DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Alayman, S.

Taxonomic revision of the tapinocephalid dinocephalian subfamilies Moschopinae, Tapinocephalinae and Riebeeckosaurinae – The key to understanding Middle Permian tetrapod biodiversity.

 The project started in 2008, supervised by Prof. Rubidge and Dr. Abdala.

Gondwanan correlations of Upper Karoo vertebrate biozones using palynology

 The project started in 2010 and is supervised by Prof. Bamford and Prof. Rubidge.

This inter-disciplinary PhD project is recording the pollen and spore taxa of the Karoo in order to set up a palynostratigraphic scheme from the Carboniferous to the Jurassic of South Africa. The rocks of the Karoo contain a rich fossil pollen record which can be utilised to understand changes in floral biodiversity, determine the effects of the Permo-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic extinction events on plant communities, and enhance geological Karoo basin development models.

Butler, M.l 

A new hydrological and hydrochemical management model for the Karoo aquifers at T lborsch, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

 The project commenced in 2004, and is supervised by Prof. Verhagen and Prof. Abiye.

Bybee, G.

Crustal Contamination and the Possible Source of Proterozoic Massif-Type Anorthosites.

 The project started in 2009, supervised by Prof. Ashwal.

Chikumbirike, J.

Archaeological and palaeoecological implications of charcoal assemblages from the Holocene from Great Zimbabwe and the immediate environment.

The project started in 2010, and is supervised by Dr. Bamford and Dr. Esterhuysen.

Day, M.

Middle Permian continental biodiversity changes as reflected in the Beaufort Group of South Africa: A bio and lithostratigraphic review of the Tapinocephalus and Pristerognathus assemblage zones.

The project is Supervised by Prof. Rubidge.

The Beaufort Group of South Africa holds a record of the continental realm from the Middle Permian to the early Triassic and contains a great wealth of fossil vertebrates that has allowed its subdivision into biozones. The Middle Permian part of the sequence has been relatively neglected but contains the thickest of the biozones, the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone. This time period also witnesses a significant turnover in faunal composition with the extinction of the Dinocephalia, which has been linked to a marine extinction event in the late Middle Permian of China. This project aims to review the bio- and lithostratigraphy of the Middle Permian Beaufort Group to better understand late Middle Permian vertebrate diversity change.

Constraints for the formation of pseudotachylytes from the Alpine Subduction Complex, Corsica

Supervised by Prof. Ashwal and Prof. Andersen.

The project involves a multidisciplinray approach in evaluating the mechanism of formation of blueschist facies pseudotahylytes from Cima di Gratera, Corsica. Previous work has shown these pseudotachylytes (hosted by peridotite and metagabbro) to have formed at pressures of 1.8 - 2.6 GPa and at temperatures of 1400 - 1700 °C and to be associated with seismic failure. By doing a detailed geochemical and microstructural study of these pseudotachylytes we aim to determine the mechanism by which intermediate-depth earthquakes nucleate and initiate as well as the influence that water may have on these processes. 

Geochronology and Evolution of the Magondi Belt, Zimbabwe.

The project started in 2011 and is supervised by Dr. Master.

Fossilised dermal tissue associated with Australopithecus sediba

Project supervised by Prof. Berger.

The multi-disciplinary project will analyse material associated with the near complete Plio-Pleistocene aged Australopithecus sediba hominin specimens from the Malapa site to determine whether soft tissue in the form of fossilised skin may have been preserved. The taphonomic condition of the fossils suggests rapid burial, lack of predation, but some insect damage, making the preservation environment at Malapa exceptional. Any soft tissue found with the hominins, represented by MH1 (Malapa Hominid 1) and MH2 (Malapa Hominid 2) would be of some considerable value, as such preservation is presently unrecognized in the early hominin record.

Scheiber-Enslin, S.

3D Geophysical Modelling of the Karoo Basin.

The project started in 2011, supervised by Dr. Webb and Dr. Ebbing (Norwegian Geological Survey).

No clear tectonic model exists for the Karoo sedimentary basin in South Africa, which is a possible host for Permian shale gas. The main aim of this proposed project is to create a 3D geological model of the Karoo Basin using geological information, magnetic and gravity data, and supplementary borehole and seismic data. This model will be used to investigate the tectonic environment of the Karoo, and the dynamic formation of the basin in terms of the flexural response on and off craton, and the possible formation of natural gas deposits.

EVANS, M.

Depositional history of alluvial fan deposits in the foothills of the Drakensberg in the eastern Free State and their palaeoclimatological significance, South Africa.

The project is supervised by Prof. McCarthy (part-time).

GESS, R.

New insights into Gondwana Famennian biodiversity patterns – taxonomy and biogeography of a high latitude, west Gondwana ecosystem of the Witpoort Formation of South Africa (Cape Supergroup, Witteberg Group).

