This dataset contains bathymetry (depth) products from the compilation of all available source bathymetry data within Northern Australia into a 30 m-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The Northern Australia region includes a broad continental shelf over 400 km wide extending out from Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and stretching over a distance of ~1500 km. This region encompasses numerous shallow coral reefs including the offshore Sahul Banks, sand cays, drowned ancient river valleys, broad inner-shelf banks and a rugged coastline. Bathymetry mapping of the seafloor is vital for the protection of Northern Australia, allowing for the safe navigation of shipping and improved environmental management. Shallow- and deep-water multibeam surveys have revealed the highly complex seafloor of the continental shelf and adjacent slope canyons draining into the Indian Ocean and Timor Sea. Airborne LiDAR bathymetry acquired by the Australian Hydrographic Office cover most of the Sahul Banks reefs, with some coverage gaps supplemented by satellite derived bathymetry. The Geoscience Australia-developed Intertidal Elevation Model DEM improves the source data gap along Northern Australia’s vast intertidal zone. All source bathymetry data were extensively edited as point clouds to remove noise, given a consistent WGS84 horizontal datum, and where possible, an approximate MSL vertical datum.

This dataset contains bathymetry products from the Lord Howe Rise 2D Seismic Survey undertaken by Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) during the period from8 of November 2017 to1stJanuary 2018 onboard the RV Kairei (Survey KR1715C). The Lord Howe Rise (LHR) is a submerged plateau that extends from southwest New Caledonia to the west of New Zealand. Much of the LHR lies within the Australian marine jurisdiction at water depths of 1000-3000m. The Commonwealth conducted a scientific seismic survey over the Lord Howe Rise in 2017 in collaboration with JAMSTEC. This collaboration contributes to a larger research proposal submitted to the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) that would provide the first deep stratigraphic record for the Cretaceous Eastern Gondwana Margin. The IODP proposal, if funded, is to drill a deep stratigraphic well to a depth of 2-3 km below the seabed, possibly in 2020. In order to select the drill sites, GA and JAMSTEC are conducting site assessments that involve a seismic survey in 2016 and a geotechnical survey in 2017. Multibeam bathymetry data were acquired during the survey covering an area of 69,190 km2. Five bathymetry grids of 70 to 90m resolution were produced using the shipborne 12 KHz sonar system.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

This report describes the instrumentation and activities, and presents the annual mean magnetic values, plots of hourly mean magnetic values and K indices, at the magnetic observatories and repeat stations operated by Geoscience Australia during the 2012 calendar year.

Tropical cyclone scenario prepared for Tonga National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) as part of the PacSAFE Project (2016-2018)

Since soon after the federation of Australia in 1901 Geoscience Australia, and its predecessors organisations, have gathered a significant collection of microscope slide based items (including: thin sections of rock, micro and nano fossils) from across Australia, Antarctica, Papua New Guinea, the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The samples from which the microscope slides were produced have been gathered via extensive geological mapping programs, work conducted for major Commonwealth building initiatives such as the Snowy Mountain Scheme and science expeditions. The cost of recreating this collection, if at all possible, would be measured in the $100Ms (AUS) even assuming that it was still possible to source the relevant samples. While access to these microscope slides is open to industry, educational institutions and the public it has not been easy to locate specific slides due to the management system. The management of this collection was based largely on an aged card catalogue and ledger system. The fragmented nature of the management system with the increasing potential for the deterioration of physical media and the loss of access to even some of the original contributors meant that rescue work was (and still is) needed urgently. Achieving progress on making the microscope slides discoverable and accessible in the current fiscally constrained environment dictated a departure from what might be considered a traditional approach to the project and saw the extensive use of a citizen science approach. Through the use of a citizen science approach the proof of concept project has seen the transcription of some 35,000 sample metadata and data records (2.5 times our current electronic holdings) from a variety of hardcopy sources by a diverse group of volunteers. The availability of this data has allowed for the electronic discovery of both the microscope slides and their parent samples, and will hopefully lead to a greater utilisation of this valuable resource and enable new geoscientific insights from old resources.

