A new research centre that focuses on the Earth’s water cycle and deep Earth dynamics will be officially opened by the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council (ARC), Professor Margaret Sheil.

 

Macquarie has partnered with the University of Western Australia, Curtin University and the Geological Survey of Western Australia to establish the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS).

 

The Centre has already secured $12.4 million in funding over seven years from the ARC. In addition, there will be five overseas nodes to the CCFS, led by partner investigators in France, China, Canada, and Germany who will contribute resources and provide access to a wide variety of expertise and instrumental capabilities.

 

Projects undertaken by CCFS researchers will focus on three major areas: The Early Earth and its Fluid Budget – which looks at the role of fluids in Earth’s early differentiation; Earth’s Evolution – fluids in crustal and mantle tectonics, recycling of fluids into the deep mantle, hydrosphere, atmosphere and the deep Earth.  Finally, The Earth Today looks at the Earth’s internal dynamics, decoding geophysical imaging and Earth resources – all of which have practical consequences for such areas as future resource exploration.

 

The importance of the research and a deeper understanding of the Earth’s fluid systems and deep Earth dynamics cannot be overstated, said Professor Sue O’Reilly, a Distinguished Professor at Macquarie University, who will head the CCFS as its first Director.

 

“Until recently, a real understanding of the workings of deep Earth’s plumbing system has been out of reach. Rapid advances in geophysics, is producing stunning new imagery of Earth’s interior, and their interpretation requires new kinds of data on deep-Earth materials – especially on the effects of deep fluids and their circulation. At the ARC Centre of Excellence, we hope to reach a new level of understanding of Earth’s dynamics and the fluid cycle through time,” Professor O’Reilly said.