Earth & Environmental Sciences
Romain Vaucher
- Senior Lecturer, Sedimentology
- romain.vaucher@jcu.edu.au
Rafael Cabral Carvalho
- Lecturer, Marine Geoscience
- rafael.cabralcarvalho@jcu.edu.au
Youseph Ibrahim
- Lecturer, Geoscience
- youseph.ibrahim@jcu.edu.au
Natalie Robson
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Land and Sea Management
- natalie.robson@jcu.edu.au
Alexandre Wadoux
- Lecturer, Soil Science
- alexandre.wadoux@jcu.edu.au
Alica Hoess
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neutron Tomography Scanner
- alica.hoess@jcu.edu.au
Phoebe Stewart-Sinclair
- Lecturer, Environmental Science
- phoebe.stewartsinclair@jcu.edu.au
Bethany Smith
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- bethany.smith1@jcu.edu.au
Brandon Mahan
- Adjunct Senior Lecturer
- brandon.mahan@jcu.edu.au
Hannah Green
- Research Officer
- hannah.green@jcu.edu.au
The potential for indium mineralization in the Herberton Mineral Field, NE QLD (Old ID 26820)
The project aims to: 1. Investigate the mineralogy, paragenesis and geochemistry of indium at the Baal Gammon deposit and other similar occurrences in the region; 2. Determine the distribution of indium in the host rocks; 3. Identify the factors controlling the location and formation of the indium mineralisation and; 4. Discover mineralogical, textural and geochemical zoning patterns that could be used as vectors to ore. In so doing, we will identify the factors controlling the location and formation of the indium mineralization in association with tin-tungsten and polymetallic ore deposits. A geological model will be developed for use in exploration targeting.
Traps ‘n’ maps: collecting data today to better understand the past tomorrow. (Old ID 27767)
The study of pollen to reconstruct landscapes of the past plays an important role across many environmental research and management goals. However, more is being asked of this data, in particular, the need to better understand past plant abundance and land-cover changes. To achieve this, we need a quantified understanding of the relationship between modern day pollen and vegetation, which requires large-scale data collection. Here, we propose developing a comprehensive modern pollen-matching vegetation records across major climate and biogeographic zones in Australia by combining expertise in paleoecology and citizen science with nationally funded infrastructure, TERN (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network).
Vanadium Extraction and Processing Innovation Project’
This project aims to advance the projects related to vanadium extraction and processing from the Toolebuc Formation in North Queensland and to develop capacity in North Queensland to assist with the emerging vanadium economy .
Assessing risk within social-ecological systems. Using capacity building to operationalise a spatial decision support tool, guiding resilient livelihood development in Solomon Islands (Old ID 27802)
Rural coastal communities in the Solomon Islands are experiencing increasing impact from food insecurity, poverty, and global change. To help inform negotiations and decision making in relation to resilient livelihood development a risk-based spatial decision support tool (SDST) has been developed. SDST outputs identify the key environmental, socioeconomic, and institutional factors that contribute to community-level risk. To build the long-term impact of the project, a capacity building model has been developed which focuses on training in-country partners to independently operationalise the SDST within Solomon Islands. This supports the broader application of the SDST within the region, advancing its potential to contribute to resilient livelihood development.
Advancing the Buchanan Dome Critical Minerals Project through advanced geological and metallurgical studies
This project is a Critical Minerals Trailblazer-supported collaboration between James Cook University and Strategic Metals Australia to advance Queensland's first major lithium-bearing pegmatite system, the Buchanan Dome Critical Minerals Project, toward commercial feasibility. The project will deliver the geological, mineralogical, and metallurgical knowledge required to de-risk the resource and define viable lithium extraction pathways, with the aim of integrating the project into a Queensland battery minerals supply chain. Key activities include structural mapping, lithium deportment studies, beneficiation testing, and battery-grade graphite production.
Advancing the Buchanan Dome Critical Minerals Project through advanced geological and metallurgical studies
This project is a Critical Minerals Trailblazer-supported collaboration between James Cook University and Strategic Metals Australia to advance Queensland's first major lithium-bearing pegmatite system, the Buchanan Dome Critical Minerals Project, toward commercial feasibility. The project will deliver the geological, mineralogical, and metallurgical knowledge required to de-risk the resource and define viable lithium extraction pathways, with the aim of integrating the project into a Queensland battery minerals supply chain. Key activities include structural mapping, lithium deportment studies, beneficiation testing, and battery-grade graphite production.
Drone-based monitoring and conservation of Bryde's whales in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia
This application is for the Data Use Agreement for the use of Bryde's whale data from the Yayasan Westerlaken Alliance Indonesia in Bali, Indonesia.
Drivers of the humpback whale entanglements in shark nets in Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast
Using entanglement data from 2000-2025, this study proposes to determine any significant spatial and temporal changes in the humpback whale entanglement rates in Queensland shark control gear between the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. It will also aim to identify the environmental and anthropogenic drivers of entanglements. Additionally, the study will also use estimates of humpback whale population abundance to explain the patterns. Understanding these patterns will help improve the management and policy of the shark control programs, subsequently reducing the harm to humpback whales. This application is for the data agreement between JCU and Griffith University as a collaborator.
Drivers of the humpback whale entanglements in shark nets in Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast
Using entanglement data from 2000-2025, this study proposes to determine any significant spatial and temporal changes in the humpback whale entanglement rates in Queensland shark control gear between the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. It will also aim to identify the environmental and anthropogenic drivers of entanglements. Additionally, the study will also use estimates of humpback whale population abundance to explain the patterns. Understanding these patterns will help improve the management and policy of the shark control programs, subsequently reducing the harm to humpback whales. This application is for the data agreement between JCU and Griffith University as a collaborator.
Tectonic and Geodynamic Controls on Critical Mineral Systems in Proterozoic Australia
This project investigates the tectonic and geodynamic controls on critical mineral systems in Proterozoic Australia. Australia's supergiant sediment-hosted deposits, including Mount Isa, Century, McArthur River, and Olympic Dam, formed in Proterozoic basins during the assembly and breakup of the Nuna supercontinent, yet the conditions that enabled mineralisation at this scale remain poorly understood. These basins are typically interpreted using geodynamic frameworks built for the modern Earth, which assume colder, stronger lithosphere than existed at the time.
Using coupled thermo-mechanical and landscape evolution modelling (Underworld and Badlands), the project will test how rift mode under elevated Proterozoic geotherms controls basin architecture, fault spacing, heat flow, and sediment distribution. Coupled thermo-mechanical and landscape evolution models will be tested against field data from Proterozoic terranes in northern Australia,
Organic matter, sodicity and soil structure
- 1998
- Oxford University Press
- Researchers:Paul Nelson
Seafloor morphology and acoustic facies of the George V Land shelf
- 2003
- Researchers:Rob Beaman
Title:
PhD, James Cook University
End Date:
01 Jan 2010
End Date:
01 Jan 2003
Start Date:
01 Jan 2020
End Date:
01 Jan 2025
Start Date:
01 Jan 2023
End Date:
01 Jan 2025
Title:
JCU Distinguished Professor
Start Date:
01 Jan 2010
Start Date:
01 Jan 2012
End Date:
01 Jan 2012
Start Date:
01 Jan 2019
Title:
Malayalam
Title:
English
Title:
Tamil