Dr. Jonathan Clarke
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Contact Details: Email: Jon.Clarke@ga.gov.au Postal: |
My career has been extremely varied and when asked what my expertise is in I generally reply I am a geological general practioner. I graduated as a palaeontologist, moved in petroleum and coal geology, my PhD was in carbonate sedimentology and palaeoecology. I have also worked on marine surveys in the Southern and Indian Oceans, explored for base metals, nickel and gold in Archaean and Proterozoic terranes in South and western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, as well as for gold and copper in the Philippines and Chile. More recently I have been working on the evolution of Australian landscapes, especially of the arid interior and its regolith, and in the sedimentology and architecture of Australian Cainozoic basins.
Through my position as director the Mars Society Australia (MSA) I have been researching in two main fields, terrestrial parallels of Martian landscapes and developing exploration strategies for human missions to Mars. Particular landscapes I am interested in studying include the Hanksville area in Utah, the Arkaroola region in South Australia, groundwater-related landforms of Australian mound springs, and the Vestfold Hills in Antarctica. An important aspect of developing exploration strategies for human missions is through integrated field research of instruments (spectrometers, data capture, geophysical tools), methodologies (scouting, navigation), exploration technologies (suits, living modules, rovers, field robotics), at appropriate levels of simulation fidelity. I was field leader of MSA's Jarntimarra-1 expedition in 2001 which selected the Arkaroola region as the prime site for Mars analogue research in Australia, Principle Investigator for the Mars Expedition Council's Expedition 1 to Utah in 2002 (a number of papers from which have been published in Volume 107 of the American Astronautical Society's Science and Technology Series), and Coordinator for Expedition 3 to Arkaroola in 2004.
Other current research activities include salinity hazards, biogenic opal in terrestrial environments, and the stratigraphy and evolution of the Eucla Basin and its margins through CRC LEME at Geoscience Australia.
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
CLARKE, J. D. A., DECKERT, J., GOSTIN, V., HOOGLAND, J., LAING, J., LEMKE, L., LEYDEN, J., MANN, G., MURPHY, G., STOKER, C., THOMAS, M., WALDIE, J., WALTER, M., and WEST, M. 2002. Selecting Australian Mars analogue sites: methodology and criteria. Abstracts 16th AGC, Adelaide.
LAING, J. H., CLARKE, J, D. A., DECKERT, J., GOSTIN, V., HOOGLAND, J., LEMKE, L., LEYDEN, J., MANN, G., MURPHY, G., STOKER, C., THOMAS, M., WALDIE, J., WALTER, M. and WEST, M. 2002. Using an Australian Mars analogue research facility for astrobiology education and outreach. Abstracts Bioastronomy Conference.
CLARKE, J. D. A. 2002. Jarntimarra-1: selecting Australian Mars analogue research site. Abstracts 10th Australia and New Zealand Geomorphology Group Conference, Kalgoorlie, 2002, p11.
CLARKE, J. D. A. and STOKER, C. 2003. Mound spring complexes in central Australia: an analog for Martian groundwater-fed outflow channels? Abstracts of the 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract #1504.
CLARKE, J. D. A. 2003. The nature of regolith: a planetary scale perspective. In Advancers in Regolith, Extended abstracts CRC LEME eastern regolith symposium 2003.
G. A. MANN, G. A.., CLARKE, J. D. A. and GOSTIN, V. A. 2004. Surveying for Mars Analogue Research Sites in the Central Australian Deserts. Australian Geographical Studies. 30(1): 116-124.
CLARKE, J. D. A. and PAIN, C. F. 2004. Application of regolith-landform mapping to a Mars analogue environment in Utah. Abstracts of the 17th Australian Geological Convention, Hobart.
PAIN, C. F., CLARKE, J. D. A. and THOMAS, M. 2004. Geomorphic process, landforms and regolith on Mars. In Fabel, D. (ed.) Abstracts of the 11th Australian and New Zealand Geomorphology Group p56.
THOMAS, M. and CLARKE, J. D. A. 2004 Application of regolith landform mapping at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Abstracts of the 11th Australian and New Zealand geomorphology Group Conference p68.
PERSAUD, R., RUPERT-ROBLES, S., CLARKE, J. D. A., DAWSON, S., MANN, G., WALDIE, J., PIECHOCINSKI, S. AND ROESCH, J. 2004. Expedition one: a Mars analog research station thirty-day mission. In COCKELL, C. C. (ed.) Mars Expedition Planning. American Astronautical Society Science and Technology Series, 107: 53-88.
WOOD, N. B. and CLARKE, J. D. A. 2004. Strategies for Investigating Martian Microenvironments for Evidence of Life: The Expedition One Experience. In COCKELL, C. C. (ed.) Mars Expedition Planning. American Astronautical Society Science and Technology Series, 107: 89-102.
PIECHOCINSKI, S., CELLUCCI, E., CLARKE, J. D. A., LAING, J., ORLOTTI, B., PERSAUD, R., SOLIGNAC, A. and WOOD, N. B. 2004. Potential Capabilities and Uses of an Integrated Data Logging Device During a Human Mars Exploration Mission. In COCKELL, C. C. (ed.) Mars Expedition Planning. American Astronautical Society Science and Technology Series, 107: 273 - 286
MANN, G. W., WOOD, N. B., CLARKE, J. D. A., PIECHOCINSKI, S., BAMSEY, M., and LAING, J. 2004. Comparative Fields Tests of Pressured Rover Prototypes. In COCKELL, C. C. (ed.) Mars Expedition Planning. American Astronautical Society Science and Technology Series, 107: 313-326.
CLARKE, J. D. A. and PAIN, C. F. 2004. From Utah to Mars: regolith-landform mapping and its application. In COCKELL, C. C. (ed.) Mars Expedition Planning. American Astronautical Society Science and Technology Series, 107: 131-160.
CLARKE, J. D. A., THOMAS, M., and NORMAN, M. 2004. The Arkaroola Mars analog region, South Australia. Abstracts of the 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Abstract #1029.
CLARKE, J. D. A. and MANN, G. 2004. Jarntimarra-1: selecting an Australian Mars Analogue Research Site. Proceedings of the second Australian Mars Exploration Conference, University of Sydney, 2002. Mars Society Australia.
CLARKE, J. D. A. 2004. Mars lander designs: a background to MARS-OZ. Proceedings of the second Australian Mars Exploration Conference, University of Sydney, 2002. Mars Society Australia.
CLARKE, J. D. A. 2004. MARS-OZ: a technical description. Proceedings of the second Australian Mars Exploration Conference, University of Sydney, 2002. Mars Society Australia.
LAING, J. H., CLARKE, J., DECKERT, J., GOSTIN, V., HOOGLAND, J., LEMKE, L., LEYDEN, J., MANN, G., MURPHY, G., STOKER, C., THOMAS, M., WALDIE, J., WALTER, M., and WEST, M. In press. Using an Australian Mars analogue research facility for astrobiology education and outreach. In NORRIS R., OLIVER, C., and STOOTMAN, F. (eds.) Proceedings of Bioastronomy 2002: IAU Symposium 213 at Hamilton Island, 2002.
Last Updated: Jan 30 2006