Prior to the advent of satellite imagery in the 1970s, extensive use was made of aerial photography to systematically image and capture land information. As part of national mapping and survey campaigns run by its predecessors, Geoscience Australia (GA) is custodian of some 1.2 million aerial photos dating back to 1928. Through these campaigns every part of Australia and its external territories was imaged at some point and often repeatedly over the last 90 years, forming a unique and invaluable historical collection. Most importantly, they enable us to extend the record of surface land changes back an additional 50 years or more. GA is progressively moving this collection from analogue to a modern digital data management framework. Discoverability and access to data are essential to realising the full potential of the collection, and associated flight line diagrams are critical in connecting physical and digitised material in the collection to an accurate location consistent with modern datums. The focus of digitisation has been on scanning film and storing individual frames as photo images. Both flight line diagrams are also being digitised and georeferenced, and information on the film is transcribed into a structured database, which will drive a future catalogue for open online access. Only a subset of the aerial photos have been digitised, based on preservation concerns and specific use-cases. GA also is prototyping a new processing workflow to value-add to the digitised collection by creating products that are readily consumable into geographic information systems and as web services. This work may lead to further investment in digitisation by demonstrating broader utility and continuing collaboration with other stakeholders such as the National Archives of Australia. This will be needed to complete the modernisation vision, As with other historic data remediation, surprising finds have been unearthed, gaps in supporting information identified, and an untapped but largely recognised desire for the data. GA is investigating possible applications of citizen science to aid in the modernisation of this collection. This presentation will look at the process undertaken, the type of data available, and will outline some examples of the data, and future use. <b>ePoster is no longer available for access</b>

Australia has one of the world’s largest marine estates and has recently established the largest network of marine protected areas in the world. As such, Australia is now uniquely placed to develop standardised national approaches to monitor the marine environment. We have therefore developed a suite of field manuals for the acquisition of marine data from a variety of frequently-used sampling platforms so that data is directly comparable in time and through space. This will then facilitate a national monitoring program in Australian waters, with a particular focus on Australian Marine Parks (AMPs). Due to the large geographic area, diverse flora and fauna, and range of environmental conditions represented by the Australian marine estate, a single method of sampling is neither practical nor desirable. For this reason, we present a standard operating procedure (SOP) for each of six key marine benthic (i.e. seafloor) sampling platforms that were identified based on their frequency of use in previous sampling and monitoring programs: • Multibeam sonar (MBES) provides bathymetry and backscatter data that are used to map the seafloor. • Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) acquire high-resolution continuous imagery of the seafloor and its associated habitats and organisms. • Benthic Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems acquire video of demersal fish attracted to a baited camera system dropped to the seafloor. • Pelagic BRUVs acquire video of pelagic fish and other fauna that are attracted to a baited camera system suspended in the water column. This platform is included as an emergent sampling method for pelagic ecosystems. • Towed cameras acquire video or still imagery of the seafloor and its associated habitats and organisms. • Grabs and box corers collect sediment samples that can be analysed for biological, geochemical, or sedimentological variables. • Sleds and trawls collect benthic or demersal fauna near the seafloor. The main challenge in the development of these manuals was to find a balance between being overly prescriptive (such that everyone follows their existing protocols and ignores the manuals) and overly flexible (such that data is not consistent and therefore not comparable). A collaborative approach was paramount to addressing this concern. Ultimately, over 60 individuals from 28 organisations contributed to the field manual package. By engaging researchers, managers, and technicians from multiple agencies with a variety of experience, sea time, and subject matter expertise, we strove to ensure the field manuals represented the broader marine science community of Australia. This not only improved the content but also increased the potential for adoption across multiple agencies and monitoring programs. Future work is based on the understanding that SOPs should be periodically checked and revised, lest they become superseded or obsolete. Resources are available to develop a Version 2 of this field manual package, due for completion in late 2018. As part of this version, a long-term plan for managing the field manuals will be developed, including maintenance and version control.

The Australian Resource Reviews are periodic national assessments of individual mineral commodities. The reviews include evaluations of short-term and long-term trends for each mineral resource, world rankings, production data, significant exploration results and an overview of mining industry developments.

This OGC Catalogue Service for the Web (CSW) provides access to Geoscience Australia's official catalogue of geoscientific and geospatial resources. The Geoscience Australia Product Catalogue contains metadata conforming to the ISO 19115-1 Geographic Information metadata standard, describing resource types including datasets, publications, services, models, software and more. The CSW provides a standards based interface for machines to search and retrieve metadata in the catalogue.