This service has been created specifically for display in the National Map and the chosen symbology may not suit other mapping applications. The Australian Topographic web map service is seamless national dataset coverage for the whole of Australia. These data are best suited to graphical applications. These data may vary greatly in quality depending on the method of capture and digitising specifications in place at the time of capture. The web map service portrays detailed graphic representation of features that appear on the Earth's surface. These features include the administration boundaries from the Geoscience Australia 250K Topographic Data, including state forest and reserves.

The Layered Geology of Australia web map service is a seamless national coverage of Australia’s surface and subsurface geology. Geology concealed under younger cover units are mapped by effectively removing the overlying stratigraphy (Liu et al., 2015). This dataset is a layered product and comprises five chronostratigraphic time slices: Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Neoproterozoic, and Pre-Neoproterozoic. As an example, the Mesozoic time slice (or layer) shows Mesozoic age geology that would be present if all Cenozoic units were removed. The Pre-Neoproterozoic time slice shows what would be visible if all Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic units were removed. The Cenozoic time slice layer for the national dataset was extracted from Raymond et al., 2012. Surface Geology of Australia, 1:1 000 000 scale, 2012 edition. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

The cartographic collection of the Doc Fisher Geoscience Library consists of the maps and air photos created or acquired by agency staff since the formation of BMR in 1946. This includes maps produced by agencies which have merged with these over the years, such as AUSLIG. Maps held include: Australian geological map series (1:250,000, 1:100,000 and the 1 mile series); topographic maps produced by NATMAP and its predecessors (1:250,000, 1:100,000 and 1:50,000) - latest editions only; various Australian geochemical, geophysical and other thematic maps; geoscience map series from other countries acquired on an exchange basis, including some with accompanying explanatory notes; Non-series maps acquired by donation or exchange; atlases. The Air photos are predominantly those used for mapping Australia and, to a lesser extent, Papua New Guinea and Antarctica, by BMR/AGSO from the 1940s to the 1980s. Geographical coverage of the sets is not complete, but many individual photos are unique in that they have pin points, overlays or other markings made by teams in the field. The Papua New Guinea photographs in the collection may, in many cases, be the only existing copies. Flight diagrams are also held for many (but not all) sets of air photos. Some other related materials, such as montages of aerial photographs (orthophotos), are also represented in the collection.

Williams et al. (2009) report on new multibeam sonar bathymetry and underwater video data collected from submarine canyons and seamounts on Australia's southeast continental margin to 'investigate the degree to which geomorphic features act as surrogates for benthic megafaunal biodiversity' (p. 214). The authors describe what they view as deficiencies in the design of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the southeast region of Australia, in which geomorphology information was employed as a surrogate to infer regional-scale patterns of benthic biodiversity. This comment is designed to support and underscore the importance of evaluating MPA designs and the validity of using abiotic surrogates such as geomorphology to infer biodiversity patterns, and seeks to clarify some of the discrepancies in geomorphic terminologies and approaches used between the original study and the Williams et al. (2009) evaluation. It is our opinion that the MPA design criteria used by the Australian Government are incorrectly reported by Williams et al. (2009). In particular, we emphasise the necessity for consistent terminology and approaches when undertaking comparative analyses of geomorphic features. We show that the MPA selection criteria used by the Australian Government addressed the issues of false homogeneity described by Williams et al. (2009), but that final placement of MPAs was based on additional stakeholder considerations. Finally, we argue that although the Williams et al. (2009) study provides valuable information on biological distributions within seamounts and canyons, the hypothesis that geomorphic features (particularly seamounts and submarine canyons) are surrogates for benthic biodiversity is not tested explicitly by their study.

