Descriptive posters

Geoscience Australia is the national mapping agency, providing fundamental geoscientific data in support of mineral and petroleum exploration.

Quantification of leakage into the atmosphere from geologically stored CO2 is achievable by means of atmospheric monitoring techniques if the position of the leak can be located and the perturbation above the background concentration is sufficiently large for discrimination. Geoscience Australia and the CO2CRC have recently constructed a site in northern Canberra for the controlled release of greenhouse gases. This facility enables the simulation of leak events and provides an opportunity to investigate techniques for the detection and quantification of emissions of CO2 (and other greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere under controlled conditions. The facility is modelled on the ZERT controlled release facility in Montana. The first phase of the installation is complete and has supported an above ground, point source, release experiment (e.g. simulating leakage from a compromised well). Phase 2 involves the installation of a shallow underground horizontal well for line source CO2 release experiments and this will be installed during the first half of 2011. A release experiment was conducted at the site to explore the application of a technique, termed atmospheric tomography, to simultaneously determine the location and emission rate of a leak when both are unknown. The technique was applied to the release of two gas species, N2O and CO2, with continuous sampling of atmospheric trace gas concentrations from 8 locations 20m distant from a central release point and measurement of atmospheric turbulence and dispersive conditions. The release rate was 1.10 ± 0.02 g min-1 for N2O and 58.5 ± 0.4 g min-1 for CO2 (equivalent to 30.7 ± 0.2 tonnes CO2 yr-1). Localisation using both release species occurred within 0.5 m (2% error) of the known location. Determination of emission rate was possible to within 7% for CO2 and 5% for N2O.

Exhibition/Conference display consisting of 3 new panels (will also be used at Open Day). Panels content includes: water observations from space image and introductory text to this mapping.capability.

Geoscience Australia has committed to an integrated program of data stewardship with the inception of the Geoinformatics and Data Services Section (GDSS) in 2013, whose mission is to maximise the online discovery, access, sharing, interoperability and use of Geoscience Australia's science data. The section comprises small teams of specialists whose skills cross the realm of geoscience, computer science, spatial science, policy, information management and IT. These teams research, strategise, plan, coordinate, advise, innovate, implement and manage enterprise data, systems, tools and services with a unique awareness of the interdependencies between IT, science, culture and governance. GDSS collaborates with researchers and experts to ensure the projects, standards, models and tools we implement are international best practice. This poster highlights some of the initiatives we are progressing.

In 2011, Geoscience Australia collected 484 km of deep-crustal (22 second) seismic reflection data. The survey (11GA-YO1) traverses the north-eastern edge of the Yilgarn Craton, the Officer Basin and the western end of the Musgrave Province. The purpose of the seismic survey was to delineate broad crustal architecture and define the Moho, with particular interest in the Yilgarn-Musgrave boundary. To compliment the seismic survey, a 3D geological model was constructed that incorporates interpretations derived from seismic, potential field, surface geology and borehole data. Forward and inverse modelling techniques were applied to the potential field data to extrapolate the seismic interpretations into 3D space. Borehole data was used to constrain the interpretation of upper crustal sequences where available. The model was later used to constrain 3D potential field inversions of the area. This poster presents a 3D geological model of the YOM region as well as the geological and geophysical constraints that were used to construct it. Some of the fundamental and technical limitations of the model are also discussed.

Volcanic ash represents a serious hazard to communities living in the vicinity of active volcanoes in developing countries like Indonesia. Geoscience Australia, the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR) and the Indonesian Centre for Volcanology and Geohazard Mitigation (CVGHM) have adapted an existing open source volcanic ash dispersion model for use in Indonesia. The core model is the widely used volcanic ash dispersion model FALL3D. A python wrapper has been developed, which simplifies the use of FALL3D for those with little or no background in computational modelling. An application example is described here for Gunung Ciremai in West Java, Indonesia. Scenarios were run using eruptive parameters within the acceptable range of possible future events for this volcano, granulometry as determined through field studies and a meteorological dataset that represented a complete range of possible wind conditions expected during the dry and rainy seasons for the region. Implications for varying degrees of hazard associated with volcanic ash ground loading on nearby communities for dry versus rainy season wind conditions is discussed. Communities located on the western side of Gunung Ciremai are highly susceptible to volcanic ash ground loading regardless of the season whereas communities on the eastern side are found to be more susceptible during the rainy season months than during the dry. This is attributed to prevailing wind conditions during the rainy season that include a strong easterly component. These hazard maps can be used for hazard and impact analysis and can help focus mitigation efforts on communities most at risk.

Fun facts about Antarctica in an Open Day display poster.

The Australian Government has invested $23 million in building the Australian Geophysical Observing System (AGOS). AGOS will enable highly accurate spatial and temporal estimation of large-scale surface deformation. The key geospatial components of AGOS include Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) instrumentation, high precision GPS monuments, corner reflectors and a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data repository. The corner reflector (CR) array that forms a key piece of AGOS infrastructure will enable the precise measurement of crustal deformation using Interferometric SAR (InSAR) techniques. The CR array will also provide a reliable means to perform independent and ongoing radiometric, geometric and impulse response measurements for the calibration of a number of satellite-borne SAR instruments. A combination of plate sizes and materials have been used in the design and construction of 18 different CR prototypes. Radar Cross Section (RCS) measurements for all CR prototypes will be undertaken at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) radar signature test facility to compare theoretical versus actual values for a range of azimuth and elevation combinations and characterise the design performance. The prototypes will be deployed at a site in Canberra for testing over a six-month period. Data captures over the test site will be planned, with satellite-borne X and C band SAR instruments to assess the response performance of the CR prototypes for calibration activities. The progress of CR prototyping including the details of design, construction, RCS measurements, deployment and field performance will be covered in this paper.

Introduction: As part of the Offshore Energy Security Program (2007-2011), Geoscience Australia (GA) undertook an integrated regional study of the deepwater Otway and Sorell basins to improve the understanding of the geology and petroleum prospectivity of the region. The under-explored deepwater Otway and Sorell basins lie offshore of southwestern Victoria and western Tasmania in water depths of 100-4,500 m. The basins developed during rifting and continental separation between Australia and Antarctica from the Cretaceous to Cenozoic and contain up to 10 km of sediment. Significant changes in basin architecture and depositional history from west to east reflect the transition from a divergent rifted continental margin to a transform continental margin. The basins are adjacent to hydrocarbon-producing areas of the Otway Basin, but despite good 2D seismic data coverage, they remain relatively untested and their prospectivity poorly understood. The deepwater (>500 m) section of the Otway Basin has been tested by two wells, of which Somerset 1 recorded minor gas shows. Three wells have been drilled in the Sorell Basin, where minor oil shows were recorded near the base of Cape Sorell 1. Structural framework: Using an integrated approach, new aeromagnetic data, open-file potential field, seismic and exploration well data were used to develop new interpretations of basement structure and basin architecture. This analysis has shown that reactivated north-south Paleozoic structures, particularly the Avoca-Sorell Fault System, controlled the transition from extension through transtension to a dominantly strike-slip tectonic regime along this part of the southern margin. Depocentres to the west of this structure are large and deep in contrast to the narrow elongate depocentres to its east. ...