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  • The Historical Bushfire Boundaries service represents the aggregation of jurisdictional supplied burnt areas polygons stemming from the early 1900's through to 2022 (excluding the Northern Territory). The burnt area data represents curated jurisdictional owned polygons of both bushfires and prescribed (planned) burns. To ensure the dataset adhered to the nationally approved and agreed data dictionary for fire history Geoscience Australia had to modify some of the attributes presented. The information provided within this service is reflective only of data supplied by participating authoritative agencies and may or may not represent all fire history within a state.

  • We collected 38 groundwater and two surface water samples in the semi-arid Lake Woods region of the Northern Territory to better understand the hydrogeochemistry of this system, which straddles the Wiso, Tennant Creek and Georgina geological regions. Lake Woods is presently a losing waterbody feeding the underlying groundwater system. The main aquifers comprise mainly carbonate (limestone and dolostone), siliciclastic (sandstone and siltstone) and evaporitic units. The water composition was determined in terms of bulk properties (pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, redox potential), 40 major, minor and trace elements as well as six isotopes (δ18Owater, δ2Hwater, δ13CDIC, δ34SSO4=, δ18OSO4=, 87Sr/86Sr). The groundwater is recharged through infiltration in the catchment from monsoonal rainfall (annual average rainfall ~600 mm) and runoff. It evolves geochemically mainly through evapotranspiration and water–mineral interaction (dissolution of carbonates, silicates, and to a lesser extent sulfates). The two surface waters (one from the main creek feeding the lake, the other from the lake itself) are extraordinarily enriched in 18O and 2H isotopes (δ18O of +10.9 and +16.4 ‰ VSMOW, and δ2H of +41 and +93 ‰ VSMOW, respectively), which is interpreted to reflect evaporation during the dry season (annual average evaporation ~3000 mm) under low humidity conditions (annual average relative humidity ~40 %). This interpretation is supported by modelling results. The potassium (K) relative enrichment (K/Cl mass ratio over 50 times that of sea water) is similar to that observed in salt-lake systems worldwide that are prospective for potash resources. Potassium enrichment is believed to derive partly from dust during atmospheric transport/deposition, but mostly from weathering of K-silicates in the aquifer materials (and possibly underlying formations). Further studies of Australian salt-lake systems are required to reach evidence-based conclusions on their mineral potential for potash, lithium, boron and other low-temperature mineral system commodities such as uranium. <b>Citation:</b> P. de Caritat, E. N. Bastrakov, S. Jaireth, P. M. English, J. D. A. Clarke, T. P. Mernagh, A. S. Wygralak, H. E. Dulfer & J. Trafford (2019) Groundwater geochemistry, hydrogeology and potash mineral potential of the Lake Woods region, Northern Territory, Australia, <i>Australian Journal of Earth Sciences</i>, 66:3, 411-430, DOI: 10.1080/08120099.2018.1543208

  • Geochemical surveys deliver fundamental data, information and knowledge about the concentration and spatial distribution of chemical elements, isotopes and compounds in the natural environment. Typically near-surface sampling media, such as soil, sediment, outcropping rocks and stream or groundwater, are used. The application of such datasets to fields such as mineral exploration, environmental management, and geomedicine has been widely documented. In this presentation I reflect on a sabbatical experience with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in 2017-2018 that allowed me to extend the interpretation of geochemical survey data beyond these established applications. In particular, with my collaborators we explore ways in which geochemical survey data and maps can be used to indicate the provenance of an evidentiary sample collected at a crime scene or obtained for instance from items belonging to a suspect intercepted at border entry. Because soils are extremely diverse mineralogically, geochemically and biologically, it should theoretically be possible to exclude very large swathes of territory (>90%) from further provenancing investigation using soil data. In a collaboration between Geoscience Australia (GA), the AFP and the University of Canberra (UC), a recent geochemical survey of the urban/suburban Canberra region in southeastern Australia is being used as a testbed for developing different approaches to forensic applications of geochemical surveys. A predictive soil provenancing method at the national scale was also developed and tested for application where no actual detailed, fit-for-purpose geochemical survey data exist. Over the next few years, GA, AFP and UC are collaborating with Flinders University to add biome data from soil and soil-derived dust to further improve the provenancing technique. This Abstract was presented at the 2021 Goldschmidt Conference (https://conf.goldschmidt.info/goldschmidt/2021/meetingapp.cgi)

  • Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used. The data package included with this data guide captures existing knowledge of Galilee Basin aquifers and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water - groundwater interactions. The methods used to derive these data for all Galilee Basin aquifers in the Galilee Basin region are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptual models (Hostetler et al., 2023). The Galilee Basin includes 3 broadly defined aquifer intervals: from deepest to shallowest, these are the Joe Joe Group, Betts Creek beds and Clematis aquifers. Compiled data have been assigned to these intervals and used to characterise groundwater systems at the basin scale. The data were compiled for a point-in-time to inform decisions on potential resource developments in the Basin. The available historical groundwater data can be used to assess the potential effects on groundwater. The data can also be used for other purposes, such as exploring unallocated groundwater resource potential. Data to January 2022 were used for this compilation.

  • This Southern Australian Fractured Rock Province dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. Crustal elements are crustal-scale geological regions primarily based on composite geophysical domains, each of which shows a distinctive pattern of magnetic and gravity anomalies. These elements generally relate to the basement, rather than the sedimentary basins. The South Australian Element comprises the Archean-Mesoproterozoic Gawler Craton and Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province, formed over billions of years through sedimentation, volcanism, magmatism, and metamorphism. The region experienced multiple continental-continent collisions, leading to the formation and breakup of supercontinents like Nuna and Rodinia, along with periods of extensional tectonism. Around 1,400 Ma, both the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province were cratonised, and during the building of the Rodinia supercontinent (1,300-700 Ma), the present configuration of the region emerged. The area between the Gawler and Curnamona provinces contains Neoproterozoic to Holocene cover, including the Adelaide Superbasin, with the Barossa Complex as its basement, believed to be part of the Kimban Orogen. The breakup of Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic (830-600 Ma) resulted in mafic volcanism and extensional episodes, leading to the formation of the Adelaide Superbasin, characterized by marine rift and sag basins flanking the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province. During the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, some tectonic structures were rejuvenated, while sedimentary cover obscured much of the now flatter terrain. Metamorphic facies in the region vary, with the Gawler and Curnamona provinces reaching granulite facies, while the Adelaide Superbasin achieved the amphibolite facies. The Gawler Craton contains rocks dating back to approximately 3,150 Ma, while the Curnamona Province contains rocks from 1,720 to 1,550 Ma. These ancient regions have undergone various deformation and metamorphic events but have remained relatively stable since around 1,450 Ma. The Adelaide Superbasin is a large sedimentary system formed during the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian, with distinct provinces. It started as an intracontinental rift system resulting from the breakup of Rodinia and transitioned into a passive margin basin in the southeast and a failed rift in the north. Later uplift and re-instigated rifting led to the deposition of thick Cambrian sediments overlying the Neoproterozoic rocks. Overlying basins include late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic formations, such as the Eromanga Basin and Lake Eyre Basin, which are not part of the assessment region but are adjacent to it.

  • This map is part of the AUSTopo - Australian Digital Topographic Map Series. It covers the whole of Australia at a scale of 1:250 000 (1cm on a map represents 2.5 km on the ground) and comprises 516 maps. This is the largest scale at which published topographic maps cover the entire continent. Each standard map covers an area of approximately 1.5 degrees longitude by 1 degree latitude or about 150 kilometres from east to west and at least 110 kilometres from north to south. The topographic map shows approximate coverage of the sheets. The map may contain information from surrounding map sheets to maximise utilisation of available space on the map sheet. There are about 50 special maps in the series and these maps cover a non-standard area. Typically, where a map produced on standard sheet lines is largely ocean it is combined with its landward neighbour. These maps contain natural and constructed features including road and rail infrastructure, vegetation, hydrography, contours (interval 50m), localities and some administrative boundaries. Coordinates: Geographical and MGA Datum: GDA94, GDA2020, AHD. Projection: Universal Traverse Mercator (UTM) Medium: Digital PDF download.

