reseracher placholder

Eric Roberts

Projects

5

Publications

37

Awards

0

Biography

My primary research focuses on reconstructing the geologic histories of continental basins. My research involves sedimentary facies and provenance analysis (heavy mineral geochronology), coupled with taphonomy, ichnology and geochronology. I maintain close links with industry on a varitety of projects ranging from diamond exploration, to petroleum geology, to helium exploration, to critical minerals research.

My primary research themes include:

1) geological characterisation, resource exploration and dating of vertebrate records, including dinosaurs and hominins, from rift deposits of the East African Rift System.

2) Geological and palaeontological investigation of Jurassic & Cretaceous basins throughout Gondwana (esp., Australia; Africa; Antarctica).

3) Stratigraphy, palaeontology & high-precision geochronology of Upper Cretaceous strata of Western Interior Basin, North America.

4) Industry-linked research collaboration in economic geology and exploration.

****I am moving back to the USA to take on a new role at Colorado School of Mines. Please email me if you are interested in new projects, collaboration, or Msc/PhD opportunities there (eric.roberts@jcu.edu.au).****

Go to my research group website for more information. http://www.gravelmonkeys.org

Research

Projects
The Wandering Falklands: Insights from New Geologic and Fossil Discoveries (Old ID 27745)
01 Jun 2022 - 30 Mar 2023
Helium prospectivity analysis of the north Rukwa Rift Basin. (Old ID 27645)
12 May 2022 - 01 Nov 2023
Understanding the Stratigraphy, age, and provenance of the diamondiferous Calonda Formation in North-Eastern Angola: Implications for regional magmatism and paleo fluvial drainage evolution (Old ID 25071)
01 Jun 2018 - 31 Dec 2019
Combined U-Pb zircon geochronology & Lu-Hf analysis of Jurassic-Cretaceous volcanics and sandstones from the Lord Howe Rise and Queensland Plateau, Australia (Old ID 22185)
01 Aug 2015 - 31 Dec 2016
Heritage Oil Rukwa (TZ) PhD Scholarship for Cassy Mtelela (Old ID 20298)
15 Jul 2012 - 14 Jan 2016

Teaching

Research Advisor Accreditation
Advisor Type

Mentor

Research Advisor Accreditation
Role

Chair; Independent Academic

Current JCU Research Students
Investigating Global REE ion adsorption deposits to understand their genesis: Investigating trace element and REE stable isotope systematics.
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Refining tephrostratigraphic approaches in deep time through glass melt inclusion and isotopic fingerprinting of heavy mineral separates of volcanic ash beds.
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Understanding the geologic connection between Cape York and Zealandia: Insights from the Laura Basin
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Using experiments to constrain stable isotope fractionation in banded iron formations
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Establishing a Tectonic Framework for the Cretaceous break-up of Eastern Gondwana: Insights from Papua New Guinea and Offshore Geology of the Coral and Tasman Seas.
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Vertebrate Palaeontology of the Early-Late Triassic Succession in Central Queensland
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Understanding the Genesis and Patterns of Cave Fill across the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Tectono-sedimentary and Taphonomic investigation of the Triassic System, Northern Bowen Basin, Australia
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Improving efficacy of Clastic Reservoir charaterisation by Quantitative Hierarchical analysis of Geochemical metrics
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Provenance, Sedimentology and Geomorphology of Coastal Dune Fields in Queensland
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Investigation and assessment of groundwater quality and conditions for sustainable management in dry tropical coastal plain aquifer(s)
Masters by Research - time-based
Spatial modelling of saucer scallop distributions within the southeast Queensland scallop fishery.
Doctorate by Research - time-based
Completed JCU Research Students
Bentonite geochronology and tephrostratigraphy for litho- and chronostratigraphic refinement of fossiliferous Campanian strata in western North America
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2022
Cave sedimentation processes in the Homo naledi-bearing Rising Star Cave, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2021
Mesozoic detrital zircon provenance of Central Africa: Implications for Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonics, paleogeography and landscape evolution.
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2019
Geochemistry and origin of explosive alkaline volcanism in the early Rukwa Rift, southwestern Tanzania.
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2021
Paleoclimate and paleoenvironment reconstruction of paleosols spanning the Lower to Upper Cretaceous from the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2023
Shelf-edge Stratigraphy of the Central Great Barrier Reef
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2023
Sedimentology, stratigraphy, and tectonic reconstruction of the northern Great Australian Superbasin
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2022
Seismic Stratigraphy and Igneous Units of the Canning Basin, Northwest Shelf, Australia
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2022
The sedimentary evolution of Permian to Cretaceous basins in Queensland, Australia: insights from lithostratigraphy, U-Pb zircon geochronology, sedimentary facies, and provenance analysis
Doctorate by Research - time-based- 2020

