Professor Dietmar Muller
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Professor Dietmar Muller

PhD SIO/UCSD, FAA, FAGU
Professor of Geophysics, School of Geosciences
Phone
9036 6533
Fax
9351 0184
Professor Dietmar Muller

Dietmar Müller received his undergraduate degree from the Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel in Germany, followed by a PhD in Earth Science from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, in 1993. After joining the University of Sydney as a Lecturer in Geophysics in 1993, he established the University of Sydney Institute of Marine Science (now the Marine Studies Institute) and built the EarthByte research group. He held an ARC Laureate Fellowship from 2009 to 2014 and led theARC Basin GENESIS HubITRPfrom 2015 to 2021, the STELLAR industry project on critical mineral exploration from 2021 to 2024 and is aWeb of Science highly cited researcher.

Müller’s funding record includes recent grants from the ARC Discovery, Linkage and Laureate Fellowship schemes ($3.95M), NCRIS ($2.1M), SIEF ($12M), AISRF ($300k), and industry funding (12.4 Mio) including the ARC Basin GENESIS HubITRP(2015-2021). From 2017-2018 he also served as Director of the Sydney Informatics Hub.

His EarthByte research group is known for pursuing open innovation, involving the collaborative development of open-source paleogeographic information system software as well as global digital data sets made available under a creative commons license. One of the fundamental aims of the EarthByte Group is geodata synthesis through space and time, assimilating the wealth of disparate geological and geophysical data into four-dimensional (space-time)Earth models.His research interests include plate tectonics, geodynamics, paleogeography with a focus on ocean basin evolution, deep Earth resource exploration, basin structure and evolution including groundwater resources, the deep carbon cycle, applications of satellite imaging, and applying machine learning approaches to problems of sparse, complex geodata.

American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, Geological Society of Australia, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, German Geological Society (DGGV), Society for Sedimentary Geology

2023:Australian Museum Eureka Prize for research software finalist

2021: Stephan Mueller Medal, European Geoscience Union

2020: Top scholar in the field of geophysics in Australia for 2020, Annual Research Magazine, The Australian.

2020: Clarke Medal, Royal Society of NSW, Australia

2019: Jaeger Medal, Australian Academy of Science

2019: Excellence Professor Award, Petersen Foundation, Germany

2018: NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry or Physics

2017: Fellow, Australian Academy of Science

2017: Exceptional reviewer award, Geosphere, Geological Society of America

2016: Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Outstanding research, University of Sydney

2009: Australian Laureate Fellow

2006: Fellow, American Geophysical Union

2004: Carey Medal for contributions to global tectonics awarded by the Geological Society of Australia

2000: Fresh Science prize awarded by the British Council and “ScienceNOW!”

Project titleResearch student
Deep-time exploration for mineral deposits along convergent marginsElnaz HEIDARI
Plate-plume interactions in the southwest PacificTom NEW
Spatio-Temporal Data Mining for Mineral ExplorationHojat SHIRMARDGOURAVAN

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Macleod, S., Muller, D., Hassan, R., Williams, S. (2023). Evolution of Mantle Plumes and Lower Mantle Structure in Numerical Models Using Tectonic Reconstructions as Boundary Conditions. In Joao C. Duarte (Eds.), Dynamics of Plate Tectonics and Mantle Convection, (pp. 427-458). Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. [More Information]
  • Muller, D., Matthews, K., Sandwell, D. (2018). Advances in Imaging Small-Scale Seafloor and Sub-Seafloor Tectonic Fabric Using Satellite Altimetry. In Not known (Eds.), Satellite Altimetry Over Oceans and Land Surfaces, (pp. 523-546). TBC. [More Information]
  • Muller, D., Seton, M. (2015). Paleophysiography of Ocean Basins. In Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences, (pp. 638-648). Netherlands: Springer Netherlands. [More Information]

