Biogeochemistry

Our research is aimed at understanding nutrients, trace metals and carbon cycling in the present and past oceans.

science Research area

About

Our research is aimed at understanding nutrients, trace metals and carbon cycling in the present and past oceans, with emphasis on silica and calcium carbonate biomineralising organisms. Our strengths lie in developing and applying trace metal and isotopic analysis techniques to samples collected from nature and grown in controlled laboratory cultures. Our current focus is on:

Understanding the mechanisms of trace metal and isotope incorporation into biogenically precipitated aragonite, calcite and silica;
Reconstructing past and current environmental change using natural archives including foraminifera, corals, siliceous sponges and diatoms;
Understanding the role trace elements play in regulating phytoplankton physiology and productivity, particularly in the Southern Ocean and seas of the Australian region.

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Analytical facilities

The marine biogeochemistry group operates a state-of-the-art trace element and isotope analysis facility, equipped with advanced instrumentation.

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Field equipment and laboratory facilities

The marine biogeochemistry group maintains a range of field-deployable equipment and laboratories.

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Marine Culture Facilities

The marine culture facilities encompass a range of sophisticated equipment.

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Publications

Our publications

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Facilities

ANU Radiocarbon Laboratory

We research a wide range of topics relating to the use of carbon-14 in the environment. This includes using carbon-14 for dating purposes in, archaeology and forensics and as a carbon-14 as a tracer in the global carbon cycle, both in soils and in ocean circulation.

Projects

Developing ultra-green hydrogen technologies

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Potential

People

Prof. Philip Boyd

Iron and its role in regulating Southern Ocean phytoplankton growth

Diatoms are an important primary producer group and currently account for 40% of global primary production. The sequestration of carbon into the deep ocean by diatoms makes them key players in the modulation of atmospheric CO2 levels and global climate.
There is growing evidence from both laboratory and...

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Potential

People

Professor Michael Ellwood

Origins of organisms, organic-rich rocks and oils: mapping the evolution of algal and cyanobacterial communities in Australian onshore sedimentary basins

The Early Paleozoic is a critical time for the evolution of life on Earth, deposition of organic-rich rocks and the generation of global petroleum accumulations. Canning Basin Ordovician cores contain the microfossils G. prisca and E. maureeniae, representing a unique opportunity to investigate their molecular fossils

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Professor Jochen J. Brocks

Precambrian sedimentary rocks in northern Australia: a window into the early history of life on Earth

The Proterozoic saw the emergence of eukaryotic life on Earth. The Carrara 1 well in the South Nicholson Basin will recover pristine cores of Mesoproterozoic, Paleoproterozoic and Cambrian age. These cores offer a unique opportunity to investigate the ancestry of eukaryotes using molecular fossils preserved in rocks.

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Potential

People

Professor Jochen J. Brocks

Biomarkers and Genomics

Biomarkers
Life in the Precambrian was dominated by bacteria and archaea, organisms that rarely leave diagnostic cellular remains in the fossil record. However, hydrocarbon biomarkers, the molecular fossils of natural products such as lipids and pigments, can yield a wealth of information about...