<div>The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Pacific Community (SPC) work together on the Australian Aid funded Pacific Sea Level and Geodetic Monitoring Project (PSLGMP). The project is focused on determining the long-term variation in sea level through observation and analysis of changes in the height of the land (using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data) and changes in the sea level (using tide gauges managed and operated by the BoM. It is the role of GA and SPC to provide information about ‘absolute’ movement of the tide gauge (managed by BoM) using GNSS to continuously monitor land motion and using levelling (SPC) to measure the height difference between the tide gauge and GNSS pillar every 18 months. </div><div>Land movement caused by earthquakes, subsidence and surface uplift have an important effect on sea level observations at tide gauges. For example, a tide gauge connected to a pier which is subsiding at a rate of 5 mm per year would be observed as a rate of 5 mm per year of sea level rise at the tide gauge. Because of this, it is important to measure, and account for, the movement of land when measuring ‘absolute’ sea level variation - the change in the sea level relative to the centre of the Earth. Relative sea level variation on the other hand is measured relative to local buildings and landmass around the coastline.</div><div>Geoscience Australia’s work enables more accurate 'absolute' sea level estimates by providing observations of land motion which can be accounted for by BoM when analysing the tide gauge data.</div><div><br></div>

<div>The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) requested Geoscience Australia to compute International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) coordinates for 18 survey sites on islands in the northern Fiji archipelago from continuous geodetic GPS measurements observed from 8th July to 5th August 2008 inclusive. The GPS data was processed using version 5.0 of the Bernese GPS Software in a regional network together with selected IGS sites. The GPS solution was constrained to the ITRF2005 reference frame through adopting IGS05 coordinates on selected IGS reference sites and using the final IGS earth orientation parameters and satellite ephemerides products.</div><div>These coordinates provide the coordinate reference frame to be used to define Fiji’s claim to extended continental shelf under the provisions of Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.</div><div><br></div>

<div>The project ‘Assessing the Status of Groundwater in the Great Artesian Basin’ assessed existing and new geoscientific data and technologies, including satellite data, to improve our understanding of the groundwater system and water balance in the GAB. An updated classification of GAB aquifers and aquitards was produced, linking the hydrostratigraphic classification used in Queensland (Surat Basin) with that used in South Australia (western Eromanga Basin). This revised hydrogeological framework was produced at the whole-of-GAB scale, through the development and application of an integrated basin analysis workflow, producing an updated whole-of-GAB stratigraphic interpretation that is consistent across jurisdictional boundaries. Groundwater recharge rates were estimated across eastern GAB recharge area using environmental tracers and an improved method that integrates chloride concentration in bores, rainfall, soil clay content, vegetation type and surficial geology. Significant revisions were made to the geometry and heterogeneity of the groundwater recharge beds, by acquiring, inverting and interpreting regional scale airborne electromagnetic (AEM) geophysical data, identifying potential connectivity between aquifers, possible structural controls on groundwater flow paths and plausible groundwater sources of spring discharge. A whole-of-GAB water balance was developed to compare inflows and outflows to the main regional aquifer groups. While the whole-of-GAB and sub-basin water balances provide basin-wide perspectives of the groundwater resources, they also highlight the high uncertainties in the estimates of key water balance components that need to be considered for groundwater resource management. Assessment of satellite monitoring data from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) shows promise for remote monitoring of groundwater levels at a whole-of-GAB scale in the future to augment existing monitoring networks. This presentation was given at the 2022 Australasian Groundwater Conference 21-23 November (https://www.aig.org.au/events/australasian-groundwater-conference-2022/)

Radio-loud quasars at high redshift (z ≥ 4) are rare objects in the universe and rarely observed with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). But some of them have flux density sufficiently high for monitoring of their apparent position. The instability of the astrometric positions could be linked to the astrophysical process in the jetted active galactic nuclei in the early universe. Regular observations of the high-redshift quasars are used for estimating their apparent proper motion over several years. We have undertaken regular VLBI observations of several high-redshift quasars at 2.3 GHz (S band) and 8.4 GHz (X band) with a network of five radio telescopes: 40 m Yebes (Spain), 25 m Sheshan (China), and three 32 m telescopes of the Quasar VLBI Network (Russia)—Svetloe, Zelenchukskaya, and Badary. Additional facilities joined this network occasionally. The sources have also been observed in three sessions with the European VLBI Network in 2018–2019 and one Long Baseline Array experiment in 2018. In addition, several experiments conducted with the Very Long Baseline Array in 2017–2018 were used to improve the time sampling and the statistics. Based on these 37 astrometric VLBI experiments between 2017 and 2021, we estimated the apparent proper motions of four quasars: 0901+697, 1428+422, 1508+572, and 2101+600. Citation: Oleg Titov <i>et al </i>2023 <i>AJ</i><b> 165</b> 69

<div>This record links to tarred folders with simulation files used for a study on tsunami hazards in Tongatapu (eCat 146012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggac140. </div><div><br></div><div>Access to this data will only be available by request via datacatalogue@ga.gov.au</div><div><br></div><div>The files were created using code here: </div><div>https://github.com/GeoscienceAustralia/ptha/tree/master/misc/monte_carlo_paper_2021. </div><div><br></div><div>This code should be read to understand the structure and contents of the tar archives. The simulation files are large and for most use cases you won't need them. First check if your needs a met via code and documentation at the link above. If the git repository doesn't include links to what you need, then it may be available in these tar archives. Contents include the datasets used to setup the model and the model outputs for every scenario. While the modelling files and code were developed by GA, at the time of writing, we do not have permission to distribute some of the input datasets outside of GA (including the Tongatapu LIDAR). </div><div><br></div><div>Access to this data will only be available by request via datacatalogue@ga.gov.au</div>