<div>The Abbot Point to Hydrographers Passage bathymetry survey was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) onboard the RV Escape during the period 6 Oct 2020 – 16 Mar 2021. This was a contracted survey conducted for the Australian Hydrographic Office by iXblue Pty Ltd as part of the Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program. The survey area encompases a section of Two-Way Route from Abbot Point through Hydrographers Passage QLD. Bathymetry data was acquired using a Kongsberg EM 2040, and processed using QPS QINSy. The dataset was then exported as a 30m resolution, 32 bit floating point GeoTIFF grid of the survey area.</div><div>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.</div>

This preliminary report will provide a geochemical and ionic characterisation of groundwater, to determine baseline conditions and, if possible, to distinguish between different aquifers in the Laura basin. The groundwater quality data will be compared against the water quality guidelines for aquatic ecosystem protection, drinking water use, primary industries, use by industry, recreation and aesthetics, and cultural and spiritual values to assess the environmental values of groundwater and the treatment that may be required prior to reuse or discharge.

The Historical Bushfire Boundaries service represents the aggregation of jurisdictional supplied burnt areas polygons stemming from the early 1900's through to 2022 (excluding the Northern Territory). The burnt area data represents curated jurisdictional owned polygons of both bushfires and prescribed (planned) burns. To ensure the dataset adhered to the nationally approved and agreed data dictionary for fire history Geoscience Australia had to modify some of the attributes presented. The information provided within this service is reflective only of data supplied by participating authoritative agencies and may or may not represent all fire history within a state.

<div>The Vlaming Sub-Basin CO2 Storage Potential Study data package includes the datasets associated with the study in the Vlaming Sub-basin, located within the southern Perth Basin about 30 km west of Perth. The data in this data package supports the results of the Geoscience Australia Record 2015/009 and appendices. The study provides an evaluation of the CO2 geological storage potential of the Vlaming Sub-basin and was part of the Australian Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative.</div>

In October/November 1990 the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) carried out an 18 day combined water column geochemical and high resolution seismic survey on the Vulcan Sub-basin region of the Timor Sea. This report presents the results of the water column geochemical (direct hydrocarbon detection or DHD) aspects of that program. During the program, 2730 km of DHD data were obtained along 44 lines over the Vulcan Sub-basin, the Ashmore Platform and the Londonderry High. Ten water bottom hydrocarbon anomalies were detected during the program. Seven of these anomalies fell into two distinct groupings, which were associated with: - the Skua field and surrounding fault blocks, - the intersection of the NE-trending Vulcan Sub-basin/Londonderry High Boundary Zone with a prominent NW-trending transfer fault zone. The composition of the hydrocarbon anomalies within the Skua grouping was generally consistent with them having an oil-prone, Late Jurassic source,, and is thus compatible with the known composition of the hydrocarbons in the Skua accumulation. The composition of the other grouping was more consistent with a gas/condensate source; they may have originated from more gas prone Permo-Triassic source rocks on the edge of the Londonderry High. The remaining anomalies were all very weak, and may have been due to biogenic activity. The data indicate that the DHD technique can be useful at a prospect level within the Timor Sea (for example, it did remotely detect the Skua accumulation). The types of accumulations which are most easily detected using DHD are those with a significant gas cap, a relatively shallow (<2000 m) reservoir, and faulting which extends from the reservoir horizon to near the seafloor. Furthermore, the data suggest that transfer fault zones provide important pathways for hydrocarbon migration in this region.

The Bass Basin is a moderately explored Cretaceous to Cainozoic intracratonic rift basin on Australia's southeastern margin, underlying the shallow seabed between Tasmania and the Victorian mainland (Bass Strait; Figure 1). The basin contains proven commercial reserves of gas and condensate that are soon to be developed (Yolla gas field, Origin Energy Resources Ltd-operated BassGas Project). Other discoveries in the basin include the White Ibis and Pelican gas fields. To date, the 32 wells drilled have targeted Upper Cretaceous to Middle Eocene reservoirs within fault blocks and anticlinal structures. The targeted succession comprises interbedded fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine sandstones, siltstones and shales. The principal source rocks in the Bass Basin are interbedded coals (ranging from 5 to 25 m thick) and lacustrine shales of early Palaeogene age. Geochemical analyses show these source rocks have generated liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, with the coals being the dominant source for the liquids (Boreham et al., 2003).