Results from the first pass application of the tomography technique using low accuracy sensors is presented and limitations of the sensors and technique discussed. BUll. Seismol. Soc. AM.

The world's first satellite-derived mineral maps of a continent, namely Australia, are now publicly available as digital, web-accessible products. The value of this spatially comprehensive mineral information is readily being captured by explorers at terrane to prospect scales. However, potentially even greater benefits can ensue for environmental applications, especially for the Earth's extensive drylands which generate nearly 50% of the world's agricultural production but are most at risk to climate change and poor land management. Here we show how these satellite mineral maps can be used to: characterise soil types; define the extent of deserts; fingerprint sources of dust; measure the REDOX of iron minerals as a potential marine input; and monitor the process of desertification. We propose a 'Mineral Desertification Index' that can be applied to all Earth's drylands where the agriculturally productive clay mineral component is being lost by erosion. Mineral information is fundamental to understanding geology and is important for resource applications1. Minerals are also a fundamental component of soils2 as well as dust eroded from the land surface, which can potentially impact on human health3, the marine environment4 and climate5. Importantly, minerals are well exposed in the world's 'drylands', which account for nearly 50% of Earth's land area6. Here, vegetation cover is sparse to non-existent as a result of low rainfall (P) and high evaporation (E) rates (P/E<0.65). However, drylands support 50% of the world's livestock production and almost half of all cultivated systems6. In Australia, drylands cover 85% of the continent and account for 50% of its beef, 80% of its sheep and 93% of its grain production7. Like other parts of the world, Australia is facing serious desertification of its drylands6. Wind, overgrazing and overstocking are major factors in the desertification process8. That is, the agriculturally productive clay-size fraction of soils (often includes organic carbon) is lost largely through wind erosion, which is acerbated by the loss of any vegetative groundcover (typically dry plant materials). Once clay (and carbon) loss begins, then the related break down of the soil structure and loss of its water holding capacity increases the rate of the degeneration process with the final end products being either exposed rock or quartz sands that often concentrate in deserts.

To determine the magnitude of severe wind gust hazard due to thunderstorm downbursts using regional climate model output and analysis of observed data (including radar reflectivity and proximity soundings).

Modelling tropical cyclone Yasi using TCRM

Weather radar data provided by the Bureau of Meteorology for initial investigation into thunderstorm tracking and analysis applications

Here we report on the application of a new CO2 quantification and localization technique, called atmospheric tomography. The results of the study indicate that, through careful data processing, measurements from the comparatively inexpensive but lower accuracy and lower precision CO2 sensor array can provide useful data. Results from the application of the tomography technique will be presented and limitations of the technique discussed. From the 9th International Carbon Dioxide Conference, Beijing, China

There is increasing recognition that minimising methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is a key step in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in the near term. Atmospheric monitoring techniques are likely to play an important future role in measuring the extent of existing emissions and verifying emission reductions. They can be very suitable for monitoring gas fields as they are continuous and integrate emissions from a number of potential point and diffuse sources that may vary in time. Geoscience Australia and CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research have collected three years of continuous methane and carbon dioxide measurements at their atmospheric composition monitoring station ('Arcturus') in the Bowen Basin, Australia. Methane signals in the Bowen Basin are likely to be influenced by cattle production, landfill, coal production, and conventional and coal seam gas (CSG) production. Australian CSG is typically 'dry' and is characterised by a mixed thermogenic-biogenic methane source with an absence of C3-C6+ alkanes. The range of '13C isotopic signatures of the CSG is similar to methane from landfill gas and cattle emissions. The absence of standard in-situ tracers for CSG fugitive emissions suggests that having a comprehensive baseline will be critical for successful measurement of fugitive emissions using atmospheric techniques. In this paper we report on the sensitivity of atmospheric techniques for the detection of fugitive emissions from a simulated new CSG field against a three year baseline signal. Simulation of emissions was performed for a 1-year period using the coupled prognostic meteorological and air pollution model TAPM at different fugitive emission rates (i.e. estimates of <1% to up to 10% of production lost) and distances (i.e. 10 - 50 km) from the station. Emissions from the simulated CSG field are based on well density, production volumes, and field size typical of CSG fields in Australia. The distributions of the perturbed and baseline signals were evaluated and statistically compared to test for the presence of fugitive methane emissions. In addition, a time series model of the methane baseline was developed in order to generate alternative realizations of the baseline signal. These were used to provide measures of both the likelihood of detecting fugitive emissions at various emission levels and of the false alarm rate. Results of the statistical analysis and an indicative minimum fugitive methane emission rate that can be detected using a single monitoring station are presented. Poster presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting, December 2013, San Francisco

A metadata report for the atmospheric monitoring station installed in Arcturus, south of Emerald in central Queensland. The station was installed for baseline atmospheric monitoring to contribute to emission modelling spanning 2010-2014. The station included compositional gas analysers, supporting meteorological sensors and an eddy covariance flux tower. The metadata covered in the report include: the major variables measured by each instrument, the data duration and frequency, data accuracy, calibration and corrections, the location the data is stored, and the primary contact for the data.

The ultimate purpose of carbon capture and storage is to keep CO2 out of the atmosphere. However there are some scenarios in which leakage to atmosphere may occur. Because of the large and variable level of naturallyoccurring CO2 , and rapid dispersion in the atmosphere, leakage to atmosphere can be difficult to detect from concentration measurements. By using prior information from risk assessments about plausible location of leaks, it is possible to design simple yet effective systems for identifying the location of a leak within a pre-defined area of surveillance. We have designed an inexpensive system of autonomous sensors that can locate leaks of CO2 , and have tested it during a controlled release at the CO2CRC Otway site. The system proved effective and it, and its associated workflow, could be adapted and implemented in a variety of storage settings.

In July 2010, Geoscience Australia and CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research jointly commissioned a new atmospheric composition monitoring station, named Arcturus, in sub-tropical Queensland, Australia. The facility is designed as a proto-type remotely operated `baseline monitoring station' that could be deployed in areas that are likely targets for commercial scale geological storage of carbon dioxide. A key question, given the ecosystem and anthropogenic sources of CO2 in the region, and the absence of a 'clean-wind' sector baseline, is how large would a CO2 leak have to be from a geological storage site before it can be detected above the background CO2 signal? To address this, CO2 leak simulation modelling was performed for 1-year period using the coupled prognostic meteorological and air pollution model TAPM at various locations, emission rates and distances (1-10 km) from the station.