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  • This report provides detailed descriptions (metadata) of 45 Australian marine environmental datasets that have been generated and collated by the Marine Biodiversity Hub as part of Theme 3 - National Ecosystems Knowledge, Project 1 - Shelf and Canyon Ecosystems Functions and Processes. The report also includes a map for each dataset to illustrate coverage and general spatial structure. The datasets contain both marine environmental and biological variables from diverse data sources and include both new and updated information. Among them, the national bathymetry grid and derived products, seabed sediment grids, seabed exposure (GEOMACS) parameters, water quality data, the national canyon dataset and connectivity layers were produced by Geoscience Australia. Other environmental and biological datasets are the outputs of oceanographic models and collections of various governmental and research organisations. These datasets are important for the success of marine biodiversity research in Theme 3 Project 1 in that they describe key aspects of Australian marine physical, geochemical and biological environments. The physical and geochemical datasets not only characterise the static seabed features but also capture the temporal variation and three-dimensional interactions within marine ecosystems. The biological datasets represent a unique collection of fish and megafauna data available at the national scale. Together, these marine environmental datasets enhance our understanding of large-scale ecological processes driving marine biodiversity patterns. However, we should be aware of the uncertainties and potential errors exist in these datasets due to limitations of data collection and processing methods. Data quality issues of individual datasets have been documented in this report where possible.

  • <div>As part of Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program, the Curnamona Geochemistry project is producing a comprehensive compilation of geochemical data from the Broken Hill region, encompassing rock, regolith and groundwater. As part of these efforts, geochemical data has been compiled, cleaned and standardised to enable more seamless interpretation and exploration of geochemical anomalies. This project improves the quality, accessibility and volume of geochemical data across the Curnamona region and supports our ongoing efforts to define regional geochemical baselines.</div> This presentation was given to the 2022 Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA) Discovery Day 1 December (https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/home/events-and-initiatives/discovery-day)

  • An integrated package comprising geological, structural, geophysical, geochronological and geochemical data. The GIS encompasses the outcropping and covered portions of Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic rocks straddling the NSW-SA border (the Broken Hill, Euriowie, Olary, Mount Painter and Mount Babbage Inliers). The GIS features recent data collected by the Broken Hill Exploration Initiative.

  • Exploring for the Future (EFTF) is a four-year (2016-20) geoscience data and information acquisition program that aims to better understand on a regional scale the potential mineral, energy and groundwater resources concealed under cover in northern Australia and parts of South Australia. Hydrogeochemical surveys utilise groundwater as a passive sampling medium to reveal the chemistry of the underlying geology including hidden mineralisation. These surveys also potentially provide input into regional baseline groundwater datasets that can inform environmental monitoring and decision making. Geoscience Australia, as part of the Australian Government’s EFTF program, undertook an extensive groundwater sampling survey in collaboration with the Northern Territory Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Queensland. During the 2017, 2018 and 2019 dry season, 224 groundwater samples (including field duplicate samples) were collected from 203 pastoral and water supply bores in the Tennant Creek-Mt Isa EFTF focus area of the Northern Territory and Queensland. An additional 38 groundwater samples collected during the 2013 dry season in the Lake Woods region from 35 bores are included in this release as they originate from within the focus area. The area was targeted to evaluate its mineral potential with respect to iron oxide copper-gold, sediment-hosted lead-zinc-silver and Cu-Co, and/or lithium-boron-potash mineral systems, among others. The 2017-2019 surveys were conducted across 21 weeks of fieldwork and sampled groundwater for a comprehensive suite of hydrogeochemical parameters, including isotopes, analysed over subsequent months. The present data release includes information and atlas maps of: 1) sampling sites; 2) physicochemical parameters (EC, pH, Eh, DO and T) of groundwater measured in the field; 3) field measurements of total alkalinity (HCO3-), dissolved sulfide (S2-), and ferrous iron (Fe2+); 4) major cation and anion results; 5) trace element concentrations; 6) isotopic results of water (δ18O and δ2H), DIC (δ13C), dissolved sulfate (δ34S and δ18O), dissolved strontium (87Sr/86Sr), and dissolved lead (204Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb, and 208Pb) isotopes; 7) dissolved hydrocarbon VFAs, BTEX, and methane concentrations, as well as methane isotopes (δ13C and δ2H); and 8) atlas of hydrogeochemical maps representing the spatial distribution of these parameters. Pending analyses include: CFCs and SF6; tritium; Cu isotopes; and noble gas concentrations (Ar, Kr, Xe, Ne, and 4He) and 3He/4He ratio. This data release (current as of July 2021) is the second in a series of staged releases and interpretations from the Northern Australia Hydrogeochemical Survey. It augments and revises the first data release, which it therefore supersedes. Relevant data, information and images are available through the GA website (https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/133388) and GA’s EFTF portal (https://portal.ga.gov.au/).

