Geoscience Australia (GA) conducted a marine survey (GA0345/GA0346/TAN1411) of the north-eastern Browse Basin (Caswell Sub-basin) between 9 October and 9 November 2014 to acquire seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the basin. The survey, undertaken as part of the Department of Industry and Science's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP), aimed to identify and characterise indicators of natural hydrocarbon or fluid seepage that may indicate compromised seal integrity in the region. The survey was conducted in three legs aboard the New Zealand research vessel RV Tangaroa, and included scientists and technical staff from GA, the NZ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA) and Fugro Survey Pty Ltd. Shipboard data (survey ID GA0345) collected included multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter over 12 areas (A1, A2, A3, A4, A6b, A7, A8, B1, C1, C2b, F1, M1) totalling 455 km2 in water depths ranging from 90 - 430 m, and 611 km of sub-bottom profile lines. Seabed samples were collected from 48 stations and included 99 Smith-McIntyre grabs and 41 piston cores. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) (survey ID GA0346) collected higher-resolution multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter data, totalling 7.7 km2, along with 71 line km of side scan sonar, underwater camera and sub-bottom profile data. Twenty two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) missions collected 31 hours of underwater video, 657 still images, eight grabs and one core. This catalogue entry refers to sediment oxygen demand measurements undertaken on seabed sediments (0-2 cm).

Geoscience Australia (GA) conducted a marine survey (GA0345/GA0346/TAN1411) of the north-eastern Browse Basin (Caswell Sub-basin) between 9 October and 9 November 2014 to acquire seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the basin. The survey, undertaken as part of the Department of Industry and Science's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP), aimed to identify and characterise indicators of natural hydrocarbon or fluid seepage that may indicate compromised seal integrity in the region. The survey was conducted in three legs aboard the New Zealand research vessel RV Tangaroa, and included scientists and technical staff from GA, the NZ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA) and Fugro Survey Pty Ltd. Shipboard data (survey ID GA0345) collected included multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter over 12 areas (A1, A2, A3, A4, A6b, A7, A8, B1, C1, C2b, F1, M1) totalling 455 km2 in water depths ranging from 90 - 430 m, and 611 km of sub-bottom profile lines. Seabed samples were collected from 48 stations and included 99 Smith-McIntyre grabs and 41 piston cores. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) (survey ID GA0346) collected higher-resolution multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter data, totalling 7.7 km2, along with 71 line km of side scan sonar, underwater camera and sub-bottom profile data. Twenty two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) missions collected 31 hours of underwater video, 657 still images, eight grabs and one core. This catalogue entry refers to chlorophyll a, b, c and phaeophytin a conentrations in the upper 2 cm of seabed sediments.

Geoscience Australia (GA) conducted a marine survey (GA0345/GA0346/TAN1411) of the north-eastern Browse Basin (Caswell Sub-basin) between 9 October and 9 November 2014 to acquire seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the basin. The survey, undertaken as part of the Department of Industry and Science's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP), aimed to identify and characterise indicators of natural hydrocarbon or fluid seepage that may indicate compromised seal integrity in the region. The survey was conducted in three legs aboard the New Zealand research vessel RV Tangaroa, and included scientists and technical staff from GA, the NZ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA) and Fugro Survey Pty Ltd. Shipboard data (survey ID GA0345) collected included multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter over 12 areas (A1, A2, A3, A4, A6b, A7, A8, B1, C1, C2b, F1, M1) totalling 455 km2 in water depths ranging from 90 - 430 m, and 611 km of sub-bottom profile lines. Seabed samples were collected from 48 stations and included 99 Smith-McIntyre grabs and 41 piston cores. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) (survey ID GA0346) collected higher-resolution multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter data, totalling 7.7 km2, along with 71 line km of side scan sonar, underwater camera and sub-bottom profile data. Twenty two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) missions collected 31 hours of underwater video, 657 still images, eight grabs and one core. This catalogue entry refers to total sediment metabolism, bulk carbonate and mineral specific surface area measurements, and major and minor trace elements and carbon and nitrogen concentrations and isotopes in the upper 2 cm of seabed sediments.

