Research keywords: igneous petrology, radiogenic isotopes, geochronology

Marlina Elburg’s vital statistics are that she is an NRF B-rated scientist, with more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in international journals to her name. She has successfully (co)supervised ten MSc and six PhD students, is the scientific editor of the South African Journal of Geology and associate editor for Journal of Petrology.

Marlina’s research is focussed on igneous petrology and geochemistry, and the application of geochemical analytical techniques to other fields of science, such as archaeology and conservation sciences. Together with colleagues and students, she has has worked on granites of the Australian Palaeozoic fold belts, mafic dykes of the Karoo province and island arc volcanics of the Indonesian and Aegean Arcs. Since arriving in South Africa in 2011, she has looked at the South African – Antarctic connection in the Rodinia and Gondwana supercontinents, focussing on the Natal Belt and eastern Dronning Maud Land (Sør Rondane).

The Pilanesberg Alkaline Province and Namaqua pegmatite belts are other ongoing projects. Zircon studies have become a prominent part of her research, with the U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic systems as indicators for igneous process as well as sedimentary (re)cycling. The NRF-funded laser ablation multi-collector ICPMS equipment, which has been operational since February 2016, is an important tool for these projects. In collaboration with colleagues from Wits, who are in charge of the clean lab there (WIGL), the necessary techniques for the whole rock analysis of Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf systems have been developed.

Selected publications:

1. Ballouard, C., Elburg, M.A., Harlov, D.E., Tappe, S., Knoper, M.W., Eglinger, A., Andreoli, M.A.G. (2021). Late-orogenic juvenile magmatism of the Mesoproterozoic Namaqua Metamorphic Province, South Africa, and relationships to granulite-facies REE-Th and iron oxide mineralizations. Journal of Petrology
2. Elburg, M.A., Smet, I. (2020). Geochemistry of lavas from Aegina and Poros (Aegean Arc, Greece): distinguishing upper crustal contamination and source contamination in the Saronic Gulf area. Lithos 358-359, 105416
3. Ballouard, C., Elburg, M.A., Tappe, S. Reinke, C., Ueckermann, H., Doggart, S. (2020). Magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of rare metal pegmatites from the Mesoproterozoic Orange River pegmatite belt (Namaqualand, South Africa). Ore Geology Reviews 116, 103252,
4. Elburg, M.A., Poujol, M. (2020). Lu-Hf analyses of zircon from the Makoppa Dome and Amalia-Kraaipan area: implications for evolution of the Kimberley and Pietersburg blocks of the Kaapvaal Craton. South African Journal of Geology 123, 369-380
5. Andersen, T., Elburg, M.A., Magwaza, B. (2019). Sources of bias in detrital zircon geochronology: Discordance, concealed lead loss and common lead correction. Earth-Science Reviews 197, 102899, doi 10.1016/ j.earscirev.2019.102899
6. Humbert, F., de Kock, M.O., Altermann, W., Elburg, M.A., Lenhardt, N., Smith, A.J., Masango, S. (2018). Petrology, physical volcanology and geochemistry of a Paleoproterozoic large igneous province: The Hekpoort Formation in the southern Transvaal sub-basin (Kaapvaal Craton). Precambrian Research 315, 232-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2018.07.022
7. Humbert, F., Elburg, M.A., Ossa-Ossa, F, de Kock, M.O, Robin, P. (2018). Variolites of the Paleoproterozoic Hekpoort Formation (Transvaal sub-basin, Kaapvaal craton): Multistage undercooling textures? Lithos 316-317, 48-65
8. Andersen, T., Elburg, M.A., Erambert, M. (2018). Contrasting trends of agpaitic crystallization in nepheline syenite in the Pilanesberg Alkaline Complex, South Africa. Lithos 312-313, 375-388.
9. Andersen, T., Elburg, M.A., Van Niekerk, H.S., Ueckermann, H. (2018). Successive sedimentary recycling regimes in southwestern Gondwana: Evidence from detrital zircons in Neoproterozoic to Cambrian sedimentary rocks in southern Africa. Earth-Science Reviews 181, 43-60.
10. Agangi, A., Hofmann, A., Elburg, M.A. (2018). A review of Palaeoarchaean felsic volcanism in the eastern Kaapvaal craton: linking plutonic and volcanic records. Geoscience Frontiers 6, 667-688. doi 10.1016/j.gsf.2017.08.003
11. Jacobs, J., Paoli, G., Rocchi, S., Ksienzyk, A.K, Sirevaag, H. Elburg, M.A. (2018). Alps to Apennines zircon roller coaster along the Adria microplate margin. Scientific Reports 8:2704 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-20979-w    
12. Elburg, M.A., Cawthorn, R.G (2017). Source and evolution of the alkaline Pilanesberg Complex, South Africa. Chemical Geology 455, 148-165. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.10.007. SCI 2015: 3.48.