Preamble -- The 'National Geochemical Survey of Australia: The Geochemical Atlas of Australia' was published in July 2011 along with a digital copy of the NGSA geochemical dataset (doi: 10.11636/Record.2011.020). The NGSA project is described here: www.ga.gov.au/ngsa. The present dataset contains additional geochemical data obtained on NGSA samples: the Plutonium Isotopes Dataset. Abstract -- Seventy three fine-fraction (<75 um) Top Outlet Sediment (TOS, 0 – 10 cm depth) NGSA samples from Queensland were analysed for the plutonium (Pu) isotopes 238Pu and 239+240Pu (unresolved 239Pu and 240Pu) to determine: (1) if Pu is detectable in the Australian environment; and (2) what the levels and ranges of Pu retention in selected Queensland catchment soils are. Radiochemical analyses were performed by alpha spectrometry at the radioanalytical laboratories of Radiation and Nuclear Sciences, Department of Health, Queensland, and at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), Victoria. The method yielded a 239+240Pu trace-level detection limit of 0.04 mBq/g (equivalent to 10.4 fg/kg or 0.0056 net counts per minute) with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 15.1%. The average tracer recovery was 69% (RSD 25%) over a 3-day count. Total analytical uncertainty ranged from 19% to 90% at close to detection limits. Field duplicate repeatability for 239+240Pu activity concentration ranged from 18% to 45%, which in part at least reflects the inherent heterogeneity of soil/sediments containing refractory particles exhibiting variation in Pu activity concentrations. Analytical duplicate repeatability for 239+240Pu activity concentration ranged from 10% to 23%, with the mean activity concentration and error of the replicates reported with propagation of errors. The results show a wide range of 239+240Pu activity concentration in the fine TOS NGSA samples across Queensland (N = 73): 239+240Pu: Min = <0.04 mBq/g; Med ± MAD (median absolute deviation) = 0.09 ± 0.07 mBq/g; Mean ± SD = 0.29 ± 0.72 mBq/g; 95th percentile = 1.53 mBq/g; Max = 4.88 mBq/g. In comparison the world average background is estimated at 0.2 mBq/g. Analytical results for 39% of samples were below detection. Six samples with 239+240Pu > 0.18 mBq/g (70th percentile) were also analysed for 238Pu by the same alpha spectrometry method. Results ranged from 0.04 to 0.1 mBq/g (N = 6). The complete dataset is available to download as a comma separated values (CSV) file from Geoscience Australia's website (https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/144101).

This Perth Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Perth Basin is a complex geological region extending along Australia's southwest margin for about 1,300 km. It comprises sub-basins, troughs, terraces, and shelves, hosting sedimentary rocks with coal, oil, gas, and significant groundwater resources. Off the coast of Western Australia, it reaches depths of up to 4,500 m, while its onshore part extends up to 90 km inland. The basin is bounded by the Yilgarn Craton to the east, and the Carnarvon and Bremer basins to the north and south. The basin's history involves two main rifting phases in the Permian and Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, creating 15 sub-basins with varying sedimentary thickness due to compartmentalization and fault reactivation. The sedimentary succession mainly comprises fluviatile Permian to Early Cretaceous rocks over Archean and Proterozoic basement blocks. Differences exist between northern and southern sequences, with the south being continental and the north featuring marine deposits. During the Permian, faulting and clastic sedimentation dominated, with marine transgressions in the north and continental rocks in the south. The Triassic saw a similar pattern, with the southern succession being continental and the northern succession showing marine deposits. The Kockatea Shale became a primary hydrocarbon source. The Jurassic period witnessed marine incursions in the central basin, while the Late Jurassic experienced sea level regression and deposition of the Yarragadee Formation. The Cretaceous saw the formation of the Early Cretaceous Parmelia Group due to heavy tectonic activity. The southern basin had a marine transgression leading to the Warnbro Group's deposition with valuable groundwater resources. Post-Cretaceous, Cenozoic deposits covered the basin with varying thicknesses. Overall, the Perth Basin's geological history reveals a diverse sedimentary record with economic and resource significance.

