Research

Main research project aims

1. Improve our understanding of the existence, configuration and evolution history of pre-Pangaea supercontinents and the possible cyclic nature of supercontinent evolution. We will address the Neoproterozoic supercontinent Rodinia, the configuration of which is still controversial, and the much less known older (Palaeo(?)- to Mesoproterozoic) supercontinent Nuna/Columbia.

2. Establish or improve GIS-based databases, globally consistent in scale, content and style, that will be used for testing the supercontinental and global geodynamic models. These will be user-friendly, and GPlates*-compatible. They will be made freely available to researchers for non-commercial use. Some of these databases already exist but need to be refined and updated.

Content will include basic geology (including large igneous provinces, or LIPs), tectonic interpretations, palaeomagnetism, and mineral deposits.

^{*GPlates is a desktop software package for interactive visualization of plate-tectonic (paleogeographic) reconstructions, developed by a Sydney-based international consortium, and is freely available for anyone.}

3. Model global-scale geodynamics to test/refine relationships between plate tectonics/ supercontinent cycles and mantle dynamics.