Journals

  • Dutkiewicz, A., Merdith, A., Collins, A., Mather, B., Ilano, L., Zahirovic, S., Muller, D. (2024). Duration of Sturtian “Snowball Earth” glaciation linked to exceptionally low mid-ocean ridge outgassing. Geology, 52(4), 292-296. [More Information]
  • Dutkiewicz, A., Muller, D. (2024). Submarine volcanism along shallow ridges did not drive Cryogenian cap carbonate formation. Geology, 52(5), 321-325. [More Information]
  • Boone, S., Kohlmann, F., Noble, W., Theile, M., Beucher, R., Kohn, B., Glorie, S., Danišík, M., Zhou, R., McMillan, M., Qin, X., Muller, D., et al (2023). A geospatial platform for the tectonic interpretation of low-temperature thermochronology Big Data. Scientific Reports, 13. [More Information]

Conferences

  • Harrington, L., Zahirovic, S., Salles, T., Braz, C., Muller, D. (2020). Tectonic, geodynamic and surface process driving forces of Australia's paleogeography since the Jurassic. West Australian Basins Symposium (WABS5) 2019, Perth WA: Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia Limited.
  • Zahirovic, S., Tobin, J., Hill, K., Matthews, K., Flament, N., Gurnis, M., Hassan, R., Seton, M., Muller, D., Brocard, G., Rey, P. (2018). Eastern Tethyan tectonics and geodynamics since Pangea breakup. European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2018, Austria: EGU.
  • Muller, D., Russell, S., Zahirovic, S., Williams, S., Williams, C. (2018). Modelling and visualising distributed crustal deformation of Australia and Zealandia using GPlates 2.0. 2018 Australian Exploration Geoscience Conference (AEGC 2018), Sydney: Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists. [More Information]

Research Reports

  • McFadden, P., Barnicoat, A., Blewett, R., Collett, D., Collins, B., Dransfield, M., Fitzgerald, D., Haydon, B., Hough, R., Hronsky, J., Muller, D., et al (2012). Searching the Deep Earth: A Vision for exploration geoscience in Australia, (pp. 2 - 41). Canberra, Australia: Australian Academy of Science.

2024

  • Dutkiewicz, A., Merdith, A., Collins, A., Mather, B., Ilano, L., Zahirovic, S., Muller, D. (2024). Duration of Sturtian “Snowball Earth” glaciation linked to exceptionally low mid-ocean ridge outgassing. Geology, 52(4), 292-296. [More Information]
  • Dutkiewicz, A., Muller, D. (2024). Submarine volcanism along shallow ridges did not drive Cryogenian cap carbonate formation. Geology, 52(5), 321-325. [More Information]

2023

  • Boone, S., Kohlmann, F., Noble, W., Theile, M., Beucher, R., Kohn, B., Glorie, S., Danišík, M., Zhou, R., McMillan, M., Qin, X., Muller, D., et al (2023). A geospatial platform for the tectonic interpretation of low-temperature thermochronology Big Data. Scientific Reports, 13. [More Information]
  • Mather, B., Muller, D., Zahirovic, S., Cannon, J., Chin, M., Ilano, L., Wright, N., Alfonso, C., Williams, S., Tetley, M., et al (2023). Deep time spatio-temporal data analysis using pyGPlates with PlateTectonicTools and GPlately. Geoscience Data Journal. [More Information]
  • Boulila, S., Peters, S., Muller, D., Haq, B., Hara, N. (2023). Earth's interior dynamics drive marine fossil diversity cycles of tens of millions of years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(29). [More Information]

2022

  • Shirmard, H., Farahbakhsh, E., Heidari, E., Pour, A., Pradhan, B., Muller, D., Chandra, R. (2022). A Comparative Study of Convolutional Neural Networks and Conventional Machine Learning Models for Lithological Mapping Using Remote Sensing Data. Remote Sensing, 14(4), 819. [More Information]
  • Cao, X., Zahirovic, S., Li, S., Suo, Y., Wang, P., Liu, J., Muller, D. (2022). A deforming plate tectonic model of the South China Block since the Jurassic. Gondwana Research, 102, 3-16. [More Information]
  • Shirmard, H., Farahbakhsh, E., Muller, D., Chandra, R. (2022). A review of machine learning in processing remote sensing data for mineral exploration. Remote Sensing of Environment, 268, 112750. [More Information]