Preamble: The 'National Geochemical Survey of Australia: The Geochemical Atlas of Australia' was published in July 2011 along with a digital copy of the NGSA geochemical dataset (http://dx.doi.org/10.11636/Record.2011.020). The NGSA project is described here: www.ga.gov.au/ngsa. The present dataset contains additional geochemical data obtained on NGSA samples: the Lead Isotopes Dataset. Abstract: Over 1200 new lead (Pb) isotope analyses were obtained on catchment outlet sediment samples from the NGSA regolith archive to document the range and patterns of Pb isotope ratios in the surface regolith and their relationships to geology and anthropogenic activity. The selected samples included 1204 NGSA Top Outlet Sediment (TOS) samples taken from 0 to 10 cm depth and sieved to <2 mm (or ‘coarse’ fraction); three of these were analysed in duplicate for a total of 1207 Pb isotope analyses. Further, 12 Northern Australia Geochemical Survey (NAGS; http://dx.doi.org/10.11636/Record.2019.002) TOS samples from within a single NGSA catchment, also sieved to <2 mm, were analysed to provide an indication of smaller scale variability. Combined, we thus present 1219 new TOS coarse, internally comparable data points, which underpin new national regolith Pb isoscapes. Additionally, 16 NGSA Bottom Outlet Sediment (BOS; ~60 to 80 cm depth) samples, also sieved to <2 mm, and 16 NGSA TOS samples sieved to a finer grainsize (<75 um, or ‘fine’) fraction from selected NGSA catchments were also included to inform on Pb mobility and residence. Lead isotope analyses were performed by Candan Desem as part of her PhD research at the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne. After an initial ammonium acetate (AmAc) leach, the samples were digested in aqua regia (AR). Although a small number of samples were analysed after the AmAc leach, all samples were analysed after the second, AR digestion, preparation step. The analyses were performed without prior matrix removal using a Nu Instruments Attom single collector Sector Field-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (SF-ICP-MS). The dried soil digests were redissolved in 2% HNO3 run solutions containing high-purity thallium (1 ppb Tl) and diluted to provide ~1 ppb Pb in solution. Admixture of natural, Pb-free Tl (with a nominal 205Tl/203Tl of 2.3871) allowed for correction of instrumental mass bias effects. Concentrations of matrix elements in the diluted AR digests are estimated to be in the range of 1–2 ppm. The SF-ICP-MS was operated in wet plasma mode using a Glass Expansion cyclonic spray chamber and glass nebuliser with an uptake rate of 0.33 mL/min. The instrument was tuned for maximum sensitivity and provided ~1 million counts per second/ppb Pb while maintaining flat-topped peaks. Each analysis, performed in the Attom’s ‘deflector peak jump’ mode, consists of 30 sets of 2000 sweeps of masses 202Hg, 203Tl, 204Pb, 205Tl, 206Pb, 207Pb and 208Pb, with dwell times of 500 μs and a total analysis time of 4.5 min. Each sample acquisition was preceded by a blank determination. All corrections for baseline, sample Hg interference (202Hg/204Pb ratios were always <0.043) and mass bias were performed online, producing typical in-run