

Professor James Darling
Summary
My research explores the interface of geology, analytical chemistry and materials science to improve understanding of the rock record of Earth and other planetary bodies. This work aims to elucidate the fundamental processes and timescales of tectonics, ore formation, hypervelocity impact events and crustal evolution.
Research interests
Evolution of planetary crusts
- Microstructural geochronology of magmatic, crustal and impact processes on the Moon, Mars, differentiated asteroids and early Earth.
- Shock metamorphism and its effects on key chemical records of planetary evolution, including the isotopic systematics of volatile and moderately volatile elements
- The formation and differentiation of hypervelocity impact melt sheets, and the effects of impact bombardment
- Origin and evolution of Earth's early crust, through study of sites such as the >3.8 billion year old Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt, Superior Province, Canada
Advances in micro- to nano-scale geochemical measurements
- Novel techniques for in-situ geochemical and isotopic measurements by atom probe tomography (APT), femtosecond laser ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry (fs-LA-ICP-MS) and integrate laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), and multi-collector ICP-MS
- Integration with electron microscopy techniques, including electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)
Mineral systems research
- Geology, geochemistry and geochronology of ore-deposits, focusing on linkages with tectonics and major crustal processes. This has included magmatic sulfide, a range of magmatic-hydrothermal, and rare earth element ore systems
- Novel approaches to the characterisation of ores, mine waste and recycling products; e.g. lithium characterisation by fs-LA-LIBS
Research outputs
2025
Joy, K. H., Wang, N., Snape, J. F., Goodwin, A., Pernet-Fisher, J. F., Whitehouse, M. J., Liu, Y., Lin, Y. T., Darling, J. R., Tar, P., Tartèse, R.
1 Jan 2025, In: Nature Astronomy. 9, 11p.
Research output: Article
2024
Shishavan, B. H., Dandekar, T. R., Knox-Johnston, R., Dunlop, J., Darling, J., Birosca, S.
28 Aug 2024, In: International Journal of Cast Metals Research, 6p.
Research output: Article
Herd, C. D. K., Hamilton, J. S., Walton, E. L., Tornabene, L. L., Lagain, A., Benedix, G. K., Sheen, A. I., Melosh, H. J., Johnson, B. C., Wiggins, S. E., Sharp, T. G., Darling, J. R.
16 Aug 2024, In: Science Advances. 10, 33, 9p., eadn2378
Research output: Article
White, L., Moser, D., Darling, J., Rider-Stokes, B. G., Hyde, B. C., Tait, K., Chamberlain, K., Schmitt, A., Dunlop, J., Anand, M.
15 Jun 2024, In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 636, 11p., 118694
Research output: Article
Evan, O., Ostwald, A., Udry, A., Gross, J., Righter, M., Lapen, T., Darling, J., Howarth, G., Johnsen, R., McQuaig, D.
15 May 2024, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 373
Research output: Article
Metcalfe, J. H., Strachan, R. A., Darling, J. R., Fowler, M., Chapman, G., Dunlop, J.
6 May 2024, In: Journal of the Geological Society. 181, 20p., jgs2023-139
Research output: Article
Daly, L., Suttle, M. D., Lee, M. R., Bridges, J., Hicks, L., Martin, P. M. C., Floyd, C. J., Salge, T., King, A. j., Almeida, N. V., Johnson, D., Trimby, P. W., Mansour, H., Wadsworth, F. B., Rollinson, G.,
1 May 2024, In: Meteoritics and Planetary Science. 59, 5, p. 1068-1100, 33p.
Research output: Article
Sheen, A. I., Herd, C. D. K., Staddon, L. G., Darling, J. R., Schwarz, W. H., Tait, K. T.
1 Feb 2024, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Research output: Article
Rider-Stokes, B. G., Anand, M., White, L. F., Darling, J. R., Tartèse, R., Whitehouse, M. J., Franchi, I., Greenwood, R. C., Degli-Alessandrini, G.
8 Jan 2024, In: Meteoritics and Planetary Science. 59, 1, p. 23-39, 17p.
Research output: Article
2023
Walton, C. R., Jeon, H., Černok, A., Rae, A. S., Baziotis, I., Tang, F., Kuppili, V. S., Ferrière, L., Darling, J., Hu, S., Whitehouse, M. J., Anand, M., Shorttle, O.
15 Oct 2023, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 359
Research output: Article