Research Interests

Tim’s research interests are focused on mineral geochronology and mineral analysis to study provenance of sedimentary successions and to characterise basement for source potential. Currently his main research themes are:

• multi-mineral provenance analyses, reconstruction of paleo-depositional systems
• LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of e.g., zircon, apatite, and Ar-Ar dating of micas
• SE Asia tectonics and palaeogeographic evolution
• Provenance of Mesozoic sediments in Central and NW Europe
• Geology of Borneo, Vietnam
• Raman spectroscopy and EDS analysis of heavy minerals
• Provenance of Mesozoic to Cenozoic sediments in SE Asia

Past and present study and field areas of his research are among others SE Asia (Vietnam, Borneo), Australia, the North Sea, the Eastern Alps, and the British Isles.

Curriculum Vitae

• since 10/2021: Research Assistant, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institut für Geologie
• 01/2020 – 09/2021: Senior Geologist, Chemostrat Ltd., United Kingdom
• 08/2015 – 12/2019: Post-doctoral Research Fellow, SE Asia Research Group, Royal Holloway University of London, Department of Earth Sciences, United Kingdom 
• 09/2011 – 08/2015: PhD student, SE Asia Research Group, Royal Holloway University of London, Department of Earth Sciences, United Kingdom
• 02/2011 – 08/2011: Technical Laboratory Assistant, SE Asia Research Group, Royal Holloway University of London, Department of Earth Sciences, United Kingdom
• 11/2008 – 01/2009: Student Practicum, Citigold Corporation/Charters Towers Gold PTY LTD, Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia
• 10/2003 – 02/2010: Diplom (MSc) in Geology and Palaeontology, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institut für Geologie

