Research School of Earth Sciences NewsletterUnearthed

In this issueSimon Winchester 3Author views 1815 Smith map

Field Trips 4Students explore Australia's geology

Ted Irving 6One of our most influential early research scientists

A N U C O L L E G E O F P h y S i C A L A N d M A t h E M A t i C A L S C i E N C E S

issue 5 | Summer 2014

Research Highlights 8 A giant ancient mountain range, Martian minerals and the handprint of climate change

Alumni Success 11 International awards recognizing some stellar careers

This newsletter is published twice a year and is archived at rses.anu.edu.au/newsletter

Editing: Ian Jackson and Mary Anne King

Contact Mary Anne King to submit content.

First Year Earth and Marine Science students visit the South Coast Photos by John Dow

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From the directorThe ANU Council recently decided that ANU should divest itself of some shareholdings in a small number of companies in the resources sector. In his public statements on the matter, the ANU Vice Chancellor Professor Ian Young has explained that this decision was based on advice to Council concerning performance against environmental, social and governance criteria by a reputable external consultant.

Within the context of the resulting, often misleading public discussion, the Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES) values the opportunity to clarify the scope of its research portfolio. Through its recruitment procedures, the School seeks to maintain a broad disciplinary balance, within which individual staff members exercise substantial autonomy in setting their personal research priorities. The resulting research portfolio includes an intensive ongoing commitment to research that is relevant to each of the resources and environmental sectors.

RSES retains a strong commitment to understanding the physico-chemical processes responsible for the concentration of trace elements into economic ore deposits. Such interest ranges from the broad tectonic setting and local structural controls of the pathways for mineralizing fluids, and the timing and duration of such episodes of fluid flow, to chemical factors including the role of the magmatic vapour phase, complexing of ore elements in fluids, sensitivities of solubilities to changing pressure, temperature and redox conditions, and the precipitation of key secondary mineral phases. Regarding energy resources, members of the School have recently

provided input based on geodetic expertise into the inquiry by the New South Wales Chief Scientist into coal-seam gas. Equally, the School has capacity and interest in the use of seismic methods to detect the presence and migration of fluids in sedimentary basins, with interpretation informed by findings from laboratory research in rock physics.

The School has developed an equally strong commitment to the understanding of climate change on time scales ranging from decadal to glacial-interglacial. For example, School staff and students have pioneered the development of isotopic and trace-element proxies for sea-surface temperature, salinity, and alkalinity, with applications to corals, planktonic organisms, and microfossils in deep-sea cores. On land, similar methods, being applied particularly to cave deposits of calcium carbonate, are documenting past changes in temperature, rainfall, and vegetation. Palaeomagnetic methods are being used to extract environmental signals from magnetic minerals in sediments. Complementary studies in experimental and computational fluid dynamics are clarifying the relative importance of buoyancy and wind stress, and the role of ice melting, in the dynamics of the world’s oceans with particular reference to the Southern Ocean.

ANU and RSES are committed to a balanced position which emphasizes both the ongoing discovery and exploitation of mineral and fossil fuel resources, as well as an improved understanding of climate change. Such balance applies not only to our research agenda but also to the training of the next generation of geoscientists.

Ian Jackson, 5 November 2014

O U R W O R l d C U P : S T A F F V S S T U d E N T SThe annual RSES Staff vs. Students football match was held on a gloomy Friday afternoon where the incessant sprinkling of rain made for a slicker-than-usual synthetic pitch on Willows Oval. The staff team, in particular, turned out in impressive numbers, certainly totalling more than the regulation 11 for a traditional football team.

Wearing blue, the staff were looking to ensure that the students’ faces matched their red uniforms, and started the stronger of the two outfits, going close a number of times in the first half. Much of the game was mired in midfield due to

the slippery conditions, and, at the break, scores were level at 0 – 0 apiece. The shift of Simone Pilia into an attacking role for the students as the second half got underway brought immediate dividends, as he linked up with lizzie Ingham, who duly slotted the goal and broke the deadlock. The Sardinian was able to penetrate the stout staff defence, led ably by Joerg Hermann and Malcolm Sambridge, on another two occasions.