precisions (2 standard errors) of ±0.047 for 206Pb/204Pb, ±0.038 for 207Pb/204Pb, ±0.095 for 208Pb/204Pb, ±0.0012 for 207Pb/206Pb and ±0.0026 for 208Pb/206Pb. A small number of samples with low Pb concentrations exhibited very low signal sizes during analysis resulting in correspondingly high analytical uncertainties. Samples producing within-run uncertainties of >1% relative (measured on the 207Pb/204Pb ratio) were discarded as being insufficiently precise to contribute meaningfully to the dataset. Data quality was monitored using interspersed analyses of Tl-doped ~1 ppb solutions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SRM981 Pb standard, and several silicate reference materials: United States Geological Survey ‘BCR-2’ and ‘AGV-2’, Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques ‘BR’ and Japan Geological Survey ‘JB-2’. In a typical session, up to 50 unknowns plus 15 standards were analysed using an ESI SC-2 DX autosampler. Although previous studies using the Attom SF-ICP-MS used sample-standard-bracketing techniques to correct for instrumental Pb mass bias, Tl doping was found to produce precise, accurate and reproducible results. Based upon the data for the BCR-2 and AGV-2 secondary reference materials, for which we have the most analyses, deviations from accepted values (accuracy) were typically <0.17%. Data for the remaining silicate standards appear slightly less accurate but these results may, to some extent, reflect uncertainty in the assigned literature values for these materials. Replicate runs of selected AR digests yielded similar reproducibility estimates. The results show a wide range of Pb isotope ratios in the NGSA (and NAGS) TOS <2 mm fraction samples across the continent (N = 1219): 206Pb/204Pb: Min = 15.558; Med ± Robust SD = 18.844 ± 0.454; Mean ± SD = 19.047 ± 1.073; Max = 30.635 207Pb/204Pb; Min = 14.358; Med ± Robust SD = 15.687 ± 0.091; Mean ± SD = 15.720 ± 0.221; Max = 18.012 208Pb/204Pb; Min = 33.558; Med ± Robust SD = 38.989 ± 0.586; Mean ± SD = 39.116 ± 1.094; Max = 48.873 207Pb/206Pb; Min = 0.5880; Med ± Robust SD = 0.8318 ± 0.0155; Mean ± SD = 0.8270 ± 0.0314; Max = 0.9847 208Pb/206Pb; Min = 1.4149; Med ± Robust SD = 2.0665 ± 0.0263; Mean ± SD = 2.0568 ± 0.0675; Max = 2.3002 These data allow the construction of the first continental-scale regolith Pb isotope maps (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/206Pb, and 208Pb/206Pb isoscapes) of Australia and can be used to understand contributions of Pb from underlying bedrock (including Pb-rich mineralisation), wind-blown dust and possibly from anthropogenic sources (industrial, transport, agriculture, residential, waste handling). The complete dataset is available to download as a comma separated values (CSV) file from Geoscience Australia's website (http://dx.doi.org/10.26186/5ea8f6fd3de64). Isoscape grids (inverse distance weighting interpolated grids with a power coefficient of 2 prepared in QGis using GDAL gridding tool based on nearest neighbours) are also provided for the five Pb isotope ratios (IDW2NN.TIF files in zipped folder). Alternatively, the new Pb isotope data can be downloaded from and viewed on the GA Portal (https://portal.ga.gov.au/).

