2011
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The impacts of climate change on sea level rise (SLR) will adversely affect infrastructure in a significant number of Australian coastal communities. A first-pass national assessment has identified the extent and value of infrastructure potentially exposed to impacts from future climate by utilizing a number of fundamental national scale datasets. A mid-resolution digital elevation model was used to model a series of SLR projections incorporating 100 year return-period storm-tide estimates where available (maximum tidal range otherwise). The modeled inundation zones were overlaid with a national coastal geomorphology dataset, titled the Smartline, which identified coastal landforms that are potentially unstable under the influence of rising sea level. These datasets were then overlain with Geoscience Australia's National Exposure Information System (NEXIS) to quantify the number and value of infrastructure elements (including residential and commercial buildings, roads and rail) potentially vulnerable to a range of sea-level rise and coastal recession estimates for the year 2100. In addition, we examined the changes in exposure under a range of future Australian Bureau of Statistics population scenarios. We found that over 270,000 residential buildings are potentially vulnerable to the combined impacts of inundation and recession by 2100 (replacement value of approximately $A72 billion). Nearly 250,000 residential buildings were found to be potentially vulnerable to inundation only ($A64 billion). Queensland and New South Wales have the largest vulnerability considering both value of infrastructure and the number of buildings affected. Nationally, approximately 33,000 km of road and 1,500 km of rail infrastructure are potentially at risk by 2100.
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A Consistent Approach to Groundwater Recharge Determination in Data Poor Areas: PROJECT DATA ARCHIVE
This data set comprises one of three archives of Geoscience Australia work in the project "A Consistent Approach to Groundwater Recharge Determination in Data Poor Areas". The project was carried out by CSIRO and Geoscience Australia and was funded by the National Water Commission Raising National Water Standards program. The data contained included Original data sourced for the project, Final data produced by the project, MXD's of maps created, and tools used within the project. The archives created for this project comprise: 1. Data archive. Data set stored in the GA CDS. Geocat Record number 79804 2. Adminstration and publication archive. Documents stored in TRIM Project P10/67 RECHARGE-DISCHARGE PROJECT 3. References archive. Endnote library located at \\nas\eg\water\References\Recharge_Discharge_Project.enl For more information about the creation of these archives, including the location of files, see TRIM D2014-102808 For more information about the project, see the following references: Leaney F, Crosbie R, O'Grady A, Jolly I, Gow L, Davies P, Wilford J and Kilgour P. 2011. Recharge and discharge estimation in data poor areas: Scientific reference guide. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. 61 pp (GA Record No. 2011/46 GACat # 71941) Jolly I, Gow L, Davies P, O'Grady A, Leaney F, Crosbie R, Wilford J and Kilgour P. 2011. Recharge and discharge estimation in data poor areas: User guide for the recharge and discharge estimation spreadsheets and MapConnect. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. 40 pp. (GA Record No. 2011/35 GeoCat # 71940) Pain, C.F., Gow, L.J, Wilford, J.R. and Kilgour, P. 2011. Mapping approaches to recharge and discharge estimation and associated input datasets. A report for CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. (Professional Opinion No. 2011/01 GeoCat # 70392)
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Map compiled on request from AGS Native Title Case QUD6040/2001 Proclamation 3 See 2008/3111 for particulars.
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Map compiled on request from AGS Native Title Case QUD6040/2001 Proclamation 5 See 2008/3111 for particulars.
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This dataset contains the sea surface temperature data derived from the MODIS Terra sensor, the chlorophyll data derived from the SeaWIFS satellite, and the K490 data derived from the SeaWIFS satellite. Ocean temperature is a useful indicator of the type of marine life that could be found at a particular location. Many marine plants and organisms have a relatively narrow range of tolerance for temperature, and will either perish or be out-competed where temperatures are outside their comfort zone. Chlorophyll a is a plant pigment which provides a measurement of the biomass (or quantity) of plants. In the water column, it is a measure of the suspended (or planktonic) biomass of single-celled microscopic plants. Chlorophyll is a commonly used measure of water quality. K490 indicates the turbidity of the water column; the depth to which the visible light in the blue-green region of the spectrum penetrates the water column. It is directly related to the presence of particles in the water column. Turbidity has consequences for benthic marine life, ranging from the availability of light to the quantity of nutrients in the water column. The datasets contain 6 grids. Two for each variable: mean and standard deviation. Please see the metadata for detailed information.