The project started in 2006, supervised by Prof. Rubidge and Dr. Coates.

The extended Euler deconvolution of gravity data.

The project started in 2011 (part-time), supervised by Prof. Cooper and Prof Durrheim.

Kgaswane, E.

Crustal and upper mantle structure in southern Africa from modeling receiver functions and surface wave dispersion.

The project started in 2006 (part-time), supervised by Prof. Durrheim and Prof Nyblade (Penn State).

The earthquake seismology of the NW Cape.  

The project started in 2010 and is supervised by Prof. Durrheim and Prof. Andreoli.

Manzi, M.

Application of 3D seismic analysis techniques to an evaluation of ore resources on Kloof, South Deep and Driefontein gold mines, South Africa.

The project is supervised by Prof. Durrheim and Prof. Ncube-Hein.

My research focuses on using various 3D seismic processing and interpretation techniques to provide optimum imaging of geological features (faults/dykes) that fall below seismic resolution limit. In particular, the application of Pre-Stack Time Migration (PSTM) using 3D Kirchhoff migration algorithm has provided better stratigraphic and structural imaging in complex faulted areas, such as Wits basin relative to older post-stack methods. 3D horizon-based seismic attributes (e.g. edge detection attribute analysis) have identified a number of subtle geological structures that have direct impact on ore resource evaluation. Some of these structures (faults/dykes) are sub-vertical with throws less 5 m and cannot be resolved on migrated seismic section. Other areas of improvements in applying such techniques include: (1) depth and position accuracy, (2) dip and strike of the key seismic horizons and auriferous reefs, and (3) developing a better understanding of the inter-relationship between fault activity and reef distribution and a relative chronology of tectonic events.

Olayiwola, M.

Palynological investigation of three Eocene borehole cores in the Niger Delta, Nigeria.

The project started in 2011 and is supervised by Prof. Bamford.

The Niger Delta Basin is worldwide known to be the most productive and economic sedimentary Basin in Nigeria. This research project was developed as a result of awareness that as petroleum exploration and production activities progress from onshore towards deep offshore depo-belts in the Niger Delta region, the biostratigraphy becomes more complex and open to questions. This is due to the poor preservation of calcareous skeleton which usually associated with deeper water offshore depositional environments. In contrast palynomorphs, (organic-walled micro-fossils) which are less affected by deeper water offshore depositional environments, are becoming more useful as a biostratigraphic tool in deep offshore strata.  

This project involves analyzing ditch-cutting samples for their palynomorph contents to create a palynomorph biostratigraphical framework to complement the existing microfossil and nannofossil biostratigraphy in the Niger Delta. The development of spore/pollen biostratigraphic schemes will be an important contribution to the deep offshore strata in which other taxa often make little or no significant impact. 

Owen-Smith, T.

Petrogenesis and mode of emplacement of the Doros Complex, Namibia, with implications for Mesozoic continental reconstruction.

The project started in 2009 and is supervised by Prof. Ashwal.

The project is a comprehensive investigation of the petrogenesis and emplacement dynamics of the Doros Complex, a Cretaceous-age layered mafic intrusion in Namibia, using whole-rock major element, trace element and radiogenic isotope geochemistry, mineral chemistry, melt inclusion chemistry,  and palaeomagnetic analysis.

PEREIRA, L.

Phytolith Analysis of the FwJj14 Site Complex, Lake Turkana Basin, Northern Kenya.

The (part-time) project started in 2008 and is supervised by Prof. Bamford.

Dental size and frequency of pathologies in the teeth of a small-bodied population of Mid-Late Holocene Micronesians, Palau Micronesia.

The project started in 2007 and is supervised by Prof. Berger and Dr. Backwell.

The geology, structure and metallogenesis of the Oudalan-Gorouol Greenstone Belt, Burkina Faso and Niger, West Africa.

The project started in 2008 and is supervised by Prof. Ncube-Hein.

This research is focused on establishing the temporal and spatial relationship of regional scale first-order crustal scale structures and mineralization in the Oudalan-Gorouol Greenstone Belt (OGGB). The OGGB forms part of the Palaeoproterozoic domain of the West African Craton in NE Burkina Faso and Niger. The Oudalan-Gorouol Greenstone Belt hosts several gold deposits and deposit styles in NW-trending folds including gold mineralization at Essakane, Falagountou, Tin Zubratan and Kossa and NE-trending shear zones.

Application of the 3D technology to analyse the taphonomy of hominin remains from the Plio-Pleistocene site of Malapa (Gauteng, South Africa).

The project started in 2011 and is supervised by Dr. Backwell, Prof. Berger, and Dr. D'Errico

The taxonomy of, and variability in fossil herpetological remains from selected Plio-Pleistocene aged fossil bearing sites in South Africa.

The project started in 2008 and is supervised by Dr. Backwell and Prof. Berger.