PLEASE NOTE: These data have been updated. See Related Links for new data. Geodatabase of the Commonwealth Coastal Waters (State/Territory Powers) Act 1980 - An Act to extend the legislative powers of the States/Northern Territory in and in relation to coastal waters.

Mineral deposits, although geographically small in extent, are the result of processes-which together form a mineral system-that occur, and can be mapped at, a variety of scales, up to craton-scale and larger. The mineral system approach has the benefit that in it focuses on critical processes and can include larger scales not always considered. Understanding the four-dimensional evolution of the crust, for example, is important, as it can provide critical constraints on the geodynamic history, the lithospheric architecture and development, and potentially identify metallogenic terranes. Constraining the nature and evolution of the crust is not easy, however, given its largely inaccessible nature. Just as the study of basaltic rocks has provided insight into the earth's mantle, granites, provide a window into the middle and lower continental crust. Studies of these rocks are enhanced by the use of isotopic tracers (e.g., U-Pb, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf), long used to provide constraints on geological processes and components involved in those processes.

Fugitive methane emissions, in particular relating to coal seam gas (CSG),has become an emerging issue in Australia over the last few years. There has been significant controversy in US regarding the magnitude of fugitive emissions during production from unconventional gas wells, with large differences in emissions reported between studies using different measurement approaches. . Preliminary research into a small number of Australia's unconventional fields suggest the average fugitive emissions per well are lower than that found in the US. The primary challenge is that the techniques for quantifying methane leakages are still at an early stage of development. Current methods for the small to medium scale use chamber based approaches or vehicles installed with fixed sampling lines and high precisions gas analysers. These technologies are promising, but generally have not been ground truthed in field conditions against known emission rates to estimate effectiveness. They also have limited application in environments where vehicle access is not possible. The Ginniderra facility is being upgraded to support a methane controlled release experiment in 2015. This will enable testing of and verifying methods and technologies for measuring and quantifying methane emissions. To address the absence of suitable techniques for emmission measurement at medium scales, several BOREAL lasers will be deployed which work at scales of 20-1000 m. It is also envisaged airborne techniques utilising laser and hyperspectral will be deployed, along with tomography work utilising multiple concurrent concentration measurements.

This disc contains scanned PDF copies of uranium-related reports held by Geoscience Australia from the archives of the former Australian Atomic Energy Commission. These reports date from the early 1970s to early 1980s. The reports are a mix of exploration reports, geological and geographical maps, proposals, feasibility studies, estimations, reserve information, drill hole data and drill cross section files.

Earth science is all around us. Many of us barely notice it influencing our daily lives. Top GeoShot is an annual competition taking place in the lead-up to Earth Science Week (12-18 October 2014). To participate, take and submit a photograph that relates to Earth science, geography or geology in Australia. Submit your entry using Flickr and email. The two categories for this year's competition are Open and Student (up to Year 12). A panel of Geoscience Australia staff will select the winning images. Winners will receive a professionally framed enlargement of their image.

Abstract for Geological Society of Australia Specialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology conference, Thredbo, 2-7 February 2014

It is generally agreed that plate motion is maintained by convective circulation of the Earth's mantle. However, the detailed spatial and temporal pattern of this circulation is poorly known. Since dynamic topography is generated by the interplay between mantle convective circulation and plate motion, observational constraints should yield hitherto inaccessible insights into this convective process. Australia's isolation from active plate boundaries and its rapid northward motion within a hotspot reference frame make it a useful natural laboratory. The present-day dynamic topography is best mapped onshore by measuring the residual depth of oceanic floor with respect to the well-known age-depth relationship. Onshore present-day dynamic topography can be estimated using the relationship between gravity and topography at wave- lengths greater than 350 km. The temporal evolution of this topography can be constrained by interrogating passive margin architecture and inverting longitudinal river profles for uplift histories. The results of such analysis suggest southwestern Australia has been emerging from the dynamic topography low associated with the Australian- Antarctic Discordance over the 50 Myrs whereas northern Australia has been draw- down from an unperturbed elevation over the last 10 Myrs. The Eastern Highlands were uplifted in two stages. The Great Escarpment appears to be the expression of present-day dynamic support, which grew during and immediately prior to Cenozoic Volcanism. A discrete earlier phase of uplift is temporally associated with rifting leading to Tasman Sea fl oor spreading. This history of vertical motions is consistent with palaeocoastline elevations, long term river incision rates, basin sequence stratigraphy and thermochronological studies while constraining the passage of thermal anomalies beneath the Australian plate.

The greater Eromanga Basin is an intracratonic Mesozoic basin covering an area of approximately 2,000,000 km2 in central and eastern Australia. The greater Eromanga Basin encompasses three correlated basins: the Eromanga Basin (central and western regions), Surat Basin (eastern region) and the Carpentaria Basin (northern region). The greater Eromanga Basin hosts Australia's largest known resources of groundwater as well as major onshore hydrocarbon resources, including significant coal bed methane (CBM) that has been discovered in recent years, and also contains extensive hot-sedimentary aquifer geothermal energy systems. Additionally, the basin has potential as a greenhouse gas sequestration site and will likely play a key role in securing Australia's energy future. Finally, although no major metallic mineral deposits are currently known in the greater Eromanga Basin, there is significant potential for undiscovered uranium mineralisation. A 3D geological map has been constructed for the greater Eromanga Basin using publicly available datasets. These are principally drilling datasets (i.e. water bores; mineral and petroleum exploration wells) and the 1:1,000,000 scale Surface Geology Map of Australia. Geophysical wireline logs, hydrochemistry, radiometrics, magnetic and gravity datasets were also integrated into the 3D geological map. This study has highlighted the potential of the southwest margin of the Eromanga Basin and the Euroka arch region to contain sandstone-hosted uranium mineral systems. The report demonstrates how incorporating disparate datasets in a 3D geological map can generate an integrated mapping solution with diverse applications: 1. Provide new insights into the geology and geodynamic evolution of the basin. 2. Identify hydrocarbon resource plays. 3. Assess the basin's mineral potential (e.g., sandstone-hosted uranium mineral systems). 4. Assess the basin's geothermal potential (e.g., hot-sedimentary aquifer geothermal systems). 5. Provide resource management information (e.g., groundwater). 6. Identify potential contaminants in groundwater.

The Elevation Display Poster explains some key concepts of the Elevation work that Geoscience Australia conducts.

AAM was engaged by DPIPWE to acquire LiDAR data over several coastal areas of Tasmania during March and April 2014. Granville Harbour comprises approximately 3.8 km2