Geoscience Australia (GA) conducted a marine survey (GA0345/GA0346/TAN1411) of the north-eastern Browse Basin (Caswell Sub-basin) between 9 October and 9 November 2014 to acquire seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the basin. The survey, undertaken as part of the Department of Industry and Science's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP), aimed to identify and characterise indicators of natural hydrocarbon or fluid seepage that may indicate compromised seal integrity in the region. The survey was conducted in three legs aboard the New Zealand research vessel RV Tangaroa, and included scientists and technical staff from GA, the NZ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA) and Fugro Survey Pty Ltd. Shipboard data (survey ID GA0345) collected included multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter over 12 areas (A1, A2, A3, A4, A6b, A7, A8, B1, C1, C2b, F1, M1) totalling 455 km2 in water depths ranging from 90 - 430 m, and 611 km of sub-bottom profile lines. Seabed samples were collected from 48 stations and included 99 Smith-McIntyre grabs and 41 piston cores. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) (survey ID GA0346) collected higher-resolution multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter data, totalling 7.7 km2, along with 71 line km of side scan sonar, underwater camera and sub-bottom profile data. Twenty two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) missions collected 31 hours of underwater video, 657 still images, eight grabs and one core. This catalogue entry refers to porosity, total chlorin and chlorin index data from the upper 2 cm of seabed sediments.

Marine organisms are exposed not only to natural environmental stressors, but also the additional effects of anthropogenic stressors, notably increasing temperatures and reduced pH. Early life stages of marine organisms have been recognised as potentially vulnerable to the stressors associated with climate change and ocean acidification, but identifying patterns across studies, species and a range of response variables is challenging. This study is supported by the Marine Biodiversity Hub through the National Environmental Research Program and identifies knowledge gaps in research on multiple abiotic stressors and early life stage (embryo to larvae), while quantifying interactions based on life history. Temperature was the most common stressor (91% of studies), while the most common combination of stressors was temperature and salinity (66%), followed by temperature and pH (17.5%). All studies were conducted in the laboratory although four studies also undertook field experiments. Synergistic interactions (68% of individual tests) were more common than additive (16%) or antagonistic (16%) interactions. The meta-analysis yielded several key results: 1) Embryos are not more vulnerable to stress than larvae in combined stressor treatments. 2) Sub-lethal responses are not more likely to be affected by stress than lethal responses. 3) Interaction types vary among stressors, phyla, ontogenetic stages, and biological responses. 4) Elevated temperature is generally a greater stressor than ocean acidification, but this depends on ontogenetic stage and phylum. 5) Ocean acidification is a greater stressor for calcifying than non-calcifying larvae. Our findings will assist in monitoring and predicting the health of marine populations and communities by identifying sensitive and robust taxa.

Geoscience Australia undertook a marine survey of the Vlaming Sub-basin in March and April 2012 to provide seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of this sedimentary basin. The survey was undertaken under the Australian Government's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) to help identify sites suitable for the long term storage of CO2 within reasonable distances of major sources of CO2 emissions. The Vlaming Sub-basin is located offshore from Perth, Western Australia, and was previously identified by the Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) as potentially highly suitable for CO2 storage. The principal aim of the Vlaming Sub-basin marine survey (GA survey number GA334) was to look for evidence of any past or current gas or fluid seepage at the seabed, and to determine whether these features are related to structures (e.g. faults) in the Vlaming Sub-basin that may extend up to the seabed. The survey also mapped seabed habitats and biota in the areas of interest to provide information on communities and biophysical features that may be associated with seepage. This research addresses key questions on the potential for containment of CO2 in the Early Cretaceous Gage Sandstone (the basin's proposed CO2 storage unit) and the regional integrity of the South Perth Shale (the seal unit that overlies the Gage Sandstone). This dataset comprises an interpreted geomorphic map.

