This web service provides access to groundwater raster products for the Upper Burdekin region, including: inferred relative groundwater recharge potential derived from weightings assigned to qualitative estimates of relative permeability based on mapped soil type and surface geology; Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) used to map vegetation with potential access to groundwater in the basalt provinces, and; base surfaces of basalt inferred from sparse available data.

Multiple geochronology and isotopic tracer datasets have been compiled at continental scale and visualised in map view. The compiled datasets include Sm-Nd model ages of magmatic rocks; Lu-Hf isotopes from zircon; Pb isotopes from ore-related minerals such as galena and pyrite; U-Pb ages of magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks; and K-Ar and 40Ar-39Ar ages from minerals and whole rocks. A variety of maps can be derived from these datasets, which we refer to as an Isotopic Atlas of Australia. This ‘atlas’ provides a convenient visual overview of age and isotopic patterns reflecting geological processes that have led to the current configuration of the Australian continent, including progressive development of continental crust from the mantle (Sm-Nd; Lu-Hf), chemical and isotopic evolution in the source regions for mineralising fluids (Pb-Pb), magmatic and high-grade metamorphic reworking of the crust (U-Pb), and cooling and exhumation of the mid-crust (K-Ar; 40Ar-39Ar). These datasets and maps unlock the collective value of several decades of geochronological and isotopic studies conducted across Australia, and provide an important complement to other geological maps and geophysical images—in particular, by adding a time dimension to 2D and 3D maps and models. <b>Citation: </b>Fraser, G.L., Waltenberg,K., Jones, S.L., Champion, D.C., Huston, D.L., Lewis, C.J., Bodorkos, S., Forster, M., Vasegh, D., Ware, B. and Tessalina, S., 2020. An Isotopic Atlas of Australia. In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.

The Exploring for the Future Program (EFTF) is a $100.5 million four year, federally funded initiative to better characterise the mineral, energy and groundwater potential of northern Australia. As part of this initiative, this record presents new whole-rock geochemistry data from 967 samples of sedimentary rocks sampled from 26 wells in the South Nicholson region, including the Proterozoic South Nicholson Basin and Lawn Hill Platform, the Neoproterozoic to Devonian Georgina Basin and the Jurassic to Cretaceous Carpenteria Basin. This work complements other components of the EFTF program, including the South Nicholson Basin seismic survey, a comprehensive geochronology program and hydrocarbon prospectivity studies to better understand the geological evolution and basin architecture of the region, and facilitate identification of areas of unrecognised resource potential and prospectivity. The South Nicholson region, straddling north-eastern Northern Territory and north-western Queensland, arguably represents one of the least geologically understood regions of Proterozoic northern Australia. The South Nicholson region is situated between two highly prospective provinces, the greater McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory, the Lawn Hill Platform and the Mount Isa Province in Queensland, both with demonstrated hydrocarbon and base metal potential. These new geochemical data provide baseline understanding of regional resource prospectivity of sedimentary rocks in the South Nicholson region. During 2017 and 2018, 967 drill core and cuttings were sampled from 26 legacy boreholes that intersected the South Nicholson region housed in Northern Territory Geological Survey’s core repository in Darwin, the Geological Survey of Queensland’s core repository in Brisbane and Geoscience Australia’s core repository in Canberra. This data release contains the results of elemental analyses on these samples, which include X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Loss-On-Ignition (LOI), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for all samples, in addition to ron titration (FeO) for selected samples. The data was generated in the Inorganic Geochemistry laboratory at Geoscience Australia between 2017 and 2019 as part of the EFTF program. All data was quality controlled based on Certified Reference Material standards (CRMs) and duplicate samples analysed with each batch of samples.

Geoscience Australia’s annual contribution to the newsletter of the Australasian Palaeontologists - Nomen Nudum

The Exploring for the Future program is an initiative by the Australian Government dedicated to boosting investment in resource exploration in Australia. As part of the Exploring for the Future program, this study aims to improve our understanding of the petroleum resource potential of northern Australia. This data release presents newly derived chemical maturity parameters based on Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) analysis of non-polar (polyaromatic hydrocarbons) and polar (NSO) compounds. As such, it complements optical and bulk chemical techniques. Although, only a single core extract was analysed in this study, the technique offers potential for maturity assessments in high maturity samples outside the range of other traditional chemical maturity estimates and is ideally suited to samples older than the Early Palaeozoic.