Output

Paleosol-derived paleoclimate and paleoenvironment reconstruction of the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania: implications for faunal dispersal in the Miocene–Pliocene
2023
Orr, Theresa J.; Roberts, Eric M.; Bird, Michael I.; Mtelela, Cassy; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Stevens, ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
New age constraints support a K/Pg boundary interval on Vega Island, Antarctica: Implications for latest Cretaceous vertebrates and paleoenvironments
2023
Roberts, Eric M.; O’Connor, Patrick M.; Clarke, Julia A.; Slotznick, Sarah P.; Placzek, Christa J.; ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Iyuku raathi, a new iguanodontian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation, South Africa
2023
Forster, Catherine A.; de Klerk, William J.; Poole, Karen E.; Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Roberts, Eric...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Reconciling the onshore/offshore stratigraphy of the Canning Basin and implications for petroleum prospectivity
2023
Yule, C.T.G.; Daniell, J.; Edwards, D.S.; Rollet, N.; Roberts, E.M. (2023) 'Reconciling the onshore/. Australian Journal of , 70 (5):691-715. [DO ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Age, depositional history, and paleoclimatic setting of Early Cretaceous dinosaur assemblages from the Sao Khua Formation (Khorat Group), Thailand
2022
Tucker, Ryan T.; Hyland, Ethan G.; Gates, Terry A.; King, M. Ryan; Roberts, Eric M.; Foley, Elliot K...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Middle Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous stratigraphy of the northern Great Australian Superbasin: insights from maximum depositional age constraints from the U–Pb detrital zircon record
2022
Foley, E.K.; Roberts, E.M.; Henderson, R.A.; Todd, C.N.; Knutsen, E.M.; Spandler, C. (2022) 'Middle . Austr, 69 ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Macroscelideans (Myohyracinae and Rhynchocyoninae) from the late Oligocene Nsungwe formation of the Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania
2022
Stevens, Nancy J.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Mtelela, Cassy; Roberts, Eric M. (2022) 'Macroscelideans (M. Historical Biolo, 34 (4):604-610...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Early cretaceous tectonic setting of eastern Australia: Evidence from the subduction-related Morton Igneous Association of Southeast Queensland
2022
Henderson, Robert; Spandler, C.; Foley, E.K.; Kemp, A.I.S.; Roberts, E.M.; Fisher, C. (2022) 'Early . Lith, 41...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
A revised Permian-Triassic stratigraphic framework for the north-eastern Galilee Basin, Queensland, Australia, and definition of a new Middle-Upper Triassic sedimentary unit
2022
Todd, Christopher; Roberts, Eric; Charles, Adam (2022) 'A revised Permian-Triassic stratigraphic fra. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 69 (1):113-134. [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Paleoatmospheric CO2 oscillations through a cool middle/Late Cretaceous recorded from pedogenic carbonates in Africa
2022
Orr, Theresa J.; Wurster, Christopher M.; Roberts, Eric M.; Singleton, Russell E.; Stevens, Nancy J....
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Jurassic tectonics of northeastern Gondwana: evidence from the detrital zircon record of the Nambour Basin
2022
Henderson, Robert A.; Foley, Elliot K.; Roberts, Eric M. (2022) 'Jurassic tectonics of northeastern . Journal of the Geological Society, 179 (6). [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Calibrating the zenith of dinosaur diversity in the Campanian of the Western Interior Basin by CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb geochronology
2022
