At UNSW, honours projects in the Palaeo, Earth and geoscience focus on the evolution of the Earth and its landscapes. It also looks at the emergence and diversification of life, including humans. The study of Earth history opens windows into conditions, worlds and systems of the past, present and future. It offers new insights into a range of critical areas with practical consequence, including climate change, landscape and resource use and management, species and ecological community conservation, and human health.
View our current projects and connect with an honours project supervisor to learn how you can get involved.
Annually-resolved records of fire & climate in Western Australia
Produce records of fire frequency, intensity and hydroclimate, for the last 10,000 years, along west coast WA. Supervisor: Prof Andy Baker
Impact of wave climate on a small ‘mystery’ beach
Explore a range of techniques to determine when a beach existed at McKenzies. Supervisor: Prof Rob Brander
Mineralisation & alteration of epithermal sphalerite-rich Strauss deposit
Determine the structural evolution of the Strauss deposit. Supervisor: Dr Ian Graham
Secondary copper mineralisation in Gladstone Hill & All Nations deposits
Explore copper mineralisation in the Drake goldfield in northern NSW. Supervisor: Dr Ian Graham
Stromatolites of the 3.5 billion–year–old Dresser Formation
Examine the unweathered stromatolite materials of Dresser Formation for evidence of primordial life. Supervisor: Prof Martin Van Kranendonk
The first whiffs of oxygen
Gain a better understanding of the occurrence of anhydrite in thinly bedded marine carbonates of the Hamersley Group. Supervisor: Prof Martin Van Kranendonk
Volcanic stratigraphy & alteration in the Western Copper Deeps
This project uses analytics and statistics to characterise volcanic facies, determine the alteration of mineralogy and the paleotemperatures of fluids. Supervisor: Dr Ian Graham
Cave climatology of the Macleay region
How much do cave temperatures vary, and why? Supervisor: Prof Andy Baker
Caves as observatories of groundwater recharge
Determine how much rain is needed to recharge groundwater at Yarrangobilly, Snowy Mountains. Supervisor: Prof Andy Baker
The cave climate of Australasian show caves
Examine the natural variability of cave climate of Australasian show caves and the impact of tourism. Supervisor: Prof Andy Baker
Drinking water isotopes for water, climate, provenance and forensics
Create data interpretations using stable isotopes d18O and d2H in Australian tap water for water resources, climate, food provenance and forensics applications. Supervisor: Prof Andy Baker
Getting more out of charcoal: Has fire severity changed in the recent past?
Use the physical and chemical characteristics of charcoal to consider the simple question: have fires in the Blue Mountains become more severe over the last few decades? Supervisor: A/Prof. Scott Mooney
Past climate changes of the Falklands
Produce a climate reconstruction using testate amoebae as a palaeoenvironmental indicator for the Falkland Islands, covering the last 10,000 years. Supervisors: Dr Zoë Thomas and Dr Michelle McKeown
Carbon-dating shells and corals
Two methods will be compared to provide methodological recommendations for the radiocarbon dating of inorganic carbon remains. Supervisors: Dr Zoë Thomas and Dr Bill Hiscock
Tracing isotopes in lake sediments for climate reconstructions
Produce a climate reconstruction using lake carbonate sediments. Supervisors: Dr Zoë Thomas and Dr Bill Hiscock
Extending the radiocarbon calibration curve using Huon pine tree-rings
This project aims to date the logs so that a more complete interpretation of fluvial and related environmental changes can be made, and priority samples identified for tree-ring analyses to hopefully bridge the gap. Supervisors: Prof Chris Turney and Dr Jonathan Palmer
Improving ancient kauri radiocarbon dating
To determine how chemical and wood property changes occur with increasing subfossil kauri age to help improve radiocarbon dating and commercial timber utilisation. Supervisors: Prof Chris Turney, Dr Jonathan Palmer, Dr Chris Marjo (MWAC), Assoc Prof Jason Harper (School of Chemistry)
Exploring the ash geochemistry of the 2021/2022 Western Australia wildfires
The project will identify the geochemical indicators from wildfire ash that are best suited to identify past fires in cave stalagmites. Supervisors: Andy Baker and Micheline Campbell (UNSW), Pauline Treble and Liza McDonough (ANSTO)