  • The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Pacific Community (SPC) work together on the Australian Aid funded Pacific Sea Level and Geodetic Monitoring Project (PSLGMP). The project is focused on determining the long-term variation in sea level through observation and analysis of changes in the height of the land (using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data) and changes in the sea level (using tide gauges managed and operated by the BoM. It is the role of GA and SPC to provide information about ‘absolute’ movement of the tide gauge (managed by BoM) using GNSS to continuously monitor land motion and using levelling (SPC) to measure the height difference between the tide gauge and GNSS pillar every 18 months. Land movement caused by earthquakes, subsidence and surface uplift have an important effect on sea level observations at tide gauges. For example, a tide gauge connected to a pier which is subsiding at a rate of 5 mm per year would be observed as a rate of 5 mm per year of sea level rise at the tide gauge. Because of this, it is important to measure, and account for, the movement of land when measuring ‘absolute’ sea level variation - the change in the sea level relative to the centre of the Earth. Relative sea level variation on the other hand is measured relative to local buildings and landmass around the coastline. Geoscience Australia’s work enables more accurate 'absolute' sea level estimates by providing observations of land motion which can be accounted for by BoM when analysing the tide gauge data. This report provides the results of the GNSS monitoring survey & high precision level survey completed between the Sea Level Fine Resolution Acoustic Measuring Equipment (SEAFRAME) tide gauge and the GNSS Continuously Operation Reference Station (CORS) in Nukualofa, Tonga from 7th to 19th July 2019. It also provides an updated height of the tide gauge derived from GNSS time series analysis and precise levelling observations.

  • The Oil and Gas Pipelines Database contains known spatial locations of onshore and offshore pipelines or pipeline corridors used to transport natural gas, oil and other liquids within Australia’s mainland and territorial waters. This database contains data, as received, from GP INFO, Petrosys. Minimal effort was made to revise, value add and/or spatially improve the datasets.

  • The Waste Management Facilities Database presents the spatial locations; in point format, all known waste management, recycling and reprocessing facilities within Australia. The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE) compiled this database with the following public and private agencies: 1 Geoscience Australia 2 Qld Dept of Environment and Science 3 Canberra Region Joint Organisation 4 Hunter Joint Organisation of Councils 5 NetWaste 6 Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation 7 ACT City Services 8 NT council websites 9 SA council websites 10 Tas council websites 11 Metropolitan Waste & Resource Recovery Group 12 Loddon Mallee Waste & Resource Recovery Group 13 Barwon South West Waste & Resource Recovery Group 14 Grampians Central West Waste & Resource Recovery Group 15 Gippsland Waste & Resource Recovery Group 16 North East Waste & Resource Recovery Group 17 Goulburn Valley Waste & Resource Recovery Group 18 WA council websites 19 Cleanaway website 20 Veolia website 21 Repurpose It website 22 Advanced Circular Polymers website 23 NSW Return and Earn 24 Qld Containers for Change 25 NT Container Deposits 26 SA Container Deposit Locations 27 ACT Container Deposit Locations 28 NSW EPA 29 SA EPA 30 Re.Group website 31 Bingo Industries website 32 Industry sources 33 Coles website 34 Woolworths website 35 ACT Government 36 EPA Tasmania 37 WA DWER 38 National TV and computer drop-off locations 39 Green Industries SA 40 Qld Dept of Environment and Science 41 AORA 42 NSW EPA 43 NT EPA 44 APCO 45 Qld council websites 46 NSW council websites 47 Vic council websites 48 Sustainability Victoria 49 Norske Skog Australia website 50 InfraBuild website 51 Liberty Primary Steel website 52 Recycal website 53 Sell and Parker website 54 Future Recycling website 55 TES-AMM Australia website 56 Tambo Waste website 57 NAWMA website 58 Infrastructure survey responses 59 WA DWER infrastructure survey responses This database is for public, industry and government use under the CC-BY arrangements.

  • The 2018 revision of Australia's National Seismic Hazard Assessment (NSHA) represents a substantial improvement from the 2013 NSHA. In particular, this revision will include active fault models, an improved and more homogeneous earthquake catalogue, and greater epistemic uncertainty through a call for third party source models. This paper presents models of seismicity and ground motion that are currently being developed at Geoscience Australia for the NSHA, as implemented in the OpenQuake software. Weighting of logic tree branches for alternative models are discussed, and how these relate to the fundamental datasets on which they are based. For example, a smoothed seismicity model considers only recent seismicity while source models derived from neotectonic data consider a much longer time history. Final weightings will be determined in consultation with members of the Australian seismological community. This abstract was submitted and presented to the 2016 Australian Earthquake Engineering Society Conference (AEES) ( https://aees.org.au/aees-asian-seismological-commission-conferences/)