In a collaborative effort with the regional sub-commissions within IAG sub-commission 1.3 'Regional Reference Frames', the IAG Working Group (WG) on 'Regional Dense Velocity Fields' (see http://epncb.oma.be/IAG) has made a first attempt to create a dense global velocity field. GNSS-based velocity solutions for more than 6000 continuous and episodic GNSS tracking stations, were proposed to the WG in reply to the first call for participation issued in November 2008. The combination of a part of these solutions was done in a two-step approach: first at the regional level, and secondly at the global level. Comparisons between different velocity solutions show an RMS agreement between 0.3 mm/yr and 0.5 mm/yr resp. for the horizontal and vertical velocities. In some cases, significant disagreements between the velocities of some of the networks are seen, but these are primarily caused by the inconsistent handling of discontinuity epochs and solution numbers. In the future, the WG will re-visit the procedures in order to develop a combination process that is efficient, automated, transparent, and not more complex than it needs to be.

Please contact education@ga.gov.au for information regarding the availability of this product.

A short article describing the outcomes of the Tasman Frontier Petroleum Industry Workshop held at Geoscience Australia on 8 and 9 March 2012.

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

part page item on matters related to stratigraphy. This column discusses: the ratification of the definition of the Quaternary time period; the value of type sections; and the dropping of the name Kulyong Formation

AGSO's Rock Store Database, or 'ROCSTOR' for short, is a new corporate database to assist with the organisation and management of AGSO's Fyshwick Rock Store facility. It is designed to efficiently catalogue and locate the contents of the Rock Store and to assist with loans of material, both to AGSO staff and bona fide external clients. It has a link to the OZROX Field Geology Database for the details of sample location, geology, lithology, etc. ROCSTOR is the first AGSO database to be implemented as a proper client/server database application, with graphical screen windows that take full advantage of the Microsoft Windows environment (and, if necessary, other GUI environments as well).This Record provides a full description of the database and is also a guide to users. All screen windows, their fields and operating procedures are described in some detail, and a full schema for the database is given as an appendix.

The Gold Rush Technology slide set is a joint education project with the Sovereign Hill Ballarat Education Service and comprises - 14 page booklet with background information and descriptions of each image. Includes equipment used by Gold Rush miners, from simple alluvial panning to underground mining. Also includes modern gold exploration methods using geology and geophysics. - 15 slides - student question/s for each slide Suitable for primary levels Years 5-6 and secondary levels Years 7-8

Geoscience Australia often produces spatially continuous marine environmental information products using spatial interpolation methods. The accuracy of such information is critical for well-informed decisions for marine environmental management and conservation. Improving the accuracy of these data products by searching for robust methods is essential, but it is a vexed task since no method is best for all variables. Therefore, we experimentally compared the performance of 32 methods/sub-methods using seabed gravel content data from the Australian continental EEZ. In this study, we have identified and developed several novel and robust methods that significantly increase the accuracy of interpolated spatial information. Moreover, these methods can be applied to various environmental properties in both marine and terrestrial disciplines.

Map showing the Geomorphic Features of the Australian Margin and Island Territories. The features were interpreted from Geoscience Australia's 250 m horizontal bathymetry model and other published data, and include those specified in the International Hydrographic Office definitions.