Dr. Solomon (Sol) BUCKMAN

Position:   Senior Lecturer   
Room:   41.163
Phone No:   +61 2 4221 5950
Email:  solomon@uow.edu.au

Honours/Masters Scholarships

Industry funded project specific scholarships for Honours and Masters are available to students commencing Honours or Masters. Fieldwork will be based in Orange, NSW.
Contact me or the School Office for further information.

Research Interests

• Geological and tectonic setting of mineral deposits
• China and Central Asia - the tectonic and metallogenic evolution of the Eruasian continent
• Neotectonics, geomorphology and intraplate deformation - the Tian Shan in Central Asia and the Mt Lofty/Flinders Ranges, South Australia
• New England and Lachlan Orogens - tectonic and metallogenic evolution
• Palaeofire records and sedimentation in bogs and alluvial fans
• Geological application of remote sensing techniques (ASTER, LIDAR, hyperspectral) to the identification of alteration minerals and subtle neotectonic geomorphological features

Representative Publications

Book Chapter

Aitchison, J. C., Stratford, J. M. & Buckman, S. Geology of the Upper Barnard region: evidence of Early Permian oblique-slip faulting along the Peel-Manning Fault System. In Tectonics and Metallogenesis of the New England Orogen; Ashley, P. M. & Flood, P. G., Eds.; Geological Society of Australia: Australia, 1997; pp 188-196.

Buckman, S. & Aitchison, J. C. Tectonic evolution of Palaeozoic terranes in West Junggar, Xinjiang, NW China. In Aspects of the Tectonic Evolution of China; Malpas, J., Fletcher, C. J., Aitchison, J. C. & Ali, J., Eds.; 1 ed.; The Geological Society: Bath, UK, 2004; pp 101-130.

Journal Article

Buckman, S. & Aitchison, J. C. Middle Ordovician (Llandeilan) radiolarians from West Junggar, Xinjiang, China. Micropaleontology 2001, 47, (4), 359-367.

Buckman, S., Brownlie, K. C., Bourman, R. P., Murray-Wallace, C. V., Morris, R., Lachlan, T. J., Roberts, R. G., Arnold, L. J. & Cann, J. H. Holocene palaeofire records in a high-level, proximal valley-fill (Wilson Bog), Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. The Holocene 2009, 19, (7), 1017-1029.

Bourman, R. P., Buckman, S., Pillans, B., Williams, M. AJ. & Williams, F. Traces from the past: the Cenozoic regolith and intraplate neotectonic history of the Gun Emplacement, a ferricreted bench on the western margin of the Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 2010, 57, (5), 577-595.

Bourman, R. P., Ollier, C. D. & Buckman, S. Mount Augustus geology and geomorphology. Geographical Research 2010, 48, (2), 111-122.

Bourman, R. P., Prescott, J. R., Banerjee, D., Alley, N. F. & Buckman, S. Age and origin of alluvial sediments within and flanking the Mt Lofty Ranges, southern South Australia: a late quaternary archive of climate and environmental change. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 2010, 57, (2), 175-192.

Conference Publication

Buckman, S. Intra-continental deformation, springs and arid ecosystems: Neotectonic faults as important water reservoirs in arid areas of Xinjiang Province, northwest China. In Earth Systems Processes 2 Conference; Geological Society of America: Calgary, 2005;

Buckman, S., Brownlie, K. C., Morris, R., Bourman, R. P. & Leon Patino, J. Using Lidar to Assess the Effect of Fire and Floods on Upland Peat Bogs, Waterfall Gully, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. In Proceedings of the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute Biennial International Conference; Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute: Adelaide, Australia, 2009; pp 733-743.

View a list of searchable publications

Suggested Topics for Future

1. The Tian Shan, Xinjiang Provence, northwest China
   a) The timing and nature of gold and copper deposits in the Tian Shan. Components – geochemistry, stable isotopes, geochronology (ICP-MS laser ablation of monazites and zircons, structural geology
   b) Intraplate deformation and the identification of neotectonic faults in northwest China; their spatial and temporal relationship to the India-Asia collision. Components – remote sensing, OSL/TL dating, GPS mapping, tectonic geomorphology and GIS
   c) The age and timing of emplacement of ophiolites and accretionary complexes in Central Asia. Components – geochronology, geochemistry (XRF, ICP) and radiolarian/conodont biostratigraphy.
   d) Identification of rocktypes and alteration haloes surrounding gold mines in the Tian Shan using remote sensing (ASTER + SRTM)
2. Lachlan and New England Orogens, NSW.
   a) Gold and copper mineralization within the Macquarie Arc
   b) Platinum group mineralization in layered intrusives within the Lachlan orogen, NSW.
   c) Silica-carbonate (listwanite) epithermal alteration and the mobility of precious metals near the margins of serpentinite (ophiolite) bodies in the New England and Lachlan orogens.
3. Mt Lofty and Flinders Ranges, South Australia
   a) Detailed structural and geomophological mapping of the neotectonic Willunga Fault at Sellicks Beach, Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, using high resolution LIDAR (digital elevation models) and tri-spectral and hyperspectral remote sensing data
   b) Alluvial fan development in relation to the neotectonic Wilunga Fault and the Quaternary paleofire history as recorded by charcoal abundance in the alluvial sediments (OSL and C14 dating)
4. Industry assisted projects – I am happy to consider any mine/exploration specific project that have a degree of originality and academic merit and is focused on a particular problem that the mine/exploration is dealing with.  

Abbreviated CV

• 2007-present Lecturer at the University of Wollongong – earth resources & tectonics
• 2001-2007 Lecturer at the University of South Australia – geology, tectonics, petrology, geochemistry, field mapping, supervision of post-graduates (honours and PhD).
• 2001 Research Fellow at the School of Earth Sciences, James Cook University. Investigating structural controls on Ag-Pb-Zn mineralization at the Cannington deposit in conjunction with BHP.
• 2000 M.I.M. - contract geologist at Mt. Isa Mine.
• 1996-2000 PhD at the University of Hong Kong. Thesis topic: “Tectonics and Mineralization of West Junggar, NW China.”
• 1997 Caledonian Pacific Resources – geological consultant Attunga Cu/Au skarn deposit in the New England Orogen.
• 1996 Hargraves Resources - Exploration Geologist based in Orange, NSW.
• 1994-1996 Sons of Gwalia Ltd - Exploration Geologist based in Laverton, W.A., investigating Archaean gold/nickel deposits.
• 1993 Honours in Geology at the University of Sydney: Thesis topic: Field mapping project in the New England Orogen, N.S.W., Australia. Title; “The Geology North of the Barnard River at Barry Station: Evidence of Early Permian Strike-slip Faulting and Basin Development.”