The Pine Creek AEM survey was flown over the Pine Creek Orogen in the Northern Territory during 2008 and 2009 as part of the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Program at Geoscience Australia (GA). The survey provides pre-competitive data for enhancing uranium and other mineral exploration. Flight line spacing was 1666 m and 5000 m covering an area of 74,000 km2 (roughly the size of Tasmania) which hosts several uranium deposits, including the Ranger Uranium Mine, Rum jungle, Ranger and Nabarlek. The region is also prospective for metals including copper, lead, zinc, gold, tin, rare earths, tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum and nickel. The Pine Creek AEM survey comprises three areas: Kombolgie to the east of Kakadu National Park; Woolner Granite near Darwin; and, Rum Jungle to the west of Kakadu National Park. Collaboration with the National Water Commission and eight private infill companies brought an additional investment of approximately $1 m into the survey, with follow-up exploration equal to or exceeding this amount. The Woolner Granite and Rum Jungle survey area data were acquired using the TEMPEST fixed wing AEM system. The acquisition and processing were carried out by Fugro Airborne Surveys Pty. Ltd., under contract to GA. The Woolner Granite and Rum Jungle surveys were flown between August 2008 and May 2009 and the data were publicly released by GA in July and September 2009 respectively. In the Kombolgie survey area, the data were acquired a by Geotech Airborne Pty. Ltd. using the VTEM helicopter AEM system. The survey was flown between August and November of 2008, and additional calibration flights relating to the survey were flown in April 2009. The Kombolgie data were publicly released by GA in December 2009.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Lindsay-Wallpolla study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Group's assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

The Ord Valley Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Interpretation Project (OVAEIP) was a collaborative project between the Ord Irrigation Cooperative (OIC), the Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape, Environments and Mineral Exploration (CRC LEME), Geoscience Australia (GA) and CSIRO, co-funded by both the Australian and Western Australian Governments. The aim was to provide comprehensive spatial information to address specific questions on salinity and groundwater management in the existing Ord Irrigation Area (ORIA) and those earmarked for irrigation expansion. The project included the acquisition of 5936 line km of AEM data using the SKYTEM time domain system, and a Light Ranging and Detection (LiDAR) DEM. This data was used in conjunction with geomorphic mapping, ground and downhole geophysics, drilling information and pre-existing hydrogeological data to produce a suite of derived spatial products including maps of salinity hazard, salt stores, groundwater salinity and lithology. The spatial analysis and interpretation of constrained AEM data and geological mapping have delineated the lithostratigraphy in 3D, including sand and gravel filled palaeochannels, clay and silt distribution, as well as salt stores and groundwater quality. Surface salinity hazard maps were derived using the spatial analysis of LANDSAT-5 TM, AEM, hydrogeological and geomorphic data. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of GIS and geospatial analysis within an integrated approach with products providing a framework for future irrigation development. Outputs include a comprehensive GIS for spatial interrogation and hard-copy atlases for use by stakeholders and local landholders.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Liparoo - Robinvale study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Groups assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

The Broken Hill Managed Aquifer Recharge (BHMAR) project is part of a larger strategic effort aimed at securing Broken Hill's water supply and identifying significant water-saving measures for the Darling River system. Hydrogeological investigations to rapidly identify and assess potential MAR targets and groundwater resources over a large area (>7,500 km2), included acquisition of an airborne electromagnetics (AEM) survey, a 7.5 km drilling program (100 sonic and rotary mud holes), and complementary field and laboratory hydrogeochemical investigations. In this study, AEM mapping validated by drilling has identified significant groundwater resources and potential MAR targets within shallow unconsolidated Pliocene sediments at relatively shallow depths (25-100m). Pliocene sand aquifers comprise the fluvial Calivil Formation, with the shallow marine Loxton-Parilla Sands restricted to the southernmost part of the area. The Calivil Formation is widely distributed, and has high storage capacity and very high transmissivities (up to 50 l/s), with particularly good aquifers developed in palaeochannels at the confluence of palaeo-river systems. The hydraulic properties make the Calivil Formation aquifer potentially suitable for groundwater extraction and/or MAR injection, with excellent recovery efficiencies predicted. The aquifer is sandwiched between variably thick clay aquitards, and can be characterised as varying from a confined to a 'leaky confined' system. Post-depositional warping, tilting and discrete offsets associated with neotoectonics are also recognised. Entry-level risk assessments were carried out for a number of potential MAR targets, with a pre-commissioning semi-quantitative residual risk assessment carried out for a priority site. Assessment of 12 hazard types included hydrogeological modelling, laboratory column clogging studies and geochemical assessment to assess source water treatment requirements.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Lindsay-Wallpolla study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Group's assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

