New display for the foyer for Open Day 2015. Highlights 9 mineral specimens from Broken Hill and includes background on the Broken Hill mines.

Fun facts about Antarctica in an Open Day display poster.

(A0 Poster) Title: "Expanding the horizons and capacity of gravity and magnetic modelling tools ". Overview: The subsurface of the Earth is a complex system, one that we are yet to fully understand. It is impossible to automate the process of mapping and modelling, and the input of user experience and knowledge ("prior knowledge") is required to produce meaningful and useful outputs. By taking advantage of advances in computer technology and the application of numerical methods for modeling complex environments, we can do much to improve upon past results.

The recently released ISC-GEM catalogue was a joint product of the International Seismological Center (ISC) and the Global Earthquake Model (GEM). In a major undertaking it collated, from a very wide range of sources, the surface and body wave amplitude-period pairs from the pre digital era; digital MS, mb and Mw; collated Mw values for 970 earthquakes not included in the Global CMT catalogue; used these values to determine new non-linear regression relationship between MS and Mw and mb and Mw. They also collated arrival picks, from a very wide range of sources, and used these to recompute the location, initially using the EHB location algorithm then revised using the ISC location algorithm (which primarily refined the depth). The resulting catalogues consists of 18871 events that have been relocated and assigned a direct or indirect estimate of Mw. Its completeness periods are, Ms - 7.5 since 1900, Ms - 6.25 1918 and Ms - 5.5 1960. This catalogue assigns, for the first time, an Mw estimate for several Australian earthquakes. For example the 1968 Meckering earthquake the original ML, mb and MS were 6.9, 6.1 and 6.8, with empirical estimates of Mw being 6.7 or 6.8. The ISC-GEM catalogue assigns an Mw of 6.5. We will present a poster of the Australian events in this ISC_GEM catalogue showing, where available, the original ML, mb, Ms, the recalculated mb and Ms, and the assigned Mw. We will discuss the implications of this work for significant Australian earthquakes.

To follow

To follow

Homogeneity Tests for a Rotary Sample Divider Two rock types, a coarse-grained granite and a finer-grained volcanic rock, were used to test a Rotary Sample Divider attached to a Rocklabs Boyd Crusher for homogeneity. Approximately 3kg of each rock type were broken down by a jaw crusher, and then processed through a Boyd Crusher with splits taken using the attached rotary sample divider. The formula 10/(100-(10*n))-where n=the number of the split-was used to process the entire sample, i.e., 10% of the first split was taken and remainder returned to the Boyd crusher; 11% of the second split taken and remainder returned to the crusher; 12.5% of the 3rd one taken and remainder returned to the Boyd crusher etc., until all the sample was used and there were 10 roughly equal splits. Each split was halved and each half pulverised for 3 minutes in a Tungsten Carbide ring mill for 3 minutes. Pressed powder pellets and Lithium Borate glasses were made and analysed using a PW2404 XRF spectrometer. Results of major and trace element analysis shows that there is no apparent bias between either individual splits or from the first split to the last split, indicating homogeneity was achieved using the rotary sample divider.

Four posters describing work being undertaken in Antarctica: VULNERABLE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS IN ANTARCTICA SEABED MAPPING IN ANTARCTICA DEFINING ABSOLUTE GRAVITY AN ANTARCTIC GEODESY

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) provides 24/7 monitoring of earthquake and tsunami hazards affecting Australia and the Indian Ocean. The JATWC comprises Geoscience Australia, who undertake earthquake monitoring in Canberra, and the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne, who issue tsunami bulletins and monitor the sea level. Earthquakes are monitored at Geoscience Australia in real-time via a total network of over 260 seismic stations from both the Australian National Seismic Network (ANSN); and a collection of global stations, collaborating with other earthquake monitoring groups and organisations locally and internationally. This enables the quick detection and response to local, regional and global earthquakes, and assessment of its potential to generate a tsunami. If an earthquake is deemed to be tsunamigenic, earthquake information is used by the JATWC to deliver a tsunami warning based on the magnitude, depth and location of the earthquake combined with tsunami models. These warnings are supplemented with sea level information to validate the tsunami warning. Geoscience Australia also provides earthquake information and advice about Australian earthquakes and large international earthquakes to the Australian Government and general public. This is valuable for building safer communities in a world where the impacts of natural disasters can be far-reaching.

Exhibition/Conference display consisting of 3 new panels (will also be used at Open Day). Panels content includes: water observations from space image and introductory text to this mapping.capability.