The GPlates team has updated the relative and absolute plate motions in the Muller et al. (2019) reconstructions. The details of the updates are summarised below. Version 2.0 of the model (including GPlates files, age-grids, global and regional animations, stretching factor grids, etc.) are available to download from this link. The Muller et al. (2019) … Read more…
Abstract: Bayesian inference provides a rigorous methodology for estimation and uncertainty quantification of unknown parameters in geophysical forward models. Badlands is a landscape evolution model that simulates topography development at various space and time scales. Badlands consists of a number of geophysical parameters that needs estimation with appropriate uncertainty quantification; given the observed present-day ground truth … Read more…
Abstract: Today the eastern highlands of Australia are significantly more elevated than western Australia, but the continent’s geodynamic evolution suggests that the opposite was the case during Cretaceous times, when the Eromanga Sea dominated the eastern Australian landscape. Previous geodynamic and surface processes models have been used to simulate the evolution of this seaway, but … Read more…
Abstract: Carbon is a key control on the surface chemistry and climate of Earth. Significant volumes of carbon are input to the oceans and atmosphere from deep Earth in the form of degassed CO2 and are returned to large carbon reservoirs in the mantle via subduction or burial. Different tectonic settings (e.g., volcanic arcs, mid-ocean … Read more…
A fun day at the NSW South Coast introduced the Deep Carbon Observatory“Carbon Down Under” workshop participants to the Late Permian and Lower Triassic geology of the Sydney Basin. The Triassic Narrabeen sandstones, deposited after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, are devoid of signs of life and represent a time when atmospheric CO2 was at about 6 … Read more…
The EarthByte group is looking for an enthusiastic research assistant as part of the Basin GENESIS Hub (BGH) project. To apply, please send a short CV/Resume, Academic Transcript, and a paragraph explaining why you would be suitable for the role in an e-mail to Sara Morón (sara.moronpolanco@sydney.edu.au) by 5pm, 19 August 2019.
MinEx CRC PhD project: Bayesian optimisation for drill site selection at the University of South Australia, the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney and Geoscience Australia, including the Centre for Translational Data Science and the EarthByte Group. Download the MinEx pgrad booklet at https://buff.ly/2N5DLJ0
PyBacktrack is a Python package that backtracks the paleo-water depth of ocean drill sites through time by combining a model of tectonic subsidence with decompaction of the site stratigraphic lithologies. PyBacktrack can also include the effects of mantle-convection driven dynamic topography on paleo-water depth, as well as sea-level variations. PyBacktrack provides a model of tectonic … Read more…
A Global Plate Model Including Lithospheric Deformation Along Major Rifts and Orogens Since the Triassic R. Dietmar Müller, Sabin Zahirovic, Simon E. Williams, John Cannon, Maria Seton, Dan J. Bower, Michael G. Tetley, Christian Heine, Eline Le Breton, Shaofeng Liu, Samuel H. J. Russell, Ting Yang, Jonathon Leonard, and Michael Gurnis Journal: Tectonics (open access) … Read more…
EarthByte collaborator and GPlates power user Eline Le Breton is visiting the University of Parma, Italy, this week to give a GPlates short course, in the framework of an ERASMUS+ Mobility Agreement between the University of Parma and the Freie Universität Berlin.
Dietmar Muller, Maria Seton and Sabin Zahirovic published an article in The Conversation on How Earth’s continents became twisted and contorted over millions of years based on their recently published paper in Tectonics. Classical plate tectonic theory was developed in the 1960s. It proposed that the outer layer of our planet is made up of a small number of rigid … Read more…
Abstract: Global sea level change can be inferred from sequence stratigraphic and continental flooding data. These methods reconstruct sea level from peri-cratonic and cratonic basins that are assumed to be tectonically stable and sometimes called reference districts, and from spatio-temporal correlations across basins. However, it has been understood that long-wavelength (typically hundreds of km) and … Read more…
The 2019 NSW Mining Exploration Forum in Parliament House featured a range of talks on how to overcome to current deficit in new resource discoveries, especially in the area of metals needed for the “green economy”. Invited talks in a session chaired by Sydney University alumna Alexandra Bonner (now Heron Resources) covered the application of … Read more…
Sedimentary basins around the world are critical to sustaining modern life on Earth. These basins can be thought of as containers that hold water, minerals, energy, and can potentially be used to store carbon dioxide. Unpacking how they form, and where those resources and storage opportunities may lie is a sizeable feat for the best … Read more…
Maria Seton attended Marist College North Shore (Sydney) earlier this week and gave a presentation on “computerised simulations and models of the Earth’s geological history” to a keen group of senior science students. Part of this presentation involved leading a hands-on GPlates activity with the students (see photo). It was a hit and seeing plate … Read more…
