Williams et al. (2009) report on new multibeam sonar bathymetry and underwater video data collected from submarine canyons and seamounts on Australia's southeast continental margin to 'investigate the degree to which geomorphic features act as surrogates for benthic megafaunal biodiversity' (p. 214). The authors describe what they view as deficiencies in the design of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the southeast region of Australia, in which geomorphology information was employed as a surrogate to infer regional-scale patterns of benthic biodiversity. This comment is designed to support and underscore the importance of evaluating MPA designs and the validity of using abiotic surrogates such as geomorphology to infer biodiversity patterns, and seeks to clarify some of the discrepancies in geomorphic terminologies and approaches used between the original study and the Williams et al. (2009) evaluation. It is our opinion that the MPA design criteria used by the Australian Government are incorrectly reported by Williams et al. (2009). In particular, we emphasise the necessity for consistent terminology and approaches when undertaking comparative analyses of geomorphic features. We show that the MPA selection criteria used by the Australian Government addressed the issues of false homogeneity described by Williams et al. (2009), but that final placement of MPAs was based on additional stakeholder considerations. Finally, we argue that although the Williams et al. (2009) study provides valuable information on biological distributions within seamounts and canyons, the hypothesis that geomorphic features (particularly seamounts and submarine canyons) are surrogates for benthic biodiversity is not tested explicitly by their study.

AAM Hatch was engaged by Geoscience Australia to undertake a LiDAR survey over the BHMAR Phase 2 prject area, for the purpose of producing a DTM and vegetation structure analysis. The survey covers an area of approximately 7856 sqkm of the Lower Darling River, downstream from Wilcannia. LiDAR was acquired from a fixed wing aircraft between 19 June 2009 and 5 August 2009 with a vertical accuracy of 0.15m and horizontal accuracy of 0.25m in coordinated system GDA 94, MGA Zone 54 and vertical datum of AHD. File formats included las format and 1m DTM ESRI Grids in ArcGIS binary grid format. Producing a DTM and vegetation structure analysis for the BHMAR Phase 2 Project area for groundwater monitoring.

22-1/I54-4/3

Legacy product - no abstract available

22-3/I55-4/3-4/1

<p><b>Please note: </b>This topographic map is not available from Geoscience Australia.<p>For availability, refer to NSW Government mapping agency.

22-1/H54-8/13 Vertical scale: 100

non standard coverage - covers half of the survey area 22-2/H56-13/2-15 Contour interval: 50

We report four lessons from experience gained in applying the multiple-mode spatially-averaged coherency method (MMSPAC) at 25 sites in Newcastle (NSW) for the purpose of establishing shear-wave velocity profiles as part of an earthquake hazard study. The MMSPAC technique is logistically viable for use in urban and suburban areas, both on grass sports fields and parks, and on footpaths and roads. A set of seven earthquake-type recording systems and team of three personnel is sufficient to survey three sites per day. The uncertainties of local noise sources from adjacent road traffic or from service pipes contribute to loss of low-frequency SPAC data in a way which is difficult to predict in survey design. Coherencies between individual pairs of sensors should be studied as a quality-control measure with a view to excluding noise-affected sensors prior to interpretation; useful data can still be obtained at a site where one sensor is excluded. The combined use of both SPAC data and HVSR data in inversion and interpretation is a requirement in order to make effective use of low frequency data (typically 0.5 to 2 Hz at these sites) and thus resolve shear-wave velocities in basement rock below 20 to 50 m of soft transported sediments.

all 1 : 25 000 sheets are 15 minutes x 7.5 minutes for the NSW standard 22-4/H54-15/1-5/3-III-N Contour interval: 5