GEMOC ARC National Key Centre
Director's preface
This report summarises gemoc’s 2009 activities including research, technology development, strategic applications, industry interaction, international links and teaching (at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels). The report is required as part of GEMOC's formal annual accounting to the Australian Research Council (ARC). The ARC acknowledges GEMOC as a continuing ARC National Key Centre while GEMOC attracts sufficient funds to maintain its high research activity and output, achieves its annual goals, and submits an Annual Report fulfilling ARC reporting requirements.
GEMOC's strategic vision is the integration of geophysical, geochemical and petrological data with tectonic and geodynamic modelling to gain a better knowledge of the whole-Earth system from its accretion to the present day. This has been a logical extension of our progress in addressing the original goal of understanding the evolution of the lithosphere. Significant parts of the large-scale Global Lithospheric Architecture Mapping program (GLAM), in collaboration with Western Mining and subsequently BHP-Billiton, are now published or in press and the results are impacting a broad spectrum of areas including early Earth, lithosphere evolution, interpretation of seismology datasets, and global mineral exploration strategies.
In 2006 GEMOC was designated a Concentration of Research Excellence by Macquarie Vice-Chancellor Steven Schwarz, who has enhanced our expertise with six new academic staff positions across isotopic and trace-element geochemistry, lithosphere and Earth dynamics, geophysical imaging of Earth's interior, dynamic modelling of Earth's mantle and rheology of rocks and minerals, as reported in previous Annual Reports. The appointment of a seismologist, Dr Yingjie Yang , due to arrive in 2010, completes the first stage in the strategic plan to build a dynamic group of outstanding early-career researchers (with Juan Carlos Afonso and Craig O'Neill), spanning a broad range of geophysical and geodynamic expertise relevant to understanding deep Earth processes and planetary systems. This provides a critical mass for mutual collaboration, and to interface with the existing depth of geochemical, petrologic and tectonic knowledge on the deep Earth and its processes that exists within GEMOC. The 2009 cover references the ongoing work of Juan Carlos Afonso and co-workers in unravelling the deep structure beneath northern Africa.
A highlight of 2009 was the increase in infrastructure for GEMOC, with a broad funding base including Macquarie University, ARC and industry. Macquarie University supported the purchase of a computing cluster nucleus designed for progressive modular expansion to support the developmental computing requirements of the geophysical and geodynamic modelling projects. Within the Geochemical Analysis Unit, the purchase of a Zeiss scanning electron microscope with cathodoluminescence imaging and energy dispersive analytical capabilities reflects a new direction incorporating more emphasis on mineral imaging linked to microstructure and compositional variations. This initiative was supported by the installation of a new-generation FTIR microscope (ThermoFisher iN10) enabling rapid whole-grain mapping of spectral data. A spectral deconvolution program has been developed in-house to capitalise on the huge array of data embedded in the digital FTIR images.
We also acquired a SelFrag apparatus (installation in early 2010), which uses high-power electrostatic pulses to fragment rocks into individual mineral grains without crushing. This will become the nucleus of a new mineral-separation laboratory, with particular focus on extraction of zircons for the ongoing TerraneChron® program (see Research Highlights).
A successful ARC LIEF application for 2010, built on partner-organisation contributions and Macquarie University support, has provided over $1.6m to leap-frog some of our existing technology, allowing exciting new developments in in situ analytical capabilities that will extend our trace-element and isotopic applications. GEMOC's world-class geochemical and high-pressure experimental infrastructure (see page 67) is the critical core of most of our research and allows us to maintain a leading profile in geochemical analytical developments. It is timely to reflect that GEMOC has provided the geochemical community with several new and powerful methodologies. For example, we developed the in situ Hf isotope method for zircon (published in 2000; GEMOC Publication 179, GCA 64) that now has wide global uptake and is proving a critical tool for understanding crustal evolution. In situ Re-Os analysis of small sulfide grains, and a range of stable metal-isotope methods are some of the other novel developments.
GEMOC's success in linking interdisciplinary knowledge and data is also evident in many of the 69 articles published in high-impact journals including Nature Geoscience, Geology, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Journal of Petrology, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, G-cubed, Lithos and Chemical Geology. Our vigorous postgraduate milieu is evidenced by the publication by postgraduate students of seventeen first-authored papers in high-impact journals.
GEMOC's leading research profile was again highlighted by a high level of participation at international conferences and workshops, including convening of meetings and sessions, and many plenary, keynote and invited talks at peak international fora (see “GEMOC communications” ). International collaboration provides leverage of our intellectual and infrastructure resources and is evidenced by visits to GEMOC by over 20 international researchers, and postdoctoral fellowships from China, Germany, Taiwan and Spain undertaken at GEMOC.
2010 promises to be another lively year with new challenges, new people, new instrumentation and new contributions to understanding how the Earth works – our ultimate goal.
Suzanne Y. O'Reilly