<div>Geoscience Australia maintains a national collection of marine geological samples and analytical data from across the Australian region. Digital records of these datasets are held within the Marine Sediment Database (MARS), available as an online resource of c. 2.6 million entries. Here we have extracted data from MARS to collate sediment properties for over 15,000 seabed samples for use as a standalone dataset. Analytical data includes textural composition (mud, sand, gravel), summary statistics for particle size distributions, textural class and calcium carbonate values (where available). Information on sample water depth, location and marine survey is also provided. The sample set spans the coast, continental shelf, slope and deep ocean locations across the Australian marine region (covering the extent of the AusBathyTopo 250m 2023 grid). This dataset has utility for a broad range of purposes including seabed characterisation, sediment transport modelling, habitat characterisation, seabed engineering studies and fundamental geological and sedimentological research.</div><div><br></div><div>Additional metadata of this dataset are provided in the word document accompanied with the dataset. The metadata document describes the attribute table, the sediment carbonate classification and the sediment facies.</div>

<div>This report presents the results of petrographic and X-ray Diffraction analysis undertaken by Microanalysis Australia under contract to Geoscience Australia, on rock samples collected from selected drill holes across the Proterozoic Birrindudu Basin and underlying metamorphic basement.</div><div><br></div>

This Central Australian Cenozoic Basins dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. Cenozoic basins are an important source of readily accessible groundwater within the arid deserts of central Australia. This province represents a collection of six notable Cenozoic basins within the region, including the Ti Tree, Waite, Hale, Mount Wedge, Lake Lewis and Alice Farm basins. Many local communities in this region (such as Papunya, Ti Tree and Ali Curung) rely upon groundwater stored within Cenozoic basin aquifers for their water security. The basins typically contain up to several hundred metres of saturated sediments that can include relatively thick intervals of hydraulically conductive sands, silts and minor gravels. It is noted that the potential groundwater storage volumes in the Cenozoic basins are much greater than the annual amount of runoff and recharge that occurs in central Australia, making them prospective targets for groundwater development. Groundwater quality and yields are variable, although relatively good quality groundwater can be obtained at suitable yields in many areas for community water supplies, stock and domestic use and irrigated horticulture operations, for example, in the Ti Tree Basin. However, not all of the Cenozoic basins have the potential to supply good quality groundwater resources for community and horticultural supplies. With the exception of several small sub-regions, most of the Waite Basin has very little potential to supply good quality groundwater for agricultural use. This is mainly due to limited aquifer development, low yielding bores and elevated groundwater salinity (commonly >2000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids). However, bores have been successfully installed for smaller-scale pastoral stock and domestic supplies and small communities or outstations in the Waite Basin.

This Eromanga Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Eromanga Basin, part of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) in Australia, is an extensive Mesozoic sedimentary basin filled with a mix of non-marine and marine rocks. The GAB covers about 22% of the Australian land surface, including areas in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. The Eromanga Basin is the largest among the basins that form the GAB. Spanning over 1,250,000 square kilometres in central and eastern Australia, the Eromanga Basin contains rocks ranging from Jurassic to Cretaceous in age. The sedimentary deposits consist of three main basin successions: Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous fluvial and lacustrine, Early to mid-Cretaceous marine, and Late Cretaceous fluvial-lacustrine successions. The basin's stratigraphic architecture results from a complex interplay between subsidence-controlled accommodation, sediment supply rates, and changing sediment provenance. These controls were influenced by various factors, such as intra-plate stress fields, eustatic sea-level fluctuations, and dynamic mantle-driven topography during the breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent. During the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, regional uplift of the Australian continent led to an influx of fluvial sand-rich sediments in the western Eromanga Basin. Subsequent rapid subsidence and global high sea levels during the Early Cretaceous allowed marine sediments to spread across much of Australia, including the Eromanga Basin. The basin later returned to non-marine sedimentation during the Late Cretaceous with deposition of the Winton Formation, followed by closure due to an east-directed Late Cretaceous compressional event. This rapid deposition of the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation played a crucial role in generating and expelling hydrocarbons from various source intervals. The movement of the Australian continent significantly impacted the basin, causing most tectonic activity to occur on the southern side of a prominent keel near Innamincka in the southern half of the GAB. Additionally, variations in the mechanical properties of the sub-lithospheric mantle affected stress distribution, leading to changes in surface elevation and the expression of discharge from aquifers, potentially influencing the location and pattern of spring sites within the South Australian part of the GAB.

This Murray Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Murray Basin, a significant sedimentary basin in Australia, displays varying sediment thickness across its expanse, with the thickest layers concentrated in its central regions. The basin's geological evolution is characterised by distinct depositional phases. During the Paleocene to Eocene Renmark Group phase, sedimentary deposits encompass fluvial sands at the base, transitioning into paralic carbonaceous clay and lignite layers. These sediments indicate the shift from riverine to shallow marine environments, dating back to the Paleocene and Eocene periods. The Oligocene to Middle Miocene period encompasses the Ettrick Formation and Murray Group Limestone. The former includes marl, and the latter displays glauconitic grey-green marl and bryozoal limestone, revealing prevailing marine conditions during the Oligocene to Middle Miocene. In the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene Bookpurnong Formation, marine shelly dark grey clay and silt, previously known as the Bookpurnong Beds, coexist with Pliocene fluvial to marginal marine quartz sands (Loxton Sands), marking the transition back to terrestrial and nearshore marine settings. During the Late Pliocene to Pleistocene, the Blanchetown Clay, a substantial unit within Lake Bungunnia, signifies lacustrine phases. Overlying ferricretes in the central/eastern basin and the Norwest Bend Formation's oyster coquinas in the western region, the clay exhibits variable coloration and laminations. Lastly, the Pleistocene to Holocene phase witnesses river-induced reworking and erosion of underlying sediments, giving rise to the Shepparton and Coonambidgal formations. In the western Murray Basin, Cenozoic sedimentary rocks are relatively thin, typically measuring under 200-300 meters. The Renmark Trough area presents a maximum thickness of 600 meters.