2021

  • Olierook, H., Scalzo, R., Kohn, D., Chandra, R., Farahbakhsh, E., Clark, C., Reddy, S., Muller, D. (2021). Bayesian geological and geophysical data fusion for the construction and uncertainty quantification of 3D geological models. Geoscience Frontiers, 12(1), 479-493. [More Information]
  • Klausen, T., Rismyhr, B., Müller, R., Olaussen, S. (2021). Changing provenance and stratigraphic signatures across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary in eastern Spitsbergen and the subsurface Barents Sea. Norwegian Journal of Geology, 102. [More Information]
  • Cao, X., Flament, N., Muller, D. (2021). Coupled Evolution of Plate Tectonics and Basal Mantle Structure. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 22(1), e2020GC009244. [More Information]

2020

  • Seton, M., Muller, D., Zahirovic, S., Williams, S., Wright, N., Cannon, J., Whittaker, J., Matthews, K., McGirr, R. (2020). A Global Data Set of Present-Day Oceanic Crustal Age and Seafloor Spreading Parameters. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 21(10), 1-15. [More Information]
  • Clennett, E., Sigloch, K., Mihalynuk, M., Seton, M., Henderson, M., Hosseini, K., Mohammadzaheri, A., Johnston, S., Muller, D. (2020). A Quantitative Tomotectonic Plate Reconstruction of Western North America and the Eastern Pacific Basin. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 21(8), 1-25. [More Information]
  • Farahbakhsh, E., Chandra, R., Olierook, H., Scalzo, R., Clark, C., Reddy, S., Muller, D. (2020). Computer vision-based framework for extracting tectonic lineaments from optical remote sensing data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 41(5), 1760-1787. [More Information]

2019

  • Muller, D., Zahirovic, S., Williams, S., Cannon, J., Seton, M., Bower, D., Tetley, M., Heine, C., Le Breton, E., Liu, S., Russell, S., Leonard, J., et al (2019). A Global Plate Model Including Lithospheric Deformation Along Major Rifts and Orogens Since the Triassic. Tectonics, 38(6), 1884-1907. [More Information]
  • Williams, S., Whittaker, J., Halpin, J., Muller, D. (2019). Australian-Antarctic breakup and seafloor spreading: Balancing geological and geophysical constraints. Earth-Science Reviews, 188, 41-58. [More Information]
  • Chandra, R., Azam, D., Muller, D., Salles, T., Cripps, S. (2019). Bayeslands: A Bayesian inference approach for parameter uncertainty quantification in Badlands. Computers and Geosciences, 131, 89-101. [More Information]

2018

  • Barnett-Moore, N., Muller, D., Williams, S., Skogseid, J., Seton, M. (2018). A reconstruction of the North Atlantic since the earliest Jurassic. Basin Research, 30(Suppl 1), 160-185. [More Information]
  • Muller, D., Matthews, K., Sandwell, D. (2018). Advances in Imaging Small-Scale Seafloor and Sub-Seafloor Tectonic Fabric Using Satellite Altimetry. In Not known (Eds.), Satellite Altimetry Over Oceans and Land Surfaces, (pp. 523-546). TBC. [More Information]
  • I'Anson, A., Deighton, I., Muller, D., Dutkiewicz, A., Heine, C. (2018). Burial and exhumation history of the Galilee Basin, Australia: Implications for unconventional hydrocarbon prospectivity. AAPG Bulletin, 102(3), 483-507. [More Information]