The final score was 3 – 0. The game was played in good spirits and the camaraderie was evident for all to see.

Paolo Sossi

Editor’s note: Best on Ground: Eric Ward (kneeling third from right – staff have to win something!)

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This year the Geophysical Fluid dynamics group hosted the Postgraduate Winter School, organised by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science. Fifty Phd & Honours students from around Australia and the South Pacific

attended lectures and experiments in the Geophysical Fluid dynamics lab, and participated in tutorials. They also toured the NCI; home of the Southern Hemisphere's most powerful supercomputer.

Jaeger-hales LectureThank you to all of the staff, students, alumni and friends of RSES who came together for the 2014 Jaeger-Hales lecture and reception. Professor Terry Plank from Columbia University and lamont doherty Earth Observatory delivered an inspiring lecture: At the speed of volcanic eruptions.

Brief News

Professor Terry Plank (right), with RSES director Ian Jackson and special guest, Mrs Denise Hales

Postgraduate Winter School

Simon WinchesterThe School was delighted to show Simon Winchester, the author of The Map that changed the World, a rare copy of the world’s first geological map of England, Scotland and Wales created in 1815 by William Smith. The two metre by three metre map is one of an estimated 43 surviving copies of the 115 originally produced. It was purchased by Prof d. A. Brown for the

ANU department of Geology in the mid 1960s.

“I think it is the most beautiful copy I have ever seen”, Mr Winchester told director Ian Jackson. “The colours are so vibrant and all were hand-coloured by Smith. He truly was a genius.”

Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the Smith map and events are planned around the world to remember Smith and the first geological map.

Antarctic ice: going, going…Congratulations to staff member and alumnus Nerilie Abram who has been listed amongst Australia's best science writers, with the recent publication of "The Best Australian Science Writing 2014". Nerilie's contribution, entitled "Antarctic Ice: going, going,..." examines Antarctica's changing ice sheets and the implications for sea level rise in the coming century.

thank you to GSAFor many years the ACT division of the Geological Society of Australia (GSA) has been giving prizes to high achieving earth sciences undergraduates. This year a beautiful Honours Board was presented to the School to record the names of these students.

Through the GSA Endowment Fund Awards the ACT division also gener-ously awarded Phd candidate Michael Short ($3000) and Honours student Maxine Kerr ($1,000) funds to assist for field trips, conferences and equipment.

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Student Activities

during the September teaching break the first year Earth and Marine Science class of about fifty students attended a field trip to the south coast.

The south coast has many incredible geological features and we had the opportunity to study a number of these to gain a broad overview of geological field techniques. We spent four nights at the lake Tabourie Tourist Park and during the day we drove to different locations between Potato point and dolphin point. Each location had many interesting geological features for us to study and learn about using different field techniques. This included drawing stratigraphic columns, producing field maps and creating a geological cross section.

Each evening we would return for a delicious meal at the lake Tabourie Motor Inn and spend the night working until around 10pm to finish our tasks for the day. Andrew Berry, Jörg Hermann and student demonstrators Patrick Goodarzi, Eleanor Mare, laura Crisp and James Tolley came along to share their knowledge of field geology and help us understand the amazing features around us.

On the final day we were dropped off at Snake Bay and used everything we had learnt throughout the week to do an independent interpretation of the geology we saw there without any hints from the teachers. The entire trip was a really worthwhile learning experience and was greatly enjoyed by all.

Who would have thought beneath a barren landscape such marvels could lay buried? like an unearthed gem, the geology of central Australia served a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered by 18 RSES students this fall.

Our journey to the red centre kicked-off in Adelaide, early August, and weaved north through the Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Macdonell Ranges and Harts Range, to conclude in the heart of Australia, Alice Springs.

Beyond the untainted night skies, toasted marshmallows and cool stillness of the desert nights, days teemed to the brim with adventures into the unknown. Within the Flinders, a traverse along tilted stratigraphy allowed us to visit 130 M.y. of Earth’s History.