Presently, groundwater, through direct extraction (>30%), and indirectly through replenishing our river systems (>20%), contributes over 50% of Australia's water supplies. Groundwater (and surface water) management in Australia faces intensifying pressures, from population expansion and increasing surface water scarcity in southern Australia posed by extreme drought and future climate change. Recently, and significantly, new additional pressures on groundwater systems have emerged through the rapid expansion of new energy sources (coal seam gas, uranium, geothermal and carbon geo-sequestration) and a rapid expansion of the minerals resource sector (including iron ore). The complexity and conflicts in the nexus between water, new energy, minerals and food and fibre security require innovative approaches in science, management and policy. This is particularly the case in the context of Australia's inherent vulnerability to climate change and the likely emergence of a carbon economy. Quantification of the hydrological cycle and catchment water balances in Australia is limited by a lack of spatial and temporal data. While substantial effort has been put into developing approaches for the mapping and quantification of surface hydrology, resources and processes, significant uncertainty remains in the knowledge of the size of Australian groundwater resources, their locations, rates of recharge, connectivity with surface waters and rates of use or depletion. Recently completed groundwater audits and regional groundwater investigations have made valuable assessments of resources based on limited available data, but have not adequately quantified the large uncertainties in groundwater model predictions and resource assessments, or identified where and what data and knowledge is required to improve these assessments.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Nangiloc - Colignan study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Group's assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

Airborne electromagnetic data (AEM) are used in many and diverse applications such as mineral and energy exploration, groundwater investigations, natural hazard assessment, agriculture, city planning and defence. Unfortunately, many users do not have access to a simple workflow for assessing the quality of the data that they are using. This poster outlines the main quality assurance and quality control (QA-QC) procedures used by Geoscience Australia for our 2008-11 AEM surveys. Minor processing errors can dramatically reduce the quality of the data to the point that interpreters will be unable to use the data, or worse still, will be misled by features or characteristics produced during acquisition and processing. These scenarios not only impact the application at the time of interpretation, but can seriously impact the reputation and perceptions of the AEM industry. Every effort should be made to ensure that maximum fidelity is preserved in the data during acquisition and processing so that the best possible data are available for interpretation. Geoscience Australia is embarking on a project to upgrade the National Airborne Geophysical Database to better manage the data from major AEM surveys. This will better preserve the data and associated documentation to allow users to access and take advantage of the data well into the future. The quality of historical data included in this endeavour will unfortunately be variable and dependent on the QA-QC standards of the time. Geoscience Australia currently holds over 150 000 line kilometres of AEM data funded by the Commonwealth Government, State Governments and industry. Much of this data is available online for download, but is not available via the Geophysical Archive Data Delivery System (GADDS). Geoscience Australia is planning the expansion of GADDS to accommodate AEM data into the future. It is hoped the procedures outlined on the poster will be widely accepted by users, in particular new users, as a set of minimum requirements to help ensure that AEM data will be of a consistent quality and to a higher standard acknowledging it as the valuable resource it is. Key words: Airborne electromagnetic data; National Airborne Geophysical Database; AEM; QA-QC.

During 2008 and 2009, and under the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Initiative, Geoscience Australia acquired airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data over the Pine Creek Orogen of the Northern Territory. The survey area was split into three areas for acquisition. VTEM data was acquired in the Kombolgie area east of Kakadu National Park between August and November 2008. TEMPEST data was acquired west of Kakadu National Park with the area split in two to facilitate the use of two aircraft: the Woolner Granite area in the north (this data set) was acquired between October and December 2008; and the Rum Jungle area adjoining to the south, was acquired between October 2008 and May 2009. The main purpose of the surveys was to provide additional geophysical/geological context for unconformity style uranium mineral systems and thereby promote related exploration. The survey data will also provide information on depth to Proterozoic/Archean basement, which is of general interest to explorers, and will be used as an input into ground water studues in the region.