jackson: Support by ARC DP (commenced 2019)

Summary:  This project aims to investigate where, how and why narrow finger-like conduits form in lithosphere-scale magma plumbing systems by a novel integration of field surveys, three-dimensional reflection seismic data, laboratory experiments and rock fracture mechanics. The project expects to generate new knowledge on the formation and location of highly valuable ore deposits of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements, which are preferentially trapped in poorly understood finger-like magma conduits.

Unveiling the fine structure of the Australian continent using ocean waves

Y. Yang, J.C. Afonso, N. Rawling, M. Ritzwoller, F. Niu: Support by ARC DP (commenced 2019)

Summary:  This project aims to develop new methods to better image lithospheric and upper-mantle structures by using noise from ubiquitous ocean waves, and then use these methods to illuminate fine-scale lithospheric-asthenospheric structures in Australia, from the surface to the upper mantle. Imaging the Earth’s structure using seismic tomography is one of the most fundamental tasks of geoscience. Conventional earthquake-based seismic tomography has difficulties in deciphering fine-scale lithospheric structures. The images from this project will provide a better understanding of the nature of intraplate earthquakes and volcanoes and improve the assessment of intraplate seismic and volcanic hazards in Australia.

A terrestrial hot spring setting for the origin of life? Darwin’s Warm Little Pond revisited

M. Van Kranendonk, M. Fiorentini, K.A. Campbell, D. Deamer: Support by ARC DP (commenced 2018)

Summary:  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 to the currently favoured site at deep sea vents. This will be achieved by: 1) detailed characterisation of the only known, truly ancient, inhabited terrestrial hot spring analogue in the geological record - the 3.5 billion-year-old Dresser Formation, Western Australia; 2) comparison of this ancient analogue with active hot spring fields in New Zealand; and 3) experimental research on prebiotic organic chemistry using Dresser materials and active hot spring fluid chemistries. Results will be used to develop a terrestrial origin of life setting and assist in the search for life on Mars.

Understanding the roles of carbon, water and nitrogen in the development of plate tectonics as drivers of mantle evolution

S. Foley: Supported by ARC Laureate Fellowship (  commencing 2019  )

Summary:  This project aims to understand the roles of carbon, water and nitrogen in the development of plate tectonics as drivers of mantle evolution. Through improved understanding of the impact of melting on the deep earth cycles of carbon, water and nitrogen, this project intends to better understand how key elements are enriched towards economically viable concentrations. This project will generate knowledge of long-term benefit for decision-making in the minerals exploration industry and key government agencies. The project will establish a new generation of Australian scientists with a deep interdisciplinary understanding of earth sciences and pave the way for eventual unification of plate tectonics with climate systems.

How the Earth works-toward building a new tectonic paradigm

Z.X. Li: Supported by ARC Laureate Fellowship (  commenced 2015  )

Summary:  This fellowship project aims to build on the latest technological and conceptual advances to establish the patterns of Earth evolution and use this information to examine a ground-breaking geodynamic hypothesis which links cyclic plate aggregation and dispersion to deep Earth processes. Half a century after the inception of plate tectonics theory, we are still unsure how the Earth ’engine’ works, particularly the forces that drive plate tectonics. The project involves extensive national and international collaboration to potentially create a paradigm shift in our understanding of global tectonics and hopes to contribute to an understanding of the formation and distribution of Earth resources to provide a conceptual framework for their exploration.

Ultra-precise dating in Earth, planetary and archaeological science

D. Phillips, F. Jourdan, E. Matchan, A. Gleadow, Z.X. Li, P. Bland, N. Norman, M. Honda, P. Cawood, R. Weinberg, P. Vasconcelos, A. Herries, M. Fiorentini, M. Wingate: Support by ARC LIEF (  commencing 2021  )

Summary:  An advanced facility incorporating next generation, multi-collector mass spectrometer and ultra-clean gas line systems, capable of ultra-precise dating of Earth, planetary and archaeological material. This joint Melbourne-Curtin facility seeks to generate ultra-precise age data from ever smaller and younger samples, such as minute particles from space return missions and tiny inclusions in diamonds. The facility is expected to revolutionise noble gas dating techniques, resulting in new knowledge on solar system genesis, hominid evolution, indigenous migrations, palaeo-climate change, natural hazards and ore deposit formation, while further enhancing Australia’s international leadership and competitive advantage in the discipline.

WA CRC-MC-ICPMS for Earth, Planetary and Environmental science

N. Evans, P. Bland, K. Rankenburg, Z.X. Li, F. Jourdan, S. Rowins, M. Fiorentini, M. Wingate, S. Barnes, Y. Uvarova: Support by ARC LIEF (commenced 2020)

Summary:  This application aims to provide a mass spectrometer for Australian researchers collaborating on NASA, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and China National Space Administration extra-terrestrial sample return missions as they characterise unique samples of dust and rock collected from asteroids, the Moon and meteorites. The Application will also support government geoscience agencies who will generate nationally significant isotopic datasets to improve mineral exploration success, and scientists monitoring Earth’s environment. Expected outcomes will ensure that Australia remains at the forefront of cosmochemistry, minerals research and environmental studies, which will provide significant benefits to our economy and society.

