Geoscience Australia's GEOMACS model was utilised to produce hindcast hourly time series of bed shear stress on the Australian continental shelf on a 0.1 degree grid covering the period March 1997 to February 2008 (inclusive). The effective depth range of the model output is approximately 20 - 150 m (see 'Data Quality Attribute Accuracy' below). The hindcast data represents the combined contribution to the bed shear stress by waves, tides, wind and density-driven circulation. The stability of the seabed sediment surface, which is controlled by seabed shear stress, is likely to influence benthic community structure and species diversity. There are 8 grids in the dataset: geomacs_excee, geomacs_gmean, geomacs_qua25, geomacs_qua50, geomacs_qua75, geomacs_range, geomacs_ratio, and geomacs_tmean. Please see the metadata for further information.

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken by the RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This dataset has analysis of Chlorin and geochemmistry for samples taken on survey.

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Survey GA-0335 (SOL5463) was undertaken on RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less than 100 m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support the investigation of CO2 storage potential in these areas. Unconsolidated surface (seabed) sediments were collected at 11 sampling stations using a Smith_McIntyre grab (10L volume). Sediment samples were collected to provide data on a) sedimentology, b) infauna and c) the geochemical composition of the sediments. For the sedimentology (this dataset) up to 250 g of sediment was sub-sampled from the surface (0-2 cm) of the sediment recovered in the Smith_McIntyre grabs. Sub-samples were described from visual inspection, noting grain size, sorting and composition and these were stored in plastic bags and refrigerated. These were subsequently analysed at the GA laboratories to provide information on the texture and composition of the sediments at the sampling locations. Grain size measurement was undertaken by wet sieving to determine mud (<63 microns), sand (63-2000 microns) and gravel (>2000 microns) fractions as percentage of dry weight. A separate sub-sample (~1g) was used for laser diffraction measurement of the mud and sand fractions using a Malvern Mastersizer 2000, with results expressed as percentage of the total particle volume based on an average of three measurements on each sample. Particle size distributions including mean, median, and standard deviation, together with skewness and kurtosis indices were calculated. Separate sample splits were taken for measurement of the carbonate content using the carbonate bomb method following Muller and Gastner (1979).

Seabed sediment data were extracted from Geoscience Australia's MARine Sediment database (MARS - http://www.ga.gov.au/oracle/mars/). They include the percentage of carbonate in the sediment, and the percentage of mud, sand, or gravel size material found in seabed sediment samples, throughout the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. The data grids were created using ArcGIS Inverse Distance Squared Weighted methodology.

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken by the RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This dataset comprises TCO2 pools (0-2cm) and fluxes calculated from bottle incubation experiments (24 hours).

The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less than 100 m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. Sub bottom profiler data were acquired using a sparker source and a 24 channel streamer, and processed as shallow, high resolution, multi-channel seismic reflection data.

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken using the RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This dataset comprise TOC, TN and carbon and nitrogen isotope data from surface sediments (0-2cm) in the Timor Sea.

In March and April, 2012, Geoscience Australia undertook a seabed characterisation survey, aimed at supporting the assessment of CO2 storage potential of the Vlaming Sub-basin, Western Australia (Survey GA0334). The survey, undertaken as part of the National CO2 Infrastructure Plan program was targeted to provide an understanding of the link between the deep geological features of the area and the seabed, and connectivity between them as possible evidence for seal integrity. Data was acquired in two sections of the Rottnest Shelf lying above the regional seal - the South Perth Shale - and the underlying potentially CO2-suitable reservoir, the Gage Sandstone. Seabed samples were taken from 43 stations, and included 89 seabed grab samples. A total of 653 km2 of multibeam and backscatter data was obtained. Chirper shallow sub-bottom profile data was acquired concurrently. 6.65 km2 of side-scan sonar imagery was also obtained. The two surveyed areas, (Area 1 and Area 2), are set within a shallow sediment starved shelf setting. Area 2, situated to the southwest of Rottnest Island, is characterised by coralline red algal (rhodolith) beds, with ridges and mounds having significant rhodolith accumulations. The geomorphic expression of structural discontinuities outcropping at the seabed is evident by the presence of linear fault-like structures notable in Area 1, and north-south trending lineaments in Area 2. North-south trending structural lineaments on the outer section of Area 2 have in places, mounds standing 4-5 m above the seafloor in water depths of 80-85 m. This dataset, aquired by Fugro Pty Ltd, comprises sub-bottom profiles processed as shallow, high-resolution acoustic data (SEG-Y format) and navigation files (P190).

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken using the RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This 10 sample data-set comprises sediment oxygen demand data (expressed as % saturation per gram dry weight) from surface seabed sediments (~0-2 cm) in the Timor Sea.

Geoscience Australia undertook a marine survey of the Leveque Shelf (survey number SOL5754/GA0340), a sub-basin of the Browse Basin, in May 2013. This survey provides seabed and shallow geological information to support an assessment of the CO2 storage potential of the Browse sedimentary basin. The basin, located on the Northwest Shelf, Western Australia, was previously identified by the Carbon Storage Taskforce (2009) as potentially suitable for CO2 storage. The survey was undertaken under the Australian Government's National CO2 Infrastructure Plan (NCIP) to help identify sites suitable for the long term storage of CO2 within reasonable distances of major sources of CO2 emissions. The principal aim of the Leveque Shelf marine survey was to look for evidence of any past or current gas or fluid seepage at the seabed, and to determine whether these features are related to structures (e.g. faults) in the Leveque Shelf area that may extend to the seabed. The survey also mapped seabed habitats and biota to provide information on communities and biophysical features that may be associated with seepage. This research, combined with deeper geological studies undertaken concurrently, addresses key questions on the potential for containment of CO2 in the basin's proposed CO2 storage unit, i.e. the basal sedimentary section (Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous), and the regional integrity of the Jamieson Formation (the seal unit overlying the main reservoir). This dataset comprises sparker sub bottom profiles processed as shallow, high resolution, multichannel seismic reflection data (SEG-Y format), navigation files (P190) and stacking velocities.