Google has partnered with hundreds of museums, cultural institutions and archives including Geoscience Australia to host treasures from our National Mineral and Fossil Collection online on the Google Arts & Culture website. Our building's public areas have been scanned and are online via a streetview virtual tour, there are a large number of collection items uploaded which have been used to create many unique and fascinating exhibits.

Abstract submitted for presentation to European Geosciences Union General Assembly, April, 2019

To deliver open data, government agencies must deal with legacy processes, both social and technical, that contain barriers to openness. These barriers limit the true usability of open data - how it can be used over time and in multiple contexts - and are critical to address as governments seek to expose open data. Linked Data (LD) has always been, at its core, about ensuring the FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) by focusing on the identity and relationship of entities and exposing their context to consumers of data, even if these principles have only recently been named FAIR. A fundamental component of LD is that entities are identified by sustainable URI references called Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) which retain their utility over time despite system and organisation change. This poster will show how Geoscience Australia (GA) is applying the use of LD & PIDS in a real world, production IT, setting. Long running operational processes have been incrementally advanced to deliver data from relational databases as LD. Policies, practices and tools have developed and applied to support these LD delivery. The key components are: Data transformation tools: reliant on a robust internal data schema, the Corporate Data Model, these tools export views of it as XML or CSV publicly which is then converted to RDF in another step Overarching data model: a Semantic Web ontology that outlines the types of entities delivered publicly by GA and their macro relations. To date, public entities are Datasets, Web Services, vocabulary terms and geological Samples, Sites Surveys and Stratigraphic Units. New objects will include images with multiple formats and resolutions PID service: an application that manages a series of PID redirection rules PID governance policy: the defined process to support the agency with its multiple teams and their different data sources to have consistent application of entity identification rules and ensure uniqueness across multiple systems in the same registers pyLDAPI data service tools: a Web API tool that can present LD endpoints for entities according to given ontologies Cloud infrastructure as code (infracode): Provisioning of LD data holding RDF triple stores on the public cloud following agency best practice in delivering scalable solutions. The tools used are Apache’s Jena/Fuseki triplestore and API deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS) with scalability through AWS Elastic Load Balancer and Elastic File Store components. Further work will explore suitability of the new triple store on AWS Neptune.

This poster will present on the tools and their implementation for structured linked data at Geoscience Australia (GA). The datasets include: samples, sites, surveys, placenames. The goal is to have persistent identifiers and their profiles is governed through organisational policy with entities and relationships conceptualised in ontologies. Tools include the PID service, pyLDAPI https://github.com/RDFLib/pyLDAPI, and including current work to investigate the new content negotiation by profile – separate from media type, standardising these profiles and the expression of relationships to other features. Profile templates are implemented in entity specific pyLDAPI implementations with data transformed and delivered as standard formats and profiles, sourced from an internal, organisational point of truth – a common organisational data model with well-defined internal identifiers. Applications using these mechanisms to publish such open data at the feature level granularity and their relationships include the geoscience AusGIN portal (http://www.geoscience.gov.au/) and Location Index initiative (LOC-I).

