Space Materials and Resources Planetary Geoscience
Geological characterisation of space materials and extra-terrestrial life environments
Our research capability, led by Associate Professor Tony Kemp, focusses on mineralogical and geochemical studies of geological materials from space that have been ejected from the lunar surface, Mars and the Asteroid Belt. We also work on the characterisation of ancient rock sequences on Earth.
Our research projects span across planetary geology, petrology, microanalysis, geochemistry, geobiology, sedimentology and stratigraphy:
Characterisation of chondritic meteorites
Martian meteorites
Terrestrial hot springs and the origin of life (e.g. characterisation of the geochemical and metallogenic composition of the 3.5 billion-year-old Dresser Formation from Western Australia; experiments on prebiotic organic chemistry)
Paleoecology of modern and deep time microbial depositional systems
