Unearthed Earth Sciences Newsletter
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Issue 3 | Winter 2013 Research School of Unearthed Earth Sciences Newsletter ANU COLLEGE OF PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES Top: Kawah Ijen Bottom: View from Papandayan Photos by Professor Richard Arculus In this issue Coral Reef Fieldtrip 2 Alumni Success 9 This newsletter is published twice a year and is archived at An undergraduate perspective International awards recognizing some stellar rses.anu.edu.au/newsletter careers Java Volcanoes 4 Editing: Ian Jackson and Mary Anne Richard Arculus writes it is 130 years since Gift to Earth Sciences 11 King Krakatau exploded Hales family donate artwork to School Contact Mary Anne King to submit Profile 6 content. Emeritus Professor Mervyn Paterson celebrates 60 years at ANU CORAL REEF FIELD STUDY During January 2013, I attended the annual Coral Reef Field Dr. Bradley Opdyke and Dr. Stephen Eggins. A jumble of Studies excursion to One Tree Island along with 22 other geologists, chemists and biologists, we studied topics ranging students from the Australian National University. The island, from fish and invertebrate ecology; micro-atoll and lagoon located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, is approximately water chemistry; coral carbonate chemistry and sedimentation. 80km from the Australian coast and is one of the southern- It was an incredibly valuable experience, the perfect marriage most islands of the Great Barrier Reef. As such, it is relatively of a practical and educational field course to an idyllic tropical unaltered by humans and is a scientist’s dream due to the pris- escape. We had the most incredible time, in the most wonder- tine reef and the explosion of flora and fauna that call it home. ful place, learning the most fascinating things and I can safely say it was one of the best weeks of my life and something I will We spent 6 nights on the island, learning about coral reefs cherish for years to come. and carbonate chemistry, mapping the reef and undertaking individual research projects under the guidance of Maxine Kerr From the Director of Physical Sciences – initially through appointments in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Environmental Geochemistry and RSES turns 40! The 40th anniversary, on 1 July 2013, of Ore Genesis. the founding of the Research School of Earth Sciences was marked by an enjoyable morning tea in the School’s Jaeger This significant milestone will be celebrated with more pomp Room. We were delighted to celebrate this occasion with and ceremony at a late-afternoon event for the whole School Denise Hales, the widow of Foundation Director (1973-1978), community – past and present –involving speeches followed Professor Anton Hales. by a reception on Thursday October 17. Please save the date! Under Anton’s astute leadership, the School began to grow Ian Jackson from the nucleus that was the pre-existing Department of Director Geophysics and Geochemistry of the Research School 2 Research School of Earth Sciences rses.anu.edu.au Brief News Students from University of Tokyo enjoy a visit John Foster celebrates 50 years at ANU John and Trevor at the special morning tea Staff and students gathered to hear stories about John who originally came Professor Patrick De Deckker with the visiting group on the south coast. to ANU to work and later study for a PhD in analytical chemistry. John has Earlier this year we hosted a visit from RSES alumnus, Prof Yusuke Yokoyama (1999 spent much of his time working on the PhD) and 27 of his graduate and undergraduate students from University of Tokyo. SHRIMP - a lifetime project. After fifty The students heard talks from Rainer Grün who spoke about new archaeological years, he still enjoys the challenges that techniques, analysing ancient fish otoliths (ear bones) and his Lake Mungo research; new machines present. Kurt Lambeck spoke on solving questions of stress and deformation of the earth's At the moment he is looking at sulphur crust and the processes of changing sea levels; and Trevor Ireland spoke on our "links and oxygen isotopes, for all sorts with the stars", solar nebula grains and the search for isotopic anomalies in solar dust. of reasons – some to do with sea The visitors also spent the weekend at the ANU’s Kioloa campus on the NSW south temperature change at different depths coast, where Prof Patrick De Deckker led a field trip on the local geology. and climate change – so it’s really interesting. National Rock Garden New School Manager Geoff Pearson comes to ANU in his second appointment as a School Manager. His previous appointments over twenty years were in the private secondary education sector in Melbourne and Sydney. He has studied Literature and Mathematics, is a registered psychologist and has completed a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Milka with her gifts Vice Chancellor, Prof Ian Young with Prof