Dr Clinton Foster
Research interests
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Palynological studies, particularly of the Ordovician, evolution of the land flora; and the response, recovery, and radiation of the Late Paleozoic - Early - Middle Triassic flora.
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Integration of palynology and organic geochemistry
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Carbon Capture and Storage
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Change management, science principles, and communication of science
Biography
Clinton Foster has been studying geology and fluid histories of onshore and offshore sedimentary basins for 40 years. He has extensive science management and governance experience within Geoscience Australia (GA), and as a Director on the Board of several CRCs, including former Chair of the Finance Risk and Audit Committe of C02CRC.
Clinton retired as the Chief Scientist of Geoscience Australia in June 2016. From 2003-2011, Clinton was Chief of the Petroleum and Marine Division at GA, where he managed the $136 million New Petroleum and Offshore Energy Programs which included technical advice under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act and the annual offshore acreage release; Law of the Sea and marine boundary technical advice program; geoscience input into the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas; and the $30 million carbon capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide (CCS) program.
A palynologist by training, specialising in the Permian-Triassic boundary and the integration of palynology with organic geochemistry, particularly in hydrocarbon source rock studies. Prior to joining GA (then Bureau of Mineral Resources) Clinton was a Senior Supervising Geologist for Western Mining Corporation Exploration Division, Petroleum; he started his career as a palynologist with the Geological Survey of Queensland. Currently Clinton is a consultant, and has been an Adjunct Professor at The University of Western Australia, and at Deakin University. A member of the Geological Societies of London and Australia, and American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists.
Publications
- Strother, P & Foster, C 2021, 'A fossil record of land plant origins from charophyte algae', Science, vol. 373, no. 6556, pp. 792-796.
- Spaak, G, Edwards, D, Foster, C et al. 2020, 'Geochemical characteristics of early Carboniferous petroleum systems in Western Australia', Marine and Petroleum Geology, vol. 113, pp. 1-20.
- Peyrot, D, Playford, G, Mantle, D et al. 2019, 'The greening of western australian landscapes: The phanerozoic plant record', Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, vol. 102, pp. 52-82.
- Haig, D, Foster, C, Howe, R et al. 2018, 'Fossil protists (Algae and testate protozoans) in the marine phanerozoic of Western Australia: A review through latitudinal change, climate extremes, and breakup of a supercontinent', Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, vol. 101, pp. 44-67.
- Spaak, G, Edwards, D, Foster, C et al 2017, 'Environmental conditions and microbial community structure during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event; a multi-disciplinary study from the Canning Basin, Western Australia', Global and Planetary Change, vol. 159, pp. 93-112pp.
- Foster, C & Wicander, R 2016, 'An Early Ordovician organic-walled microphytoplankton assemblage from the Nambeet Formation, Canning Basin, Australia: biostratigraphic and paleogeographic significance', Palynology, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 379-409.
- Grice, K, Riding, J, Foster, C et al 2015, 'Vascular plant biomarker distributions and stable carbon isotopic signatures from the Middle and Upper Jurassic (Callovian–Kimmeridgian) strata of Staffin Bay, Isle of Skye, northwest Scotland', Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 440, pp. 307-315.
- Tulipani, S, Grice, K, Greenwood, P et al 2015, 'Molecular proxies as indicators of freshwater incursion-driven salinity stratification', Chemical Geology, vol. 409, pp. 61-68.
- Haig, D, Martin, S, Mory, A et al 2015, 'Early Triassic (early Olenekian) life in the interior of East Gondwana: mixed marine–terrestrial biota from the Kockatea Shale, Western Australia', Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 417, pp. 511-533.
- Tulipani, S, Grice, K, Greenwood, P et al 2015, 'Changes of palaeoenvironmental conditions recorded in Late Devonian reef systems from the Canning Basin, Western Australia: A biomarker and stable isotope approach', Gondwana Research, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 1500-1515.
- Gallagher, S, Exon, N, Seton, M et al 2014, 'Exploring new drilling prospects in the southwest Pacific', Scientific Drilling, vol. 17, pp. 45-50.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Molecular fossils, mass extinctions and the rise of complex algae (Secondary Investigator)