Research projects

River systems hold information on tectonic history in their sediment load and their morphology.
Coupled models of tectonics, topography and surface evolution help us to understand continental deformation patterns.
This project uses state-of-the-art tools in models of collision, basin formation and plate boundaries.

This project involves quantifying changes in water resources in Australia. The student will learn all aspects of processing space gravity data from the GRACE Follow-On mission and how to integrate remotely sensed observations into hydrology models. Maths/physics and programming skills are highly desired for the study.

Project summary
Water resource management is one of the greatest challenges facing sustainable agriculture and urban populations across southern Australia. Key players driving catastrophic droughts in southern Australia are the tropical Indian Ocean Dipole and polar Southern Annual Mode climate systems,...

The program monitors the postglacial rebound which may be occurring near the Lambert Glacier, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica since the Last Glacial Maximum. A transect of permanent GPS sites has been established from the coast up to 450 km inland. The aim of the project is to estimate absolute vertical...

The recent over-ice seismic deployments in Antarctica provide datasets that enable exciting opportunities for seismological research. This project involves innovative development in passive seismology methods adapted for challenging icy conditions to unravel ice and solid Earth structure in Antarctica.

Some of the oldest continental building blocks (e.g. cratons) are found in Australia. At depth, the ancient rock record has invaluable information about the dynamics of the Earth. Seismology can provide remarkable views into the deep lithospheric structure using imaging techniques on broadband seismic data.

Atmospheric dust plumes can affect global climate, but the impact of Australian dust on climate is poorly known even though it is a major dust source. This project will study the magnetism of dust deposits in marine sediments to understand how Australian dust influences climate in order to better predict the...

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...

Grow organisms in aquaculture and explore how they grow their shells and record environmental conditions using a range of microanalysis and epifluoresence methods

Carbon dioxide seep sites expose shallow coral reefs in Papua New Guinea to volcanic CO2 resulting in gradients of seawater ranging from pH 8.0 (normal) to a more acidic pH of 7.5. Some areas of these reefs experience CO2 exposure equivalent to IPCC predictions for 2050 and 2100. In this project we will reconstruct...

These projects aim to monitor how environmental processes change chemistry and mineralogy both in the field and in lab simulations using spectroscopy. The projects can be adjusted for different levels of students.

Use your skills in physics, mathematics or computational science to better understand our climate system.

Geodynamics occupies a unique position in the solid Earth Sciences. It is primarily concerned with the dynamical processes affecting the Earth, both within its interior and at its surface, although it can also be applied to the interiors and surfaces of other terrestrial planets and their moons.

Project to analyse the pattern of seismic anisotropy beneath the continent utilising data from temporary broadband networks deployed across Australia

Using Porites coral cores to examine elemental and isotopic proxies to develop proxy reconstructions of the environment.