The Georgina Basin is a Neoproterozoic to Lower Devonian sedimentary basin covering 325 000 km2 of western Queensland and the Northern Territory. It is a northwest-southeast-trending extensional basin, with conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon exploration targets in the southern depocentres within the middle Cambrian Arthur Creek Formation (AC Fm). Recent biostratigraphic work using agnostid trilobites [1] has determined that the prospective `hot shale (so called due to high gamma-ray log values) at the base of the AC Fm in the Dulcie Syncline is older (Templetonian) than the `hot shale in the Toko Syncline, which is of Floran age. To complicate the stratigraphy further, the Thorntonia Limestone (Th Lst) in the Undilla Sub-basin is also Templetonian in age, the same age as the AC Fm in the Dulcie Syncline and younger than the Th Lst in the Dulcie Syncline (Ordian). In this study molecular analyses of the AC Fm and the Th Lst from the CKAD0001 well were undertaken in order to distinguish between the two formations and assist with future correlations.

Studies of earthquake source characterization are often undertaken using the back-projection technique and large, dense seismic arrays. Combinations of such arrays have also been utilised in an attempt to increase the spatial resolution of the source energy distribution patterns. However our tests show that the use of few well selected seismic stations can produce comparable results to those obtained by the processing of large seismic arrays. Employing dense arrays of seismic stations may increase the signal to noise ratio, but this is not the reason behind apparent improvements in resolution of radiated energy patterns. In practice, resolution of the source energy radiation pattern relies on the same principles as those which underline earthquake hypocentre location. Back-projection techniques applied to large Mw > 7 subduction earthquakes shows that starting with small numbers of spatially separated seismic stations the correct distribution of radiated energy can be estimated. The set of spatially separated seismic stations can be selected by the same criteria as those used for accurate hypocentral location to map radiated seismic energy not only in a plane but in 3D as well. Application of this algorithm to a number of deep (>100km) earthquakes, such as the Mw 8.2 Sea of Okhotsk event, shows the further potential of the back-projection technique.

Geological storage of CO₂ requires fundamental knowledge and predictive capabilities on the transport and reactions of injected CO₂ and associated gases to assess the short and long term consequences. CO₂ can be stored in the subsurface through various mechanisms including structural trapping, solubility trapping and by precipitation of carbonate minerals. While mineral strapping is considered to be the safest storage mechanism as it permanently immobilizes the CO₂, the reaction rates and the likely importance for geosequestration is poorly understood. This project has five objectives, which aim to make CO₂ storage more predictable and safer. A range of approaches will be used including desk top studies, laboratory and field experiments and geochemical modelling.

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

This poster shows earthquakes occurring in Australia in 2011 with a background of earthquakes occurring in Australia over the past 10 years. Also included are images produced as part of the analysis of the Bowen Earthquake and its associated aftershocks as well as the yearly summary of earthquake occurrences in Australia.

Poster for abstract submitted to the 2013 DLR TerraSAR-X science team meeting to be held in Oberpfaffenhoffen in Germany, 10-12 June 2013. Abstract GeoCat # 75845

Poster presented at JAXA ALOS-2 1st PI workshop in Tsukuba, Japan, 19-20 September 2013

The first RSTT model for Australia has been developed based on the Australian Seismological Reference Model (AuSREM) that was released in late 2012. The densely-gridded P and S wave distributions of the crust and upper mantle of AuSREM have been simplified and translated into the 7 layer crustal and upper mantle RSTT model. Travel times computed with this RSTT model are evaluated against travel times computed in full 3D through the AuSREM model to assess the impact of the approximations used by RSTT. Location estimates of 5 ground truth earthquakes (GT1, GT2 and GT5) using the global ak135 reference model, the RSTT model and the full 3D travel times are compared. It is found that the RSTT model can reproduce the 3D travel times fairly accurately within its distance of applicability, thereby improving location estimates compared to using a global travel time model like ak135. However the benefit of using RSTT for locating Australian earthquakes is far less than using full 3D travel times, mainly because most stations tend to be further away from the source than the distance of RSTT applicability.

The flood risk in many urban catchments is poorly understood. Legacy stormwater infrastructure is often substandard and anticipated climate change induced sea level rise and increased rainfall intensity will typically exacerbate present risk. In a Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) funded collaboration between Geoscience Australia (GA) and the City of Sydney, the impacts on the Alexandra Canal catchment in the City of Sydney local government area have been studied. This work has built upon detailed flood hazard analyses by Cardno Pty Ltd commissioned by the City of Sydney and has entailed the development of exposure and vulnerability information. Significantly, the case study has highlighted the value of robust exposure attributes and vulnerability models in the development of flood risk knowledge. The paper describes how vulnerability knowledge developed following the 2011 Brisbane floods was extended to include key building types found in the inner suburbs of Sydney. It also describes the systematic field capture of building exposure information in the catchment area and its categorisation into 19 generic building types. The assessment of ground floor heights from street view imagery using the Field Data Analysis Tool (FiDAT) developed at Geoscience Australia is also presented. The selected hazard scenario was a 100 year Annual Recurrence Interval (ARI) event with 20% increased rainfall intensity accompanied by a 0.55m sea level rise in Botany Bay. The impact from the selected scenario was assessed in terms of monetary loss for four combinations. The combinations consist of two vulnerability model suites (GA and NSW Government) and two floor height attribution methods (assumed 0.15m uniformly and evaluated from street view imagery). It was observed that the total loss is higher in the case of assumed floor heights compared to FiDAT processed floor heights as the former failed to capture increased floor heights for newer construction. However, the loss is lower when only two vulnerability models developed by NSW Government are applied for the entire building stock in the region as two models produced a coarser modelling of the variety in the whole building stock. Abstract & Poster presented at Floodplain Management Association National Conference 2013:<br />http://www.floodplainconference.com/papers2013.php

Poster linked to Abstract in Geocat# 74763 West Australian Basins Symposium, 18-21 August 2013