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This study looks at the question of whether time-lapse gravity measurements could be used to monitor the density and geometry carbon dioxide plume in the ground for a typical Gippsland Basin reservoir. The considerations made indicate that gravity measurements would not be suitable as a means to detect carbon dioxide density, distribution and movement in a reservoir the size of the West Seahorse field. The maximum gravity anomaly that would be expected is calculated to be 1.4 -Gal, while the experience in other parts of the world, using sensitive sea floor gravity metres, indicate that at present this technology can resolve about 5 -Gal. Furthermore, the horizontal and vertical gradients of the maximum anomaly are of the order of 0.007 E ( 0.007 ?m/s2/km), while the most sensitive reported airship measurements of gravity gradient are reported to be resolving of the order of 1.7 E.
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This study presents new information on the regional geochemical characteristics of deep-sea floor sediments (1300 - 2423 m water depth) on the Lord Howe Rise (deep-sea plateau) and Gifford Guyot (seamount/tablemount), remote areas off eastern Australia. The aim was to provide a coherent synthesis for a suite of geochemical data that can be used to make habitat inferences and to develop surrogates of biodiversity. Sediment characteristics analysed were mineralogy, organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations and isotopic compositions, and concentrations of major and trace elements. We also measured parameters that convey information about the reactivity of organic matter and on the bio-availability of bioactive trace elements (e.g. chlorin indices and acid-extractable elements). Surface sediments from the region were calcareous oozes that were carbon-lean (0.26±0.1%) and had moderate to high chlorin indices (0.62 - 0.97)..
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We highlight the importance of developing and integrating fundamental information at a range of scales (regional to national to local) to develop consistency, gain ownership, and meet the needs of a range of users and decision makers. We demonstrate this with a couple of case studies where we have leveraged national databases and computational tools to work locally to gain ownership of risks and to develop adaptation options. In this sense we endorse the notion of combining top down and bottom up approaches to get the best outcome.
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Geoscience Australia (GA) has recently released regional airborne electromagnetic data (AEM) in two survey areas of the Pine Creek region. The Woolner Granite-Rum Jungle survey in the western part of the region was flown using TEMPESTTM and the Kombolgie survey in the eastern part was flown using VTEMTM. These data assist in mapping geological features deemed to be critical for fertile unconformity-related uranium and sandstone-hosted uranium systems. These mapped features in combination with other datasets are used to assess the prospectivity of uranium systems.
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One of the important inputs to a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment is the expected rate at which earthquakes within the study region. The rate of earthquakes is a function of the rate at which the crust is being deformed, mostly by tectonic stresses. This paper will present two contrasting methods of estimating the strain rate at the scale of the Australian continent. The first method is based on statistically analysing the recently updated national earthquake catalogue, while the second uses a geodynamic model of the Australian plate and the forces that act upon it. For the first method, we show a couple of examples of the strain rates predicted across Australia using different statistical techniques. However no matter what method is used, the measurable seismic strain rates are typically in the range of 10-16s-1 to around 10-18s-1 depending on location. By contrast, the geodynamic model predicts a much more uniform strain rate of around 10-17s-1 across the continent. The level of uniformity of the true distribution of long term strain rate in Australia is likely to be somewhere between these two extremes. Neither estimate is consistent with the Australian plate being completely rigid and free from internal deformation (i.e. a strain rate of exactly zero). This paper will also give an overview of how this kind of work affects the national earthquake hazard map and how future high precision geodetic estimates of strain rate should help to reduce the uncertainty in this important parameter for probabilistic seismic hazard assessments.