S O U T H C O A S T F I E l d T R I P

Emma Carroll

J O U R N E Y T O T H E R E d C E N T R E

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Student Activities

G E O B A l lNic Badullovich

Geoball is organised held by the ANU Earth & Marine Sciences Society. It has been running for quite a number of years and every year it just seems to get bigger and better! This year’s classy theme was 'James Bond' and the event was held in the Great Hall at University House. The evening began with pre-drinks, followed by a three course meal and two different award ceremonies.

The evening was enjoyed by students, lecturers, professors and staff and symbolises the great unity between staff and students. Who knows what the theme will be next year? But it's safe to say it will definitely 'rock'!

The assortment of sediments that once filled the Adelaide Geosycline, including glacial tillites from the Sturtian and Cryogenian and fossils from the Ediacaran, demonstrated the complex interplay between global tectonics, climate and life on Earth. Further north, the uranium rich terrain of Arkaroola showcased fascinating rocks relict of an epithermal environment akin to the geysers of Rotorua or Yellowstone National Park.

From minerals that fuel weapons to ones that fuel the ego, our journey to the ‘Opal Capital of Australia’, Coober Pedy, proved thought-provoking. The town, concealed beneath a barren plain peppered with mounds of dirt, provided a glimpse into the arduous life of a fossicker. Approaching the centre we were greeted by the two revered giants, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, rising 350m above the scarlet desert flat. Up-close and

dwarfed by the towering walls of iron-stained arkose and conglomerate, one couldn’t help but ponder how beautiful 300 M.y. of aging could be.

Forget youthful appearances, ‘brain-rock’, honey-comb weathering textures and Tafoni (caves) are the quintessence of beauty. From there on our journey continued as we paralleled alongside the ever-stretching wall of the Macdonell Range. Here we explored the hidden world of Ormiston Gorge. like cave paintings that depict stories of the past, structures including fold-thrust duplexes, S-C fabrics and recumbent folds told us a story of significant crustal shortening 300 M.y. ago during the Alice Springs Orogeny.

Wide-eyed and hungry for zircons, carbonatites and pseudo-rubies (garnets) we drove east into the desolate Harts Range. After a hard 2 days picking in the scorching sun, pockets filled to the brim

with allsorts and minds abuzz we called it a day.

Concluding our journey in Alice was bittersweet, because for every kilometre of the three thousand we travelled not only did we learn more about the place we call home but also about ourselves and our peers. One could conclude our journey to the red centre was in all an educational and memorable experience.

Jessica LowczakPhotos: Philipp Brandl

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Obituary

E ( Te d ) I r v i n g – A n A N U p e r s p e c t i v eIt is with a mixture of sadness and great pride that the School reflects on the life and scientific achievements of one of our most influential early research scientists. Edward A. “Ted” Irving CM FRSC FRS passed away on 25 February 2014.

Following undergraduate training in geology at the University of Cambridge, Ted Irving was recruited in June 1951 as a geological

field assistant by Keith Runcorn of the same university. Together they collected samples from the Torridonian Sandstone of Northwest Scotland for a paleomagnetic study, and the work developed into a Phd project for Irving.

A sensitive ‘astatic’ magnetometer, which had been developed by Patrick Blackett for another purpose, was being adapted and duplicated for the measurement of rock magnetism, and Irving was involved in this pioneering work. Jan Hospers, also a Cambridge student, was at the time assembling data from Iceland, and showed that Earth’s magnetic field in the relatively recent geological past is well-approximated by an axial dipole. Under these circumstances, the inclination of the geomagnetic field is a known function of geographic latitude, and past geographic latitudes could be inferred from palaeomagnetic measurements.

Irving’s 1954 Phd thesis included measurements from the Indian deccan Traps which indicated that, since the early Tertiary, ‘India had moved from the Southern Hemisphere through 53º of latitude and had rotated counterclockwise by 28º, a motion required by (the then controversial continental drift theory of) Wegener’. Irving’s Phd project also provided paleopole positions from the Precambrian Torridonian sandstones, which along with the Paleozoic poles of fellow Cambridge student Ken Creer and the Triassic poles of Clegg et al. at Imperial College, defined the first paleomagnetic polar wander path, for Britain.