Brad Pillans at the MoU signing Milka Strmota retires ANU recently became an education After more than ten years of service to partner with the Geological Society of the school, our stalwart cleaner, Milka Australia in the National Rock Garden Strmota was farewelled by staff and (NRG). Vice Chancellor, Prof Ian students on Friday, 14 June. Director, Young said “The NRG is a great way Ian Jackson, thanked Milka for her to communicate to the public about dedication and commitment to the Australia’s geological heritage.” Chair community. of the NRG, Prof Brad Pillans believes the Gardens will be both an international We wish her a long and enjoyable tourist destination as well as a world retirement. School Manager, Mr Geoff Pearson class educational place. rses.anu.edu.au NEWSLETTER | Jul 2013 3 Research Highlights Photos by Professor Richard Arculus. as some are noted to be abnormally low in dissolved gases. For example Galunggung Volcano, which last erupted in 1982, located to the southeast of Bandung, seems to JAVA VOLCANOES erupt comparatively dry magmas. But the finer points of This August, it will be 130 years since Krakatau Volcano this distinctive geochemistry would have been lost on the exploded in the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java. It passengers and crew of a British Airways 747 which flew into was one of the single largest explosions in recorded history, the eruption column; all four engines failed and the crew were resulting in emission of about 20km3 of ash, formation of a both skilled and fortunate in recovering from the crisis and ~4km wide caldera, and extremely damaging tsunamis around being able to make an emergency landing at Jakarta. the Strait. Together with John Mavrogenes, the team is also exploring Krakatau was one of a number of Javanese volcanoes visited the capacity of volcanic gas emitted from cooling magmas to by Richard Arculus, Dick Henley, and Hugh O’Neill in April transport base (e.g., Cu, Zn, Pb) and precious (Au, Ag, and 2013. A new, highly active volcanic vent (Anak Krakatau) has platinum group) metals. Interactions of rising volcanic gas with grown in the Caldera, likely commencing the cycle of edifice near surface ground water can be complex and dramatic. construction and collapse once more. The explosive character One of the classic locations where this type of activity is taking of “island arc”-type volcanoes is a consequence of high place is in the hyperacidic crater lake of Kawah Ijen (shown contents of dissolved gases: water, carbon dioxide, and sulfur on the cover photograph). Native sulfur is condensed from dioxide. These gases are ultimately recycled from downgoing volcanic gas on the shores of the lake, and exploited primarily subducted plates, in the Javanese case, the Australian-Indian for gunpowder manufacture by an extraordinarily hardy group Plate. of local miners. The team from RSES were interested in the variety of Professor Richard Arculus magma types erupted along the length of Java, particularly 4 Research School of Earth Sciences rses.anu.edu.au Research Highlights PLANET’S INTERNAL ROTATION The centre of the Earth is out of sync inner shells of the Earth rotate with a simulations. These results could help us with the rest of the mantle, frequently different speed back in 1692.” understand the gravitational connection speeding up and slowing down. between the inner core and mantle and Scientists have so far assumed the the role of the inner core in creating the Associate Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić rotation rate of the inner core to be magnetic field that allowed life to evolve and his team (Mallory Young, Thomas constant because they lacked adequate on Earth by acting as a shield from Bodin, Silvie Ngo and Prof. Malcolm mathematical methods for interpreting cosmic radiation. Sambridge) used 7 newly discovered the data. A new method using Bayesian and 17 old earthquake doublets to transdimensional inference applied to “What we have developed is a very measure the rotation speed of Earth’s earthquake doublets – pairs of almost powerful way to understand the internal inner core over the last 50 years. identical earthquakes that can occur a structure and dynamics of our planet,” couple of weeks to 30 or 40 years apart said. They discovered that not only did the Tkalčić – has provided the solution. inner core rotate at a different rate to Read the paper in Nature Geoscience the mantle – the layer between the core “It’s stunning to see that even 10, 20 and the crust that makes up most of the or 30 years apart, these earthquakes planet’s interior – but its rotation speed look so similar. But each pair differs very was variable. slightly, and that difference corresponds to the inner core. We have been “This is the first experimental evidence able to use that small difference to that the inner core has rotated at a reconstruct a history of how the inner variety of different speeds,” Tkalčić said.