Here are all the latest EarthByte news posts. See News Archive for recent years.
EarthByte also publishes the ‘GPlates News‘ newsletter every quarter. The GPlates newsletter contains features such as the latest GPlates updates, tutorials and datasets, EarthByte news highlights and much more! Click here to view the latest and past editions of ‘GPlates News‘, or subscribe to receive the newsletters.
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…
Citation: Dutkiewicz, Adriana & Müller, Dietmar & Cannon, John & Vaughan, Sioned & Zahirovic, Sabin. (2018). Sequestration and subduction of deep-sea carbonate in the global ocean since the Early Cretaceous. Geology. 10.1130/G45424.1. Abstract Deep-sea carbonate represents Earth’s largest carbon sink and one of the least-known components of the long-term carbon cycle that is intimately linked … Read more…
A news article published by the Deep Carbon Observatory entitled “Mapping the Growth of Seafloor Carbonates in Deep Time” explains how Adriana Dutkiewicz and colleagues used records of carbonate layers logged from cores collected during scientific ocean drilling expeditions combined with a model of ocean basin evolution to unravel the role deep sea carbonate deposition might have … Read more…
In the piece, Patrice recalls some of his own experiences as a kid when he first encountered mountain building. He wrote: “Hello Astrid. You may not believe this but when I was about your age my teacher (Mr Rouve) explained to the class how mountains get made. He took a sheet of paper and put … Read more…
Roberto Spina, a computational geologist from Italy, wrote a lead article in GSA Today, in which he reviews the future of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Analytics in Geosciences, using Adriana Dutkiwicz’s digital seafloor lithology map published 3 years ago as a ground-breaking example. The article includes a South Atlantic view of the virtual globe portraying her map, … Read more…
Ready for a fresh start in 2019, our web development guru Michael Chin has created a new interactive virtual gravity globe, based on BGI’s global gravity grids by Bonvalot et al. (2012). The virtual globe allows the user to visualise either Bouguer or isostatic gravity anomalies. The latter has both the effect of surface and … Read more…
Congratulations to Sabin Zahirovic for receiving an Emerging Leader Award for his work with an international and interdisciplinary Deep Carbon Observatory team investigating links between the evolution of our planet and the exchange of carbon between Earth’s interior and the surface. He was independently nominated by a total of 5 DCO members from 4 countries! Sabin will receive AU$2,000 … Read more…
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation recently announced two new Officer’s Grants for deep carbon science, supporting important community building and modeling efforts. These new projects will invigorate a community of scientists committed to understanding the evolution of deep carbon through deep time through 2019 and beyond. “Carbon Down Under: Galvanizing Australia’s research community for the … Read more…
Earlier this week, the Geological Society of Australia‘s Earth Science Student Symposium of New South Wales (GESSS-NSW) was held at the Abercrombie Business School, the University of Sydney! GESSS-NSW is an Earth sciences conference held by students, for students. For months, EarthByters were heavily involved in the organization conference, where Mandi Thran was Committee Chair, Rhi Garrett was Secretary, Maxim Adams served … Read more…
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. However, previous compilations have stopped short of mapping the locations of rifts and subduction zones continuously since the Neoproterozoic and within a self-consistent plate kinematic framework. … Read more…
EarthByte would like to welcome Edward Clennett from the University of Oxford who is visiting us for 5 weeks to work on his masters project. During his visit, he plans on developing a new plate reconstruction model of the north-eastern Pacific and western North America using tomographic constraints and terrane accretion events. He will also … Read more…
Abstract The motion of diverging tectonic plates is typically constrained by geophysical data from preserved ocean crust. However, constraining plate motions during continental rifting and the breakup process relies on balancing evidence from a diverse range of geological and geophysical observations, often subject to differing interpretations. Reconstructing the evolution of rifting and breakup between Australia and Antarctica epitomizes the challenges involved in … Read more…
EarthByte and the Basin GENESIS Hub welcome Dr Ben Mather who started last week as a postdoc working on Badlands-Underworld integration, landscape evolution modelling of the Sydney Basin, and implementing new groundwater flow capabilities in Underworld. Ben will be with the team until the end of 2020. Welcome to the EarthByte and the Basin GENESIS Hub, Ben! … Read more…
Oil Search’s Reservoir Development team is currently seeking applicants who are interested in completing a Summer Internships project from early December 2018 to March 2019. The Reservoir Development team is tasked with capturing and integrating all geological, reservoir, fluid and wellbore characteristics in order that we can optimise the reserves in our operated oil fields, … Read more…
The ARC Basin Genesis Hub has made a new interactive rift obliquity globe available on the GPlates Portal at http://portal.gplates.org/cesium/?view=rift_ov, based on a recently published paper entitled “Oblique rifting: the rule, not the exception” in Solid Earth. This virtual globe visualizes extension velocities and obliquities within Earth’s major post-Pangea rift systems. Each circle depicts the … Read more…
Five University of Sydney researchers have been recognised for their work by the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Amongst them was Dietmar Muller who received the NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry or Physics at an awards ceremony held at Government House. http://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/premiersprizes/2018-category-winners This is a marvellous recognition of the fundamental role … Read more…
Congratulations to Prof Dietmar Muller who has been awarded the Excellence Professor Award from the German Petersen Foundation for 2019. The award comes with €20,000 (about AU$32,000) and an invitation to spend 6-8 weeks at GEOMAR in Kiel to present a series of lectures, a short course, and to continue/launch collaborations in the field of marine geoscience. … Read more…
Long-term EarthByte collaborator Kaj Hoernle has been awarded the Gustav Steinmann Medal at the recent annual meeting of the German Geological Society. The medal, which has been awarded since 1938, honours outstanding overall achievements in the geosciences. Kaj studied geology, petrology and geochemistry at Columbia University and at UC Santa Barbara. Since 1994 he has … Read more…
The Earth’s composition and location relative to the sun has resulted in a thermal, structural and geochemical evolution that is unique in the solar system, forming a resource-rich, oxygenated habitable planet. Human civilization is built on the premise of relatively stable climate and coastlines Yet the geological record reveals numerous episodes of enormous change, innovation, … Read more…