This Georgina Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Georgina Basin is a large intra-cratonic sedimentary basin in central Australia that has undergone several deformation events throughout its geological history. Its deposition began during the Neoproterozoic due to the breakup and erosion of the Rodinia Supercontinent, resulting in the broader Centralian Superbasin, encompassing the Amadeus, Georgina, Ngalia, Officer, and Savory basins. The basin's initial formation occurred as a north-west trending extensional structure in its southern part, containing thick sequences preserved in structural depo-centres such as the Toko Syncline, Dulcie Syncline, and Burke River Structural Zone. The basin unconformably overlies Proterozoic basement rocks, with its eastern boundary onlapping the Mesoproterozoic Mount Isa Province. The Georgina Basin is connected to the Daly and Wiso basins by early to middle Cambrian seaways in some areas, while in others, they are separated by basement highs like the Tomkinson, Warramunga, and Davenport provinces. The northern Georgina Basin is overlain by Mesozoic rocks of the Carpentaria Basin, and the southern basin is covered by Cenozoic deposits. The stratigraphy and rock types within the Georgina Basin include Neoproterozoic rock units in the southern parts correlated with the Centralian Superbasin, characterized by dolostone, tillite, sandstone, quartzite, siltstone, conglomerate, and shale. The basin's structure has been moderately deformed by folding and faulting, with the most significant deformation in its southern part related to the Ordovician to Carboniferous Alice Springs Orogeny. The basin's development occurred in several stages, including Neoproterozoic rifting and subsidence, tectonic activity during the Petermann Orogeny, Early Cambrian rifting, Middle to late Cambrian foreland loading and deposition, Early Ordovician minor rifting, transpression during the Alice Springs Orogeny, and a final phase of synorogenic siliclastic sedimentation in a foreland basin setting, is limited to southern depo-centres. Overall, the Georgina Basin's complex geological history has resulted in a diverse array of sedimentary rocks and structural features, making it a significant area of interest for geological studies and resource exploration in central Australia.

This Port Phillip-Westernport Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Port Phillip and Westernport basins are small, shallow sedimentary basins located in south-central Victoria, formed during the Late Cretaceous rifting of Australia and Antarctica. They share similar stratigraphy with nearby basins. The Port Phillip Basin is bounded by the Selwyn and Rowsley Faults to the east and west, while the Heath Hill Fault marks the eastern boundary of the Westernport Basin. Both basins have pre-Cenozoic basement rocks comprising folded and faulted Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and granites from the Lachlan Fold Belt. The Port Phillip Basin's stratigraphy includes Maastrichtian to Cenozoic sedimentary units with intercalated volcanic rocks. The main depocentres are the Sorrento Graben, Ballan Graben/Lal Lal Trough, and Parwan Trough. Notable formations are the Yaloak and Werribee formations, with coal-bearing strata and marine sediments. The Westernport Basin has coastal sediments and volcanic deposits from Paleocene to Holocene. It experienced marine transgressions and regressions due to sea-level fluctuations. Fault movements in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene formed a fault-bounded depression centered on the Koo Wee Rup Plain. The main units are the Childers Formation, Older Volcanics, Yallock Formation, Sherwood Marl, and Baxter Sandstone. Both basins have Quaternary sediments, including Pleistocene eolian sand sequences, Holocene alluvial and paludal clays, and fluvial sediments in valleys and palaeovalleys. The Port Phillip Basin contains distinct phases of terrestrial and marine deposition, while the Westernport Basin has Eocene volcanism and marine sediments. These basins are important geological features in the region, with various formations representing millions of years of geological history.