Geochemical and isotope tracing of volcanic units in the Paleoproterozoic Hamersley basin in Australia and the Griqualand West basin in South Africa

The goal of this study is to determine the links between two critically important sedimentary basins that record major changes in the Earths atmosphere and surface environment around 2.5 billion years ago. These basins are now on different continents, the Hammersley basin in Australia, and the Griqualand West basin in South Africa, however when they were formed it is thought that they were connected. We have samples from ash horizons from both basins throughout the stratigraphy, and zircon from these ashes has been used to generate high precision U-Pb ages for the sediments. In this project, we intend to measure the trace element and Hf isotope composition of the zircon crystals that have been dated. This methodology has been developed by Princeton professor Dr. Blair Schoene and the Princeton lab is world leading in these types of measurements. We will use this data to understand the source of volcanism that has been recorded in the basins, allowing us to gain insight into their tectonic setting. we will also be able to trace the volcanic source for both basins over time to see whether they evolve consistently or not.

Faculty Supervisor:

Joshua Davies

Student:

Partner:

Princeton University

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Environmental Science and Technology

University:

Université du Québec à Montréal

Program: