The Layered Geology of Australia web map service is a seamless national coverage of Australia’s surface and subsurface geology. Geology concealed under younger cover units are mapped by effectively removing the overlying stratigraphy (Liu et al., 2015). This dataset is a layered product and comprises five chronostratigraphic time slices: Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Neoproterozoic, and Pre-Neoproterozoic. As an example, the Mesozoic time slice (or layer) shows Mesozoic age geology that would be present if all Cenozoic units were removed. The Pre-Neoproterozoic time slice shows what would be visible if all Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic units were removed. The Cenozoic time slice layer for the national dataset was extracted from Raymond et al., 2012. Surface Geology of Australia, 1:1 000 000 scale, 2012 edition. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

This web service delivers metadata for onshore active and passive seismic surveys conducted across the Australian continent by Geoscience Australia and its collaborative partners. For active seismic this metadata includes survey header data, line location and positional information, and the energy source type and parameters used to acquire the seismic line data. For passive seismic this metadata includes information about station name and location, start and end dates, operators and instruments. The metadata are maintained in Geoscience Australia's onshore active seismic and passive seismic database, which is being added to as new surveys are undertaken. Links to datasets, reports and other publications for the seismic surveys are provided in the metadata.

Communities and ecosystems along the Darling River face critical water shortages and water quality issues including high salinity and algal blooms due to a reliance on declining surface water flows, which are impacted by extraction and drought, exacerbated by increases in temperature driven by climate change. The Darling River, characterised by highly variable flows, is the primary water source for the region and our understanding of the spatial extent and character of lower salinity groundwater within the surrounding Darling Alluvium, which could provide an alternative water source, is limited. Scientific understanding of the highly variable groundwater-surface water system dynamics of the Darling River is also an integral part of the evidence base required to manage the water resources of the wider Murray-Darling Basin, which has experienced critical water shortages for domestic and agricultural consumptive use and serious ecological decline due to reduced flows. Other relevant groundwater systems in the study area include aquifers of the underlying Eromanga and Surat Basins in the north, aquifers of the Murray Basin in the south, and fractured rock aquifers of the Darling Basin in the south-central area. Understanding of connectivity between these systems and the groundwater systems within the Darling Alluvium, and surface water of the Darling River, is also limited. Here we present the findings of a desktop analysis combining previous research with new analysis on water level, hydrochemistry, and Airborne Electromagnetic depth sections. This integration suggests that basement geometry and hydrostratigraphy within the Darling Alluvium are key structural controls on surface-groundwater connectivity, and the occurrence of a saline groundwater system within the lower part of the alluvium which impacts the quality of surface water and shallow alluvial groundwater resources. Further data acquisition and integrated analysis are planned to test these relationships as part of the Upper Darling Floodplain project. <b>Citation:</b> Buckerfield S., McPherson A., Tan K. P., Kilgour P. & Buchanan S., 2022. From Upper Darling Floodplain groundwater resource assessment. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/146847

Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth, and groundwater is crucial to supporting many urban and rural communities, economic activities and environmental values. Geoscience Australia, the nation’s trusted advisor on Earth Science, is renewing a deliberate focus on national-scale hydrogeological challenges within the Exploring for the Future program. This will be accomplished by building upon Geoscience Australia’s historic legacy in groundwater studies, including the development of the 1987 national hydrogeological map. Updating the extents, data and scientific understanding of the regions depicted in this map, and bringing it into a version suitable for access and use in the 21st century, will address many limitations of the existing map and its accompanying knowledge base. This compilation of information on Australia’s major hydrogeological regions, including both geospatial analyses of national datasets and high-level summaries of scientific literature, provides for a clear and consistent synthesis of hydrogeological and related contextual information. Supporting the delivery of the National Water Initiative and National Groundwater Strategic Framework, the inventory will benefit multi-sector water users (agriculture, communities, industry and tourism) and the environment. This work will also directly assist prioritisation and decision-making for future investment, and focus groundwater research in the work programs of Geoscience Australia and potentially inform national hydrogeological research more broadly. <b>Citation: </b>Lewis S. J., Lai E. C. S., Flower C. & Lester J. E., 2022. Towards a national information inventory of Australia’s major hydrogeological regions. In: Czarnota, K (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/146974

To unlock the potential of one of the largest underexplored onshore areas in Australia, the Exploring for the Future Officer-Musgrave project is delivering a wide array of publicly available new analyses and data. The collection of new AEM data, as well as the reprocessing of existing industry acquired AEM data is expected to improve the understanding of groundwater systems in the Officer-Musgrave region. New regional scale data acquisition and analysis, including stratigraphic, petrophysical and geomechanical studies from existing wells, focus on advancing understanding of petroleum systems elements and assist the exploration and evaluation of conventional and unconventional petroleum resources. Here we provide an overview of available new datasets and insights into the stratigraphy of the Officer Basin. Further analysis is underway including well log digitisation, fluid inclusion analysis and a petrographic report on Officer Basin wells. This work is expected to further improve geological knowledge and reduce the energy exploration risk of the Officer Basin, a key focus of this program. <b>Citation: </b>Carr L. K., Henson P., Wang L., Bailey A., Fomin T., Boreham C., Edwards D., Southby C., Symington N., Smith M., Halas L. & Jones T, 2022. Exploring for the Future in the Officer Musgrave region. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/146988

Over 900 Australian mineral deposits, location and age data, combined with deposit classifications, have been used to assess temporal and spatial patterns of mineral deposits associated with convergent margins and allow assessment of the potential of poorly exposed or undercover mineral provinces and identification of prospective tracts within known mineral provinces. Here we present results of this analysis for the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane and the Tasman Element, which illustrate end-members of the spectrum of convergent margin metallogenic provinces. Combining our Australian synthesis with global data suggest that after ~3000 Ma these provinces are characterised by a reasonably consistent temporal pattern of deposit formation, termed the convergent margin metallogenic cycle (CMMC): volcanic-hosted massive sulfide – calc-alkalic porphyry copper – komatiite-associated nickel sulfide → orogenic gold → alkalic porphyry copper – granite-related rare metal (Sn, W and Mo) – pegmatite. Between ca 3000 Ma and ca 800 Ma, virtually all provinces are characterised by a single CMMC, but after ca 800 Ma, provinces mostly have multiple CMMCs. We interpret this change in metallogeny to reflect secular changes in tectonic style, with single-CMMC provinces associated with warm, shallow break-off subduction, and multiple-CMMC provinces associated with modern-style cold, deep break-off subduction. These temporal and spatial patterns can be used to infer potential for mineralisation outside well-established metallogenic tracts. <b>Citation:</b> Huston D. L., Doublier M. P., Eglington B., Pehrsson S., Mercier-Langevin P. & Piercey S., 2022. Convergent margin metallogenic cycling in the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane and Tasman Element. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/147037

The Exploring for the Future program Showcase 2022 was held on 8-10 August 2022. Day 1 (8th August) included a talk on: - Exploring for the Future - The value of precompetitive geoscience - Dr Andrew Heap Showcase Day 1 https://youtu.be/M9jC_TyovCc

This animation shows how stratigraphic drilling is conducted. It is part of a series of Field Activity Technique Engagement Animations. The target audience are the communities that are impacted by GA's data acquisition activities. There is no sound or voice over. The 2D animation includes a simplified view of what stratigraphic drilling looks like, what measurements and samples are taken, and how scientists use the data.

<div>Report on expression of interest, assessment and identification process of case studies to be included in the Exploring for the Future Geoscience Knowledge Sharing Project Remote Community Education Module and Building Relationships with Aboriginal Peoples Modules. &nbsp;The Geoscience Knowledge Sharing Project is a pilot study to discover best practices to improve engagement with non-technical stakeholders. </div>

This Record documents the efforts of the Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) and Geoscience Australia (GA) in compiling a geochronology (age) compilation for Victoria, describing both the dataset itself and the process by which it is incorporated into the continental-scale Isotopic Atlas of Australia. The Isotopic Atlas draws together age and isotopic data from across the country and provides visualisations and tools to enable non-experts to extract maximum value from these datasets. Data is added to the Isotopic Atlas in a staged approach with priorities determined by GA- and partner-driven focus regions and research questions. This dataset, which was primarily compiled by GSV and has been supplemented with data compiled by GA during the 2013–2017 Stavely Project, is a foundation for the second phase of the Exploring for the Future initiative over 2020–2024, particularly the Darling-Curnamona-Delamerian Project.