The Australian Government policy is to ensure that uranium mining, milling and rehabilitation is based on world best practice standards. A best practice guide for in situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining has been developed to communicate the Australian Government's expectations with a view to achieving greater certainty that ISR mining projects meet Australian Government policy and consistency in the assessment of ISR mine proposals within multiple government regulatory processes. The guide focuses on the main perceived risks; impacts on groundwaters, disposal of mining residues, and radiation protection. World best practice does not amount to a universal template for ISR mining because the characteristics of individual ore bodies determine the best practice

No abstract available

Submitted to editor on April 7, 2000

One page article discussing aspects of Australian stratigraphy; this article discusses practical Australian solutions to igneous nomenclature and the indexing of relevant Antarctic units

Less than one year after the spectacular calving of the Mertz Glacier tongue, scientists were collecting the first ever images of the seafloor where the glacier tongue once sat.

One page article discussing aspects of Australian stratigraphy; this article discusses new unit definitions, ne regional publications and changes to the membership of the Australian Stratigraphy Commission.

Remotely sensed imagery has been used extensively in geomorphology since the availability of early Landsat data. Since that time, there has been a steady increase in the range of sensors offering data with increased spatial and spectral resolutions, from both government and commercial satellites. This has been augmented with an increase in the amount and range of airborne surveys carried out. Since 2000, digital elevation models have become widely available through the application of interferometric synthetic aperture radar, photogrammetry and laser altimetry (specifically LiDAR) with extensive uptake by geomorphologists. In addition, hyperspectral imaging, radiometrics and electromagentics have been made more accessible, whilst there has been increased use of close-range (<200 m) imaging techniques for very high resolution imaging. This paper reviews the primary sources for DEMs from satellite and airborne platforms, as well as briefly reviewing more traditional multi-spectral scanners, and radiometric and electromagnetic systems. Examples of the applications of these techniques are summarised and presented within the context of landscape pattern recognition and modelling. Finally, the wider issues of access to geographic information and data distribution are discussed.

The Risk Assessment and Decision Making project has developed a proof of concept tool with the aim of providing critical fire planning information to emergency services, government and the public. The Fire Impact and Risk Evaluation Decision Support Tool (FireDST) is an advanced software program that can be used to understand the potential impacts a bushfire may have on community assets, infrastructure and people. FireDST demonstrates the ability to predict the probabilities of both neighbourhood and house loss, as well the potential health impacts of bushfire smoke and the areas that are likely to be affected by a bushfire. This Fire Note reports on the Risk assessment and decision making project, conducted under the Bushfire CRC Understanding risk program. This project builds on the understanding developed during two projects from the first phase of the Bushfire CRC (2003-2010). The Bushfire management business model project, developed the PHOENIX RapidFire model for simulating bushfires (see Breakout Box 1), whilst the Building and occupant protection project informed the current understanding of a building's vulnerability to bushfire.

A new digital surface geology dataset covering Australia at 1:1 million scale was released recently by Geoscience Australia. The digital map, which depicts geological units and structures seamlessly across state and territory borders, will provide an invaluable baseline dataset for national and regional evaluation of resources as well as environmental management and land use decision-making. This national project was undertaken with the full co-operation of the geological surveys of each Australian state and the Northern Territory who provided their most recent map data for the national compilation as well as their advice in resolving stratigraphic issues.

No abstract available