Exploring for the Future is a four-year $100.5 million programme to unveil new resource opportunities in Northern Australia and parts of South Australia. It is being conducted by Geoscience Australia in partnership with state and Northern Territory government agencies, CSIRO, and universities. This initiative, which is due for completion in 2020–2021, has started to deliver a suite of new products to help unveil new resource opportunities in Northern Australia. The programme has three inter-related elements: minerals, energy and groundwater, which collectively aims to: • provide baseline pre-competitive geoscience data to inform and encourage government, industry and community decision making about sustainable resources management to improve Northern Australia’s economic development • attract investment in resource exploration to Northern Australia • deliver an assessment of groundwater resources for irrigated agriculture and community water supplies as well as for mineral and energy development; and an assessment of the potential impacts of those developments. The minerals-focussed projects have been designed with a three-fold programme logic (Figure 1): 1) Northern Australia-wide projects, 2) focussed integrated studies, and 3) generic innovation and method development. The minerals-focussed project activities address a number of the highest and high priority themes identified by the mineral exploration industry in the UNCOVER Roadmap. 1) Northern Australia-wide projects This work programme will develop and use innovative tools and techniques to collect semi-continental a) geological, b) geochemical, and c) geophysical data on an unprecedented scale. The commencement of these projects is focussed on the region between Tennant Creek and Mt Isa (TISA). a) Geological projects Because one person’s cover is another person’s basement, a Northern Australia-wide series of time-based geological maps are being prepared. Building from the national 1:1 M scale Surface Geology Map of Australia, the Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Palaeozoic and Neoproterozoic layers will be successively removed to reveal a series of ‘solid geology’ maps at 1:1M scale. These maps will form the basis for subsequent 3D models and resource assessments. Extensive use is being made of national-scale potential field geophysical data and existing drillhole data. This has the combined effect of calibrating the geological interpretation of the geophysics with known rocks and attributing the interfaces with their actual depth (from drilling or geophysical estimates). Resultant 3D data are being stored in a new database called Estimates of Geological and Geophysical Surfaces (EGGS); this is a national repository for depth-determined geological information from any method (drilling or geophysical estimate). The EGGS’ database will form the depth-control points from which new 3D surfaces will be constructed and imported into a 3D geological model along with uncertainty. A new peak metamorphic map of Australia is also in production, with a subset available for Northern Australia in the first phase. This map is a compilation of quantitative and qualitative estimates of metamorphic conditions across Australia. The maps will provide important constraints on the crustal exhumation and (mineral) preservation history as well as thermo-barometric evolution of Australia. b) Geochemical projects An atlas of the surface of Northern Australia, as a subset of the national atlas, is in preparation. Geoscience Australia has time-series LANDSAT data from NASA extending back into the 1980s. Each pixel from each scene has been organised in Digital Earth Australia (DEA) so the archive can be ‘data-mined’ to extract pixels with the least vegetation and cloud-cover effects. Products of this work will be a new national Bare Earth image along with iron oxide, silica and clay mineral maps of the surface at 25 m resolution. The European Space Agency’s Sentinel 2 satellite system provides global coverage of multispectral earth-observation data at 10 m resolution from these data. A new cloud-free seamless Sentinel 2 national map will be produced at 10 m resolution. A suite of new machine learning codes has been produced in collaboration with DATA61. These codes are being deployed on the national whole rock and surface geochemical datasets to produce national surface maps of the major elements. An isotopic atlas for northern Australia is being prepared, consisting of a suite of map layers including Sm–Nd, Lu–Hf, U–Pb, Ar–Ar and Pb–Pb; it will be delivered in GIS form, and draped on the aforementioned 3D surfaces. In addition, selected age dating of geological units through U–Pb SHRIMP geochronology and various other dating techniques for direct dating of key mineral deposits are being undertaken. c) Geophysical projects The world’s largest airborne electromagnetic (AusAEM) survey and the most extensive long-period magnetotelluric (AusLAMP) survey are well underway. At the time of writing (February 2018), 20 600 line-km of the 60,000 planned AusAEM data have been flown and 155 new AusLAMP stations have been acquired. In addition, a new seismic tomographic velocity model will be constructed from historical earthquake data; these data form the basis of the Australia-wide AusARRAY project. Gravity data are being infilled at higher resolutions in areas where station spacing is >4 km using a mix of ground and airborne gravity and airborne gravity gradiometry. 2) Focused Integrated Studies (TISA) The region between Tennant Creek and Mt Isa (TISA) is the initial focus of all the above-mentioned activities plus a series of additional projects. This vast under cover region lies between the great mining centres of Tennant Creek (Cu, Au) and Mt Isa (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag). The thickness of cover is variable and the underlying ‘basement’ geology is poorly known. The region lies at a key junction in Australian geology, with north-south striking domains in the east joining east-west and northwest-southeast striking domains in the west. The region showed unexplained base metal anomalism in the National Geochemical Survey of Australia (NGSA) and at depth, it has variable seismic velocity and Moho depths. The programme has collected 782 surface geochemical and 118 groundwater samples to augment the broad-spaced NGSA dataset; laboratory results are being modelled with the first products due for release in March 2018. The AusARRAY project deployed 120 passive seismic recorders that will remain in the TISA region until later this year. Two more deployments are expected in the life of the programme at locations to be confirmed. A total of 2724 ground gravity stations were collected; the data was released in 2017. A total of 1100 km of deep seismic reflection data have been acquired and processed (see Henson this volume), with processed data to be released in March 2018, and interpretation products to follow. The aim of focusing the activities into one region is to provide the best possible suite of data that will be integrated into an assessment of the undercover mineral potential of the TISA region. This assessment and the geological and mineral systems interpretations of the above data will be tested by a stratigraphic drilling programme in 2019. Assessments are underway for basin-hosted base metals (Cu, Pb, Zn) and for iron-oxide-copper-gold mineral systems. The basin assessment will draw on well-established petroleum systems approaches and apply them to these mineral systems. When the programme is complete, the TISA region will arguably be the best imaged and understood piece of lithosphere on the planet. 3) Innovation and Method Development To complement data acquisition, new big data management and data analytical methods, tools and platforms are being developed to maximise data value. Strategic collaborations have been established with world-leading experts at Australian universities and DATA61 to develop a suite of new geoscience-relevant computer codes and products that will be released in open source repositories (GitHub) and be incorporated into the Australian National Virtual Geophysical Laboratory (ANVGL). Given the vast range of activities being conducted, many of which are novel, effort is being made to share the generic lessons. This includes publishing software codes and standard operating procedures as well as developing an Explorer’s Guide for the TISA region that will have generic applicability elsewhere. Particular effort is being made to transfer knowledge and receive feedback from industry through a series of workshops that commenced in 2017. Conclusions Exploring for the Future, an exciting initiative in collaboration with state and NT partners, will: • Assist in securing an ongoing pipeline of new discoveries and help maintain Australia’s position as a major global mineral and energy exporter. • Determine the location, quantity and quality of groundwater resources to inform water management options, including infrastructure development and water banking. • Benefit the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector by drawing on private sector expertise in undertaking data acquisition and analysis.