2017

  • Merdith, A., Collins, A., Williams, S., Pisarevsky, S., Foden, J., Archibald, D., Blades, M., Alessio, B., Armistead, S., Plavsa, D., Muller, D., et al (2017). A full-plate global reconstruction of the Neoproterozoic. Gondwana Research, 50, 84-134. [More Information]
  • Macleod, S., Williams, S., Matthews, K., Muller, D., Qin, X. (2017). A global review and digital database of large-scale extinct spreading centers. Geosphere, 13(3), 911-949. [More Information]
  • Gion, A., Williams, S., Muller, D. (2017). A reconstruction of the Eurekan Orogeny incorporating deformation constraints. Tectonics, 36(2), 304-320. [More Information]

2016

  • Hassan, R., Muller, D., Gurnis, M., Williams, S., Flament, N. (2016). A rapid burst in hotspot motion through the interaction of tectonics and deep mantle flow. Nature, 533, 239-242. [More Information]
  • Brune, S., Williams, S., Butterworth, N., Muller, D. (2016). Abrupt plate accelerations shape rifted continental margins. Nature, 536(7615), 201-204. [More Information]
  • Williams, S., Flament, N., Muller, D. (2016). Alignment between seafloor spreading directions and absolute plate motions through time. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(4), 1472-1480. [More Information]

2015

  • Zahirovic, S., Flament, N., Muller, D., Seton, M., Hill, K., Gurnis, M. (2015). 3-D Plate Tectonic Reconstructions of New Guinea Since the Triassic. International Conference and Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia 13-16 September 2015. Society of Exploration Geophysicists and American Association of Petroleum Geologists. [More Information]
  • Gibbons, A., Zahirovic, S., Muller, D., Whittaker, J., Yatheesh, V. (2015). A tectonic model reconciling evidence for the collisions between India, Eurasia and intra-oceanic arcs of the central-eastern Tethys. Gondwana Research, 28(2), 451-492. [More Information]
  • Maher, S., Wessel, P., Muller, D., Williams, S., Harada, Y. (2015). Absolute plate motion of Africa around Hawaii-Emperor bend time. Geophysical Journal International, 201(3), 1743-1764. [More Information]

2014

  • Herold, N., Buzan, J., Seton, M., Goldner, A., Green, J., Muller, D., Markwick, P., Huber, M. (2014). A suite of Early Eocene (~55 Ma) climate model boundary conditions. Geoscientific Model Development, 7(5), 2077-2090. [More Information]
  • Barnett-Moore, N., Flament, N., Heine, C., Butterworth, N., Muller, D. (2014). Cenozoic uplift of south Western Australia as constrained by river profiles. Tectonophysics, 622, 186-197. [More Information]
  • Shephard, G., Flament, N., Williams, S., Seton, M., Gurnis, M., Muller, D. (2014). Circum-Arctic mantle structure and long-wavelength topography since the Jurassic. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 119, 7889-7908. [More Information]

2013

  • Flament, N., Gurnis, M., Muller, D. (2013). A review of observations and models of dynamic topography. Lithosphere, 5(2), 189-210. [More Information]
  • Coltice, N., Seton, M., Rolf, T., Muller, D., Tackley, P. (2013). Convergence in tectonic reconstructions and mantle convection models for significant fluctuations in seafloor spreading. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 383, 92-100. [More Information]
  • Williams, S., Whittaker, J., Granot, R., Muller, D. (2013). Early India-Australia spreading history revealed by newly detected Mesozoic magnetic anomalies in the Perth Abyssal Plain. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 118(7), 3275-3284. [More Information]

2012

  • Matthews, K., Seton, M., Muller, D. (2012). A global-scale plate reorganization event at 105-100 Ma. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 355-356, 283-298. [More Information]
  • Williams, S., Muller, D., Landgrebe, T., Whittaker, J. (2012). An open-source software environment for visualizing and refining plate tectonic reconstructions using high-resolution geological and geophysical data sets. GSA Today, 22(4-5), 4-9. [More Information]
  • Muller, D., Dyksterhuis, S., Rey, P. (2012). Australian paleo-stress fields and tectonic reactivation over the past 100 Ma. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 59(1), 13-28. [More Information]

