This document presents an assessment of two earthquake scenarios in Melbourne. The two earthquake scenarios are considered the maximum magnitude earthquakes possible on the two fault structures; the Beaumaris Monocline and the Selwyn Fault. The assessments are based on using GA's earthquake risk modelling software, EQRM. The software is an open-source code that is capable of modelling earthquake scenario ground motion and scenario loss. Necessary inputs include the geometry of the fault structures, appropriate ground-motion and site classification models for the area concerned and exposure information describing the built environment. Impact assessment outputs include ground shaking intensity and residential loss estimates. The information from this scenario assessment can be used to inform emergency management planning and preparation in Victoria and support the national understanding of earthquake impact.

This map is part of the series that covers the whole of Australia at a scale of 1:250 000 (1cm on a map represents 2.5 km on the ground) and comprises 513 maps. This is the largest scale at which published topographic maps cover the entire continent. Each standard map covers an area of 1.5 degrees longitude by 1 degree latitude or about 150 kilometres from east to west and 110 kilometres from north to south. There are about 50 special maps in the series and these maps cover a non-standard area. Typically, where a map produced on standard sheet lines is largely ocean it is combined with its landward neighbour. These maps contain natural and constructed features including road and rail infrastructure, vegetation, hydrography, contours (interval 50m), localities and some administrative boundaries. The topographic map and data index shows coverage of the sheets. Product Specifications Coverage: The series covers the whole of Australia with 513 maps. Currency: Ranges from 1995 to 2009. 95% of maps have a reliability date of 1994 or later. Coordinates: Geographical and either AMG or MGA (post-1993) Datum: AGD66, GDA94, AHD. Projection: Universal Traverse Mercator (UTM) Medium: Paper, flat and folded copies.

Deep seismic reflection profiles collected offshore during a circum-navigation of Tasmania have provided fundamental information on the crustal architecture of the State. In particular, the profiles show the geometry of the boundaries between the major crustal elements, including the offshore continuation of the Arthur Lineament. These crustal element boundaries have apparent dips to the east or southeast and most of them appear to cut through the entire crust to the Moho. In eastern Tasmania, the seismic lines show an old mid-crustal extensional event followed by crustal shortening and duplexing, which probably occurred during the Cambrian-Ordovician Delamerian Orogeny. Thrusts that developed at this time were later reactivated as extensional faults during continental breakup of Pangea in the Cretaceous. Granites off the west coast have the geometry of flat, thin pancakes. In summary, the offshore seismic reflection program around Tasmania has led to a better understanding of the geometry and relationships between the basement elements of Tasmania and younger basins.

This map shows area of the West Coast Tasmania Shark Gillnet and Shark Hook Sector 130m Depth Commonwealth Closure. Modified from GeoCat 65105 (2007) as per the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2009 - Schedule 14. Produced for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. Not for public sale or distribution by GA.

Geoscience Australia has developed an interactive 3D viewer for three national datasets; the new Radiometric Map of Australia (Geoscience Australia 2009b), the Magnetic Anomaly Map of Australia (Geoscience Australia 2004), and the Gravity Anomaly Map of the Australian Region (Geoscience Australia 2008). The interactive virtual globe is based on NASA's open source World Wind Java Software Development Kit (SDK) and provides users with easy and rich access to these three national datasets. Users can view eight different representations of the radiometric map and compare these with the magnetic and gravity anomaly maps and satellite imagery; all draped over a digital elevation model. The full dataset for the three map sets is approximately 55GB (in ER Mapper format), while the compressed full resolution images used in the virtual globe total only 1.6GB and only the data for the geographic region being viewed is downloaded to users computers. This paper addresses the processes for selecting the World Wind application over other solutions, how the data was prepared for online delivery, the development of the 3D Viewer using the Java SDK, issues involving connecting to.

Beginning in the Archean, the continent of Australia evolved to its present configuration through the accretion and assembly of several smaller continental blocks and terranes at its edges. Australia grew usually by convergent plate margin processes, such as arc-continent collision, continent-continent collision or through accretionary processes at subduction zones. The accretion of several island arcs to the Australian continent, through arc-continent collisions, played an important role in this process, and the geodynamic implications of some Archean and Proterozoic island arcs recognised in Australia will be discussed here.

