Biography
Aoife Blowick is a post-doctoral researcher in the Sediment Tracking Project within the iCRAG hydrocarbon research spoke. After graduating with a BSc in Geology in 2012 from University College Dublin, Aoife obtained her PhD in sedimentary provenance in 2017. She now joins iCRAG’s sediment tracking team developing and refining novel sediment tracking techniques.
What is sand made of and where does it come from? Understanding these questions allows us to better predict how our landscape will evolve through time, where oil and gas accumulations may occur, and what factors control how sand composition changes both onshore and in the world’s oceans. Just like a fingerprint, grains of sand have unique compositions which can be traced back to their source. My research involves developing and testing techniques which we can use to do this.
Project title: Development of novel sediment tracers: validation and application of conventional and new provenance proxies
Technical description
The research involves the development and refinement of sand tracking techniques with a focus on single grain analysis of framework components including quartz and feldspar. The project will help to establish and further develop innovative provenance approaches by carrying out a number of specialised experiments and case studies including but not limited to investigating the weathering regimes and recycling capabilities of single mineral grains, in addition to exploring potential applications of as of yet underused provenance proxies. This will primarily be achieved using a combination of geochemical and isotopic measurements obtained by high resolution in situ analyses of single grains, including LA-ICPMS. Beyond developing and refining specific sand tracking techniques, the research will also help to improve our understanding of sediment routing in source-to-sink systems and its implications for coastal stratigraphy evolution, reservoir quality and distribution in offshore basins, and source-to-sink modelling in deep time.
Role
- Postdoctoral Researcher
Institution
- NUIG
Research Area
- Energy Security
Expertise
- Sediment Tracking, LA-ICP MS/OES, Pb Isotopic Analysis, Petrology, Provenance, Sedimentology
