GEMOC ARC National Key Centre

Strengthening Geophysics and the geology/geophysics interface

activities 1996

Strengthening of Geophysics and integration across the boundaries of Geology and Geophysics are major aims of GEMOC. In 1996 these were advanced by:

• funding by ARC of a Seismic Consortium headed by Flinders University with Macquarie, Monash, Sydney, Queensland and ANU as partners and with strong support from AGSO and the Australian Geodynamics CRC. A pool of seismic tomography equipment will be available for projects by Consortium members.
• new collaboration between GEMOC and Geophysics at Sydney University has been initiated with development of a major collaborative project and application for 1998 funding.
• a seismic study of MOHO depth in the Sydney region was set up with a Macquarie seeding grant.
• a new 48 channel seismometer was purchased with part GEMOC funding (for research and teaching).
• agreements were reached with the Chinese Academy of Exploration for collaborative access to extensive geophysical datasets.
• Dr Mark Lackie and Dr Phil Schmidt initiated planning for a major new joint facility (involving CSIRO, Macquarie and other Universities including SUCOGG) for rock magnetism research.
• offer of appointment of Professor Paul Morgan to Chair of Geology at Macquarie. He has a double degree in Geology and Geophysics and plans to integrate research and teaching across the Geology and Geophysics interface.
• Dr Karsten Gohl appointed as Lecturer in Geophysics at Macquarie. His specialty is seismology and part of his research time is directed to GEMOC projects.
• Dr Yvette Poudjom-Djomani appointed as a GEMOC Postdoctoral Fellow: expertise in potential field geophysics including gravity, magnetic and thermal.
• Dr Pram Chopra appointed at the ANU node to advance GIS activities.
• Purchase of SUN workstations for GIS at both nodes (total 4).
• major advances in understanding the interpretation of geophysical signatures of some types of lithosphere domains (eg publication numbers 40, 64).

new research projects

As a result of workshops, joint discussions, industry advice, seismic consortium meetings and feedback from GEMOC presentations at the Western Pacific AGU Meeting in Brisbane in July, 1996, the following medium term research projects have been formulated.

1. Depth of Moho beneath the Sydney Basin

2. Nature and location of Moho in two traverses: Snowy Mountains and New England. The latter ties in with one of the first targets identified for the deployment of the seismic tomography array for the Seismic Tomography Consortium.

3. Modelling of the effective elastic thickness of selected regions in Australia, China and specific other regions globally (relevant to exploration targeting) and integration with thermal and magnetic signatures and datasets.

4. Thermal studies of the Australian lithosphere including: silica heat flow studies, modelling heat flow and paleo-heat flow with experimentally determined parameters for thermal conductivity (at different T and P) and heat production of realistic geological lithospheric sections.

5. Focus of mantle petrological studies in the New England Region NSW, the southern Lachlan Orogen and across the Tasman Line in Tasmania to interface with the seismic, gravity, thermal and magnetic geophysical datasets.

new teaching activities

• Purchase of 18 GPS (1 da Silva, 9 Garmin/45 and 8 Magellan) units for fieldwork use and implementation of GPS use in all undergraduate (and postgraduate) fieldwork. Subscription to time signal allows real time differential applications with mapping resolution of 10-15 metres.
• Discussions with the University of Sydney about shared higher-level undergraduate teaching and integration of Geology and Geophysics in some courses.
• Honours research programs integrating Geology/Geophysics components (see description of Honours programs below).