In parallel with these developments, John Jaeger had been recruited from the University of Tasmania in 1952 by the director Mark Oliphant as foundation professor of geophysics in the ANU’s Research School of Physical Sciences (RSPhysS). Oliphant had consulted with J. Tuzo Wilson of Canada concerning research directions that might profitably be pursued by the fledgling department. Jaeger, influenced also by the ideas of Sam Carey of the University of Tasmania,

an early advocate of continental drift, assumed a personal research interest in geomagnetism. In collaboration with petrologist Germaine Joplin, Jaeger set up basic equipment borrowed from the Bureau of Mineral Resources to measure remanent magnetisation in Tasmanian dolerites, which were then dated only poorly to the Jurassic-Cretaceous period. The results on a suite of specimens confirmed the earlier finding of Blackett and Clegg, of a near-vertical magnetic field direction at the time of magma crystallisation, indicative of a near-polar paleolatitude.

When, in his last year as a Phd student at Cambridge, Irving saw and responded to a general ANU advertisement of research positions, he was offered a Research Fellowship in geophysics which he quickly accepted. Jaeger, pursuing this opportunity to more intensively pursue paleomagnetic research, visited Irving in Cambridge in May/June 1954. Plans were hatched for the construction of the new ANU laboratory, initially to house a magnetometer for work on igneous rocks. By the time of Irving’s arrival in Canberra to start work in January 1955, the RSPhysS workshops had already made substantial progress in fabricating parts for the magnetometer – an early indication of the importance of ANU’s workshops as well as Jaeger’s enthusiasm for the project.

Soon thereafter, with Irving already immersed in fieldwork to collect Australian samples, design and construction of the new paleomagnetic laboratory, and ongoing analysis of paleomagnetic and paleoclimatic data from Europe and North America, news arrived that his Phd thesis had been failed by the University of Cambridge.

With Jaeger’s unwavering support, this proved to be only a temporary setback in Irving’s career. By then his Precambrian poles from the Scottish sandstones had been published with Creer and Runcorn as part of the first paleomagnetic polar wander path (for NW Europe), and in 1956 he published an important paper on the Palaeomagnetic and palaeoclimatological aspects of polar wandering and also the results of a detailed study of the Tasmanian dolerites. By 1957, Irving and Phd student Ronald Green had enough information for an initial polar wander path for SE Australia, and the

ted irving, circa 1955 at University house, Canberra, in what became known as the Fellows Garden.

Australia, 1963

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opportunity to demonstrate systematic differences between polar wander paths for different continents – unambiguously indicative of continental drift at speeds of order 10 cm/year.

Under Irving’s leadership during the period 1955-1964 the influential ANU paleomagnetic laboratory contributed substantially to the rapidly developing international reputation of Jaeger’s department of Geophysics. during this period, a second, high-sensitivity magnetometer for work on sedimentary rocks was constructed, and methods of alternating-field and thermal demagnetisation were introduced.

These activities involved major contributions from Phd students Peter Stott, Bill Robertson, and Jim Briden, and Research Fellow Frank Stacey, who also demonstrated that the thermal stresses associated with the cooling of igneous rocks could not have been responsible for ‘anomalous’ paleopole positions.

The development of K-Ar dating at ANU paved the way in the early 1960s for the fruitful collaboration between a Phd student of Ted Irving, donald Tarling, and Ian Mcdougall in deciphering

the geomagnetic polarity time scale. The development of the youthful field of paleomagnetism was captured in Irving’s influential 1964 book Palaeomagnetism and its Application to Geological and Geophysical Problems. Irving’s reputation, by now at the forefront of international paleomagnetic research, earned him a Cambridge dSc in 1965 and election to Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1979.

Meanwhile, in 1955, the dashing young Irving had met Sheila Irwin, the daughter of the then Canadian High Commissioner to Australia, at University House. The ensuing romance culminated in marriage in 1957. They were to have four children, all born in Canberra.

