This project was conducted by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the Water Science Branch of the Department of Water, Western Australia, to acquire baseline information supporting the condition assessment for Hardy Inlet. The project contributes to the Estuarine Resource Condition Indicators project funded by the Strategic Reserve of the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality / National Heritage Trust and forms part of the Resource Condition Monitoring endorsed under the State (Western Australia) Natural Resource Management framework. Two surveys were undertaken in Hardy Inlet in September 2007 and April 2008 with the aim to develop an understanding of the historical environmental changes and current nutrient and sediment conditions for the purpose of developing sediment indicators to characterise estuary condition.

This map was produced due to a request from DFAT (No. 431) for a map similar to the one produced last year. The extents of the whaling zone were supplied by DFAT.

The Joseph Bonaparte Gulf survey (SOL5117, GA survey #0325) was conducted on the R.V. Solander between 30 July and 30 September 2010 in collaboration with staff from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Museum and Art Gallery of Territory (MAGNT). This was a follow up survey from a survey in 2009 (SOL4934, GA survey #0322). The SOL5117 survey was undertaken under a Collaborative Agreement between GA and the AIMS. SOL5117 survey collected acoustic multibeam data (bathymetry and backscatter), sub-bottom profile data, as well as detailed geological (sedimentological, geochemical) and biological (towed-video, benthic sled, Smith McIntyre grabs) data for seabed environments (banks, channels and plains) from 4 offshore grids along a N-S transect. In addition, shipboard photographs were taken of barcoded biological specimens. The aims of the survey were to map, identify and investigate potential geohazards and unique, sensitive environments that relate to infrastructure; and to use exisitng data to evaluate the capacity to predict geohazards and sensitive environments. Underwater video footage and still photographc images (12 megapixel resolution) from towed-video were collected from 46 (Leg 1) and 33 (Leg 2) stations, although quality varies among transects and some still images were not of suitable quality for analysis. Video and image files or associated parent folders are named by station number, gear code (CAM = underwater camera system) and then the deployment number. For example, 'stn48CAM35' would represent a video transect from Station 48 that was the 35th video transect on the survey.

The Rowley Shoals/Offshore Canning and Roebuck basins survey was conducted on the RV Southern Surveyor survey SS06/2006 (GA-2408) between the 29th May and 22 June 2006. The primary aim of the survey was to identify any sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage, that may provide direct evidence for an active petroleum system within the sub‐surface. A secondary objective was to contribute to the understanding of the modern sedimentary and oceanographic processes influencing this part of the shelf, and to assess the nature of the benthic habitats. Underwater video was captured at 12 sites, with a minimum of 10 minutes to 60 minutes at each site, which totalled approximately 5.5 hours of footage. Video was recorded to mini DV tapes and copied to digital format. Descriptions of footage acquired during the underwater video tows are provided in the post-survey report (GA Record 2007/21 - Geocat # 65453). Please note that the underwater video is unclipped, contains descent and ascent through the water column, laser points in the video are reported to be spaced at 25 cm, and start locations of the underwater video camera stations are found in the Post-survey report.

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 SW Western Australia CRA. CD1 contains final versions of all data coverages, images and shapefiles used in the project. CD2 contains the final CRA report, Executive Summary, and associated maps and figures in Arcinfo (.gra), postscript (.ps) and Web ready (.gif) formats. CD3 contains the final Minerals Assessment report and associated maps and figures in Arcinfo, postscript and Web ready formats.

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.

This dataset contains species identifications of crinoids 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 Museum of Victoria on the 19 April 2010. Species-level identifications were undertaken by Kate Naughton at the Museum of Victoria and were delivered to Geoscience Australia in December 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.

The Secondary Coastal Sediment Compartment data set represents a sub-regional-scale (1:100 000 - 1:25 000) compartmentalisation of the Australian coastal zone into spatial units within (and between) which sediment movement processes are considered to be significant at scales relevant to coastal management. The Primary and accompanying Secondary Coastal Sediment Compartment data sets were created by a panel of coastal science experts who developed a series of broader scale data sets (Coastal Realms, Regions and Divisions) in order to hierarchically subdivide the coastal zone on the basis of key environmental attributes. Once the regional (1:250 000) scale was reached expert knowledge of coastal geomorphology and processes was used to further refine the sub-division and create both the Primary and Secondary Sediment Compartment data sets. Environmental factors determining the occurrence and extents of these compartments include major geological structures, major geomorphic process boundaries, orientation of the coastline and recurring patterns of landform and geology - these attributes are given in priority order below. 1 - Gross lithological/geological changes (e.g. transition from sedimentary to igneous rocks). 2 - Geomorphic (topographic) features characterising a compartment boundary (often bedrock-controlled) (e.g. peninsulas, headlands, cliffs). 3 - Dominant landform types (e.g. large cuspate foreland, tombolos and extensive sandy beaches versus headland-bound pocket beaches). 4 - Changes in the orientation (aspect) of the shoreline.

The Tasmanian Shelf survey was conducted on the Challenger in collaboration with the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute between the 13-16th June, 2008 and 23rd February to the 14th March, 2009 (GA survey #0315). The survey was operated as part of the Surrogates Program of the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub. The objective was to collect co-located physical and biological data to enable the robust testing of a range of physical parameters as surrogates of benthic biodiversity patterns. A total of 55 video transects were surveyed from five study areas (Tasman Peninsula, Freycinet Peninsula, The Friars, Huon river, and Port Arthur channel) in water depths ranging from 15-110 m. Video was recorded to mini DV tapes, and copied to digital format. For further information on this survey please refer to the post-survey report (GA Record 2009/043 - Geocat #69755).

Acorn worms (Enteropneusta), which were previously thought to be a missing link in understanding the evolution of chordates, are an unusual and potentially important component of many deep-sea benthic environments, particularly for nutrient cycling. However very little is known about their distribution, abundance, or behaviour in deep-sea environments around the world, and almost nothing is known about their distribution within Australian waters. In this study, we take advantage of two large-scale deep-sea mapping surveys along the eastern and western continental margins of Australia to quantify the distribution, abundance and trail-forming behaviour of this highly unusual taxon. This is the first study to quantify the abundance and trail behaviour of acorn worms within Australian waters and provides the first evidence of strong depth-related distributions.