This dataset contains species identifications of macro-benthic worms collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a benthic sled or a Smith-McIntyre grab. Specimens were lodged at Northern Territory Museum on the 24 September 2009. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Chris Glasby at the Northern Territory Museum and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 26 October 2009 See GA Record 2010/09 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. Data is presented here exactly as delivered by the taxonomist, and Geoscience Australia is unable to verify the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications.

The overarching theme of this book (and for the GeoHab organisation in general) is that mapping seafloor geomorphic features is useful for understanding benthic habitats. Many of the case studies in this volume demonstrate that geomorphic feature type is a powerful surrogate for associated benthic communities. Here we provide a brief overview of the major geomorphic features that are described in the detailed case studies (which follow in Part II of this book). Starting from the coast we will consider sandy temperate coasts, rocky temperate coasts, estuaries and fjords, barrier islands and glaciated coasts. Moving offshore onto the continental shelf we will consider sandbanks, sandwaves, rocky ridges, shallow banks, coral reefs, shelf valleys and other shelf habitats. Finally, on the continental slope and deep ocean environments we will review the general geomorphology and associated habitats of escarpments, submarine canyons, seamounts, plateaus and deep sea vent communities.

This dataset contains species identifications of molluscs collected during survey SOL4934 (R.V. Solander, 27 August - 24 September, 2009). Animals were collected from the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf with a benthic sled. Specimens were lodged at Northern Territory Museum on the 8 February 2010. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Richard Willan at the Northern Territory Museum and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 15 March 2010. See GA Record 2010/09 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. Data is presented here exactly as delivered by the taxonomist, and Geoscience Australia is unable to verify the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications.<p><p>This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Fisheries groups worldwide are concerned that seismic operations negatively affect catch rates within a given area, although there is a lack of field-based scientific evidence. In southeast Australia, marine seismic surveys have been blamed for mass mortalities of benthic invertebrates including the commercial scallop Pecten fumatus. Geoscience Australia conducted a 2-D seismic survey in this region in April 2015, thereby presenting an opportunity to conduct field-based experiments investigating the potential impacts on marine organisms. Moored hydrophones recorded noise before and during the seismic survey. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of seafloor images to support scallop monitoring. In addition, more traditional sampling was undertaken using a commercial scallop dredge from which a variety of biological and biochemical variables were analysed. The AUVs and dredge were deployed at three time periods (before the seismic survey, 2 months after seismic operations ceased, 10 months after seismic operations ceased), although poor-quality AUV images acquired before the survey precluded the analysis of these data. The highest sound exposure level recorded by the hydrophones was 146 dB re 1 µPa2s at 51 m water depth, at a distance of 1.4 km from the airguns. Commercial scallops were not abundant in the study area, and analysis of AUV images revealed no differences in commercial scallop types (live, clapper, dead shell, other) between experimental and control zones. Similarly, analysis of dredged scallops shows no detectable impact due to seismic activity on shell size, meat size and condition, gonad size and condition, and biochemical indices. Both AUV and dredging data showed strong spatial patterns, with significant differences between sites. Our study confirms previous work showing no evidence of immediate mortality on scallops in the field, and it expands this to include no evidence of long-term or sub-lethal effects. Negative impacts are currently confined to laboratory settings with unrealistic sound exposures. If short-term effects are investigated, we recommend a focus on the underlying mechanisms of potential impacts (i.e. physiological responses), rather than gross metrics such as mortality or size. Physiological responses to airgun sound may not be as immediately obvious as mortality or behavioural responses, but they are equally important to provide early indications of negative effects, as well as to explain the underlying mechanisms behind mortality events and reduced catch.