Ted Irving left ANU and Canberra in 1964 initially to work at the dominion Observatory of the department of Mines and Technical Surveys in Ottawa, Canada. After a brief interlude at the University of leeds in the UK, Ted and his family returned to Canada, Ted to employment in the department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, and later in the Pacific Geoscience Center in Sidney, on Vancouver Island.

Ted Irving’s many awards include Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (1973) and of the Royal Society (london, 1979), the Bucher Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1979), the Tuzo Wilson Medal of the Canadian Geophysical Union (1984), and the day Medal of the Geological Society of America (1997), Membership of the US National Academy of Sciences (1998) and of the Order of Canada (2003).

Ted Irving was one of the true pioneers in Jaeger’s new department, and a major contributor to its rapidly growing international reputation. The School was delighted to welcome Ted back to Canberra in 1992 as our Jaeger-Hales lecturer. Now, we salute the passing of one of our finest.

Ian Jackson (with guidance by Ted Lilley and Ian McDougall)

To celebrate International Year of Crystallography the XRd laboratory manager, dr Ulrike Troitzsch, welcomed a group of volunteers from Questacon to the X-ray diffraction laboratory.

She explained the principles and applications of X-ray diffraction and provided some activities for sample identification. “The RSES XRd laboratory attends a diverse range of research areas within the school,” said dr Troitzsch.

The XRd laboratory also provides support to commercial customers including the petroleum industry, other universities and museums.

Celebrating the International Year of Crystallography with Questacon Volunteers

Vancouver island, 1980 Photo: Ray yole

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Research Highlights

Scientists have found evidence for a huge mountain range that sustained an explosion of life on Earth 600 million years ago. The mountain range was similar in scale to the Himalayas and spanned at least 2,500 kilometres of modern west Africa and northeast Brazil, which at that time were part of the supercontinent Gondwana.

“Just like the Himalayas, this range was eroded intensely because it was so huge. As the sediments washed into the oceans they provided the perfect nutrients for life to flourish," said Professor daniela Rubatto.

“Scientists have speculated that such a large mountain range must have been feeding the oceans because of the way life thrived and ocean chemistry changed at this time, and finally we have found it.”

The discovery is earliest evidence of Himalayan-scale mountains on Earth.

"Although the mountains have long since washed away, rocks from their roots told the story of the ancient mountain range’s grandeur," said co-researcher Professor Joerg Hermann.

“The range was formed by two continents colliding. during this collision, rocks from the crust were pushed around 100 kilometres deep into the mantle, where the high temperatures and pressures formed new minerals,” he said.

As the mountains eroded, the roots came back up to the surface, to be collected in Togo, Mali, and northeast Brazil, by Brazilian co-

researcher Carlos Ganade de Araujo, from the University of Sao Paolo.

dr Ganade de Araujo recognised the samples were unique and brought the rocks to ANU where, using world-leading equipment, the research team accurately identified that the rocks were of similar age, and had been formed at similar, great depths.

The research team involved specialists from a range of different areas of Earth Science sharing their knowledge, said Professor Rubatto.

“With everyone cooperating to study tiny crystals, we have managed to discover a huge mountain range,” she said.

The research is published in Nature Communications.

Scientists have discovered that the earliest living organisms on Earth were capable of making a mineral that may be found on Mars.

The clay-mineral stevensite has been used since ancient times and was used by Nubian women as a beauty treatment, but scientists had believed deposits could only be formed in harsh conditions like volcanic lava and hot alkali lakes.

Researchers led by dr Bob Burne have found living microbes create an environment that allows stevensite to form, raising new questions about the stevensite found on Mars.

“It’s much more likely that the stevensite on Mars is made geologically, from volcanic activity,” dr Burne said.

“But our finding – that stevensite can form around biological organisms – will encourage re-interpretation of these Martian deposits and their possible links to life on that planet.”

dr Burne and his colleagues from ANU, University of Western Australia and rock imaging company lithicon, have found microbes can become encrusted by stevensite, which protects their delicate insides and provides the rigidity to allow them to build reef-like structures called “microbialites”.

