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PhD opportunities at the University of Queensland, Australia
From: Tonguc Uysal <t.uysal@xxxxxxxxx>
Scott Bryan <s.bryan@xxxxxxxxx>
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Three fully-funded Ph.D. Studentships in
Geochemistry, Geochronology & Mineralogy of Hot-Dry Rock Geothermal
Systems in Queensland, Australia
The Australian continent is tectonically, relatively stable in
comparison with many other
continental settings; however, radiogenic heat production within the
Australian continental
crust is significantly high. This is attributed to an unusual
enrichment in heat-producing
elements in buried granitic rocks that occur mainly in South Australia
and Queensland, and
offer a high resource potential for geothermal energy development.
Despite the well-known
association between granites and high heat production, the spatial
distribution of these
magmatic rocks is poorly constrained, particularly in Queensland. In
addition, some
conspicuous heat anomalies are evident in central Queensland, but
these do not seem to be
associated with known distributions of granitic intrusions, and their
origin remains unknown.
The limited knowledge of the spatial extent and geochemical origin of
the heat anomalies
hinders our ability to successfully identify geothermal targets, make
predictions of the system
characteristics, and ultimately minimise risk in the crucial initial
stage of resource estimation.
The Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence in collaboration
with the School of
Earth Sciences and the Sustainable Minerals Institute at The
University of Queensland,
Australia, will coordinate a multidisciplinary geoscience research
program to address the
above outlined questions. Applications are invited for 3 PhD
positions. The fully funded
research will use recent advances in mineralogy, trace element/isotope
geochemistry, and
geochronology to develop innovative scientific methodologies for
defining and locating high
potential geothermal targets in Queensland.
Tasks:
1. One PhD project will apply new petrological, geochemical and
geochronological concepts
and techniques to characterise and distinguish the heat-producing
granites in Queensland.
This project will produce a comprehensive geochemical dataset
(particularly trace elements
and isotopes) for granites from areas of high geothermal potential.
The proposed research will
apply recent advances in igneous petrology and utilise laser
ablation-inductively coupled
plasma-mass spectrometry for zircon U-Pb geochronology and chemistry
to acquire new
knowledge in the igneous processes and conditions that may be
responsible for generating
the heat-producing capability of the granites. Detailed granite
petrology will also be
undertaken to understand in what mineral phases and in what
concentrations, the heat
producing elements are stored in, which can have important
implications for reservoir quality
and heat extraction.
2. A second PhD project will combine geochemistry (isotopes and trace
elements) and
geochronology (Rb-Sr and Ar-Ar) of hydrothermal alteration minerals
from heat-producing
granites and overlying sedimentary rocks as well as from other high
geothermal potential
areas of unknown origin. The scientific approach developed in this
project will help to
understand the timing and cause of heat production from the alteration
of surrounding rocks
and then to use this as a discrimination tool for identifying and
evaluating the heat producing
potential of targeted areas. This project will additionally provide
new insights into
geochemistry of fluid-rock interaction that will affect the reservoir
properties and production
behaviour during the geothermal operation.
3. The third PhD project will deal with heat flow measurements (in
addition to the existing
dataset) in new holes and detailed geochemical studies of water and
gas samples of
geothermal targets with high potential. Detailed isotopic (Sr, He, C,
O, H) investigations of
water and gas samples from selected field locations are required to
identify high heat flow
areas related possibly to young or recent magmatism, as well as any
unknown heat-producing
granite occurrences in Queensland.
The three projects will be based at The University of Queensland, and
will be jointly supervised by staff from the Queensland Geothermal
Energy Centre of Excellence, the School of Earth Sciences, and the
Sustainable
Minerals Institute.
Requirements
To qualify for the Ph.D. positions the candidates must hold the
equivalent of a BSc (Honours)
or a MPhil. in geology, geochemistry, chemistry, or a related field.
Contact persons:
Send an application consisting of (1) letter of interest, (2) CV, and
(3) names of two
references to Mrs Glenda Heyde at g.heyde@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or phone: + 61
7 3365 7955.
Information on the scholarship conditions can be found on the Centre website:
http://www.uq.edu.au/geothermal/prospective-students. For further
information, please
contact Dr. Tonguc Uysal at t.uysal@xxxxxxxxx
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