2011

  • Matthews, K., Hale, A., Gurnis, M., Muller, D., DiCaprio, L. (2011). Dynamic subsidence of Eastern Australia during the Cretaceous. Gondwana Research, 19(2), 372-383. [More Information]
  • Herold, N., Huber, M., Greenwood, D., Muller, D., Seton, M. (2011). Early to middle Miocene monsoon climate in Australia. Geology, 39(1), 3-6. [More Information]
  • Williams, S., Whittaker, J., Muller, D. (2011). Full-fit, palinspastic reconstruction of the conjugate Australian-Antarctic margins. Tectonics, 30(6), TC6012-1-TC6012-21. [More Information]

2010

  • DiCaprio, L., Muller, D., Gurnis, M. (2010). A dynamic process for drowning carbonate reefs on the northeastern Australian margin. Geology, 38(1), 11-14. [More Information]
  • Herold, N., Muller, D., Seton, M. (2010). Comparing early to middle Miocene terrestrial climate simulations with geological data. Geosphere, 6(6), 952-961. [More Information]
  • Whittaker, J., Muller, D., Gurnis, M. (2010). Development of the Australian-Antarctic depth anomaly. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 11(11), 1-23. [More Information]

2009

  • Tong, J., You, Y., Muller, D., Seton, M. (2009). Climate model sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 concentrations for the middle Miocene. Global and Planetary Change, 67(3-4), 129-140. [More Information]
  • Herold, N., You, Y., Muller, D., Seton, M. (2009). Climate model sensitivity to changes in Miocene paleotopography. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 56(8), 1049-1059. [More Information]
  • Maus, S., Barckhausen, U., Berkenbosch, H., Bournas, N., Brozena, J., Childers, V., Dostaler, F., Fairhead, J., Finn, C., Frese von, R., Muller, D., et al (2009). EMAG2: A 2-arc min resolution Earth Magnetic Anomaly Grid compiled from satellite, airborne, and marine magnetic measurements. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 10(8), 1-12. [More Information]

2008

  • Muller, D., Seton, M., Gaina, C., Roest, W. (2008). Age, spreading rates, and spreading asymmetry of the world's ocean crust. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 9(4), 1-19. [More Information]
  • Dyksterhuis, S., Muller, D. (2008). Cause and evolution of intraplate orogeny in Australia. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 36(6), 495-498. [More Information]
  • Clark, S., Muller, D. (2008). Convection models in the Kamchatka region using imposed plate motion and thermal histories. Journal of Geodynamics, 46(1-2), 1-9. [More Information]

2003

  • Hillis, R., Muller, D. (2003). Introduction. Evolution and dynamics of the Australian plate. Geological Society of Australia Special Publication, 11, 1-7.

Selected Grants

2023

  • New digital deep-time exploration tools for a low-emissions economy, Muller D, Seton M, Zahirovic S, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Projects (LP)

2022

  • NCRIS 2022-2023 Project AuScope-SAM GPlates Sydney, Muller D, Cannon J, Department of Education and Training (Federal)/National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)

Industry Partnerships

Project STELLAR (Spatio TEmporaL expLorAtion for Resources) is a collaboration between BHP and the EarthByte Group aimed at implementing big and complex spatio-temporal data analysis and modelling to support the needs of BHP in global resource exploration. Split into multiple phases over the next 3.5 years, the project will connect BHP’s warehouse of global resource knowledge with the EarthByte Group’s expertise in tectonic, geodynamic and surface process modelling. STELLAR is structured into four programs, (1) Plate Tectonics and Geodynamics, led by ARC DECRA Fellow Dr Sabin Zahirovic, (2) Paleogeography, led by Dr Maria Seton, (3) Surface Processes and Stratigraphy, led by Dr Tristan Salles and (4) Spatio-Temporal Data Mining, led by Prof Dietmar Müller. Together with technical leaders from BHP the team will integrate geodata through geological time, couple plate reconstructions with geodynamic models, construct dynamic paleo-elevation models, design adaptable landscape evolution models and provide key inputs for spatio-temporal data analysis for global resource exploration towards a low-emissions economy. The project includes funding for four research fellows and other personnel including a software developer, PhD students and several research assistants, boosting research capacity in geology and geophysics at the University of Sydney.