“Microbialites are the earliest large-scale evidence of life on Earth,” dr Burne said. “They demonstrate how microscopic organisms are able to join together to build enormous structures that sometimes rivalled the size of today’s coral reefs.”

He said the process still happens today in some isolated places like Shark Bay and lake Clifton in Western Australia.

“Stevensite is usually assumed to require highly alkaline conditions to form, such as volcanic soda lakes. But our stevensite microbialites grow in a lake less salty than seawater and with near-neutral pH.”

One of the paper’s authors, dr Penny King also from RSES, is a science co-investigator on NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, which uncovered the presence of possible Martian stevensite.

The findings also have implications for how some of the world’s largest oil reservoirs were formed.

The discovery was made using ANU-developed imaging technology licensed to lithicon. The data was run on Raijin, the most powerful supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere, based at the National Computational Infrastructure in Canberra.

The research is published in Geology. listen to dr Bob Burne talk about the research on the ABC Star Stuff podcast.

M A R t i A N M i N E R A L C O U L d B E L i N k E d t O M i C R O B E S

t h E A N C i E N t M O U N t A i N S t h A t F E d E A R L y L i F E

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Earth-bending tsunamis

When the deadly tsunami that caused the

Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant meltdown

in 2011 was observed spreading across the

Pacific Ocean, it travelled about 2% slower

than conventional computer simulations

predict. This meant it arrived at distant

coasts up to 20 minutes later than forecast.

Now researchers from the Research School of Earth Sciences have used the NCI supercomputer to find out why. The findings could help us understand how such deadly tsunamis originate.

Read more on our website

Australian volcanic mystery explained

New research by dr. Rhodri davies RSES

and Prof. Nick Rawlinson at the University of

Aberdeen helps to solve the global puzzle of

why steep changes in thickness of continents

generate intra-plate volcanism only at

isolated locations. The Newer Volcanics

Province of Southeastern Australia (an

intra-plate volcanic province that stretches

over 500 km from Melbourne to the South

Australian town of Mount Gambier) originates

from a localized region of molten rock within

Earth’s mantle, rising from 200-300 km

below Earth’s surface.

Read more on our website

Neanderthals and modern humans coexisted

Neanderthal groups lived alongside modern

humans for several thousand years, an

international team of scientists has found,

overturning previous theories about the

extinction of Neanderthals. The team applied

a new radiocarbon dating method which

revealed that Neanderthals across Europe

did not all die out at one time as modern

humans appeared.

dr Rachel Wood was part of the international research team which published its findings in the latest edition of Nature

Read more on our website

h U M A N h A N d S A R E A L L O V E R A U S t R A L i A’ S h O t t E S t E V E R y E A RIn 2013, heat records fell like dominoes. Australia had its hottest day on record, its hottest month on record, its hottest summer on record, its hottest spring on record and then rounded it off with the hottest year on record.

According to four new research papers published last month, the impact of climate change significantly increased the chances of record heat events in 2013. looking back over the observational record the researchers found global warming over Australia:

• doubled the chance of the most intense heat waves,

• tripled the likelihood of heatwave events,

• made extreme summer temperature across Australia five time more likely,

• increased the chance of hot dry drought-like conditions seven times, and

• made hot spring temperatures across Australia 30 times more likely.

But perhaps most importantly, it showed the record hot year of 2013 across Australia was virtually impossible without the influence of human-caused global warming. At its most conservative, the science showed the heat of 2013 was made 2000 times more likely by global warming.

"When it comes to what helped cause our hottest year on record, human-caused climate change is no longer a prime suspect, it is the guilty party," said RSES researcher dr Sophie lewis.

"Too often we talk about climate change impacts as if they are far in the future. This research shows they are here, now.”

The research involved scientists from across the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

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F U T U R E l E A d E R – J A C K M U I RWe congratulate Honours student Jack Muir who has been awarded a General Sir John Monash scholarship for 2015-2017. The Monash scholarship supports future Australian leaders in overseas postgraduate study.

Jack intends to study novel methods of statistical inference in seismic tomography at the California Institute of Technology. For his Honours project Jack worked on the core-mantle boundary. His supervisor, Associate Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić is very proud of Jack’s achievements and hopes that one day he will return to ANU.

