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Strange meteorites, rehabilitating a mine and exploring an impact craterPresentations by University of Adelaide students
This is an opportunity for graduate students from the Department of Earth Sciences to describe the exciting work that they are doing, and for the audience to learn how these young and enthusiastic researchers are chipping away at the frontiers of earth science. The forum will take the form of three 15-minute presentations followed by discussion with the audience.
Enstatite Meteorites, Reduced visitors from the inner solar system
Cooper Ferguson
Enstatite meteorites are the rarest type of meteorite known to fall to the Earth’s surface, comprising only 1% of the total meteorite falls globally. Enstatites are high reduced (that is, they have a very low content of oxygen), indicating that they formed in an environment highly lacking in water and oxygen, along with a chemical make-up that suggests solar influence. My Honours project in 2024 looked at four of these meteorites, studying the rare minerals found within them, with an exciting find of the second ever reported occurrence of a rare oxide in enstatites, and attempting to shed some light on how these rocks formed and evolved through time.
Breaking down Brukunga: the remediation of a pyrite mine
Zara Woolston
Acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) is globally seen as the greatest environmental legacy from mining and mineral processing. Having an environmentally conscious closure plan from the beginning is a key aspect of successfully remediating a mine site. Brukunga is a small community in the Adeliade Hills, northeast from Mount Barker. This community was the work force for the pyrite mine that operated from 1955 to 1972. This site produces AMD run off that the Department of Energy and Mining remediate before it is able to enter into water ways of the Adelaide Hills, this remediation will need to happen for up to 700 years. Come and check out the talk if you want to understand how we do this and what it looks like!
Finding the age of the Gosses Bluff impact crater
Jayden Squire
Gosses Bluff is a Jurassic/Cretaceous impact structure located in Central Australia. Its age and origin have been long debated since the early 1960s. New dating techniques will provide important conclusions about the accuracy of previous geochronology and the impact’s role in global environmental change. On top of the ground-breaking geochronology, I will discuss how the melt rock chemistry can tell us about the source impactor, where it came from and if it was connected to other impacts.
Members and visitors are warmly invited to attend.
For further information visit: www.fieldgeologyclubsa.org.au
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Mawson Lecture Theatre, Adelaide,SA,Australia