  • A prototype Python, utility called ncskosdump, which wraps the ncdump netCDF reading tool and adds a series of options for the retrieval and display of Linked Data that the tool is able to extract from a netCDF file, including links to vocabulary terms. The tool is presented in a code repository using the Git distributed version control system.

  • The fruits of geoscientists' labours are consigned increasingy to computer files. Although the capacities of electronic media are expanding rapidly, the means of keeping track of all these files is lagging. Knowledge-based organisations like AGSO need the electronic equivalent of libraries to house this information, the analogue of library catalogues to allow us to find critical bits, and the equivalent of librarians to manage the metadata. Files worth keeping must be kept permanently online, referenced by a metadatabase, visible on the Web, accessible from around the world, and in compliance with changing hardware, software and data standards.

  • This software supports GeoSCiML and was developed by GA and is called Fullmoon. This software will hosted on CSIRO's SEEGRID Site.

  • PIMS, or the Petroleum Information Management System, is a database that keeps track of 376 000 seismic survey tapes and 2 800 petroleum well logs housed at the National Archives facility, at Chester Hill (formerly Villawood), Sydney - the largest tape archive in the southern hemisphere. PIMS is managed by AGSO's Petroleum Resources Program, which was formerly part of the Bureau of Resource Sciences. The survey tapes and well logs are basic data from petroleum exploration. They are loged under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act, and are publicly available as a stimulus to further exploration.

  • The role of Geoscience Australia (GA) is to provide first class geoscientific information and knowledge which enables government and community to make informed decisions about: - the exploitation of resources - the management of the environment - the safety of critical infrastructure and - the resultant wellbeing of all Australians. GA has two internal catalogues which hold metadata of significant value to external researchers. The catalogues include national collections of satellite images/datasets; geological and topographical maps of various scales; Maritime, Aboriginal Commission and Postcode boundary datasets, plus other geoscientific thematic maps and collections. Staff from GA and ANDS worked together to analyse the catalogues, map them to the ISO19115 metadata schema and provide a gap analysis to inform further development. The original intention was to cross walk the 19115 profile to RIF-CS and install an OAI-PMH harvest point. ANDS, however, was able to utilise funded work by AuScope by having an instance of GeoNetwork deployed in GA, which provides this capability and can be leveraged to expose this data at the same time. This mapping also allows data of relevance to other disciplines such as that relevant to marine research to be identified and appropriate feeds established. The more significant achievement for GA was that it is now able to dynamically map from two existing independent internal catalogues to a single standards compliant instance, without having to first create a single internal catalogue and then migrate metadata from various catalogues into it. This approach will be used for other data types where GA has several internal databases of the same data type. This poster explores the issues that confronted the team, the solutions developed and the opportunities that have arisen.

  • The `AGSO Catalog' is a directory or metadatabase* of AGSO's outputs that includes products, publications, datasets and resources. Built using AGSO's corporate Oracle database management system, the Catalog evolved from an earlier `Products Database' that provided a web query and ordering system for all products sold by AGSO's Sales Centre. This function continues, with web interfaces to all products in the Catalog. However, the Catalog also covers external articles, papers and other publications by AGSO staff, datasets that may be either sold or given away, and corporate resources, such as maps, images and GIS datasets, many of which were purchased from outside the organisation. AGSO's web site now includes a Catalog interface for articles and other publications by AGSO staff. The Catalog is designed to capture metadata* at the source ? the author, project manager, research group leader or AGSO Division. Any staff member with an Oracle logon can initiate a new entry in the Catalog via Oracle data entry forms on AGSO?s intranet. The Catalog also facilitates business processes associated with the production of datasets, publications, etc. Various checks and `sign-offs? have been included for quality assurance and to prevent unchecked metadata from appearing on AGSO?s external web site. More business rules will be added as the need arises.