Geoscience Australia carried out a marine survey on Carnarvon shelf (WA) in 2008 (SOL4769) to map seabed bathymetry and characterise benthic environments through colocated sampling of surface sediments and infauna, observation of benthic habitats using underwater towed video and stills photography, and measurement of ocean tides and wavegenerated currents. Data and samples were acquired using the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Research Vessel Solander. Bathymetric mapping, sampling and video transects were completed in three survey areas that extended seaward from Ningaloo Reef to the shelf edge, including: Mandu Creek (80 sq km); Point Cloates (281 sq km), and; Gnaraloo (321 sq km). Additional bathymetric mapping (but no sampling or video) was completed between Mandu creek and Point Cloates, covering 277 sq km and north of Mandu Creek, covering 79 sq km. Two oceanographic moorings were deployed in the Point Cloates survey area. The survey also mapped and sampled an area to the northeast of the Muiron Islands covering 52 sq km. cloates_3m is an ArcINFO grid of Point Cloates of Carnarvon Shelf survey area produced from the processed EM3002 bathymetry data using the CARIS HIPS and SIPS software

This preliminary report will provide a geochemical and ionic characterisation of groundwater, to determine baseline conditions and, if possible, to distinguish between different aquifers in the Laura basin. The groundwater quality data will be compared against the water quality guidelines for aquatic ecosystem protection, drinking water use, primary industries, use by industry, recreation and aesthetics, and cultural and spiritual values to assess the environmental values of groundwater and the treatment that may be required prior to reuse or discharge.

G51/B1-83

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web services offer a cost efficient technology that permits transfer of standardised data from distributed sources, removing the need for data to be regularly uploaded to a centralised database. When combined with community defined exchange standards, the OGC services offer a chance to access the latest data from the originating agency and return the data in a consistent format. Interchange and mark-up languages such as the Geography Markup Language (GML) provide standard structures for transferring geospatial information over the web. The IUGS Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI) has an on-going collaborative project to develop a data model and exchange language based on GML for geological map and borehole data, the GeoScience Mark-up Language (GeoSciML). The Australian Government Geoscience Information Committee (GGIC) has used the GeoSciML model as a basis to cover mineral resources (EarthResourceML), and the Canadian Groundwater Information Network (GIN) has extended GeoSciML into the groundwater domain (GWML). The focus of these activities is to develop geoscience community schema that use globally accepted geospatial web service data exchange standards.

This map shows the area of the Commonwealth Scalefish Hook Sector Gulper Shark Closure - Southern Dogfish. Modified from GeoCat 65110 (2007) as per the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2009 - Schedule 16. Produced for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. Not for public sale or distribution by GA.

The Australian Government formally releases new offshore exploration areas at the annual APPEA conference. These areas are located across various offshore hydrocarbon provinces ranging from mature basins with ongoing oil and gas production to exploration frontiers. In support of the annual acreage release, Geoscience Australia (GA) provides a variety of technical information with an emphasis on basin evolution, stratigraphic frameworks and overviews of hydrocarbon prospectivity. In recent years, GA's petroleum geological studies have significantly high graded the prospectivity of large underexplored offshore regions such as the Ceduna Sub-basin and the Northern Perth Basin. A new program is now targeting areas that lie adjacent to producing regions with the aim to delineate the occurrence and distribution of petroleum systems elements in less explored or in unsuccessful areas and to provide a comprehensive overview of the regional geological evolution. Updates to the stratigraphic framework and new results from geochemical studies are already available and are used for prospectivity assessments. Furthermore, the Australian government continues to assist offshore exploration activities by providing free access to a wealth of geological and geophysical data.

H51/B1-136

No abstract available

GA factsheet on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)

Map compiled on request from AGS Native Title Case QUD6040/2001 Proclamation 3 See 2008/3111 for particulars.