Evidence based disaster management enables decision makers to manage more effectively because it yields a better informed understanding of the situation. When based on evidence, the decision making process delivers more rational, credible and objective disaster management decisions, rather than those influenced by panic. The translation of fundamental data into information and knowledge is critical for decision makers to act and implement the decisions. The evidence from appropriate information helps both tactical and strategic responses to minimise impacts on community and promote recovery. The information requirements of such a system are quite comprehensive in order to estimate the direct and indirect losses; the short and long term social and economic resilience. Disasters may be of rapid onset in nature like earthquakes, tsunamis and blast. Others are slow onset such those associated with gradual climate change. Climate change has become a real challenge for all nations and the early adaptors will reduce risk from threats such as increased strength of tropical cyclones, storm surge inundations, floods and the spread of disease vectors. The Australian Government has recognised the threats and prioritised adaptation as an opportunity to enhance the nation's existing infrastructure and thereby reduce risk. A thorough understanding of the exposure under current and future climate projections is fundamental to this process of future capacity building. The nation's exposure to these increased natural hazards includes all sectors from communities to businesses, services, lifeline utilities and infrastructure. The development of a National Exposure Information System (NEXIS) is a significant national capacity building task being undertaken by Geoscience Australia (GA). NEXIS is collecting, collating, managing and providing the exposure information required to assess multi-hazard impacts.

This paper presents a new style of bedload parting from western Torres Strait, northern Australia. Outputs from a hydrodynamic model identified an axis of bedload parting centred on the western Torres Strait islands (~142°15"E). Unlike bedload partings described elsewhere in the literature, those in Torres Strait are generated by incoherence between two adjacent tidal regimes as opposed to overtides. Bedload parting is further complicated by the influence of wind-driven currents. During the trade wind season, wind-driven currents counter the reversing tidal currents to a point where peak currents are directed west. The eastwards-directed bedload pathway is only active during the monsoon season. Satellite imagery was used to describe six bedform facies associated with the bedload parting. Bedform morphology was used to indicate sediment supply. Contrary to bedload partings elsewhere, sand ribbons are a distal facies within the western bedload transport pathway despite peak currents directed toward the west throughout the year. This indicates that sediment is preferentially trapped within sand banks near the axis of parting and not transported further west into the Gulf of Carpentaria or Arafura Sea.

New SHRIMP U/Pb zircon ages of 472.2 ± 5.8 Ma and 470.4 ± 6.1 Ma are presented for the age of peak metamorphism of Barrovian migmatite units. Published U/Pb emplacement ages for Grampianage igneous units of Scotland and Ireland vary between c. 473.5 and c. 470 Ma. Magmatic advection provided significant heat for the Barrovian metamorphism, and the new U/Pb ages are consistent with attainment of peak Barrovian metamorphic temperatures during Grampian magmatism. U/Pb-calibrated 40Ar/39Ar ages for white mica from the Barrovian metamorphic series vary systematically, between c. 465 Ma for the biotite zone and c. 461 Ma for the sillimanite zone. Microstructural work on the timing of peak metamorphism has shown that metamorphism occurred progressively later with increasing peak-metamorphic grade. Younging metamorphic age with increasing metamorphic grade across the Barrovian metamorphic series requires that the sequence was cooled in the lower-grade regions while heating persisted in the high-grade regions. This thermal scenario is well explained by the presence of a large-scale extensional detachment that influenced the thermal regime by actively cooling units from above while metamorphic heating continued below the sequence. The spatio-temporal thermal pattern recorded by the Barrovian metamorphic series is consistent with regional metamorphism during crustal extension.

Tropical cyclones affect storm-dominated sediment transport processes that characterise Holocene shelf deposits in many shelf environments. In this paper, we describe the geomorphology of reef talus deposits found in the Gulf of Carpentaria and Arafura Sea, Australia,that we attribute to tropical cyclones. The orientation of these deposits is also indicative of a consistent, along-coast transport pathway.