Ramezani, Jahandar; Beveridge, Tegan L.; Rogers, Raymond R.; Eberth, David A.; Roberts, Eric M. (202...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Radiogenic isotope record of magma genesis and lithospheric geodynamics of the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania, from mid Mesozoic to present
2022
Lawrence, L.; Spandler, C.; Hilbert-Wolf, H.L.; Mtelela, C.; Stevens, N.J.; O'connor, P.M.; Roberts,...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Deciphering Late Cretaceous palaeo-river catchments in eastern Australia: recognition of distinct northern and southern drainage basins
2022
Foley, Elliot K.; Roberts, Eric M.; Knutsen, Espen M. (2022) 'Deciphering Late Cretaceous palaeo-riv. Basin Research, 34 (2):590-617. [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Refined geochronology and revised stratigraphic nomenclature of the Upper Cretaceous Wahweap Formation, Utah, U.S.A. and the age of early Campanian vertebrates from southern Laramidia
2022
Beveridge, Tegan L.; Roberts, Eric M.; Ramezani, Jahandar; Titus, Alan L.; Eaton, Jeffrey G.; Irmis,...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Mineralogy and origin of the alkaline Nsungwe Formation tuffs of the Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania
2021
Lawrence, L.; Spandler, C.; Roberts, E.M.; Hilbert-Wolf, H.L. (2021) 'Mineralogy and origin of the a. Lithos, 380-381 . [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Jurassic Arc: reconstructing the lost world of eastern Gondwana
2021
Foley, Elliot K.; Henderson, R.A.; Roberts, E.M.; Kemp, A.I.S.; Todd, C.N.; Knutsen, E.M.; Fisher, C...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Cryptic Middle to Late Jurassic marine incursions into northeastern Gondwana: an integrated sedimentological, ichnological and geochronological approach
2021
Foley, Elliot K.; Roberts, Eric M.; Knutsen, Espen M.; Hannaford, Carey (2021) 'Cryptic Middle to La. Palaeogeography, P, 569 . [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Paleoclimate and paleoenvironment reconstruction of paleosols spanning the Lower to Upper Cretaceous from the Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania
2021
Orr, Theresa J.; Roberts, Eric M.; Wurster, Chris M.; Mtelela, Cassy; Stevens, Nancy J.; O'connor, P...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Expanded explorations of the Dinaledi Subsystem, Rising Star Cave System, South Africa
2021
Elliott, Marina C.; Makhubela, Tebogo V.; Brophy, Juliet K.; Churchill, Steven E.; Peixotto, Becca; ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
A new assemblage of Cenozoic lungfishes (Dipnoi: Lepidosirenidae) from the late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation, Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania
2021
Claeson, Kerin M.; Ngasala, Sifa; Gottfried, Michael D.; Roberts, Eric M.; O'Connor, Patrick M.; Ste...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
The oldest lamprophiid (Serpentes, Caenophidia) from the late Oligocene Rukwa Rift Basin, Tanzania and the origins of African snake diversity
2021
McCartney, Jacob A.; Bouchard, Sierra N.; Reinhardt, Josephine A.; Roberts, Eric M.; O'connor, Patri...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Providing context to the Homo naledi fossils: Constraints on the age of sediment deposits in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa
2021
Robbins, Jessie L.; Dirks, Paul H.G.M.; Roberts, Eric M.; Kramers, Jan D.; Makhubela, Tebogo V.; Hil...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness
2021
Titus, Alan L.; Knoll, Katja; Sertich, Joseph; Yamamura, Daigo; Suarez, Celina A.; Glasspool, Ian J....
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
A new plesiosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) specimen from the Upper Cretaceous of West Antarctica, with comments on the ontogeny and morphological diversity of the elasmosaurid pelvic girdle
2020
