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Students
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Students and Postdocs
My aim is to develop a small team of 1-2 postdocs and 5-6 students working especially on research areas to do with the geochemical record of the early evolution of life and bioremediation in cold climates.
Current PhD students:
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P. Sargent Bray (Molecular fossils and biogeochemistry of saline Lake Tyrrell). Co-supervised by Jochen Brocks at ANU |
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Ellen Woolfenden (Rates of depletion of lubricant and fuel contaminants during natural attenuation from Antarctic marine environments, and ecosystem response to exposure to complex mixtures) Co-supervised by Chris McRae (CBMS) and Ian Snape (AAD) |
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Guoyan Mu (Molecular organic geochemistry of the Proterozoic, Yanshan, North China) Co-tutelle student with Prof Ningning Zhong at China University of Petroleum Beijing |
Jessica Coffey (The palaeontology and palaeoecology of the 2.7 Ga Tumbiana Formation, Fortescue Group, WA) Now based at University of New South Wales, supervised by Prof Malcolm Walter) |
Other potential research topics (most will be collaborative with other groups: see the research pages for collaborators involved):
1. Precambrian oil inclusion geochemistry: investigation of these biogeochemical time capsules which retain information for billions of years, as a tool for understanding the early evolution of life.
2. Deciphering biogeochemical signatures of ancestral metazoans during the Cambrian explosion: deconvolution of biomarkers in Ediacaran and Cambrian successions.
3. Laser micropyrolysis of microfossils and early metazoans.
4. Ecological risks from oil products used in Antarctica: characterising hydrocarbon behaviour and assessing toxicity on sensitive early life stages of Antarctic marine invertebrates, collaborative with the Australian Antarctic Division.
5. Age dating of the source rocks of crude oils
More details about research topics I have in mind are on my research pages. However, if you have a bright idea that you would like to explore with me, please send me an email.
General information about funding opportunities for postgraduate research is available from the Higher Degree Research Unit. Information here describes the various postgraduate awards for Australian students, and scholarships available for Australian and international students.
Please contact me if you are interested in doing a postdoc here, as there are various funding routes we can seek.
Potential Honours Projects
Organic Geochemistry
Supervisor: A/Prof Simon George
Please contact me on 02 9850 4424, in E7A 519 or by email if you are interested.
1. Organic Geochemistry of the Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone
The Hawkesbury Sandstone is world-renown as a classic ancient fluvial system. On-going re-interpretation of the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy by Pete McCabe (CSIRO Petroleum) is instead starting to indicate that is may have been deposited in a marine-dominated tidal estuary. This project will examine the geochemistry of some of the fine-grained sediments within the Hawkesbury Sandstone, in order to attempt to prove or disprove a marine influence. Rocks are beautifully exposed throughout the Sydney area, especially in coastal cliffs. The student will carry out fieldwork to measure sections and collect samples, and will learn how to analyse the fine grained sediments by organic geochemical techniques so as to obtain biomarker data. It is expected that the biomarkers will enable the depositional environment to be confirmed. Training in organic geochemical techniques will be provided by Simon George, with help from his team of PhD students.
Potential supervisors: George, McCabe? (CSIRO), Dadd?
Mud-clast conglomerate in the Hawkesbury Sandstone, Kurnell.
2. Organic Geochemistry of the Permian high latitude sediments exposed on the S coast of NSW
Remember these rocks from the GEOS260 fieldtrip? In “Marine Depositional Environments”, we examine some classic and very well exposed units from the underlying Ordovician Wagonga Beds through to the early Permian (Wasp Head, Pebbley Beach and Snapper Point formations) and up to the thick Ulladulla Mudstone. These sediments were deposited in varying depths of water, sometimes under ice. The precise depositional environment remains debatable, and the organic matter input and the petroleum-generating potential have not been determined. The student will carry out fieldwork to measure sections and collect samples, and will learn how to analyse the fine grained sediments by organic geochemical techniques so as to obtain biomarker data. It is expected that the biomarkers will enable the depositional environment to be confirmed. TOC and Rock-Eval data will be collected so as to enable the petroleum-generating potential of the early Permian in the southern part of the Sydney Basin to be determined. Training in organic geochemical techniques will be provided by Simon George, with help from his team of PhD students. This project would be a good one to do if you are interested in a career in the oil industry.
Potential supervisors: George, Dadd?
GEOS260 students at Point Upright, Durras.
3. Oil-bearing fluid inclusions in Precambrian rocks
We use oil inclusions as biogeochemical time capsules which retain information for billions of years. Crude oil formed during the Archaean and Proterozoic (>1.0 billion years ago) due to burial and heating of organic matter. In most places this oil has subsequently been lost through leakage, thermal alteration and biodegradation. Sometimes, tiny samples of the oil was trapped in mineral grains as fluid inclusions. We have devised methods of analysing this oil, the chemistry of which (e.g. biomarker distribution) tells us information about the original organic matter in the >1.0 billion year old rocks. More details are provided here:
http://www.es.mq.edu.au/geology/staff/SimonGeorge/BiosphereHydrocarbon.htm
There is an opportunity for a chemically-oriented student to work on some of our samples from the Precambrian. This project will involve learning some ultra-clean methods of doing trace organic geochemical analyses. Some of this work will be carried out in the CSIRO labs at North Ryde. This is a challenging project, but could results in significant publishable outcomes which the students would be expected to jointly author. Training in organic geochemical techniques will be provided by Simon George, with help from his team of PhD students. This project would be a good one to do if you are interested in a career in the oil industry or in academia.
Potential supervisors: George, Volk? (CSIRO), Dutkiewicz? (Sydney University)
A 2.1 Ga oil inclusion from Oklo, and an example of a biomarker that we detected in it.
4. Bioremediation in cold climates: geochemical monitoring and ecotoxicology
Simon George has a series of on-going projects with the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), in which the effects of the natural attenuation (evaporation, water washing, biodegradation) and artificial remediation of spilled diesels and oils in the Antarctic are being followed and related to the residuals’ impact on biology (ecotoxicology). Other academics at Macquarie University who are involved in the Antarctic work are Damien Gore, Michael Gillings and Grant Hose. More details are provided here:
http://www.es.mq.edu.au/geology/staff/SimonGeorge/BioremediationInColdClimates.htm
There is the opportunity for a chemically-oriented student to work on some aspect of these studies, in conjunction with 1 existing and 2 future PhD students of Simon George, other PhD students at Macquarie University and with other scientists at the AAD. The AAD provide enormous logistical support to these projects, and one benefit of an Honours project in this area would be to establish your profile with this organisation, possibly leading to research or work in the Antarctic. Training in organic geochemical techniques will be provided by Simon George, with help from his team of PhD students.
Potential supervisors: George, Hose?, Gore?, Snape? (AAD)
Trays containing marine sediment and diesel/oil test mixtures, O’Brien Bay, Antarctica.
Five reasons to come here to do research
1. The interesting research topics and projects (I hope!). I have access to very interesting sample sets (e.g. Pilbara, Acraman Impact, Antarctica).
2. New lab has been built, with new equipment; interesting research collaborators on the projects.
3. Macquarie University is a great place to do research: it is very multidisciplinary and research focused, with great people and strong international links. I am associated with the Ecology and Evolution Core (Concentration of Research Excellence) and the Genes to Geoscience Research Centre.
4. Macquarie University is situated in a park-like campus close to the Lane Cove National Park and business parks. It has over 30,000 students and a broadening research reputation.
5. Sydney is a terrific place to live, fantastic camping, bush, beaches, climbing etc within easy reach of the City.
Sydney Harbour
Macquarie University
