In Australia the national network of GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) provide the fundamental framework for all spatial activities and the linkage to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). Importantly, this national network also contributes data and products to the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) for use in a variety of science applications. The Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) was based on observations (1992 - 1994) from a sparse network of CORS called the Australian Fiducial Network. The resultant coordinate datum was estimated to have an uncertainty of 3cm horizontally and 5cm vertically at the AFN stations. Since that time the demand for higher accuracies has resulted in GDA94 no longer adequately serving user demand. The ITRF has continued to evolve in accuracy and distribution to the extent that it now allows very accurate measurement of linear and non-linear crustal deformation. Even the Australian Plate, which for GDA94's implementation was considered rigid, is now known to be deforming at levels detectable by modern geodesy. Consequently, national infrastructure development programs, such as AuScope, have been implemented to ensure that crustal deformation can be better measured. The AuScope program also aims to improve the accuracy of the ITRF by contributing to the next generation of the GGOS in our region. This approach will ensure that the ITRF continues to evolve and that Australia's National datum is integrally connected to it with equivalent accuracies. This paper reviews the status of National CORS networks and their contribution to GGOS and its impact on positioning in Australia.

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No abstract available

Australia's mineral resources are an important component of its wealth, and a long term perspective of what is likely to be available for mining is a prerequisite for formulating sound policies on resources and land-access. The national resource stocks are quantified in the annual online publication: Australia's Identified Mineral Resources: http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/aimr/index.jsp. This provides Geoscience Australia's assessments using its national mineral resource classification system, which is based on the McKelvey resource classification system used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It defines known mineral resources according to two parameters: degree of geological assurance and degree of economic feasibility of exploitation. Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange are required to report publicly on Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources under their control, using the Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code (JORC; see http://www.jorc.org/). This system is compatible with the national system. Data reported for individual deposits by mining companies generally provide a short term commercial perspective. They are compiled in Geoscience Australia's national mineral resources database and used in the preparation of the annual national assessments of Australia's mineral resources. This involves aggregating JORC categories from company reports into larger categories in the national system.

Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), Rock-Eval pyrolysis and total organic carbon (TOC) analyses were carried out on 165 organic-rich Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock samples from nine wells in the Browse Basin (Adele-1, Argus-1, Brecknock South-1, Brewster-1A, Carbine-1, Crux-1, Dinichthys-1, Gorgonichthys-1 and Titanichthys-1). Cutting samples and some sidewall cores have been used. Out of the total 165 samples, 47 samples (22 for Brewster-1A and 25 for Dinichthys-1) were also analysed using the Ultra-small Angle Neutron Scattering (USANS) technique. The focus of the study was to identify potential Lower Cretaceous source rocks and the depth at which the onset of hydrocarbon generation occurred in each well, and to determine the onset of hydrocarbon expulsion in the wells for which USANS data were available.

This data package is an archive of geospatially located and other digital data covering the southern Arunta region, a portion of the North Australia Project undertaken to understand elements within the North Australia Craton and its boundaries. It includes digital geospatical feature data and /or images for a number of 1:250 000 and 1:100 000 geological maps, mineral locations, geophysical images, company drill hole and rock chip data, geochemistry, and regional themes. It also includes publications and geospatial data relating to the mafic-ultramafic study module in the southern Arunta.

includes AGSO Record 1997/60

Geological regions with abnormally high endowment in metals appear to have resulted from the fortunate juxtaposition in space and time of numerous, possibly exceptional, processes. The gold mineral system of the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane (EGST) is an example. In order to understand why this is so, we have taken an approach that considers the mineral system as a series of integrated components known as the Five Questions: viz 1) geodynamics; 2) architecture; 3) sources & reservoirs; 4) drivers & pathways; and, 5) depositional mechanisms. In order to better understand these components and the geological processes that define them, a range of scales needs to be considered. However at each scale the relative benefits of considering any one of the five components varies. Ultimately the aim is to use this scale-integrated process-based understanding for prediction. Understanding why a region is particularly endowed or a deposit so rich is important but only half the question. The other half is where is the next favourable region and/or camp and deposit? In this regard, we 'Answer' the Five Questions.

This record represents a summary of the specifications of most surveys held in the National Airborne Geophysic Database (updated from 2001 when the fifth edition of this record was released).

Earth comprises systems of enormous complexity that sustain all life and control the distribution of our mineral, energy and water resources. Increasingly earth scientists are now moving away from focusing on single domain research on understanding isolated parts of these intricate systems to adopting multidisciplinary, computationally intensive integrated methodologies to model and simulate the real world complexities of earth systems science. Simultaneously developments in information technology are increasing the capacity of computational systems to credibly simulate complex systems. Real world Solid Earth and Environmental Science data sets are extremely heterogenous, complex and large, and are currently in the order of terabytes (1012 bytes). However, the size and complexity of geoscience data sets are also exponentially increasing, as more powerful modern computing systems combine with enhanced engineering capacity to design and build automated instruments to collect more data and new data types. We are rapidly moving into an era when Earth Scientists will need to have the capacity to analyse petabyte (1015 bytes) databases if they are to realistically model and simulate complex earth processes. Although digital geoscientific data sets are becoming increasingly available over the Internet, current Internet technologies only allow for the downloading of data (if the connection is fast enough): integration, processing and analysis then has to take place locally. As data sets get larger and more complex, then large computational resources are required to effectively process these data. Such resources are increasingly only available to the major industry players, which in turn creates a strong bias against the Small to Middle Enterprises, as well as many University researchers. For those that do not have access to large-scale computing resources, analysis of these voluminous data sets has to be compromised by dividing the data set into smaller units, accepting sub-optimal solutions and/or introducing sub-optimal approximations. It is clear that if we are to begin grappling with accurate analysis of large-scale geoscientific data sets to enable sustainable management of our mineral, energy and water resources, then current computational infrastructures are no longer viable.