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Ancient Landscape Evolution

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  • Cosmogenic krypton measured in detrital zircon records million-year near-surface residence times, extending landscape evolution analysis far beyond conventional cosmogenic dating limits.
  • Southern Australia’s Eocene hinterland experienced exceptionally low long-term denudation, indicating tectonically stable landscapes with prolonged sediment storage and recycling.
  • Shifts from mature to less mature heavy mineral sands track changes in uplift and sea level, linking sediment quality directly to landscape dynamics and transport efficiency.

Dröllner, M., Barham, M., Kirkland, C. L., Scharf, T., Niemeyer, S. & Dunai, T. J. (2026). Ancient landscape evolution tracked through cosmogenic krypton in detrital zircon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123(3), e2516058122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2516058122

Geochronology
Regolith and Sedimentology
Resource Geoscience

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From Space to Street: Satellite solutions for smarter, cooler cities

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  • Satellite-derived land surface temperature now reaches up to 10 m spatial and 15 min temporal resolution using open-access data.
  • Combining open satellite data enables daily, high-detail thermal mapping to support energy, health, and planning.
  • Machine learning and regression-based methods enhance urban heat detection across complex cityscapes.

Andriambololonaharisoamalala, R., Helmholz, P., Ivanová, I., Jones, E., Soon, S., Bulatov, D. & Song, Y. (2025). Enhancing the spatial and temporal resolution of satellite-derived land surface temperature in urban environments: A systematic literature review. Urban Climate, 60, 102345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102345.

Geoinformatics and Geocomputing

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Lead Isotopes: A practical gauge for melt depth and crustal thickness

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  • Lead isotope signatures separate lower crustal sources, depleted in uranium and thorium, from upper crustal sources—largely independent of granite type or late-stage fractionation.
  • Higher U/Pb and Th/Pb signatures occur where gravity anomalies, topographic elevation, and crust–mantle boundary depth indicate thicker crust.
  • Whole rock depth proxies (Sr/Y and Eu anomalies) correlate inversely with lead isotopes, linking melt extraction depth to the observed isotope fingerprints.

Datta, P., Liebmann, J., Kirkland, C.L., Ware, B. & Mole, D.R. (2025). Lead isotopes track intracrustal fractionation with implications for crustal thickness. Lithos, 506–507, 108017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2025.108017.

Geochemistry

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A tectonic time machine to power future discoveries

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  • A full plate history reconstruction from 2000 to 540 million years ago reveals a coherent global model of continent movements during key mineral-forming events.
  • The model integrates supercontinent cycles (Nuna, Rodinia, Pangaea) and evaluates alternative assembly scenarios, tying them to large igneous province (LIP) episodes and other geological constraints.
  • The reconstruction was validated with global geological datasets, establishing a basis for resource and Earth system applications through deep time.

Li, Z.-X., Liu, Y. & Ernst, R. (2024). A dynamic 2000—540 Ma Earth history: From cratonic amalgamation to the age of supercontinent cycle. Earth-Science Reviews, 238, 104336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104336.

Magnetism and Palaeomagnetism
Resource Geoscience
Geoinformatics and Geocomputing

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Tracing gold pathways and fluid pulses in ancient shear zones

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  • In situ biotite Rb–Sr dating defines four alteration stages, revealing a long‑lived, episodic hydrothermal system lasting at least ca. 150 million years in the Kundana–Carbine corridor.
  • The peak of gold mineralisation aligns with potassic–calcic–sodic alteration, while Ti‑in‑biotite thermometry records ca. 540–615 °C.
  • Results are consistent with mixed mantle–crustal fluid sources and episodic, hot, rapidly cooled fluid pulses in a fault‑valve setting.

Zametzer, A., Kirkland, C.L., Barham, M., Hartnady, M.I.H., Bath, A.B. & Rankenburg, K. (2022). Episodic alteration within a gold‑bearing Archean shear zone revealed by in situ biotite Rb–Sr dating. Precambrian Research, 382, 106872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2022.106872.

Geochronology
Resource Geoscience

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Deep, cold, and connected: How low-temperature reactions reshape massive sulphide ore deposits

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  • Pentlandite alters to violarite at depth, well below the weathering front, via low-temperature oxidation in massive sulphides electrically connected along faults.
  • Nickel is lost during pentlandite replacement, producing violarite with variable iron:nickel ratios and “freckle” textures; adjacent disseminated sulphides remain unaltered.
  • Sulphur isotopes record light-sulphur input, with violarite depleted in sulfur-34 relative to coexisting sulphides, consistent with bacterial sulphate reduction in meteoric fluids.

Stokes, L., Evans, K., Kirkland, C. & Walker, A. (2024). Low temperature alteration of massive sulphides below the weathering front. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 364, 44–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2023.11.008. 

Geochemistry
Resource Geoscience

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