Untitled Document
Report to Council
RESEARCH SCHOOL OF EARTH SCIENCES (RSES)
Major Disciplines: Earth Sciences; Chemical Sciences
STAFF AND STUDENTS |
Total Staff (FTE) |
Academic Staff (FTE) |
General Staff (FTE) |
Total Student EFTSU |
Higher Degree Research (EFTSU) |
Higher Degree Coursework (EFTSU) |
Other Postgraduate (EFTSU) |
Under- graduate (EFTSU) |
Non-award (EFTSU) |
133 |
53 |
80 |
44 |
44 |
0.4 |
|
|
|
GRANTS |
ARC ($) |
NHMRC ($) |
Other ($) |
TOTAL ($) |
3,013,920 |
0 |
992,598 |
4,006,518 |
Research
The Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES) is one of the top ten university-based geoscience programs in the world and a research leader in the physics, chemistry, material properties and environmental conditions of the Earth. Its role is to conduct research at the highest international level and take leadership in defining new directions in geophysics and geochemistry, particularly those relevant to the geologic setting and needs of Australia . RSES has the country’s premier concentration of basic research facilities in experimental and observational geoscience including: the Australian National Seismic Imaging Resource (ANSIR), the Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro-Probe (SHRIMP) facility, and the Quaternary Dating Research Centre which houses a complete set of facilities for dating the record of Earth systems over the past million years.
The work of the school is for administrative purposes grouped into four areas: Earth Chemistry, Earth Physics, Earth Materials, Earth Environment.
Earth Chemistry utilises elemental and isotopic abundances to examine the processes affecting the Earth and solar system. Tracer investigations range in scale from that of the solar system to diffusion at the atomic scale yielding information as diverse as elemental fractionation during solar system formation, to the nature of Earth’s earliest crust and atmosphere, to the origin of ore deposits, to the evolution of the Himalayas .
Earth Environment specialises in revealing high-resolution environmental records preserved in fossil and modern corals, cave deposits, and layered sedimentary sequences to investigate global processes, such as climate and sea-level change, human evolution and migration, and landscape evolution. Research is underpinned by laboratory facilities that enable analysis of virtually any trace element or isotope system.
Earth Physics investigates the structure and dynamics of the Earth using a range of advanced physical and mathematical techniques. Present research focuses on the responses of the ocean and solid earth to different types of forcing and using circum-Australian earthquakes as probes for the structure in the Earth’s mantle. The research effort divides into geodynamics, seismology and geomagnetism, geophysical fluid dynamics, and computational geophysics, with extensive interactions within and between the different components.
Earth Materials focuses on the interrelated chemical and physical behaviour of rocks and minerals under geological conditions using state-of-the-art facilities for characterisation and mechanical testing with the goal of understanding the structure and composition of the Earth. Key issues are first identified through field-based observations and then addressed through laboratory study. Insights thus gained are then extended through suitable models to improve our understanding of Earth.
ANU 2004 Quality Review |
|
Number of pieces of work submitted for assessment: |
228 |
Number of Assessors: |
8 |
Number of staff with work submitted:
*This # includes fractional and adjunct appointments and selected academic staff in the two most junior grades. |
54* |
EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT: % of assessors ranking ANU in Top 25% |
69 |
EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT: % of assessors ranking ANU in Top 5% |
24 |
Prizes, Honours and awards
Dr G.F. Davies was awarded the Love Medal of the European Geophysical Union.
Prof M.T. McCulloch was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
The 2004 Walter H. Bucher Medal of the American Geophysical Union was awarded to Emeritus Professor Mervyn Paterson for ‘his sustained, seminal, and innovative contributions to understanding the strength and mechanical behavior of crustal materials’.
Prof B.L.N. Kennett was announced the recipient for the Jaeger Medal of the Australian Academy of Sciences for 2005.
Prof K. Lambeck was designated an Institute for Scientific Information Highly Cited Researcher (those in the top 0.5% of cited researchers worldwide) bringing the RSES total to 9 (10% of all Australian Highly Cited Researchers).
