Applied Geology Research

Applied Geology is regularly ranked in the top five geoscience research institutions in Australia based on the impact of our work.

Our research is supported by world-class facilities and equipment, and is funded from a range of government and industry grants. Much of our research activity and several of our research staff are associated with a number of research centres, institutes and groups.

Our research programs fall into six main areas:

• Environmental Geoscience and Hydrogeology including mine site rehabilitation, acid mine drainage, groundwater quality, and urban pollution of wetlands.
• Mineral Exploration and Ore Deposits including regional exploration techniques, mine-scale geochemical and structural studies, and microanalytical studies of ore minerals.
• Marine and Coastal Sedimentary Systems including petroleum exploration, coastal management and links between marine carbonates and palaeoclimate.
• Petrology, Geochemistry and Microstructure including field and laboratory studies of metamorphic rocks and links between fluid flow, mineral growth, deformation and isotopic ages.
• Regional Geology and Tectonics including palaeomagnetic reconstructions of the continents through Earth history and the global correlation of tectonic events using geochronology.
• Regolith Geology and Remote Sensing including mineral weathering, landscape evolution, and the formation, transport and identification of chemical anomalies in regolith material.