to follow

The next decade promises an exponential increase in volumes of open data from Earth observing satellites (EOS). The ESA Sentinels, the Japan Meteorological Agency's Himawari 8/9 geostationary satellites, and various NASA missions, to name just a few, will produce petabyte scale datasets of national and global significance. If we are to cope with this deluge of data we must embrace the paradigm shift that is 'big data'. This paradigm shift requires a fundamental change in the way we manage and interact with our data from the traditional 'ad-hoc' and labour intensity methods to the new High Performance Data (HPD) models where data are well organised and co-located with High Performance Computational (HPC) facilities. We are now taking the compute power and algorithms to the data instead of downloading the data to our own computers. To meet this challenge Geoscience Australia (GA) has developed the Australian Geoscience Data Cube (AG-DC), hosted on the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI). The AG-DC is a data management system for large scale multi-dimensional data which will allow efficient spatial and temporal analyses of continental scale geospatial datasets, including those produced by EOS. Initial work on the AG-DC has been focused developing a proof of concept using the 25 year archive of calibrated Landsat data to demonstrate a new way of interacting with large volumes of geoscientific data to derive valuable information in a timely fashion. The AG-DC is now being further developed through a collaboration involving GA, CSIRO and the NCI to fully realise the vision of an integrated and operational HPD infrastructure that will enhance Australia's ability to maximise the value and impact of geoscience data to meet the social, economic and environmental challenges we face both now and into the future.

PLEASE NOTE: These data have been updated. See Related Links for new data. Geodatabase of the Commonwealth Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 - An Act relating to Sovereignty in respect of certain Waters of the Sea and in respect of the Airspace over, and the Sea bed and Subsoil beneath, those Waters and to Sovereign Rights in respect of the Continental Shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone and to certain rights of control in respect of the Contiguous Zone.

PLEASE NOTE: These data have been updated. See Related Links for new data. Geodatabase of the Commonwealth Coastal Waters (State/Territory Powers) Act 1980 - An Act to extend the legislative powers of the States/Northern Territory in and in relation to coastal waters.

The 'Major crustal boundaries of Australia' map synthesizes more than 30 years of acquisition of deep seismic reflection data across Australia, where major crustal-scale breaks have been interpreted in the seismic reflection profiles, often inferred to be relict sutures between different crustal blocks. The widespread coverage of the seismic profiles now provides the opportunity to construct a map of major crustal boundaries across Australia. Starting with the locations of the crustal breaks identified in the seismic profiles, geological (e.g. outcrop mapping, drill hole, geochronology, isotope) and geophysical (e.g. gravity, aeromagnetic, magnetotelluric) data are used to map the crustal boundaries, in map view, away from the seismic profiles. For some of these boundaries, a high level of confidence can be placed on the location, whereas the location of other boundaries can only be considered to have medium or low confidence. In other areas, especially in regions covered by thick sedimentary successions, the locations of some crustal boundaries are essentially unconstrained. The 'Major crustal boundaries of Australia' map shows the locations of inferred ancient plate boundaries, and will provide constraints on the three dimensional architecture of Australia. It allows a better understanding of how the Australian continent was constructed from the Mesoarchean through to the Phanerozoic, and how this evolution and these boundaries have controlled metallogenesis. It is best viewed as a dynamic dataset, which will have to be further refined and updated as new information such as seismic reflection data becomes available.

2014 Open Day Promotional Material

Due to licence restrictions on the National Electricity Transmission Substations dataset, the metadata statement is the only information available for release. For further information contact clientservices@ga.gov.au The dataset held by GA contains the spatial locations for Electricity Transmission Substations in Australia in point format as a representation of the substation features.

Due to licence restrictions on the National Electricity Transmission Lines dataset, the metadata statement is the only information available for release. For further information contact clientservices@ga.gov.au This dataset contains the high voltage electricity transmission lines that make up the electricity transmission network in Australia .

Abstract for the 2014 Australian Population Association Conference, 3-5 December, Hobart

Data interoperability is extremely important for Geoscience Australia. GA's ability to produce data in a useable format for stakeholders and the public is key to maximising the uptake and appropriate use of our data. One of the easiest and quickest ways for GA to make data available in a way that can be accessed regardless of the client's software is through the use of web services, in particular OGC web services. GA is involved in two major projects that are working on getting data out to stakeholders and the public. Spatial data interoperability is particularly important to community safety; when responding to emergencies it is vital for information to reach those who need it quickly, and in a format that can be used. Geoscience Australia is involved in developing the National Situational Awareness Tool project that aims to integrate State, Territory and Commonwealth emergency management information into one National Common Operating Procedure. The primary focus of the project is to make web services available from jurisdictions and Commonwealth agencies that can help decision makers during times of crisis. GA in collaboration with the Department of Communications and NICTA is working on The National Map, an open source web application that will allow public and government users to have intuitive access through a map interface to all of Australia's open geospatial data. The National Map architecture is based on open protocols and formats to allow straight-forward incorporation of data services from many existing systems and initiatives, particularly those existing GIS systems managed by government agencies that publish their web services through data.gov.au.