<div>The lithology, geochemistry, and architecture of the continental lithospheric mantle (CLM) underlying the Kimberley Craton of north-western Australia has been constrained using pressure-temperature estimates and mineral compositions for &gt;5,000 newly analyzed and published garnet and chrome (Cr) diopside mantle xenocrysts from 25 kimberlites and lamproites of Mesoproterozoic to Miocene age. Single-grain Cr diopside paleogeotherms define lithospheric thicknesses of 200–250 km and fall along conductive geotherms corresponding to a surface heat flow of 37–40 mW/m 2. Similar geotherms derived from Miocene and Mesoproterozoic intrusions indicate that the lithospheric architecture and thermal state of the CLM has remained stable since at least 1,000 Ma. The chemistry of xenocrysts defines a layered lithosphere with lithological and geochemical domains in the shallow (&lt;100 km) and deep (&gt;150 km) CLM, separated by a diopside-depleted and seismically slow mid-lithosphere discontinuity (100–150 km). The shallow CLM is comprised of Cr diopsides derived from depleted garnet-poor and spinel-bearing lherzolite that has been weakly metasomatized. This layer may represent an early (Meso to Neoarchean?) nucleus of the craton. The deep CLM is comprised of high Cr2O3 garnet lherzolite with lesser harzburgite, and eclogite. The peridotite components are inferred to have formed as residues of polybaric partial mantle melting in the Archean, whereas eclogite likely represents former oceanic crust accreted during Paleoproterozoic subduction. This deep CLM was metasomatized by H2O-rich melts derived from subducted sediments and high-temperature FeO-TiO2 melts from the asthenosphere.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Citation:</strong></div><div>Sudholz, Z.J., et al. (2023) Mapping the Structure and Metasomatic Enrichment of the Lithospheric Mantle Beneath the Kimberley Craton, Western Australia,&nbsp;<em><i>Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems</i>,</em>&nbsp;24, e2023GC011040.</div><div>https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011040</div>

<div>Mineral prospectivity studies seek to map evidence of mineral system activity, with the aim of informing mineral exploration decisions and guiding exploration in the face of uncertainty. These studies leverage the growing volumes of information that are available to characterise the lithosphere by compiling covariate (or feature) grids that represent key mineral system ingredients. Previous studies have been categorised as either “knowledge-driven” or “data-driven” approaches depending on whether these grids are integrated via expert elicitation or by the empirical relationship to known mineralisation, respectively. However, to our knowledge, the underlying modelling framework and assumptions have not been systematically reviewed to understand how choices in the approach to the problem influence modelling outcomes. Here we show the broad mathematical equivalence in these approaches and highlight the limitations inherent when optimising to minimise misfit in potentially under-determined problems. We argue that advances in mineral prospectivity are more likely to be driven by careful consideration of the model selection problem. Focusing effort on model selection will not only drive more robust mineral prospectivity predictions but may also simultaneously refine our understanding of key mineral system processes. To build on these results, we present the Mineral Potential Toolkit; a software repository to facilitate feature engineering, statistical appraisal, and quantitative prospectivity modelling. The toolkit enables a novel approach that combines the best aspects of previous methods. Abstract presented to the 26th World Mining Congress 2023 (https://wmc2023.org/)

<div>A document outlining how geoscientific data can be useful for farmers and engagement tool for geoscientists interacting with farmers and pastoralists.</div>

<div>On January 15, 2022, an ongoing eruption at the Hunga volcano generated a large explosion which resulted in a globally observed tsunami and atmospheric pressure wave. This paper presents time series observations of the event from Australia including 503 mean sea level pressure (MSLP) sensors and 111 tide gauges. Data is provided in its original format, which varies between data providers, and a post-processed format with consistent file structure and time-zone. High-pass filtered variants of the data are also provided to facilitate study of the pressure wave and tsunami. For a minority of tide gauges the raw sea level data cannot be provided, due to licence restrictions, but high-pass filtered data is always provided. The data provides an important historical record of the Hunga volcano pressure wave and tsunami in Australia. It will be useful for research in atmospheric and ocean waves associated with large volcanic eruptions. <b>Citation:</b> Davies, G., Wilson, K., Hague, B. et al. Australian atmospheric pressure and sea level data during the 2022 Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcano tsunami. <i>Sci Data</i> <b>11</b>, 114 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-02949-2

<div>The integrity and strength of multi-technique terrestrial reference frames, such as realisations of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), depend on the precisely measured and expressed local-tie connections between space geodetic observing systems at co-located observatories. Australia has several observatories which together host the full variety of space geodetic observation techniques, including Global Navigation Satellites Systems (GNSS), Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) beacons.</div><div><br></div><div>This report documents the technical aspects of the local tie survey completed at the Mount Stromlo observatory, in Canberra in 2014. The aim of the survey was to precisely measure the local terrestrial connections between the space-based geodetic observing systems co-located at the observatory, which include 3 International GNSS Service (IGS) stations, SLR and DORIS infrastructure. In particular, this report documents the indirect measurement of the SLR invariant reference point. Geoscience Australia has routinely performed classical terrestrial surveys at Mount Stromlo, including surveys in 1999, 2002 and 2003 (post-fire). A high precision survey was conducted between the survey pillars surrounding the SLR observatory. These survey pillars were monitored to ensure their stability as part of a consistent, stable terrestrial network from which local tie connections were made to the SLR and other observing systems. The relationship between points of interest included the millimetre level accurate connections and their associated variance covariance matrix.</div><div><br></div>