Jack will attend the American Geophysical Union conference in december, where he will present his research.

d R l E S l E Y W Y B O R N ( P H d 1 9 7 8 )lesley Wyborn’s outstanding career as a geoscientist has been acknowledged by the Australian Government with the highly prestigious award - the Public Service Medal. The citation recognises lesley’s distinguished career across government, industry and academia:

“dr Wyborn is a geoscientist who has an international standing for her contribution to the understanding of the geology of Australia. She is an expert in synthesising and analyses of complex data sets to better understand the major controls on Australian mineral systems at a regional and national scale.”

lesley led Geoscience Australia in the development of highly innovative digital geoscientific data and has become one of the most “influential thought leaders and practitioners in the world in the field of cyber infrastructure”. lesley is currently a Visiting Fellow at RSES and an Adjunct Fellow at the National Computational Infrastructure ANU.

News

lizard and goanna wrangling is not in the duty statements of any of the staff at the RSES Warramunga Seismic and Infrasound Research Station… but perhaps it should be.

On the traditional lands of the Warramunga people, deep in the Northern Territory outback, around 35 kilometres southeast of Tennant Creek, the Warramunga Seismic and Infrasound Research station maintains an array of 24 underground seismometers. The station measures the vibrations in the Earth caused by earthquakes, but is also part of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organisation, an international organisation that monitors the planet for seismic activity related to nuclear explosions.

The station recently carried out an instrument upgrade, after which the technicians noticed some unusual signals coming

from the seismometers. Upon investigation, they found a number of lizards and goannas had taken up residence in the cool underground shafts that housed the seismometers. Being in the order of 10 metres deep, once the lizards had made their way into the shafts, they couldn’t get out again.

Sadly, some of the lizards did not survive this misadventure. However, several of them were still alive, though a little worse for wear. Not wanting any further harm to come to the animals, but needing to get their instruments working properly again, the station staff called upon Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife to rescue the survivors.

The lizards and goannas were successfully retrieved from the shafts, and those that needed it were given some TlC from the rangers. After a few weeks, they were restored to good health and released. Overall, a happy ending.

Sarah Tynan

T H E P E C U l I A R I T I E S O F S C I E N C E I N T H E O U T B A C K

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We are proud and delighted to share in the recognition of the outstanding achievements of these four distinguished alumni.

Share your story: rses.alumni@anu.edu.au

Alumni

international Awards for Outstanding Alumni

James B Gill, distinguished Professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, undertook an Phd project on the geochemical evolution of Fiji under the supervision of Ross Taylor, Bill Compston, and Ian Mcdougall. His long research career at UC Santa Cruz has centred around the chemical evolution of the continental and oceanic crust and the use of short-lived radionuclides to elucidate the magmatic processes responsible for volcanic rocks. His 1981 book Orogenic Andesites and Plate Tectonics was a notable landmark. He has also served with distinction as a teacher and administrator – including terms as dean of the Graduate School and (foundation) Research Vice Chancellor. His AGU Fellowship is awarded ‘for fundamental insights into the timescales of volcanic processes, creation of the continental crust, and origin of magmas at subduction zones’.

Professor Shijie Zhong of the Physics department of the University of Colorado in Boulder enjoyed a formative post-doctoral experience as a Visiting Fellow in RSES working on mantle convection with Geoff davies. The focus of his influential research is understanding the inter-related thermo-mechanical and chemical aspects of planetary evolution. For this purpose, Professor Zhong constructs numerical simulations of the internal dynamics, constrained by input from gravity and seismology, and also by observations of chemical composition and topography at planetary surfaces. The citation for his AGU Fellowship reads ‘for fundamental, profound, and unselfish contributions to advancing the understanding of the dynamics of the Earth, Moon, and the terrestrial planets’.

Shunichiro Karato (Research Fellow 1981-1985), currently the Adolph Knopf Professor in the department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, was awarded the 2014 Augustus love Medal of the European Geosciences Union for ‘outstanding wide-ranging contributions to geodynamics, epitomised by novel syntheses of theory with laboratory, geophysical and field data, and especially for pioneering studies of the anisotropy of Earth materials’. We were delighted that Shun recently visited Australia to discuss science with his Australian colleagues.