Miller, Case; O'Gorman, José P.; Salisbury, Steven W.; Coria, Rodolfo A.; Roberts, Eric M.; O'conno...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Formation of mud clast breccias and the process of sedimentary autobrecciation in the hominin-bearing (Homo naledi) Rising Star Cave system, South Africa
2020
Wiersma, Jelle P.; Roberts, Eric M.; Dirks, Paul H. G. M. (2020) 'Formation of mud clast breccias an. Sedimentology, 67 (2):897-919. [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Jurassic - Early Cretaceous paleogeography and paleoenvironments of the north-eastern margin of Gondwana: insights from the Carpentaria Basin, Australia
2020
Foley, Elliot; Baty, Mason; Knutsen, Espen M.; Lignum, John S.; Roberts, Eric M. (2020) 'Jurassic - . Gondwana , 88 :126...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
New evidence of a Campanian age for the Cretaceous fossil-bearing strata of Cape Marsh, Robertson Island, Antarctica
2020
Tobin, Thomas S.; Roberts, Eric M.; Slotznick, Sarah P.; Biasi, Joseph A.; Clarke, Julia A.; O'conno...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Volcaniclastic member of the richly fossiliferous Kaiparowits Formation reveals new insights for regional correlation and tectonics in southern Utah during the latest Campanian
2020
Beveridge, Tegan L.; Roberts, Eric M.; Titus, Alan L. (2020) 'Volcaniclastic member of the richly fo. Cretaceous Research, 114 . [DOI] ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Sedimentary provenance and maximum depositional age analysis of the Cretaceous? Lapur and Muruanachok sandstones (Turkana Grits), Turkana Basin, Kenya
2019
Owusu Agyemang, Prince C.; Roberts, Eric M.; Downie, Bob; Sertich, Joseph J. W. (2019) 'Sedimentary . Geological, 156 (8):...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
U-Pb detrital zircon constraints on the depositional age and provenance of the dinosaur-bearing Upper Cretaceous Wadi Milk formation of Sudan
2019
Owusu Agyemang, Prince C.; Roberts, Eric M.; Bussert, Robert; Evans, David; Müller, Johannes (2019) ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Refined age and geological context of two of Australia’s most important Jurassic vertebrate taxa (Rhoetosaurus brownei and Siderops kehli), Queensland
2019
Todd, Christopher N.; Roberts, Eric M.; Knutsen, Espen M.; Rozefelds, Andrew C.; Huang, Hui-Qing; Sp...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
A new mammal from the Turonian-Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Galula Formation, southwestern Tanzania
2019
O'Connor, Patrick M.; Krause, David W.; Stevens, Nancy J.; Groenke, Joseph R.; Macphee, Ross D. E.; ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Late Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs from the James Ross Basin, Antarctica: description of new material, updated synthesis, biostratigraphy, and paleobiogeography
2019
Lamanna, Matthew; Case, Judd A.; Roberts, Eric; Arbour, Victoria M.; Ely, Ricardo C.; Salisbury, Ste...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Stratigraphy and paleobiology of the Upper Cretaceous-Lower Paleogene sediments from the Trans-Saharan Seaway in Mali
2019
O'leary, Maureen A.; Bouaré, Mohamed L.; Claeson, Kerin M.; Heilbronn, Kelly; Hill, Robert V.; McCa...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
The earliest fossil of the African clawed frog (Genus Xenopus) from Sub-Saharan Africa
2019
Blackburn, David C.; Paluh, Daniel J.; Krone, Isaac; Roberts, Eric M.; Stanley, Edward L.; Stevens, ...
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Reply to Discussion of Yule, C. T. G., Daniell, J., Edwards, D. S., Rollet, N., & Roberts, E. M. (2023). Reconciling the onshore/offshore stratigraphy of the Canning Basin and implications for petroleum prospectivity. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 70(5), 691–715
2023
Yule, C.T.G.; Daniell, J.; Edwards, D.S.; Rollet, N.; Roberts, E.M. (2023) 'Reply to Discussion of Y Australian Journal of E, 70 (8) :1189-1190. [ ...
Journal Contribution ResearchOnline@JCU