ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems

A crucial contributor of new insights into Earth’s 4D structure, composition and its deep plumbing system.

Until recently, a real understanding of our planet’s dynamism has been intractable, but with new geophysical , geodynamic and geochemical, methodologies, increasing computing capabilities and interdisciplinary integration of datasets, a step-change in such knowledge is within reach.

Together, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS) and the ARC National Key Centre for Geochemical Evolution and Metallogeny of Continents (GEMOC) deliver the new knowledge needed to help sustain Australia's future resource base

A unified mission

CCFS researchers are tasked with building a better understanding of the Earth's dynamics and fluid cycles. GEMOC is focused on the Earth’s mantle and how it drives processes such as elemental and commodity distribution from the bottom up.

Research areas

CCFS research programs are organised under three themes:

1. The Early Earth – understanding Earth’s formation, early differentiation, and the role of fluids.
2. Earth's Evolution – developing new conceptual models to track Earth’s dynamic evolution from crust to core.
3. Earth Today – developing and applying new geophysical and geodynamic modelling methods to better image Earth processes.

GEMOC research programs focus on the role of the mantle in geological processes across four strands:

1. Lithosphere Mapping – tracing the evolution of the structure and composition of the upper mantle and crust over time.
2. Geotectonics – developing and applying geochronology and geochemical (including isotopic) fingerprinting techniques to understand tectonic events and timescales.
3. Crustal Generation Processes – charting the composition, generation and movement of the crust through time.
4. Metallogenic Provinces – providing a new predictive framework for understanding the formation and location of economic deposits.

Project leaders

CCFS and GEMOC are led by Professor Sue O'Reilly. She has been the director of CCFS since 2011 and of GEMOC since 1995 and is backed by a team of highly experienced academics from Macquarie University, including Program Director Professor William Griffin, Research Coodinator Professor Stephen Foley and  lead investigators including Dr Elena Belousova, Professor Dorrit Jacob, Associate /Professor Craig O’Neill, Associate Professor Yingjie Yang, Associate Professor Juan-Carlos Afonso, Associate Professor Simon Clark, Dr Olivier Alard (and including 7 Future Fellow awardees at MQ).