Publications

• Beaumont, H., Burley, S.D., Breitfeld, T., Gould, T., Clarke, S.M., 2022. Origin of Lower Cretaceous quartzose arenites in northern India and the Indus Basins of Pakistan – the result of provenance composition, weathering or diagenesis? Basin Research, https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12717
• Breitfeld, H.T., Hennig-Breitfeld, J., BouDagher-Fadel, M., Schmidt, W.J., Meyer, K., Reinprecht, J., Lukie, T., Cuong, T.X., Hall, R, Kollert, N., Gough, A. and Ismail, R., 2022. Provenance of Oligocene–Miocene sedimentary rocks in the Cuu Long and Nam Con Son basins, Vietnam and early history of the Mekong River. International Journal of Earth Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-022-02214-0 
• Breitfeld, H.T. and Hall, R., 2021. Metamorphic rocks of the Kuching Zone Sarawak: Comment on Najiatun Najla Mohamad et al. (2020) The geology and stratigraphic framework of the Kuching Zone Sarawak: Current understanding and unresolved issues. Warta Geologi, 47 (2), 126-127. https://doi.org/10.7186/wg472202104
• Munday, S., Forbes, A., Fairey, B., Hennig-Breitfeld, J., Breitfeld, T., Hicks, T., Sheehan, J., Kocijan, B., 2021. Sediment provenance analysis of the Permian from the Perth Basin using an automated Raman heavy mineral technique. Journal of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA), 61, 688-694. https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ20080
• Hennig-Breitfeld, J., Breitfeld, H.T., Quang, S.D., Kim, V.M., Long, T.V., Thirlwall, M. and Cuong, T.X, 2021. Ages, character and provenance of Mesozoic basement rocks in the Da Lat Zone, SE Vietnam and its offshore regions. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 218, 104878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2021.104878
• Breitfeld, H.T., 2021. Provenance of Pleistocene sediments in West Sarawak and evidence for Pliocene acid magmatism in central Borneo. Berita Sedimentologi, 47, 5-32. https://journal.iagi.or.id/index.php/FOSI/article/view/51
• Burley, S.D., Breitfeld, H.T., Stanbrook, D.S., Morley, R.J., Kassan, J., Sukarno, M. and Wantoro, D.W., 2021. A tuffaceous volcaniclastic turbidite bed of Early Miocene age in the Temburong Formation of Labuan, North West Borneo and its implications for the Proto‐South China Sea subduction in the Burdigalian. The Depositional Record, 132. https://doi.org/10.1002/dep2.132
• Breitfeld, H.T., Davies, L., Hall, R., Armstrong, R., Forster, M., Lister, G., Thirlwall, M., Grassineau, N., Hennig-Breitfeld, J. and van Hattum, M.W., 2020. Mesozoic Paleo-Pacific subduction beneath SW Borneo: U-Pb geochronology of the Schwaner granitoids and the Pinoh Metamorphic Group. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8, 568715. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.568715
• Dunkl, I., et al., 2020. Comparability of heavy mineral data–The first interlaboratory round robin test. Earth-Science Reviews, 103210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103210
• Breitfeld, H.T., Hennig-Breitfeld, J., BouDagher-Fadel, M.K., Hall, R. and Galin, T., 2020. Oligocene-Miocene drainage evolution of NW Borneo: Stratigraphy, sedimentology and provenance of Tatau-Nyalau province sediments. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 104331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2020.104331
• Hennig-Breitfeld, J., Breitfeld, H.T., Hall, R. and BouDagher-Fadel, M., 2020. Reply to Discussion: A new upper Paleogene to Neogene stratigraphy for Sarawak and Labuan in northwestern Borneo: Paleogeography of the eastern Sundaland margin. Earth-Science Reviews 202, 103066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.103066
• Breitfeld, H.T., Macpherson, C., Hall, R., Thirlwall, M., Ottley, C.J. and Hennig-Breitfeld, J., 2019. Adakites without a slab: Remelting of hydrous basalt in the crust and shallow mantle of Borneo to produce the Miocene Sintang Suite and Bau Suite magmatism of West Sarawak. Lithos, 344, 100-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2019.06.016
• Hennig, J., Breitfeld, H.T., Hall, R., BouDagher-Fadel, M. and Thirlwall, M., 2019. A new upper Paleogene to Neogene stratigraphy for Sarawak and Labuan in northwestern Borneo: Paleogeography of the eastern Sundaland margin. Earth-Sciences Reviews, 190, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.12.006
• Ramkumar, M., Siddiqui, N.A., Mathew, M., Sautter, B., Hui, P.X., Nagarajan, R., Breitfeld, H.T., Santosh, M., Menier, D. and Poppelreiter, M., 2019. Structural controls on polyphase hydrothermal dolomitization in the Kinta Valley, Malaysia: Paragenesis and regional tectono-magmatism. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 174, 364-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2019.02.004
• Breitfeld, H.T. and Hall, R., The eastern Sundaland margin in the Latest Cretaceous to Late Eocene of Borneo: Sediment provenance and the depositional setting of the Kuching and Sibu Zones. Gondwana Research, 63, 34-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2018.06.001
• Breitfeld, H.T., Hall, R., Galin, T. and BouDagher-Fadel, M.K., 2018. Unravelling the stratigraphy and sedimentation history of the Uppermost Cretaceous to Eocene sediments of the Kuching Zone in West Sarawak (Malaysia), Borneo. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences,160, 200-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.04.029
• Hennig, J., Breitfeld, H.T., Gough, A., Hall, R., Long, T.V., Kim, V.M. and Quang, S.D., 2018. U-Pb zircon ages and provenance of upper Cenozoic sediments from the Da Lat Zone, SE Vietnam: Implications for an intra-Miocene unconformity and paleo-drainage of the proto-Mekong River. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 88, 495-515. https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2018.26
• Breitfeld, H.T., Hall, R., Galin, T., Forster, M.A. and BouDagher-Fadel, M.K., 2017. A Triassic to Cretaceous Sundaland–Pacific subduction margin in West Sarawak, Borneo. Tectonophysics, 694, 35-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2016.11.034
• Galin, T., Breitfeld, H.T., Hall, R. and Sevastjanova, I., 2017. Provenance of the Cretaceous–Eocene Rajang Group submarine fan, Sarawak, Malaysia from light and heavy mineral assemblages and U-Pb zircon geochronology. Gondwana Research, 51, 209-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2017.07.016
• Hall, R. and Breitfeld, H.T., 2017. Nature and demise of the Proto-South China Sea. Geological Society of Malaysia Bulletin, 63, 61-76. https://doi.org/10.7186/bgsm63201703