The ARC Research Hub for Basin Geodynamics and Evolution of Sedimentary Systems (Basin GENESISHub) is a showcase of connecting “Big Data” analysis and high-performance computing in an open innovation framework. The hub fused multidimensional data into 5D basin models (space and time, with uncertainty estimates) by coupling the evolution of mantle flow, crustal deformation, erosion and sedimentary processes using open-source modelling tools. The project developed quantitative, cutting edge data analysis techniques to underpin the testing of new concepts for understanding basin structures, and aid in driving sustainable use of basin resources. The development of new high-performance simulation and data mining tools, making use of new petascale computing capabilities, will connect big, multidimensional data sets to cutting edge machine learning and modelling algorithms to cross a wide spectrum of spatial and temporal scales.These new approaches help address a variety of issues in the context of basin structure and evolution for sustainable deep and shallow earth resource extraction and management.Read more here.

In the media

ABC 774 Melbourne [17 Aug 2015]
World's first digital seafloor map reveals 'paradise'
Sydney Morning Herald [13 August 2015]
First digital map of seafloor reveals kaleidoscope of diversity
Daily Mail [3 June 2015]
What the Earth would look like stripped of oceans: First ever digital map of the sea floor reveals our planet’s ‘alien’ landscape
The Conversation: How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-sea sediments have maintained Earth’s ‘Goldilocks’ climate
COSMOS: Tectonic plates were, until recently, the Earth’s major climate driver

COSMOS: Tectonic plates were, until recently, the Earth’s major climate driver

The Conversation: How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-seasediments have maintained Earth’s ‘Goldilocks’ climate

Cosmos: When the Earth warms, the ocean speeds up

IFLScience: Global Heating Means Faster Ocean Currents, 66 Million Years Of Data Suggests

Die globale Erwärmung beschleunigt Strömungen im Abgrund des Ozeans

New view of Tweed Valley’s attraction[14 Oct 2020]

Mapping the growth of seafloor carbonates in deep time [19 Dec 2018]

Does sea level or the sun drive volcanic seafloor topography [4 Sept 2018]

Using AI to map the seafloor[2 Feb 2018]

Model of Australia’s Tectonic Stress May Future-Proof Carbon Storage[8 April 2017]

Mitigating global warming by CO2 storage? Check for the continental stress[24 March 2017]

Solving Earth’s giant jigsaw puzzle of tectonic plates[16 June 2016]

How the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain got its spectacular bend[11 May 2016]

Geologists Discover How Australia’s Highest Mountain Formed[17 March 2016]

Virtual Time Machine Of Earth’s Geology Now In The Cloud[10 March 2016]

Ancient Indian Ocean microplate discovery dates birth of Himalayas [11 November 2016]

First digital map of seafloor reveals kaleidoscope of diversity [10 August 2015]

Data mining: a new frontier for mineral exploration [27 August 2013]

ABC 774 Melbourne [17 Aug 2015]
World's first digital seafloor map reveals 'paradise'
Sydney Morning Herald [13 August 2015]
First digital map of seafloor reveals kaleidoscope of diversity
Daily Mail [3 June 2015]
What the Earth would look like stripped of oceans: First ever digital map of the sea floor reveals our planet’s ‘alien’ landscape

Clues for Stressed Australian explorers [18 July 2013]

Launch of the Big Data Knowledge Discovery Group at SIRCA [6 June 2013]

Stock market data mining leads the way for mining industry [6 June 2013]

New Map pinpoints earthquake hot spots[29 January 2013]

Related research articles

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