We examine surface sediment and water column total nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations for 12 estuaries with average water depths <4 m, and calculated sediment loads ranging from 0.2 to 10.8 kg m-2 year-1. Sediment total nitrogen, phosphorus and organic carbon concentrations vary inversely with sediment loads due to: (i) the influx of more mineral-rich sediment into the estuaries; and (ii) increasing sediment sulfidation. Sediment total organic carbon (TOC) : total sulfur (TS) and TS : Fe(II) ratios correlated to sediment loads because enhanced sedimentation increases burial, hence the importance of sulfate reduction in organic matter degradation. Curvilinear relationships were found between a weathering index and organic matter 13C in sediment, and sediment load. The rising phase of the curve (increasing weathering, lighter isotopic values) at low to intermediate loads relates to soil erosion, whereas regolith or bedrock erosion probably explains the declining phase of the curve (decreasing weathering, heavier isotopic values) at higher sediment loads. The pattern of change for water column total nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) with sediment loads is similar to that of the weathering index. Most water quality problems occur in association with soil erosion, and at sediment loads that are intermediate for the estuaries studied. Limited evidence is presented that flushing can moderate the impact of sediment loads upon the estuaries.

This record contains the processed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data (.segy), field notes, and shapefile collected on fieldwork at Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches, South Australia for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 16-19 February 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with 250 MHz shielded, 100 MHz unshielded and 50 MHz unshielded antennaes. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

This record contains the raw Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data and scanned field notes collected on fieldwork at Old Bar and Boomerang Beaches, NSW for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 3 - 5 March 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with 250 MHz shielded and 100 MHz unshielded antennaes. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles.

This record contains the processed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data (.segy), field notes, and shapefiles collected on fieldwork at Old Bar and Boomerang Beaches, NSW for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 3 - 5 March 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with 250 MHz shielded and 100 MHz unshielded antennaes. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

To be completed

This record contains the raw Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data and scanned field notes collected on fieldwork at Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches, South Australia for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 16-19 February 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with 250 MHz shielded, 100 MHz unshielded and 50 MHz unshielded antennaes. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

Interpretation of apatite fission track and vitrinite reflectance data for samples from nine petroleum exploration wells in the eastern part of the Bowen and Gunnedah basins, eastern Australia, indicates that peak palaeotemperatures were reached during the Early Cretaceous, through progressive exposure to higher temperatures due to increased depth of burial. The palaeotemperatures were 28-58oC higher than at present. Cooling from the peak temperatures took place in the mid-Cretaceous, at some time during the interval 100-80 Ma, with the greatest amount of cooling occurring in the northern part of the study area. Palaeogeothermal gradients were generally in the range 21-35oC/km, similar to present day geothermal gradients in the region. The estimated maximum amount of denudation in the study area is approximately 1.9 km, with a significant portion of the eroded succession being Jurassic to Early Cretaceous in age. The synchronicity between the times of cooling inferred from all the sampled wells, regardless of their location with respect to the fault system near the present eastern margin of the Bowen Basin, suggests that the uplift was widespread, rather than being localised by faults during the mid-Cretaceous. This can be correlated with uplift along much of the eastern margin of Gondwanaland at the sme time, including all of eastern Australia, in New Zealand and in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. The onset of this mid-Cretaceous regional cooling and denudation coincided with a period of continental extension after the cessation of volcanism and subduction at about 95 Ma, and prior to the initiation of sea-floor spreading at about 84 Ma and formation of the current passive margin.

This record contains processed and topographically corrected Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data (.segy, .bmp), and a summary shapefile collected on fieldwork at Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches, South Australia for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 16-19 February 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with a 250 MHz shielded antennae. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

This record contains processed and topographically corrected Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data (.segy, .bmps) and summary shapefile collected on fieldwork at Old Bar Beach, NSW for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Project, Resilience to Clustered Disaster Events on the Coast - Storm Surge. The data was collected from 3 - 5 March 2015 using a MALA ProEx GPR system with a 250 MHz shielded antennae. The aim of the field work was to identify and define a minimum thickness for the beach and dune systems, and where possible depth to any identifiable competent substrate (e.g. bedrock) or pre-Holocene surface which may influence the erosion potential of incident wave energy. Surface elevation data was co-acquired and used to topographically correct the GPR profiles. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

Geoscience Australia's Risk Research Group is using a variety of GIS coverages that span the Fremantle to Hillarys region of the Perth coastal system to assess the vulnerability of the Perth built environment to the potential impact of coastal erosion. Two fundamental questions are asked: whether there is accommodation space in the system that has the potential to act as a sink for eroded sediment, with or without a future sea level rise, and; whether the three-dimensional architecture of the shoreline facies precludes erosion given the current wave and storm climate. Morphological evidence suggest the Garden Island Ridge, up to and including Rottnest Island, has sheltered the coast from prevailing longshore currents. Little sedimentation has occurred in this sector, and consequently there is accommodation space for eroded sediment to be deposited below a level at which it has the capacity to be reworked onto the beach by fair-weather beach building processes. The shoreline geology of the Perth region is dominated by sand and limestone. Shear wave velocities measured through seismic cone penetrometer testing are used in conjunction with natural periods of vibration for the coastal sands to reconstruct the three-dimensional distribution of the erosion-resistant limestone. This reconstruction shows that the upper surface of the limestone is generally above sea level, suggesting the majority of the Perth coastal region is not at risk of significant erosion. At a number of localities, however, the contact between the limestone and the overlying sand is below sea level. These areas are prone to erosion resulting in significant risk to urban development.