The Exploring for the Future program Showcase 2023 was held on 15-17 August 2023. Day 2 - 16th August talks included: Highways to Discovery and Understanding Session AusAEM - Unraveling Australia's Landscape with Airborne Electromagnetics – Dr Yusen Ley Cooper Exploring for the Future Data Discovery Portal: A scenic tour – Simon van der Wielen Towards equitable access to regional geoscience information– Dr Kathryn Waltenberg Community engagement and geoscience knowledge sharing: towards inclusive national data and knowledge provision – Dr Meredith Orr Foundational Geoscience Session The power of national scale geological mapping – Dr Eloise Beyer New surface mineralogical and geochemical maps of Australia – Dr Patrice de Caritat Imaging Australia’s Lithospheric Architecture – Dr Babak Hejrani Metallogenic Potential of the Delamerian Margin– Dr Yanbo Cheng You can access the recording of the talks from YouTube here: <a href="https://youtu.be/ZPp2sv2nuXI">2023 Showcase Day 2 - Part 1</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/dvqP8Z5yVtY">2023 Showcase Day 2 - Part 2</a>

Exploring for the Future (EFTF) is an Australian Government program led by Geoscience Australia (GA), in partnership with state and Northern Territory governments. The EFTF program (2016-2024) aims to drive industry investment in resource exploration in frontier regions of onshore Australia by providing new precompetitive data and information about their energy, mineral and groundwater resource potential. Under the EFTF program, the Basin Inventory Project undertook a study of petroleum prospectivity of the onshore Eromanga Basin in Queensland and South Australia. Yongala 1 well in Queensland was selected based on the occurrence of gas and oil shows reported in the well completion report. Sampling of cuttings and cores was done at Geoscience Australia's Petroleum Data Repository in Canberra. Geoscience Australia commissioned a fluid inclusion stratigraphy (FIS) study on the downhole samples. Here, volatile components ostensibly trapped with fluid inclusions are released and analysed revealing the level of exposure of the well section to migrating fluids. Integration of thin section (TS) preparations reveal the extent of gas and fluid trapping within fluid inclusions while microthemometry (MT) gives an estimation of fluid inclusion trapping temperature. For Yongala 1, FIS analysis was performed on 418 cuttings and 52 cores between 15.2 metres and 3104.5 metres base depth, together with 22 samples prepared for TS and 3 samples for MT. To support this study, lithostratigraphic tops were compiled by Geoscience Australia. The results of the study are found in the accompanying documents.

Short abstract: The Delamerian Orogen is spatially and temporally extensive, covering five states in central and eastern Australia. The orogen records the transition from Proterozoic Australia to the Phanerozoic Tasmanides, starting with rifting of the Rodinian supercontinent and transition to a passive margin from ca. 830 to 530 Ma, then developing as a convergent eastern Gondwanan margin from ca. 530 Ma that was terminated by the mid-to-late Cambrian Delamerian Orogeny. The orogen was later impacted by younger geodynamic events, particularly in the Ordovician-Silurian-Devonian. Due to the paucity of exposure, in particular in its central segment, and the complex cover sequences, significant parts of the Delamerian Orogen remain poorly documented. The orogen is also underexplored for resources despite demonstrated potential for magmatic-hydrothermal and other mineral systems. As part of the Exploring for the Future program, the Darling-Curnamona-Delamerian project is working to improve geodynamic framework and mineral systems knowledge through a range of activities including; analysis of legacy drill core, new stratigraphic drilling and major geophysical data acquisition campaigns (airborne electromagnetic, deep crustal seismic reflection, magnetotelluric). Significant first results reveal the existence of a corridor of Siluro-Devonian igneous rocks flanked by Cambrian igneous rocks within the Loch Lilly-Kars Belt, possibly related to an episode of rifting or extension, with potential for rift-related and magmatic-hydrothermal mineral systems of that age. <b>Citation:</b> Gilmore P.J., Roach I.C., Doublier M.P., Mole D.R., Cheng Y., Clark A.D. & Pitt L., 2023. From The Delamerian Orogen: exposing an undercover arc. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/148679

The integrated use of seismic and gravity data can help to assess the potential for underground hydrogen storage in salt caverns in the offshore Polda Basin, South Australia. Geophysical integration software was trialled to perform simultaneous modelling of seismic amplitudes and traveltime information, gravity, and gravity gradients within a 2.5D cross-section. The models were calibrated to existing gravity data, seismic and well logs improving mapping of the salt thickness and depth away from well control. Models included known salt deposits in the offshore parts of the basin and assessed the feasibility for detection of potential salt deposits in the onshore basin, where there is limited well and seismic coverage. The modelling confirms that candidate salt cavern storage sites with salt thicknesses greater than 400-500 m should be detectable on low altitude airborne gravity surveys. Identification of lower cost onshore storage sites will require careful calibration of gravity models against measured data, rather than relying on the observation of rounded anomalies associated with salt diapirism. Ranking of the most prospective storage sites could be optimized after the acquisition of more detailed gravity and gradiometry data, preferably accompanied by seismic reprocessing or new seismic data acquisition.

Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, strong, sustainable resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The Exploring for the Future program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225m investment by the Australian Government. The name ‘Birrindudu Basin’ was first introduced by Blake et al. (1975) and Sweet (1977) for a succession of clastic sedimentary rocks and carbonates, originally considered to be Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic in age, and overlain by the Neoproterozoic Victoria Basin (Dunster et al., 2000), formerly known as the Victoria River Basin (see Sweet, 1977).

The Groundwater Dependent Waterbodies (GDW) dataset is a subset of the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) Waterbodies product that has been combined with the Bureau of Meteorology’s national Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem (GDE) Atlas to produce surface waterbodies that are known/high potential aquatic GDEs. These aquatic GDEs include springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Where known/high potential GDEs intersected a DEA waterbody, the entire DEA waterbody polygon was retained and assigned as a GDW. Additional attributes were added to the waterbody polygons to indicate amount of overlap the waterbody had with the GDE(s) as well as the minimum, mean, median and maximum percentage of time that water has been detected in each GDW relative to the total number of clear observations (1986 to present). This web service will display a variety of layers with spatial summary statistics of the GDW dataset. These provide a first-pass representation of known/high potential aquatic GDEs and their surface water persistence, derived consistently from Landsat satellite imagery across Australia.

The Groundwater Dependent Waterbodies (GDW) dataset is a subset of the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) Waterbodies product that has been combined with the Bureau of Meteorology’s national Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem (GDE) Atlas to produce surface waterbodies that are known/high potential aquatic GDEs. These aquatic GDEs include springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Where known/high potential GDEs intersected a DEA waterbody, the entire DEA waterbody polygon was retained and assigned as a GDW. Additional attributes were added to the waterbody polygons to indicate amount of overlap the waterbody had with the GDE(s) as well as the minimum, mean, median and maximum percentage of time that water has been detected in each GDW relative to the total number of clear observations (1986 to present). This web service will display a variety of layers with spatial summary statistics of the GDW dataset. These provide a first-pass representation of known/high potential aquatic GDEs and their surface water persistence, derived consistently from Landsat satellite imagery across Australia.

Exploring for the Future (EFTF) is an Australian Government program led by Geoscience Australia (GA), in partnership with state and Northern Territory governments. The EFTF program (2016-2024) aims to drive industry investment in resource exploration in frontier regions of onshore Australia by providing new precompetitive data and information about their energy, mineral and groundwater resource potential. Under the EFTF program, GA’s National Hydrogen Project and in collaboration with Minerals Resources Tasmania (MRT) undertook a study of hydrogen and helium potential of south-east Tasmania with the sampling of cores from Glenorchy 1 in the surrounds of Hobart. This well was selected based on the availability of core and historic reports of hydrogen-rich natural gases from petroleum exploration wells in the region. Sampling of cores was done at MRT’s Core Repository in Hobart. Geoscience Australia commissioned a fluid inclusion stratigraphy (FIS) study on the downhole samples. Here, volatile components ostensibly trapped with fluid inclusions are released and analysed revealing the level of exposure of the well section to migrating fluids. Integration of thin section (TS) preparations reveal the extent of gas and fluid trapping within fluid inclusions while microthemometry (MT) gives an estimation of fluid inclusion trapping temperature. For Glenorchy 1, FIS analysis was performed on 173 cores between 6 m and 613.9 m base depth, together with 8 samples prepared for TS and 1 sample for MT. To support this study, lithostratigraphic tops were compiled by MRT. The results of the study are found in the accompanying documents.

This animation shows how Airborne Electromagnetic Surveys Work, when conducted by a rotary wing (helicopter) aircraft. It is part of a series of Field Activity Technique Engagement Animations. The target audience are the communities that are impacted by our data acquisition activities. There is no sound or voice over. The 2D animation includes a simplified view of what AEM equipment looks like, what the equipment measures and how the survey works.

The Groundwater Dependent Waterbodies (GDW) dataset is a subset of the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) Waterbodies product that has been combined with the Bureau of Meteorology’s national Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem (GDE) Atlas to produce surface waterbodies that are known/high potential aquatic GDEs. These aquatic GDEs include springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Where known/high potential GDEs intersected a DEA waterbody, the entire DEA waterbody polygon was retained and assigned as a GDW. Additional attributes were added to the waterbody polygons to indicate amount of overlap the waterbody had with the GDE(s) as well as the minimum, mean, median and maximum percentage of time that water has been detected in each GDW relative to the total number of clear observations (1986 to present). This web service will display a variety of layers with spatial summary statistics of the GDW dataset. These provide a first-pass representation of known/high potential aquatic GDEs and their surface water persistence, derived consistently from Landsat satellite imagery across Australia.