Fellowships and senior appointments
Four Fellows of the Royal Society of London (100% of Australian earth scientists)
Ten Fellows of the Australian Academy of Sciences (45% of earth science FAA)
Ten Fellows of the American Geophysical Union (80% of all Australian Fellows)
Five Honorary Fellows, Geological Society of America (70% of all Australian GSA Honorary Fellows)
Two Associates of the Royal Astronomical Society, London
One Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Education
RSES graduates have been unusually successful, with >80% since 1971 remaining engaged in full-time geoscience research. Total research student enrolment 1995-2003:
|
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
PhD (Dom./Int.) |
45
27/18 |
49
28/21 |
53
31/22 |
50
31/19 |
45
27/18 |
40
25/15 |
33
20/13 |
33
21/12 |
47
26/21 |
M.Phil
(Dom./Int.) |
1
1/0 |
1
1/0 |
1
1/0 |
1
1/0 |
-
1/0 |
-
0/0 |
1
1/0 |
1
1/0 |
-
0/0 |
Total PhD completion rate: 98.7%; Percent completing within four years (PhD) or two years (M.Phil): 47%; Percent of domestic students holding Australian Postgraduate awards: 56%.
Significant Outreach Activities in 2004
The White Conference was held in February 2004 to celebrate the birth of the Planetary Science Institute (PSI), a collaboration between RSES and RSAA. Held under the auspices of the Australian Academy of Sciences White Conferences , the theme of the conference was “Planetary timescales: from stardust to continents. The meeting attracted an international group of scientists to Canberra , was opened by the Science Minister Mr Peter McGauran, and included well-attended public lectures.
RSES actively participates in the National Youth Science Forum providing several day-long lectures and lab tours.
RSES continues to run successful summer scholar, research intern, and work experience programs.
The Australian National Seismic Imaging Resource Major National Research Facility based at RSES provides equipment for support of both reflection seismology and earthquake oriented work. Successful trials of reflection profiles at several mine sites in Western Australia have led to commercial adoption of this technology.
Key Achievements against 2004 goals
Our stated goals emphasized consonance with national, community and School research priorities and continued success with external funding opportunities. With respect to strategic planning, an initiative is underway to co-locate the Department of Earth and Marine Science on the RSES campus to enhance geoscience teaching and research. The Planetary Sciences Institute, a collaboration with RSAA, made its first joint faculty appointment and extended another two offers. We developed the Marine Sciences Initiative which links RSES, SRES, DEMS, and BOZO to establish a BSc in Marine Science with a choice of majors in Biology, Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Meteorology. The School's new initiative in Computational Mineral Physics intended to complement its internationally recognised experimental research into the behaviour of geological materials was launched with the appointment of Dr. Andrew Walker - a recent Ph. D. graduate from the Royal Institution of Great Britain and University College , London . Our initiative in Advanced Data Inference saw the commissioning of the TerraWulf cluster for parallel and ensemble implementation of inverse methods in the Earth Sciences.
Other developments of note include:
SHRIMP II Multiple Collector development reached a milestone with demonstration of a stable isotope analysis capability. The multiple collector is now used routinely in the search for 4 billion year-old zircons and developments in stable isotope analysis will aid us in the design of SHRIMP SI (funded in the 2004 LIEF round).
We commissioned a new rotating table facility in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics laboratory.
Successful over-wintering of portable seismic stations deep in East Antarctica and recovery of seismic data - a first for the Australian Antarctic Territory .
Synthesis of seismological information on the contrasts in the mantle associated with the transition from the Precambrian to the younger eastern portion of Australia .
The Sun’s oxygen-isotope composition is one of the outstanding parameters in cosmochemistry. Oxygen shows a wide variation in enrichments of 16O with proposed solar compositions at the extreme ends of the array (close to terrestrial or enriched in 16O by 6%). We measured metal grains from the Moon that have been implanted with solar wind. The composition measured in these grains is different from anything previously measured and is depleted in 16O relative to the terrestrial composition. It appears likely that the oxygen isotope variations in the solar system are inherited from the molecular cloud and star-forming region.
Key Directions for 2005
Proceeding with the hiring phase of the Marine Science Initiative, aimed at creating a world leading program that focuses on the southern hemisphere oceans and climate change through key research and teaching appointments.
Full implementation of the Earth Sounding Initiative with the appointment of a new continuing position in Seismology.
Development of SHRIMP SI from a concept to detailed design drawings.
Integrating research between RSES and RSAA PSI members.
Implementation of a new (LIEF and MEC-funded) ultra-short wavelength (157nm) excimer laser ablation ICPMS system for isotopic and elemental analysis of environmental, geological and archaeological materials.
Purchase and installation of the dedicated 14C accelerator (LIEF and MEC-funded) jointly supported by RSES and RSPhysE.
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