The Western Australia ThermoChronology Hub

M. Danisik, N. Evans, B. McInnes, C. Kirkland, Z.X. Li, M. Fiorentini, M. Wingate: Support by ARC LIEF (commenced 2019)

Summary:  This project aims to facilitate novel geochronological research in diverse areas of Earth and planetary science by providing a world-first triple-dating instrument facility. Combining three independent radiometric dating methods, the facility will undertake research to advance our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Earth and other planets and provide tools to enhance exploration for Earth’s resources. Expected outcomes include the formation of a strong collaborative facility for academic, government and industry research and a further strengthening of Australia’s position as an international research and education leader in the field of geochronology. It will lead to an improved understanding of the evolution of Earth’s surface, and the formation and distribution of mineral and petroleum resources.

A novel ToF-SIMS facility for organic and inorganic analyses in WA

K. Grice, W. Rickard, G. Benedix, S.-P. Jiang, S. Reddy, M. Kilburn, P. Clode, D. Peyrot, D. Wacey, P. Lavery, P. Masque, R. Trengove, F. Xia, A. Deditius, G. Maker: Support by ARC LIEF (commenced 2019)

Summary:  Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry is a surface sensitive analytical technique that provides detailed elemental, isotopic and molecular information on surfaces, interfaces and thin layers with detection limits reaching in the parts-per-billion-range. The proposed facility is a next generation time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer that allows parallel detection of organic and inorganic species in a given sample. Most importantly it will provide structural information of organic molecules intimately associated with minerals, meteorites, fossils, petroleum source-rocks to biochemical samples bolstering Western Australia’s Earth and planetary sciences, energy, materials sciences, life science and metabolomics research.

Testing Late Cretaceous True Polar Wander on the Western Australian Margin

Y. Liu, Z.X. Li, R. Mitchell: Support by ANZIC IODP Legacy Analytical Funding (AILAF) (commenced 2020)

Summary:  To test the controversial late Cretaceous true polar wander (TPW) event using palaeomagnetism on core samples from the continental margin of Western Australia.

Determining the extent and nature of the oldest crust in Antarctica

S. Wilde, A. Nemchin, M. Whitehouse, S. Harley, M. Kusiak, D. Dunkley: Support by Australian Antarctic Science Grant (commenced 2019)

Summary:  A large inventory of samples, collected by past Australian expeditions to Antarctica, reside with Geoscience Australia and provide a unique treasure-trove of information that can now be tapped, following major advances in knowledge and instrumentation over the past three decades. Selected samples collected from the Napier Complex in Enderby and Kemp Lands, on the western frontier of the Australian Antarctic Territory, have already provided exciting new insights into the timing and complexity of geological processes acting during the earliest stages of Earth’s history. In order to further advance our understanding of this globally significant area, and to add value to a vital academic resource, this project aims to determine the extent of this most ancient terrain and to unravel the complex geological events that affected the area since its formation almost four billion years ago.

Determining the extent and nature of the oldest crust in Antarctica

S. Wilde, A. Nemchin, M. Whitehouse, S. Harley, M. Kusiak, D. Dunkley: Support by Australian Antarctic Science Grant (commenced 2019)

Summary:  A large inventory of samples, collected by past Australian expeditions to Antarctica, reside with Geoscience Australia and provide a unique treasure-trove of information that can now be tapped, following major advances in knowledge and instrumentation over the past three decades. Selected samples collected from the Napier Complex in Enderby and Kemp Lands, on the western frontier of the Australian Antarctic Territory, have already provided exciting new insights into the timing and complexity of geological processes acting during the earliest stages of Earth’s history. In order to further advance our understanding of this globally significant area, and to add value to a vital academic resource, this project aims to determine the extent of this most ancient terrain and to unravel the complex geological events that affected the area since its formation almost four billion years ago.

Magnetotelluric analysis for Greenland and Postglacial Isostatic Evolution (MAGPIE)

C.P. Conrad, K. Selway, C. Gaina, R. Karlsson, K. Nisancioglu, B. Steinberger, L. Tarasov: Support by Norwegian Research Council FRINATEK (commenced 2019)

Summary:  With this project we seek to develop new constraints on rock viscosity beneath Greenland by collecting geophysical data on the ice sheet. The magnetotelluric (MT) data image the Earth’s electrical conductivity, which is sensitive to the temperature and water content of mantle rocks. Because these factors also control mantle viscosity, we can use MT data to map viscosity variations beneath Greenland. These data are also sensitive to subglacial melt, which will enable us to detect extra heat added beneath Greenland by the Iceland Plume (GIA).

