This preliminary report will provide a geochemical and ionic characterisation of groundwater, to determine baseline conditions and, if possible, to distinguish between different aquifers in the Laura basin. The groundwater quality data will be compared against the water quality guidelines for aquatic ecosystem protection, drinking water use, primary industries, use by industry, recreation and aesthetics, and cultural and spiritual values to assess the environmental values of groundwater and the treatment that may be required prior to reuse or discharge.

This map is part of a series which comprises 50 maps which covers the whole of Australia at a scale of 1:1 000 000 (1cm on a map represents 10km on the ground). Each standard map covers an area of 6 degrees longitude by 4 degrees latitude or about 590 kilometres east to west and about 440 kilometres from north to south. These maps depict natural and constructed features including transport infrastructure (roads, railway airports), hydrography, contours, hypsometric and bathymetric layers, localities and some administrative boundaries, making this a useful general reference map.

The cartographic collection of the Doc Fisher Geoscience Library consists of the maps and air photos created or acquired by agency staff since the formation of BMR in 1946. This includes maps produced by agencies which have merged with these over the years, such as AUSLIG. Maps held include: Australian geological map series (1:250,000, 1:100,000 and the 1 mile series); topographic maps produced by NATMAP and its predecessors (1:250,000, 1:100,000 and 1:50,000) - latest editions only; various Australian geochemical, geophysical and other thematic maps; geoscience map series from other countries acquired on an exchange basis, including some with accompanying explanatory notes; Non-series maps acquired by donation or exchange; atlases. The Air photos are predominantly those used for mapping Australia and, to a lesser extent, Papua New Guinea and Antarctica, by BMR/AGSO from the 1940s to the 1980s. Geographical coverage of the sets is not complete, but many individual photos are unique in that they have pin points, overlays or other markings made by teams in the field. The Papua New Guinea photographs in the collection may, in many cases, be the only existing copies. Flight diagrams are also held for many (but not all) sets of air photos. Some other related materials, such as montages of aerial photographs (orthophotos), are also represented in the collection.

This report gives an overview of the activities of the Geoscience Australia IVS Analysis Center during 2012

No abstract available

22-1/I51-5/11

Preliminary zircon data and tectonic framework for the Thomson Orogen, northwestern NSW

22-1/F54-10/3

2013 Acreage Release Areas W13-19 and W13-20 in the offshore northern Perth Basin, Western Australia, cover more than 19,000 km2 in parts of the Houtman, Abrolhos, Zeewyck and Gascoyne sub-basins. The Release Areas are located adjacent to WA-481-P, the only offshore exploration permit active in the Perth Basin, granted to joint venture partners Murphy Australia Oil Pty Ltd, Kufpec Australia Pty Ltd and Samsung Oil and Gas Australia Pty Ltd in September 2012. Geoscience Australia recently undertook a regional prospectivity study in the area as part of the Australian Government's Offshore Energy Security Program. A revised sequence stratigraphic framework, based on new biostratigraphic sampling and interpretation, and an updated tectonostratigraphic model, using multiple 1D burial history models for Permian to Cenozoic sequences, give fresh insights into basin evolution and prospectivity. Geochemical studies of key offshore wells demonstrated that the late Permian's Lower Triassic Hovea Member oil-prone source interval is regionally extensive offshore in the Abrolhos and potentially Houtman sub-basins. This is supported by fluid inclusion data that provides evidence for palaeo-oil columns within Permian reservoirs in wells from the Abrolhos Sub-basin. Additionally, oil trapped in fluid inclusions in Houtman-1 can be linked to Jurassic source rocks suggesting that multiple petroleum systems are effective in the Release Areas. A trap integrity analysis was undertaken to mitigate exploration risks associated with trap breach during Early Cretaceous breakup and provides a predictive approach to prospect assessment. Potential seepage sites on the seafloor over recently reactivated faults correlate with hydroacoustic flares, pockmarks and dark colored viscous fluid observed over the areas. These observations may indicate an active modern-day petroleum system in the Houtman Sub-basin. The presence of a Jurassic petroleum system combined with the extension of the Hovea Member source rock offshore, the potential presence of seeps and results from trap integrity studies provide a platform to revitalize exploration in the offshore northern Perth Basin. The APPEA Journal

No abstract available