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 %carbonate and specific surface area of seabed sediments.

Geoscience Australia undertook a marine survey of the Leveque Shelf (survey number SOL5754/GA0340), a sub-basin of the Browse Basin, in May 2013. This survey provides seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the Browse sedimentary basin. The basin, located on the Northwest Shelf, Western Australia, was previously identified by the Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) as potentially suitable for CO2 storage. 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 principal aim of the Leveque Shelf marine survey 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 Leveque Shelf area that may extend to the seabed. The survey also mapped seabed habitats and biota to provide information on communities and biophysical features that may be associated with seepage. This research, combined with deeper geological studies undertaken concurrently, addresses key questions on the potential for containment of CO2 in the basin's proposed CO2 storage unit, i.e. the basal sedimentary section (Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous), and the regional integrity of the Jamieson Formation (the seal unit overlying the main reservoir). This dataset comprises total chlorin concentrations and chlorin indices from the upper 2cm of seabed sediments.

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 chlorophyll a, b and c from seabed sediments (0-0.5cm).

The Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) (>71,000 km2) is located in the Timor Sea and is part of the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas of Australia. The Reserve incorporates extensive areas of carbonate banks and terraces that are recognised in the North and North West Marine Region Management Plans as Key Ecological Features (KEFs). Although poorly studied, these features have been identified as potential biodiversity hotspots for the Australian tropical north. As part of the National Environment Research Program (NERP), Geoscience Australia (GA) in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) undertook a marine biodiversity survey in 2012 to improve the knowledge of this area and better understand the importance of these KEFs. Amongst the many activities undertaken, continuous high-resolution multibeam mapping, video and still camera observations, and physical seabed sampling of four areas covering 510 km2 within the western side of the CMR was completed. Multibeam imagery reveals a high geomorphic diversity in the Oceanic Shoals CMR, with numerous banks and terraces, elevated 30 to 65 m above the generally flat seabed (~105 m water depth), that provide hard substrate for benthic communities. The surrounding plains are characterised by fields of depressions (pockmarks) formed in soft silty sediments that are generally barren of any epibenthos. A distinctive feature of many pockmarks is a linear scour mark that extends several tens of metres (up to 150 m) from pockmark depressions. Previous numerical and flume tank simulations have shown that scouring of pockmarks occurs in the direction of the dominant near-seabed flow. These geomorphic features may therefore serve as a proxy for local-scale bottom currents, which may in turn inform on sediment processes operating in these areas and contribute to the understanding of the distribution of biodiversity. This study focused on characterising these seabed scoured depressions and investigating their potential as an environmental proxy for habitat studies. The study used ArcGIS spatial analyst tools to quantify the features and explored their potential relationships with other variables (e.g. multibeam backscatter, regional modelled bottom stress, biological abundance and presence/absence) to provide insight into their development, and contribute to a better understanding of the environment surrounding carbonate banks. Preliminary results show a relationship between pockmark types, i.e. with or without scour mark, and backscatter strength. This relationship suggests some additional shallow sub-surface control, mainly related to the presence of buried carbonate bank. In addition, the results suggest that tidal flows are redirected by the banks, leading to locally varied flow directions and 'shadowing' in the lee of the larger banks. This in turn is likely to have an influence on the observed density and abundance of benthic assemblages.

This report is the third of three reports that provide the scientific analyses and interpretations resulting from a four-year collaborative habitat mapping program undertaken within the Darwin and Bynoe Harbour region by Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Northern Territory Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This program was made possible through offset funds provided by the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project to DENR, and co-investments from GA and AIMS.

This report is the second of three reports that provide the scientific analyses and interpretations resulting from a four-year collaborative habitat mapping program undertaken within the Darwin and Bynoe Harbour region by Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Northern Territory Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This program was made possible through offset funds provided by the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project to DENR, and co-investments from GA and AIMS.

Geoscience Australia marine reconnaissance survey GA2476 to the west Australian continental margin was undertaken as part of the Australian Government's Offshore Energy Program between 25 October 2008 and 19 January 2009 using the German research vessel RV Sonne. The survey acquired geological, geophysical, oceanographic and biological data over poorly known areas of Australia's western continental margin in order to improve knowledge of frontier sedimentary basins and marginal plateaus, and allow assessment of their petroleum prospectivity and environmental significance. Four key areas were targeted: the Zeewyck and Houtman sub-basins (Perth Basin), the Cuvier margin (northwest of the Southern Carnarvon Basin), and the Cuvier Plateau (a sub-feature of the Wallaby Plateau). These areas were mapped using multi-beam sonar, shallow seismic, magnetics and gravity. Over the duration of the survey a total of 229,000 km2 (26,500 line-km) of seabed was mapped with the multibeam sonar, 25,000 line-km of digital shallow seismic reflection data and 25,000 line-km of gravity and magnetic data. Sampling sites covering a range of seabed features were identified from the preliminary analysis of the multi-beam bathymetry grids and pre-existing geophysical data (seismic and gravity). A variety of sampling equipment was deployed over the duration of the survey, including ocean floor observation systems (OFOS), deep-sea TV controlled grab (BODO), boxcores, rock dredges, conductivity-temperature depth profilers (CTD), and epibenthic sleds. Different combinations of equipment were used at each station depending on the morphology of the seabed and objectives of each site. A total of 62 stations were examined throughout the survey, including 16 over the Houtman Sub-basin, 16 over the Zeewyck Subbasin, 13 in the Cuvier margin, 12 over the Cuvier Plateau and four in the Indian Ocean. This dataset comprises total chlorin concentrations and chlorin indices measured on the upper 2 cm of seabed sediments. For more information: Daniell, J., Jorgensen, D.C., Anderson, T., Borissova, I., Burq, S., Heap, A.D., Hughes, M., Mantle, D., Nelson, G., Nichol, S., Nicholson, C., Payne, D., Przeslawski, R., Radke, L., Siwabessy, J., Smith, C., and Shipboard Party, (2010). Frontier Basins of the West Australian Continental Margin: Post-survey Report of Marine Reconnaissance and Geological Sampling Survey GA2476. Geoscience Australia, Record 2009/38, 229pp

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.

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 the ship-based Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP) SEGY-format line data (ie survey GA-0345) acquired within the survey areas.

This resource contains backscatter data for the the Leveque Shelf, a sub-basin of the Browse Basin, in May 2013 on RV Solander (survey GA0340/SOL5754). The survey used a Kongsberg EM3002 300 kHz multibeam sonar system mounted in single head configuration to map six areas, covering a combined area of 1070 square kilometres. Data are gridded to 2 m spatial resolution. This survey provides seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the Browse sedimentary basin. The basin, located on the Northwest Shelf, Western Australia, was previously identified by the Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) as potentially suitable for CO2 storage. 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 principal aim of the Leveque Shelf marine survey 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 Leveque Shelf area that may extend to the seabed. The survey also mapped seabed habitats and biota to provide information on communities and biophysical features that may be associated with seepage. This research, combined with deeper geological studies undertaken concurrently, addresses key questions on the potential for containment of CO2 in the basin's proposed CO2 storage unit, i.e. the basal sedimentary section (Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous), and the regional integrity of the Jamieson Formation (the seal unit overlying the main reservoir)