We will develop a new numerical modelling technique for GIA that can accommodate large viscosity variations. The code will be useful to study GIA problems worldwide, but we will use it to predict GIA uplift patterns associated with the viscosity variations beneath Greenland. We will then use these much-improved GIA models to produce more accurate estimates for modern-day ice loss in Greenland.

Using geochemical and microstructural XFM mapping to identify proximal, medial and distal vectors around magma transfer zones

N. Daczko, J. Munnikhuis: Supported by ANSTO - Australian Synchrotron Beamline Program (commenced 2019)

Summary:  The Earth is composed of a layered crust overlying a relatively homogeneous mantle. This layered nature necessitates material (in the form of melts) to be transferred from the mantle to the crust. However, the types of melt migration pathways remain unclear. We aim to assess changing the degree of chemical interaction of melt pathways from a transect near a mass transfer zone from the crust-mantle transition zone using the Maia-384 detector. This study will allow for better identification of other more cryptic mass transfer zones from surrounding rocks on the km scale.

Constraining the palaeodepth evolution of the South Tasman Rise and determining its role in development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)

S. Loehr, J. Wittaker, N. Daczko, P. Hall: Support by ANZIC IODP Legacy Analytical Funding (AILAF) (commenced 2019)

Summary:  This project aims to determine the palaeodepth evolution of the South Tasman Rise, a tectonically-thinned and submerged continental block formerly part of the Tasmanian Land Bridge which connected Australia and Antarctica until the Eocene. This will provide important constraints on the opening of the Tasmanian oceanic gateway to deep water circulation, hypothesised to be a primary control on the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition, arguably the most profound climatic re-organisation of the Cenozoic. A multiproxy sediment geochemistry approach developed and validated by the authors during recent work on the East Tasman Plateau will be employed to 1) determine the palaeodepth evolution of the South Tasman Rise during the Eocene and 2) to identify the timing of initial submergence of the continental blocks in this critical region of Eocene tectonics.

Orogenesis: Assembly and Growth of Continents and Supercontinents

S. Pisarevsky: Support by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (commenced 2019)

Summary:  Creation of a new high-profile center to study geochronology, geochemistry and paleomagnetism at the Institute of the Earth’s Crust of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

3D Earth

J.C. Afonso, J. Ebbing: Supported by European Space Agency and MQ University (commenced 2017)

Summary:  The goal of this project is to establish a global 3D reference model of the crust and upper mantle based on the analysis of satellite gravity and (electro-)magnetic data in combination with seismological models and analyse the feedback between processes in Earth’s deep mantle and the lithosphere. Selected case examples will provide the possibility to test these approaches on a global and regional scale. This will result in a framework for consistent models that will be used to link the crust and upper mantle to the dynamic mantle.

Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program

R. Arculus, D. Cohen, S. Gallagher, P. Vasconcelos, C. Elders, J. Foden, M. Coffin, O. Nebel, H. McGregor, M. Clennell, C. Sloss, A. Heap, A. Webster, A. Kemp, S. George: Supported by ARC LIEF (commenced 2016)

Summary:  This project is for an Australian membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program. The Program will recover drill cores, situate observatories, and conduct down-hole experiments in all the world’s oceans from lowest to highest latitudes to address fundamental questions about Earth’s history and processes within four high-priority scientific themes: climate and ocean change - reading the past and informing the future; biosphere frontiers - deep life, biodiversity, and environmental forcing of ecosystems; Earth connections - deep processes and their impact on Earth’s surface environment; Earth in motion - processes and hazards on a human time scale.

CWAS: China-Western Australia Seismic Survey

L. Zhao, H. Yuan, GSWA: Supported by the Institute of Geology & Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (commenced 2016)

Summary:  Western Australia is an ideal natural laboratory for understanding the evolution of the Australian craton. To better understanding how and where the cratonic nuclei merged in the Precambrian requires high-resolution probing of the crustal and mantle structure beneath Western Australia. IGGCAS, CCFS and GWSA will install a 900-km-long dense (station spacing of 10 to 15 km) seismic profile across Western Australia from Port Hedland to the southwestern border of the Kimberly Craton, in order to:

- image the crustal structure of the north edge of Pilbara craton, the Canning basin and south edge of the Kimberly craton with a high-resolution, and address the following issues: 1) deep geometry of the craton boundaries, 2) deep geometry of craton collisional belt; 3) differences of crustal structures between two cratons.

- image the mantle structure of the north edge of Pilbara craton, the Canning basin and south edge of Kimberly craton and address the following questions: 1) geometry of the convergence beneath the craton boundaries, 2) characteristic difference of the upper mantle of the two cratons.