• the processes of partial melting and magma formation beneath ocean island basalts and island arcs
• the application of short-lived, U-series isotopes to constraining the time scales of magma formation, transport and differentiation
• post-orogenic granite petrogenesis
• continental flood basalts
• potassic lavas associated with high plateau formation
• sediment provenance and crustal growth

• Petrogenesis of volcanic rocks in subduction zone settings: using geochemical, isotopic and petrological tools to place constraints on magmatic source components and differentiation processes operating at volcanoes
• U-Th-Ra constraints on timescales of magma formation, transport and storage at island arc and intra-plate volcanoes
• ²¹⁰Pb-²²⁶Ra disequilibria in volcanic rocks
• Hf and O isotope ratios of volcanic rocks
• The geodynamic evolution of arc systems and geochemical constraints on sub-volcanic structure
• Sediment residence time and landscape evolution in semi-arid Australia
• Improving our understanding of the use of U-series isotopes in landscape evolution studies: new analytical methods
   

• I come from a physical volcanology background. I have helped build an accurate eruption dataset for Mt. Taranaki, New Zealand. Using this dataset I was able to look at the possible magmatic processes responsible for eruption variability at this volcano.
• At GEMOC I am using petrological and isotope methods to help understand the timescales of magma differentiation in arc settings.
• In addition, FTIR methods will be used to observe variations of water in clinopyroxene and olivine minerals. This data will supplement Pb210 isotope analyses. The aim of this project is to determine an accurate picture of degassing processes and timescales of arc volcanoes.

• Subduction zone processes
• Magma genesis and evolution
• Origin and signification of ophiolites

• U-series isotopes measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry

• Understanding the petrogenesis of island arc volcanoes, including source components and differentiation processes, through geochemical means including major and trace elements and Sr, Nd and U-series isotopes.
• Investigating the timescales of magmatic processes, including magma formation and  magma chamber residence times, using U-Th-Ra isotopes.
• Resolving the eruptive history of active volcanoes in the south-west Pacific, through examination of their geological record.
• Integrating geochemistry and volcanology to understand the influence of magmatic processes on eruptive behaviour.

Clément Gaildry
Supervisors: Simon Turner, Heather Handley and Shane Cronin

Email: clement.gaildry@mq.edu.au
Building: Building E5B, Room 214
Phone: +61-2-9850-4406
Fax: +61-2-9850-8943

• The application of isotope, geochemistry and mineral chemistry to constrain magma chamber processes
• The formation and evolution of calderas
• Mafic-intermediate ignimbrite deposits associated with calderas in the Vanuatu Archipelago
• GIS modeling
• The application of U-series isotopes to constrain time scales of magma formation
  

• Assessing the Heterogeneous Source of the Azores Mantle Plume
• Application of (isotope-) geochemistry to constrain timescales and source compositions of Ocean Island Basalts related to hotspot magmatism
• Geodynamic processes of upwelling plumes underneath mid ocean ridges
• Interpretation of geochemical signatures indicating (deeper) mantle contribution

Research Interests:

• Physical chemistry
• The development of U-series analytical techniques

Melissa Murphy

Supervisors: Simon Turner, Bruce Schaefer and Anthony Dosseto
Email: melissa.murphy@mq.edu.au
Building: Building E6D
Phone: +61-2-9850- 4400
Fax: +61-2-9850-8943

Research Interests:

• Geochemical instrumentation, analysis and techniques
• Method development
• Hydrogeochemistry
• Economic geology

Research interests:

• Long term soil evolution history and balance between soil production and denudation
• Uranium-series isotope geochemistry
• History of sediment transport by rivers
• Controlling factors of uranium-series isotopes in soil and sediments

Visiting Researchers

• highly depleted lavas and deposits of Tofua Volcano (Tonga Arc)
• insight into timescales of magmatic processes such as melt generation, differentiation and transport
• using U-series disequilibria, primarily high resolution ²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th disequilibria
• This approach aims to minimise the heterogeneity in subduction conditions encountered when studying at the inter/intra-arc scale

Dr. Christoph Beier

E-mail: beier@geol.uni-erlangen.de

• Major elements, trace elements and radiogenic isotopes of oceanic basalts (Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf)
• Evolution of Oceanic Plateaus
• U-series systematics in Oceanic Basalts (i.e. Ocean Island Basalts)
• Melting processes in the Earth's upper mantle
• Melting processes and mantle source in the vicinity of subduction zones and back arc spreading (e.g. Manus Basin)
• Volatiles and melting processes in the Earth's mantle