GEMOC ARC National Key Centre
GEMOC in 2009
Mission
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• to provide a leading interdisciplinary research environment for the development of the next generation of Australia’s geoscientists • to deliver new concepts about the spatial and temporal distribution of Earth resources |
This Mission Statement has evolved since GEMOC commenced in 1995, to reflect the evolution of GEMOC’s activities to probe Earth geodynamics beyond the lithosphere. Current projects are extending our horizons further to planetary composition and dynamics. The postgraduate group is constantly expanding and has developed to reflect strong international research links.
Gemoc’s research success and distinctiveness lie in its interdisciplinary approach to understanding the way the Earth works, integrating information across traditional discipline boundaries including geochemistry, geophysics, geodynamics and tectonics. This perspective has made GEMOC a world leader in understanding the complex evolution of the uppermost 200 km of the Earth (the lithosphere), its global geodynamic behaviour, the timing of important Earth episodes, and its origins. The addition in the last two years of six staff resulting from GEMOC's status within Macquarie University as a Concentration of Research Excellence (CoRE, see page 4) has broadened GEMOC's horizons, expertise and infrastructure.
GEMOC now has world-class facilities with leading-edge technology in geochemical analysis (including novel laser-sampling capabilities), a state-of-the-art U-series isotope laboratory, and a versatile high pressure/high temperature experimental facility to simulate the physical conditions of the Earth's interior. These experimental studies can probe the early history and evolution of the Earth's core, mantle and crust and illuminate planetary analogues.
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Elena Belousova, Ayesha Saeed and Norman Pearson discussing in situ Hf isotope analysis of zircons by LAM-MC-ICPMS, part of the TerraneChron® methodology (see Technology Development and Research Highlights). |
The appointment of three new early-career academic staff (Craig O'Neill, Juan Carlos Afonso and Yingjie Yang (arriving in 2010)) has significantly expanded GEMOC's in-house research expertise and capabilities to undertake geodynamic and geophysical modelling, and computational Earth simulations. This has created powerful synergy with existing GEMOC programs related to the geochemical and petrologic studies of the deep Earth. A new computer cluster that can be successively upgraded by modular addition was established to support this initiative.
The research foci on the different levels of the deep Earth and on planetary origins in GEMOC are complementary, and pivot on the continuing effective functioning of its unique, internationally recognised Geochemical Analysis Unit to provide geochemical data that underpins their outcomes and outputs.
Extensive international and national collaborations extend our expertise and enhance GEMOC's resource base.
GEMOC AND THE EARTH AND PLANETARY EVOLUTION CoRE STRATEGY
In 2006, Vice-Chancellor Professor Steven Schwartz designated GEMOC as an existing Concentration of Research Excellence (CoRE) in Earth and Planetary Evolution (EAPE) at Macquarie. The CoRE is being supported by new staff appointed from 2007 to enhance and expand research expertise and performance. GEMOC had built up an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the way the Earth works, integrating the traditional disciplines of geochemistry, geophysics, geodynamics and tectonics. We had developed cutting-edge isotope, geochemical and experimental instrumentation and strong collaborations with national and international researchers and industry. The Earth and Planetary Evolution CoRE seeks to build on these strengths to define the processes driving Earth's global internal dynamics, and to understand how these have generated the present chemical and physical structure of our planet through time. New and reinforcing expertise from five CoRE recruits will now allow expansion into realistic geodynamic modelling and geologically significant modelling of geophysical datasets by combining new computational expertise with existing geochemical, petrological, tectonic and experimental knowledge bases. It will also enable continuing development of world-leading methodologies and applications in geochemistry (including isotopic) and especially for in situ (laser-ablation) analysis.
Advertisements sought applicants in the fields of rheology of rocks and minerals; geochemical analysis, lithosphere and Earth dynamics; geophysical imaging of Earth's interior; dynamic modelling of Earth's mantle; isotope and trace element geochemistry; cosmochemistry and meteoritics. Professor Bill Griffin, Dr Tracy Rushmer, and Dr Craig O'Neill commenced in 2007 and Dr Juan Carlos Afonso, Dr Bruce Schaefer and Professor Simon Turner commenced as CoRE staff in 2008. Dr Yingjie Yang, recruited in 2009, will arrive in 2010.
GEMOC's strategic focus
The main targets of GEMOC's original activities addressed large-scale problems related to lithosphere evolution and understanding the relevance of different types of crust-mantle domains to area selection for mineral exploration. These have broadened since GEMOC became self-funded in 2002, to involve whole-mantle perspectives of geodynamics, far-field and feedback effects on the lithosphere that shape Earth's crust, and planetary studies that relate to Earth's formation, differentiation and geochemical/geodynamic evolution. New ways of measuring the timing of Earth processes are defining the fourth dimension (time) with increasing clarity for crust, mantle, core and magmatic events. New capabilities in
high-pressure experimental work are simulating deep Earth conditions, another complementary approach to probing Earth's early history and evolution and understanding planetary analogues.
Industry collaboration has increased with funded large-scale collaborative projects related to lithosphere evolution, crustal generation and diamond formation and fingerprinting. The delivery of new tools and a new framework of terrane analysis to the mineral exploration industry has generated much collaboration. Funded projects dealing with magma-related Ni deposits, plume magmatism and PGE deposits, diamond exploration, and deep-lithosphere structure through time capitalise on our depth of intellectual property about deep Earth processes from the lithosphere to the core.
Strategic outcomes
Our strategic goal is an integrated understanding of the evolution of the Earth and other planets. In achieving this we will deliver:
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• improved understanding of the composition and structure of the Earth from the mantle to the core and the dynamics of the Earth system • insights on planetary formation, evolution, composition and dynamics from Earth-based analogues • fundamental insights into the processes that create and modify the continental mantle and crust and the timing and time-scales of these processes • a better understanding of the assembly of the Australian continent and its geological architecture through work in Australia and global analogues • results and concepts exportable to other terrains, both globally and to potentially resource-rich areas of interest to Australian exploration companies • an improved global framework for understanding the localisation of economic deposits • a realistic 3-D geological framework for the interpretation of lithospheric-scale geophysical datasets • a training program for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students (and continuing education) that will help maintain the technological edge of the Australian mineral industry and improve the industry’s ability to rapidly assimilate new concepts and methodologies • new analytical strategies for determining the chemical and isotopic compositions of geological materials (including fluids) and the timing of Earth processes and events • new experimental petrology approaches to probing the nature of the deep Earth (core and lower mantle) • development of in situ analytical methods (including dating) to maximise information encoded in mineral compositions and to enhance interpretation of data using spatial contexts • development of robust new geodynamic models of Earth’s evolution using constraints provided by geochemical datasets • strategic and collaborative alliances with technology manufacturers in design and application innovation |
This report documents achievement of these goals in 2009 and aims for 2010.
Scientific philisophy
GEMOC’s distinctiveness lies in its interdisciplinary and integrated approach to understanding how the Earth works as a
4-dimensional dynamic system (in space and time).
This approach links...
petrology and geochemistry
experimental petrology and petrophysics
geophysics
petrophysics
tectonics
numerical and dynamical modelling
within the important contexts of...
time
thermal state
to understand how Earth’s core-mantle system ultimately controls crustal tectonics, and the assembly and destruction of continents through time.
GEMOC is also distinctive in its aim to pursue parallel interlinked basic and strategic/applied research programs with targeted development of new geochemical analytical methodologies, geodynamic modelling protocols and experimental design.