Professor Tetsuo Irifune (Research Fellow 1984-1987), currently director of the Geodynamics Research Center at Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan, was awarded the 2014 A. E. Ringwood Medal by the Geological Society of Australia, during the Australian Earth Sciences Convention in Newcastle in July. Tetsuo Irifune was a particularly appropriate awardee, having worked closely with the late Professor Ringwood and being responsible for major ongoing contributions in both high-pressure experimental petrology and the development of ultrahard materials. The citation recognises Tetsuo’s “exceptional research advances in the knowledge of fundamental Earth processes, especially through studies involving petrology and geochemistry and he is recognised internationally for the stature of that contribution’. RSES is very proud of its distinguished former staff member.

At its 2014 annual meeting in San Francisco in december, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) will elect to its Fellowship two ANU alumni: Professors James B. Gill and Shijie Zhong. This distinction is bestowed annually upon only 0.1% of the AGU membership, and the School takes great pride in the achievements and recognition of these alumni.

James B Gill, PhD Student 1968-1972

Shijie Zhong, Visiting Fellow 1997

Shunichiro Karato, Research Fellow 1981-1985

Tetsuo Irifune, Research Fellow 1984-1987

12 Research School of Earth Sciences rses.anu.edu.au

G R A d U A T E S

We congratulate the following students on completion of their degrees. We celebrate their achievements and are immensely proud of them.

PhD Alon Arad Clemens Augenstein Katherine Boston Christopher Chapman Juan Pablo Cordero d’Olivo Brendan Hanger Magdalena Huyskens Julie Mazerat Alex McCoy-West Iain McCulloch Adele Morrison Simone Pilia Iona Stenhouse Paul Stenhouse dominique Tanner Jeremy Wykes Yunxing Xue Mallory Young

MPhil Indra Gunawan John Mcdonald Amalfi Omang Ariska Rudyanto

Honours Sarah Andrew Eloise Aitken diana Cato-Smith John daly Angus Gibson Tim Hobern Maxine Kerr Rachel Kirby Hayden Martin leo Pure Rob Sargent Ben Young

R O C K S T A R S

Dr Oliver Nebel2014 Viktor Moritz Goldschmidt Prize of the German Mineralogical Society

This honour is for outstanding young researchers who have achieved particularly important research in the last five years. Oliver was recognised for his work on the chemical evolution of planetary reservoirs and crust–mantle dynamics. His research focuses on ocean floor geochemistry, magmatic evolution at convergent margins, associated ore deposition, high precision geochronology, and the evolution of planetary reservoirs through time.

Professor Ross Griffiths 2014 Fellow of American Physical Society – Division of Fluid Dynamics

The APS Fellowship recognizes Ross’ outstanding career. The citation reads: "For pioneering experiments and theoretical analysis in geophysical fluid dynamics, including ocean modelling, earth mantle convection and lava flows, and for scientific leadership and service to the fluid dynamics community.” Ross continues to make significant contributions to physics.

Senior Fellow Dr Marc Norman 2014 Fellow of the Meteoritical Society

This award is in recognition of Marc’s contributions to understanding the age and composition of the lunar crust, and the early impact history of the Solar System. The honorary title is reserved for only one percent of the membership every two years. Marc’s research interests include the origin and evolution of the terrestrial planets, basaltic volcanism, ore deposit geochronology, and the geochemistry of dust and water in the environment.

Dr Andy Hogg 2014 Nicholas P Fofonoff Early Career Award of the American Meteorological Society

This prestigious award is in recognition of the fundamental advances that Andy's research has delivered in understanding the impact of ocean eddies on large-scale circulation, flow through straits, and turbulent mixing. Andy is an ARC Future Fellow and a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

If you would like to discuss ways in which you can support Earth Sciences at ANU please contactMary Anne King on 61 2 6125 1120 or via email at maryanne.king@anu.edu.au