This synthesis of geophysical results for Australia is designed to provide an summary of the character of the Australian continent through the extensive information available at the continental scale. We present a broad range of geophysical attributes for the continent nation. We also endeavour to examine the relationships between different fields, and their relations to known resources. The work represents part of a continuing collaboration between the Research School of Earth Sciences at The Australian National University and Geoscience Australia with the objective of bringing together all aspects of the structure of Australia in convenient forms. The results build on the extensive data bases assembled at Geoscience Australia, particularly for potential fields, supplemented by the full range of seismological information mostly from the Australian National University. The book builds in part on the AUSREM project sponsored by the AuScope infrastructure organisation to develop a 3-D representation of seismological structure beneath the Australian region. The diverse and extensive geophysical data sets available for Australia in part reflect the poor outcrop of bedrock geology for this ancient weathered continent and the economic importance of this geology to the Australian economy through its resource potential. Geophysics provides an important way to examine the structures that lie beneath the cover. This book is intended to make a contribution to the UNCOVER initiative, which has identified improved information on the subsurface as a prerequisite for extending exploration in Australia from regions of exposure into those with sedimentary cover. To aid in cross comparison of results from different disciplines an effort has been made to present all continental scale geophysical information with a common format and map projection. It is hoped that this compilation of the many different facets of geophysical studies of the continent will make a contribution to the understanding of Australia's lithospheric architecture and its evolution. We have not attempted to impose interpretations on the datasets, rather we believe that the diverse strands of information may inspire new ways of looking at the continent.

The Upper Burdekin Basalt extents web service delivers province extents, detailed geology, spring locations and inferred regional groundwater contours for the formations of the Nulla and McBride Basalts. This work has been carried out as part of Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future program.

This Record presents new U–Pb geochronological data, obtained via Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP), from 43 samples of predominantly igneous rocks collected from the East Riverina region of the central Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales. The results presented herein correspond to the reporting period July 2016–June 2020. This work is part of an ongoing Geochronology Project, conducted by the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW) and Geoscience Australia (GA) under a National Collaborative Framework agreement, to better understand the geological evolution and mineral prospectivity of the central Lachlan Orogen in southern NSW (Bodorkos et al., 2013; 2015; 2016, 2018; Waltenberg et al., 2019).