The upper Swan River estuary located in the eastern suburban area of Perth in Western Australia experiences periods of poor water quality in the form high nutrient levels, anoxic bottom water conditions and occasional nuisance algae blooms. It has long been suspected that oxygen uptake and nutrient release from estuarine sediments are major drivers for these poor water quality conditions. Geoscience Australia in conjunction with the Department of Water in Western Australia investigated water quality in the upper Swan River estuary through water and sediment quality studies in October 2006, September 2007 and May 2008. The objectives of these studies were (1) to characterise the distribution of sediments, in particular to identify areas of high nutrient release, (2) to better understand conditions leading to high oxygen consumption and nutrient release, and (3) to determine the influence of the bottom water oxygen status on nutrient release from sediments.

From 1995 to 2000 information from the federal and state governments was compiled for Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRA), which formed the basis for Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) that identified areas for conservation to meet targets agreed by the Commonwealth Government with the United Nations. These 5 CDs were created as part of GA's contribution to the NE Victoria CRA. CD1 contains ArcView Legends and Projects, data coverages, shapefiles, final Exec. Summary and Minerals Technical Reports, and final figures and maps. CD2 contains final reports, metadata, model descriptions, and all associated maps and figures. CD3 contains Landsat, Magnetic and Radiometric images, AcrInfo grids, and unused ArcInfo AMLs and Graphic files that were intended for map creation. CD4 contains original data supplied by custodians, staff versions of data and projects, and various edited versions of covers and shapefiles. CD5 contains integration data used during Directions report analysis.

From 1995 to 2000 information from the federal and state governments was compiled for Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRA), which formed the basis for Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) that identified areas for conservation to meet targets agreed by the Commonwealth Government with the United Nations. These 3 CDs were created as part of GA's contribution to the Tasmania CRA. CD1 contains final versions of all data coverages and shapefiles used in the project, and final versions of documents provided for publishing. CD2 contains Published Graphics files in ArcInfo (.gra), postscript (.ps) and Web ready (.gif) formats. CD3 contains all Geophysical Images and Landsat data.

The Australian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) contains1.6 million km2 of submarine plateaus, equal to about 13.8% of the world's known inventory of these features. This disproportionate occurrence of plateaus presents Australia with an increased global responsibility to understand and protect the benthic habitats and associated ecosystems. This special volume presents the results of two major marine surveys carried out on the Lord Howe Rise plateau during 2003 and 2007, during which benthic biological and geological samples, underwater photographs, video and multibean sonar bathymetry data were collected. The benthic habitats present on Lord Howe Rise include hard/rocky substrates covering a small area of volcanic peaks (around 31 km2) and parts of other larger seamounts (eg. the Lord Howe Island seamount) which support rich and abundant epifaunal assemblages dominated by suspension feeding invertebrates. These habitats appear to qualify as ecologically and biologically significant areas under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) scientific selection criterion 1 (uniqueness or rarity), 4 (vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity or slow recovery) and 7 (naturalness). The collection of papers included in this special volume represents a major advance in knowledge about benthic habitats of the Lord Howe Rise, but also about the ecology of plateaus in general.

This dataset contains species identifications of macro-benthic worms collected during survey GA2476 (R.V. Solander, 12 August - 15 September 2008). Animals were collected from the Western Australian Margin with a BODO sediment grab or rock dredge. Specimens were lodged at Museum of Victoria on the 10 March 2009. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Robin Wilson at the Museum of Victoria and were delivered to Geoscience Australia on the 7 May 2009. See GA Record 2009/02 for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. Data is presented here exactly as delivered by the taxonomist, and Geoscience Australia is unable to verify the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications.

From 1995 to 2000 information from the federal and state governments was compiled for Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRA), which formed the basis for Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) that identified areas for conservation to meet targets agreed by the Commonwealth Government with the United Nations. These 5 CDs were created as part of GA's contribution to the SE Queensland CRA. CD1 contains ArcView Legends and Projects, data coverages, shapefiles, all documents and reports and associated maps and figures. CD2 contains various edited versions of covers and shapefiles, original data supplied by custodians, and staff workareas. CD3 contains Landsat, Magnetics etc. images. CD4 contains DEM etc. CD5 contains integration data, miscellaneous ArcInfo grids, and ArcInfo graphic files.