Professor of Geology, University of Adelaide
I'm a professor of geology at The University of Adelaide. I tend to work on a wide variety of projects that all have a thread in them of working out how the planet has operated over the 4.6 billion years of its history. Much of the research I get involved in with PhD students is about mapping the ancient plate tectonics of the planet. Where were continents in the past? Where were the subduction zones, the mid ocean ridges? This is not a straightforward question in the really ancient Earth because we have lost all the oceanic crust older than about 200 million years old. Before that, we need to use more subtle proxies for the existence of now long defunct plate margins.
How Eurasia's Tianshan mountains set a stage that changed the world
Nov 04, 2018 13:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
This article is part of our occasional long read series Zoom Out, where authors explore key ideas in science and technology in the broader context of society and humanity. Nestled deep in Central Asia, the Tianshan is a...
When Thailand and Australia were closer neighbours, tectonically speaking
Oct 20, 2018 05:54 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Thousands of Australians travel to Thailand each year to lie on a beach at Phuket, meditate at a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, spot wild elephants at Khao Yai National Park, or go on some other adventure. But how many...
Elon Musk vs Australia: global content take-down orders can harm the internet if adopted widely