Dr. Fabio Cabitanio

Supervisors: Fabio A. Capitanio, Jeffrey Stilwell and Mike Hall
Field of study: Tectonics, structural geology, stratigraphy
Support offered: Training in well log/seismic section interpretation
Preferred Programme: Honours or MSc

The Otway and Gippsland basins offer the unique opportunity to understand the stages of continental disassembly during a dynamic interval in Earth history. While the Otway rift system developed into a passive margin as the final phases of Gondwana break-up were well underway (ie., Antarctica-Australia), the Gippsland rift was abandoned as tectonic deformation jumped further south. The project involves interpretation of a seismic line, or part of a seismic grid, and well logs to outline the structure and stratigraphy of a specific but important part of either basin. This would then be back-stripped in order to determine both the structural evolution and depositional history. These results would then be integrated into larger scale study of the tectonic evolution of the continental margin of southeast Australia. This analysis can be weighted according the student’s interest into a major structural or stratigraphic component; therefore, several projects can be offered.
 

Supervisors: Fabio A. Capitanio & Sergio Zlotnik

Field of study: Tectonicsand Computational Geodynamics
Support offered: Basin analysis, Matlab

Preferred Programme: Honours or MSc

The sedimentary record of basins found on passive margins reveals the full history of continental rifting and following break-up. An inverse theory can be used to recovery lithospheric strain rate from such subsidence data. This ultimately relates to the tectonic forces acting over time and space around the deforming continent.  Aim of this project is the implementation and testing of a numerical continuum approach to lithospheric stretching modeling. As a test case,to we will quantitatively characterize the strain rates across the Otway and Gippsland basins, possibly offering a clue to the tectonic forces behind Gondwana dismembering in this area. This project is suitable for students with a background in mathematics/engineering and basic programming skills
 

Supervisors: Fabio A. Capitanio & Sergio Zlotnik

Field of study: Tectonics, Stratigraphy and Computational Geodynamics

Support offered: Training in geodynamic/stratigraphic modelling

Preferred Programme: Honours or MSc

The main objective of this project is to understand the controls of subsidence, sea level fluctuations and sediment supply on the structural/stratigraphic architecture of sedimentary basins by means of numerical modelling. The competition of these three factors is responsible for erosional and angular unconformities, spatial variation of thickness, porosity and permeability, which ultimately control the migration and accumulation of fluids and hydrocarbon resources. The architectures defined will be compared with different tectonic context, i.e. epicontinental basins, orogen’s foredeeps or molasses, where tectonic activity and sediment supply have been documented
 

Supervisors: Fabio A. Capitanio & Louis Moresi

Field of study: Tectonics, Geomorphology and Computational Geodynamics

Support offered: Training in geodynamics & Geomorphology modelling

Preferred Programme: Honours or MSc

The dynamics of actively deforming collisional belts and plateaux, as the Himalaya and Tibet, are influenced by climate. The climate-triggered variation in erosion are expected to have an impact on the rate of uplift, sediment output as well as localized rock uplift. The aim of this project is to understand the interplay between climate and tectonics and how this results into the tectonic evolution of mountain ranges, by means of a numerical modelling approach. A novel implementation of the numerical code Underworld including surface processes allows the deployment of cutting edge fully 3D tectonic models, granting for a high standard of scientific outcomes