This appendix provides a regional geological analysis and conceptualisation of the Cooper GBA region. It delivers information critical for the shale, tight and deep coal gas prospectivity assessment outlined in the petroleum prospectivity technical appendix (Lech et al., 2019), and for input into assessing the potential impacts on groundwater and surface water assets detailed in the hydrogeology (Evans et al., 2019) and hydraulic fracturing (Kear et al., 2019) technical appendices. The Cooper Basin is a Carboniferous to Triassic intracratonic basin in north-eastern South Australia and south-western Queensland. It has a total area of approximately 127,000 km2, of which about three quarters lies within Queensland and the remainder lies within South Australia. Section 2 provides a comprehensive inventory and review of existing open data and information for the Cooper GBA region relevant for the prospectivity assessment (see the petroleum prospectivity technical appendix (Lech et al., 2019)) and hydrogeological characterisation (see the hydrogeology technical appendix (Evans et al., 2019)). It includes discussion of the datasets incorporated in the data inventory. A broad range of datasets were utilised to develop a three-dimensional conceptualisation of the geological basin. These include: geographic and cultural datasets which details the location and nature of administrative boundaries, infrastructure and topography; and geological datasets such as surface geology and geological provinces, well and seismic data and geophysical data. A range of public domain publications, reports and data packages for the Cooper Basin are also utilised to characterise the basin architecture and evolution. Section 3 reviews the Cooper Basin’s geological setting and the GBA region’s basin evolution from pre-Permian basement to creation of the Cooper, Eromanga and Lake Eyre basins. Section 4 reviews the main structural elements of the Cooper Basin and how these relate to the basin’s stratigraphy and evolution. The base of the Cooper Basin succession sits at depths of up to 4500 m, and reaches thicknesses in excess of 2400 m. The Cooper Basin is divided into north-eastern and south-western areas, which show different structural and sedimentary histories, and are separated by a series of north-west–south-east trending ridges. In the south-west the Cooper Basin unconformably overlies lower Paleozoic sediments of the Warburton Basin, and includes three major troughs (Patchawarra, Nappamerri and Tenappera troughs) separated by ridges (the Gidgealpa–Merrimelia–Innamincka and Murteree ridges). The depocentres include a thick succession of Permian to Triassic sediments (the Gidgealpa and Nappamerri groups) deposited in fluvio-glacial to fluvio-lacustrine and deltaic environments. The north-eastern Cooper Basin overlies Devonian sediments associated with the Adavale Basin. Here the Permian succession is thinner than in the south-west, and the major depocentres, including the Windorah Trough and Ullenbury Depression, are generally less well defined. The Cooper Basin is entirely and disconformably overlain by the Jurassic–Cretaceous Eromanga Basin. In the Cooper GBA region the Eromanga Basin includes two major depocentres, the Central Eromanga Depocentre and the Poolowanna Trough, and exceeds thicknesses of 2500 m. Deposition within the Eromanga Basin was relatively continuous and widespread and was controlled by subsidence rates and plate tectonic events along the eastern margins of the Australian Plate. The Eromanga Basin is comprised of a succession of terrestrial and marine origin. It includes a basal succession of terrestrial sedimentary rocks, followed by a middle marine succession, then finally an upper terrestrial succession. The Lake Eyre Basin is a Cenozoic sedimentary succession overlying the Eromanga Basin, covering parts of northern and eastern South Australia, south-eastern Northern Territory, western Queensland and north-western New South Wales. The Lake Eyre Basin is subdivided into sub-basins, with the northern part of the Callabonna Sub-basin overlying the Cooper Basin. Here the basin is up to 300 m thick and contains sediments deposited from the Paleocene through to the Quaternary. Deposition within the Lake Eyre Basin is recognised to have occurred in three phases, punctuated by periods of tectonic activity and deep weathering. This technical appendix provides the conceptual framework to better understand the potential connectivity between the Cooper Basin and overlying aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin and to help understand potential impacts of shale, tight and deep coal gas development on water and water-dependent assets.

Assessing the regional prospectivity of tight, shale and deep coal gas resources in the Cooper Basin is an integral component of the Australian Government’s Geological and Bioregional Assessment Program, which aims to encourage exploration and understand the potential impacts of resource development on water and the environment. The Permo-Triassic Cooper Basin is Australia’s premier onshore conventional hydrocarbon-producing province, yet is relatively underexplored for unconventional gas resources. A chance of success mapping workflow, using rapid integration of new and existing data, was developed to evaluate the regional distribution of key gas plays within the Gidgealpa Group. For each play type, key physical properties (e.g. lithology, formation depths and extents, source rock and reservoir characteristics, and rock mechanics) were identified and criteria were used to assign prospectivity rankings. Parameter maps for individual physical properties were classified, weighted and then combined into prospectivity confidence maps that represent each play’s relative chance of success. These combined maps show a high chance of success for tight, shale and deep coal gas plays in the Nappamerri, Patchawarra and Windorah troughs, largely consistent with exploration results to-date. The outputs of this regional screening process help identify additional areas warranting investigation, and may encourage further exploration investment in the basin. This methodology can be applied to other unconventional hydrocarbon plays in frontier and proven basins.