Geoscience Australia undertook a marine survey of the Vlaming Sub-basin in March and April 2012 to provide seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of this sedimentary basin. The survey was undertaken under the Australian Government's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) to help identify sites suitable for the long term storage of CO2 within reasonable distances of major sources of CO2 emissions. The Vlaming Sub-basin is located offshore from Perth, Western Australia, and was previously identified by the Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) as potentially suitable for CO2 storage. The principal aim of the Vlaming Sub-basin marine survey (GA survey number GA0334) was to look for evidence of fault reactivation and of any past or current gas or fluid seepage at the seabed. The survey also mapped seabed habitats and biota in the areas of interest to provide information on communities and biophysical features that may be associated with seepage. This data package brings together the following datasets which describe biophysical aspects of seafloor sediments: GEOCAT#74276. Underwater video footage from the Vlaming Sub-basin (GA0334). GEOCAT#76463. GA0334 Vlaming sub-basin Species identification of worms from grab. GEOCAT#78540. Vlaming Sub-Basin Marine Environmental Survey (GA-0334/S. Supporter GP 1373) (NCIP Program) - High Resolution Bathymetry grids. GEOCAT# 78550. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: Chlorin analyses of seabed sediments. GEOCAT#78551. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: Inorganic elements of seabed sediments. GEOCAT#78552. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: Bulk organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes and concentrations in seabed sediments. GEOCAT#78553. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: Sediment oxygen demand of seabed sediments. GEOCAT#78564. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: Chlorophyll a, b and c of seabed sediments. GEOCAT#78565. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: %carbonate and specific surface area of seabed sediments. GEOCAT#79176. Seabed environments and shallow geology of the Vlaming sub-basin, Western Australia: Grain size and carbonate concentrations of seabed sediments. GEOCAT#79345. Ecology / Infaunal morphospecies identifications from the Vlaming Sub-basin (GA0334). An account of the field operations is published in: GEOCAT 74626. Nicholas, W. A., Borissova, I., Radke, L., Tran, M., Bernardel, G., Jorgensen, D M., Siwabessy, J., Carroll, A. and Whiteway, T., 2012. Seabed Environments and Shallow Geology of the Vlaming Sub-Basin, Western Australia - Marine data for the Investigation of the Geological Storage of CO2. GA0334 Post-Survey Report. Geoscience Australia, Record 2013/09. A preliminary interpretation of seabed data is provided in: GEOCAT 78846. Nicholas, W. A., Howard, F., Carroll, A., Siwabessy, J., Tran, M., Picard, K., Przeslawski, R. and Radke, L. 2014. Seabed Environments and shallow sub-surface geology of the Vlaming Sub-basin, offshore Perth Basin: summary report on observed and potential seepage, and habitats. Geoscience Australia, Record 2014/XXX. Information on the broader study, evaluating the Vlaming Sub-basin CO2 storage potential and providing details of the suitable storage sites, is available in: GEOCAT 79332. Borissova, I, Lech, M.E., Jorgensen, D.C, Southby, C., Wang, L., Bernardel, G., Nicholas, T., Lescinsky, D.L. and Johnston, S. An integrated study of the CO2 storage potential in the offshore Vlaming Sub-basin. Geoscience Australia, Record 2014/XXX.

This report provides details of activities undertaken by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Geoscience Australia, the University of Western Australia and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory during a marine biodiversity survey to the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) in 2012. The survey was an activity within the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub and is a key component of Theme 4 - Regional Biodiversity Discovery to Support Marine Bioregional Plans. Data collected during the survey will be used to support research being undertaken in other Themes of the Marine Biodiversity Hub, including the modelling of ecosystem processes for the northern region, and to support the work programs of the Department of Environment.

In September and October of 2011 Geoscience Australia surveyed part of the offshore northern Perth Basin in order to map potential sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage. The primary objectives of the survey were to map the spatial distribution of seepage sites and characterise the nature of the seepage at these sites (gas vs oil, macroseepage vs microseepage; palaeo vs modern day seepage) on the basis of: acoustic signatures in the water column, shallow subsurface and on the seabed; geochemical signatures in rock and sediment samples and the water column; and biological signatures on the seabed. Areas of potential natural hydrocarbon seepage that were surveyed included proven (drilled) oil and gas accumulations, a breached structure, undrilled hydrocarbon prospects, and areas with potential signatures of fluid seepage identified in seismic, satellite remote sensing and multibeam bathymetry data. Within each of these areas the survey acquired: water column measurements with the CTD; acoustic data with single- and multi-beam echosounders, sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler (sidescan not acquired in Area F as it was too deep in places); and sediment and biological samples with the Smith-McIntyre Grab. In addition, data were collected with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), integrated hydrocarbon sensor array, and CO2 sensor in selected areas. Sampling with the gravity corer had limited success in many of the more shallow areas (A-E) due to the coarse sandy nature of the seabed sediments. This dataset comprises total chlorin concentrations and chlorin indices from the upper 2 cm of seabed sediments.

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken using the RV Solander during May 2012, as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This data-set comprises inorganic element data from surface seabed sediments (~0-2 cm) in the Timor Sea.