This web service delivers metadata for onshore active and passive seismic surveys conducted across the Australian continent by Geoscience Australia and its collaborative partners. For active seismic this metadata includes survey header data, line location and positional information, and the energy source type and parameters used to acquire the seismic line data. For passive seismic this metadata includes information about station name and location, start and end dates, operators and instruments. The metadata are maintained in Geoscience Australia's onshore active seismic and passive seismic database, which is being added to as new surveys are undertaken. Links to datasets, reports and other publications for the seismic surveys are provided in the metadata.

The Layered Geology of Australia web map service is a seamless national coverage of Australia’s surface and subsurface geology. Geology concealed under younger cover units are mapped by effectively removing the overlying stratigraphy (Liu et al., 2015). This dataset is a layered product and comprises five chronostratigraphic time slices: Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Neoproterozoic, and Pre-Neoproterozoic. As an example, the Mesozoic time slice (or layer) shows Mesozoic age geology that would be present if all Cenozoic units were removed. The Pre-Neoproterozoic time slice shows what would be visible if all Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic units were removed. The Cenozoic time slice layer for the national dataset was extracted from Raymond et al., 2012. Surface Geology of Australia, 1:1 000 000 scale, 2012 edition. Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

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.

This service provides access to airborne electromagnetics (AEM) derived conductivity grids in the Upper Darling Floodplain region. The grids represent 30 depth intervals from modelling of AEM data acquired in the Upper Darling Floodplain, New South Wales, Airborne Electromagnetic Survey (https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/147267), an Exploring for the Future (EFTF) project jointly funded by Geoscience Australia and New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (NSW DPE). The AEM conductivity model delineates important subsurface features for assessing the groundwater system including lithological boundaries, palaeovalleys and hydrostatigraphy.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin region. This web service summarises salinity and water levels for the Cooper Basin located within the Cooper Basin region.

The Proterozoic was an important eon which saw profound changes in the geochemistry of the oceans and the first appearance and proliferation of complex life [1]. In this study we examine the relationships between organic matter and ocean geochemistry in sedimentary sequences in Northern Australia. The geobiology of the McArthur Basin has been comprehensively studied and characterised. The ca. 1.3 Ga Velkerri Formation within the Roper Superbasin is predominantly ferruginous with episodes of euxinia coupled to enhanced primary productivity [2]. In contrast, black carbonaceous shales of the ca. 1.6 Ga Fraynes and Barney Creek Formations are pervasively anoxic and euxinic [3]. The latter formation is dominated by aromatic isoprenoids, biomarkers for green and purple sulfur bacteria commonly associated with photic zone euxinia [4]. In contrast, little attention has been given to the likely coeval South Nicholson Basin and Lawn Hill Platform located directly south of the McArthur Basin, straddling the Queensland and Northern Territory border. Here we provide new insights into the paleo-environments of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic sedimentary successions in the Lawn Hill Platform and South Nicholson Basin based on multi-proxy sedimentary geochemical analyses including biomarkers, isotopes (?13C, ?15N and ?34S) and trace metals. The results in this study while preliminary at present, demonstrate redox heterogeneity with oscillations between ferruginous and euxinic conditions broadly correlating with increases in total organic carbon content. Complexities in the data remain including potential influences of hydrothermal alteration on the thermal evolution, and mobility and abundances of trace metals in some sections of the basins. Abstract submitted to/presented at the 2018 Australian Geoscience Council Convention (AGCC)

Satellite navigation is an important capability in our modern lives—we use it to find the nearest petrol station, order food at home, and track an arriving package. Accurate satellite-enabled positioning and timing technology is also becoming vital in many industrial sectors of the economy, including transport, agriculture, resources, and utilities. On behalf of the Australian government and in partnership with New Zealand, Geoscience Australia is improving satellite navigation capability for everyone with the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network, or SouthPAN. SouthPAN is a Satellite-Based Augmentation System that will use new spacecraft, ground sensors, and other infrastructure to broadcast corrections that complement existing Global Navigation Satellite Systems—like GPS, for example. SouthPAN services will commence in 2022 and be progressively improved in the coming years, ultimately being used in their most critical application: by aircraft to land at airports.

Earth is the only terrestrial planet in the solar system with continents, and hence understanding their evolution is vital to unravelling what makes Earth special – our liquid oceans, oxygenated atmosphere, and ultimately, life. The continental crust is also host to all our mineable mineral deposits, and hence it has played a key role in the establishment of human civilisation. This link between the crust and human development will be even more prominent through the need for critical metals, as our society transitions toward green technologies. In this talk, we will discuss the link between the time-space evolution of the continental crust and the location of major mineral systems. By using isotopic data from micron-scale zircon crystals, we can map the crustal architectures that control the large-scale localisation of numerous mineral provinces. This work demonstrates the intimate link between the evolution of the continents, the understanding of mineral systems, and ultimately our continued evolution as an industrialised society.

A large multibeam echo sounder (MBES) dataset (710, 000 km2, inclusive of transit data) was acquired in the SE Indian Ocean to assist the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370). Here, we present the results of a geomorphic analysis of this new data and compare with the Global Seafloor Geomorphic Features Map (GSFM) that is based on coarser resolution satellite-derived bathymetry data. The analyses show that abyssal plains and basins are significantly more rugged than their representation in the GSFM, with a 20% increase in the extent of hills and mountains. The new model also reveals four times more seamounts than presented in the GSFM, suggesting a greater number of these features than previously estimated for the broader region and indeed globally. This is important considering the potential ecological significance of these high-relief structures. Analyses of the new data also enabled knolls, fans, valleys, canyons, troughs and holes to be identified, doubling the number of discrete features mapped and revealing the true geodiversity of the deep ocean in this area. This high-resolution mapping of the seafloor also provides new insights into the geological evolution of the region, both in terms of structural, tectonic, and sedimentary processes. For example, sub-parallel ridges extend over approximately 20% of the area mapped and their form and alignment provide valuable insight into Southeast Indian Ridge seafloor spreading processes. Rifting is recorded along the Broken Ridge – Diamantina Escarpment, with rift blocks and well-bedded sedimentary bedrock exposures discernible down to 2,400 m water depth. Ocean floor sedimentary processes are represented in sediment mass transport features, especially along and north of Broken Ridge, and pockmarks (the finest-scale features mapped) south of Diamantina Trench. The new MBES data highlight the complexity of the search area and serve to demonstrate how little we know about the 85-90% of the ocean floor that has not been mapped with this technology. The availability of high-resolution and accurate maps of the ocean floor can clearly provide new insights into the Earth’s geological evolution, modern ocean floor processes, and the location of sites that are likely to have relatively high biodiversity. Poster presented the 2017 American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Adavale Basin region. This web service summarises salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water–groundwater interactions for the Galilee Basin located within the Adavale Basin region.