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Kelly HeilbronnB.Geol (Class I Honours) (JCU); LLB (JCU)
I am a current Masters of Philosophy candidate at James Cook University.
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My honours work involved revisiting the plate dynamics of the northwest Coral Sea by looking at previously published data in a different way in order to better understand the tectonic regime in the region. I was able to spend some time developing a detailed 3D model of the Pandora Trough in the Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea. The interpretation of the 3D model and seismic sections of the Queensland Trough and the use of reconstruction software allowed me to test out different plate tectonic scenarios within the region. This included the opening of the Queensland Trough as a rifting event, and also hypothetical spreading scenarios for the Pocklington Sea (an ancient ocean which once existed north of the Coral Sea), during the Cretaceous.
For my Masters I will be expanding on my work from my honours. I plan to establish a tectonic framework for the eastern margin of Australia during the Jurassic using sedimentary provenance, basin analysis and geodynamic modelling of the Queensland Plateau and Lord Howe Rise. I will be analysing IODP samples from the Queensland Plateau and Lord Howe Rise and use the interpretation of the results, along with seismic data, 3D modelling and reconstruction software to provide a better understanding of the tectonic environment along the eastern margin of Australia during the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
For my Masters I will be expanding on my work from my honours. I plan to establish a tectonic framework for the eastern margin of Australia during the Jurassic using sedimentary provenance, basin analysis and geodynamic modelling of the Queensland Plateau and Lord Howe Rise. I will be analysing IODP samples from the Queensland Plateau and Lord Howe Rise and use the interpretation of the results, along with seismic data, 3D modelling and reconstruction software to provide a better understanding of the tectonic environment along the eastern margin of Australia during the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
