Although there are several resources for storing and accessing geochronological data, there is no standard format for exchanging geochronology data among users. Current systems are an inefficient mixture of comma delimited text files, Excel spreadsheets and PDFs that assume prior specialist knowledge and force the user to laboriously and potentially erroneously extract the required data manually. With increasing demands for data interoperability this situation is becoming intolerable not only among researchers, but also at the funding agency level. Geoscience Australia and partners are developing a standard data exchange format for geochronological data based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language) technology that has been demonstrated in other geological data applications and is an important aspect of emerging international geoscience data format standards. This presentation will discuss developments at Geoscience Australia and the opportunities for participation. Key words: Geochronology, data management, metadata, standards.

This extended abstract describes the 1:1 million scale Surface Geology of Northern Territory digital dataset and advances in digital data delivery via WMS/WFS services and the GeoSciML geological data model.

Part-page article on matters relating to Australian stratigraphy. This column discusses what constitutes a publication for the purpose of establishing and formalising stratigrphic units. ISSN: 0312 4711

In this age of state-of-the-art devices producing analytical results with little input from analytical specialists, how do we know that the results produced are correct? When reporting the result of a measurement of a physical quantity, it is obligatory that some quantitative indication of the quality of the result be given so that those who use it can assess its reliability. Without such an indication, measurement results cannot be compared, either among themselves or with reference values given in a specification or standard. It is therefore necessary that there be a readily implemented, easily understood, and generally accepted procedure for characterising the quality of a result of a measurement, that is, for evaluating and expressing its 'uncertainty'. The concept of 'uncertainty' as quantifiable attribute is relatively new in the history of measurement, although error and error analysis have long been part of the practice of measurement science or 'metrology'. It is now widely recognised that, when all of the known or suspected components of error have been evaluated and the appropriate corrections have been applied, there still remains an uncertainty about the correctness of the stated result, that is, a doubt about how well the result of the measurement represents the value of the quantity being measured. This presentation will discuss the latest practices for the production of 'reliable' geochemical data that are associated with small measurement uncertainties, and will provide an overview of current understanding of metrological traceability and the proper use of reference materials. Correct use of reference materials will be discussed, as well as the role of measurement uncertainty and how it is affected by such issues as sample preparation, sample heterogeneity and data acquisition.

Marine science is expensive. Duplication of research activities is potentially money wasted. Not being aware of other marine science studies could question the validity of findings made in single-discipline studies. A simple means of discovery is needed. The development of Earth Browsers (principally Google Earth) and KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files offer a possible solution. Google Earth is easy to use, and KML files are relatively simple, ASCII, XML-tagged files that can encode locations (points, lines and polygons), relevant metadata for presentation in descriptive 'balloons', and links to digital sources (data, publications, web-pages, etc). A suite of studies will be presented showing how information relating to investigations at a point (e.g. observation platform), along a line (e.g. ship borne survey) or over a region (e.g. satellite imagery) can be presented in a small (10 Kbyte) file. The information will cover a range of widely used data types including seismic data, underwater video, image files, documents and spreadsheets. All will be sourced directly from the web and can be downloaded from within the browser to one's desktop for analysis with appropriate applications. To be useful, this methodology requires data and metadata to be properly managed; and a degree of cooperation between major marine science organizations which could become 'sponsors' of the principal marine science disciplines (i.e oceanography, marine biology, geoscience). This need not be a complex task in many cases. The partitioning of the sciences is not important, so long as the information is being managed effectively and their existence is widely advertised. KML files provide a simple way of achieving this. The various discipline-based KML files could be hosted by an umbrella organization such as the AODCJF, enabling it to become a 'one-stop-shop' for marine science data.

Codes, guidelines, and standard practices for naming and describing Australian stratigraphic units have been discussed for more than 60 years since the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) set up a Research Committee on Stratigraphic Nomenclature in 1946. Like today's Australian Stratigraphy Commission, its aims were 'to encourage the orderly use of names and definitions for stratigraphic units'. .......

Launched in 2003, the Geoscience Australia National Petroleum Wells Database web site http://www.ga.gov.au/oracle/apcrc has proven an extremely useful tool for petroleum explorers wishing to access scientific and well header data for Australian petroleum exploration wells. This web site provides access to comprehensive databases representing over 100 person years of data entry by geologists, geochemists, biostratigraphers and technical staff. The databases contain information that includes well header data, biostratigraphic picks, reservoir and facies data (porosities, permeabilities, hydrocarbon shows and depositional environments), organic geochemistry data (Rock-Eval pyrolysis, molecular and isotopic analyses), and organic petrological data (vitrinite reflectance, maceral analyses). A major revision of the web site will be released at APPEA 2006. The revised web site has many improved features in response to industry and government client needs. These features include: 1 Easy retrieval of Acreage Release data, 2 An improved map for spatial searching and display of data, 3 Ability to retrieve age restricted and isopach data for many data types in the database, 4 Query and produce multiple summary reports (including graphs) for wells, 5 Generation of multiple oil and gas reports for wells, 6 Links to scanned documentation, and 7 Improved graphical displays of data.

This handbook was first released as BMR Record 1991/29 (Pain et al. 1991). One of the objectives of CRC LEME has been to produce a glossary and classification of regolith terminology, and a second edition of this handbook. The glossary of regolith terminology has already been released in draft form (Eggleton 2000), and this is the second edition of the mapping handbook. We have updated the attribute lists and other details to take account of changes to the RTMAP database structure. We have also changed some definitions to be consistent with the glossary. Otherwise, very little change has been made to the text. The archival RTMAP database resides in the AGSO Corporate Database, in the Oracle Database Management System (see Hazell et al, 1995 for details). Some details, including authority tables, can also be found on the AGSO World Wide Web site, at http://www.agso.gov.au, under Services. There is currently work under way to enable users to enter data from remote locations via the World Wide Web. This facility will be advertised on both the CRC LEME and AGSO web pages when it is available.

Many of the methods commonly used to calculate gravity anomalies have been around since the beginning of gravity surveying when calculations were done by hand and local horizontal and vertical datums were used. These days computing power is not a concern and most surveys are carried out using GPS technology with global datums. Geoscience Australia is reviewing the methods used to calculate gravity anomalies in the Australian National Gravity Database and is proposing changes such as the use of the GRS80 reference ellipsoid for calculating normal gravity and also as the height datum for anomaly calculations.

The Australian Fundamental Gravity Network defines the datum, Isogal84, for gravity surveys conducted in Australia and the surrounding oceans. It consists of over 900 gravity stations at over 250 locations. Geoscience Australia has conducted measurements with a portable absolute gravity meter at a number of these stations in order to improve the accuracy of this network and to provide a consistent framework for gravity surveyors. These absolute gravity measurements show that Isogal84 is 75 microgals (1 microgal = 1x10-8 m/s2) higher than the absolute datum and that the accuracy of the stations within the network is approximately 30 microgals.