The historic Sydney Observatory provided an unrivalled view of Sydney as the city switched its lights off for Earth Hour 2019 on the 30th of March. Public talks included “Sydney Urban Wild” with WIRES campaign Manager Kristie Newton and “Reflecting on Earth” with Dietmar Müller, who built his talk around the idea that understanding the rhythms of Earth’s deep past and thinking about … Read more…
David Fernández-Blanco interviewed Dietmar Müller for the EGU Tectonics and Structural Geology Blog, as part of a series of interviews portraying scientists who have contributed to developing and applying plate tectonic theory over the last 50 years. So far, this set of interviews includes Dan McKenzie, Xavier Le Pichon, Mathilde Cannat, Richard Gordon, Peter Molnar, David Bercovici, Roland … Read more…
Dietmar gave an invited talk at the 2019 Future of Mining conference in Sydney, with co-authors Sebastian Haan from the Sydney Informatics Hub and Fabio Ramos from the Centre for Translational Data Science. The talk covered how Bayesian optimisation can be used to invert surface geophysical data and physical rock properties derived from drill data … Read more…
The term marine snow might sound like an oxymoron, but it’s the phrase given to the dead marine organisms that float to the bottom of the ocean and pile up over time. This flurry of marine matter can resemble falling snow, and it plays a crucial role in capturing carbon and producing oxygen. Over time, these deposits … Read more…
The bodies of the tiny organisms lock away enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, and they’re in danger. The bottom of the Ocean holds one of the world’s largest and most populous graveyards. It’s crammed with organisms too tiny to see, including plankton, protists, and a type of marine algae called coccoliths. The continuous shower of bodies … Read more…
Sam Illingworth, a Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Manchester Metropolitan University, wrote a science poem inspired by our recent research on how ‘marine snow’ has helped to regulate Earth’s temperature over the last 120 million years. A great example of the connection between science and art. The entire piece can be read here.
University of Sydney scientists have modelled how carbonate accumulation from ‘marine snow’ in oceans has absorbed carbon dioxide over millennia and been a key driver in keeping the planet cool for millions of years. Researchers in the School of Geosciences have mapped out how carbonate formations have helped regulate Earth’s temperature over 120 million years. … Read more…
Jo’s wide-ranging interview covers how Dietmar got into geology, why plate-mantle interaction is like biscuits floating on warm toffee, and what role AuScope has played in the success of the EarthByte Group. Read more here.
In January 2019 Peter Spinks taught a media workshop for the Basin Genesis Hub at the University of Sydney. Topics covered included why it’s important to communicate with the public, stakeholders and the media, the value system involved, “getting the picture”, i.e. preparing graphics, illustrations, photographs and videos, popular science writing 101, media releases and … Read more…
Australian Academy of Science honours Dietmar Müller with the Jaeger Medal for lifelong achievement, which recognises research on the Earth or its oceans carried out in Australia or with a connection to Australian Earth science. Prof Dietmar Müller has been awarded the Jaeger medal of the Australian Academy of Science. The award recognises his lifelong passion and innovations in building … Read more…
We are excited to announce a Sydney-based workshop that will bring existing and emerging leaders in deep carbon research to discuss the state of the discipline, but importantly a plan for future collaboration that builds on the momentum generated by the Deep Carbon Observatory. The workshop will be held on Wednesday and Thursday 24 and … Read more…
Citation: Seton, M, Williams, S.E., Mortimer, N., Meffre, S., Micklethwaite, S., Zahirovic, S., 2019, Magma production along the Lord Howe Seamount Chain, northern Zealandia, Geological Magazine, 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756818000912 Abstract: One of the world’s most notable intraplate volcanic regions lies on the eastern Australian plate and includes two age-progressive trails offshore (Tasmantid and Lord Howe seamount chains) and the … Read more…
Maria Seton, Simon Williams and Nick Mortimer (GNS Science) published an article in The Conversation on the underwater volcanic ancestry of Lord Howe Island based on their recently published paper in Geological Magazine. “Lord Howe Island is a beautiful and incredibly isolated world heritage site some 600km off the coast of New South Wales, lauded for … Read more…
Tectonic plates lost to the deep mantle carry a record of ancient surface tectonic processes. A method for retrieving such records has been developed that could clarify the links between tectonics and mountain building. The Andes are the longest continental mountain chain on Earth and the highest outside of Asia. This chain of rocky spires … Read more…
Citation: Merdith, Andrew & Williams, Simon & Brune, Sascha & Collins Alan, S & Müller, Dietmar. (2018). Rift and plate boundary evolution across two supercontinent cycles. Global and Planetary Change. 173. 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2018.11.006. Abstract The extent of continental rifts and subduction zones through deep geological time provides insights into the mechanisms behind supercontinent cycles and the long term evolution of the mantle. … Read more…