• Hennig, J., Breitfeld, H.T., Hall, R. and Nugraha, A.S., 2017. The Mesozoic tectono-magmatic evolution at the Paleo-Pacific subduction zone in West Borneo. Gondwana Research, 48, 292-310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2017.05.001

   

Conference abstracts/presentations

• Breitfeld, H.T., Fairey, B., Martin, J., Hennig-Breitfeld, J., Pearce, T., 2021. Light and heavy mineral analysis within Triassic Skagerrak Formation of the Central Graben using Raman spectroscopy. In AAPG Europe Carbon Capture and Storage Workshop: Stratigraphic and Reservoir Challenges with Triassic Plays in the North Sea. Webinar, UK.
• Breitfeld, H.T., Hennig-Breitfeld, J. and Hall, R., 2019. Oligo-Miocene provenance changes in Sarawak, NW Borneo as a result of uplift of central Borneo. In 2nd International Congress on Earth Sciences in SE Asia (ICES 2019). Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia.
• Hennig, J. and Breitfeld, H.T., 2018. Sources of Cenozoic Sediments around the Southern South China Sea. In Proceedings of the 2018 South East Asia Petroleum Exploration Society (SEAPEX) Conference. London, UK. (Poster).
• Breitfeld, H.T., Hennig, J., Boudagher-Fadel, M.K. and Hall, R., 2017. The Rajang Unconformity: Major provenance change between the Eocene and Miocene sequences in NW Borneo. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. New Orleans, USA. (Poster).
• Hennig, J., Breitfeld, H.T., Gough, A., Hall, R., Long, T.V., Kim, V.M. and Quang, S.D., 2017. SE Vietnam U-Pb zircon ages and provenance: Correlating the Da Lat Zone on land with the Cuu Long Basin offshore. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. New Orleans, USA. (Poster).
• Breitfeld, H.T., Galin, T. and Hall, R., 2015. Age and provenance of Triassic to Cenozoic sediments of West and Central Sarawak, Malaysia. In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 17). Vienna, Austria.
• Breitfeld, H.T., Galin, T. and Hall, R., 2015. Ages and provenance of Late Cretaceous to Paleogene sediments in West and Central Sarawak, Borneo: large-scale sediment transport from terrestrial into the deep marine. BSRG AGM 2015. Keele University, Keele, UK.
• Breitfeld, H.T., Galin, T., Hall, R., Sevastjanova, I., Forster, M. and Lister, G., 2015. Proto-South China Sea and South China Sea Early History: A View from Sarawak. AAPG Asia Pacific Region, Geoscience Technology Workshop. Tectonic Evolution and Sedimentation of South China Sea Region. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
• Breitfeld, H.T., Galin, T., Hall, R., Sevastjanova, I., Forster, M.A. and Lister, G.S., 2015. Provenance and Age of Mesozoic to Cenozoic Sedimentary Successions and Tectonic History of West and Central Sarawak. In APGCE 2015. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Breitfeld, H.T. and Hall, R., 2014. U-Pb detrital zircon dating and provenance of sandstones in the Kayan and Ketungau Basins of West Sarawak, Malaysia. David Roberts Symposium 2014. Royal Holloway University, Egham, UK. (Poster).
• Breitfeld, H.T. Galin, T. and Hall, R., 2014. U-Pb Detrital Zircon Ages from Sarawak: Changes in Provenance Reflecting the Tectonic Evolution of Southeast Asia. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. San Francisco, USA. (Poster).