The GEOPHYS_SURV database describes geophysical surveys (air, land, and marine), the datasets derived from those surveys, and the methods used for delivery of those datasets. The database includes metadata for all surveys conducted or managed by Geoscience Australia and its predecessor agencies, as well as data and surveys from State and Territory geological survey agencies.

Geoscience Australia first sought feedback on a metadata standard for magnetotelluric (MT) time-series data in 2018 with the publication of a Preview article (Kirkby, 2019) outlining suggestions for metadata fields that should be collected when running an MT survey. This was the first step in standardising the MT formats used by the Australian MT community to ensure a cohesive community approach moving forward. Intrepid Geophysics was subsequently contracted by Geoscience Australia to investigate the current community sentiment around a metadata standard and report on the community’s requirements for a standardised data format. Intrepid Geophysics was chosen as an independent party that had no significant stake in the magnetotellurics discussion. This report is the third made to Geoscience Australia in a series investigating the needs of the Australian magnetotelluric community, with a focus on the definition of the metadata that should be collected along with the raw data of an MT survey. The findings were collated from interviews conducted in the preliminary stage of the project as well as an online questionnaire that was sent to those who had agreed to be contacted. Feedback was constructive, centring on standardisation of parameter naming schemes, adding parameters that were missing and could add value, and misclassification of parameters. Future work should focus on a more widespread community engagement program that involves system manufacturers as well as building the metadata structure around the chosen data format.

Survey Name: Tasmanian Tiers Datasets Acquired: Magnetics, Radiometrics and Elevation Geoscience Australia Project Number: P5003 Acquisition Start Date: 10/02/2021 Acquisition End Date: 02/04/2021 Flight line spacing: 200 m Flight line direction: East-West (090-270) Total distance flown: 33,019 line-km Nominal terrain clearance: 80 m Blocks: 5 Data Acquisition: Magspec Airborne Surveys Project Management: Geoscience Australia Quality Control: Geoscience Australia Dataset Ownership: Mineral Resources Tasmanian and Geoscience Australia Included in this release: 1. Point-located Data ASCII-column data with accompanying description and definition files. • Magnetics corrected i. Magnetic data with corrections for diurnal, IGRF, tie-levelling, micro-levelling. ii. Elevation data converted to geoidal values and a digital elevation model. • Radiometrics corrected i. Equivalent ground concentrations of radioelements with NASVD spectral filtering and standard IAEA processing. 2. Grids Gridded data in ERMapper (.ers) format (GDA2020, MGA55). • Total magnetic intensity (TMI). • TMI reduced to pole (RTP). • TMI RTP with first vertical derivative applied. • Dose rate (with NASVD and standard processing). • Potassium concentration (with NASVD, standard processing, 3D topographic correction). • Thorium concentration (with NASVD, standard processing, 3D topographic correction). • Uranium concentration (with NASVD, standard processing, 3D topographic correction). • Laser-derived digital elevation model (geoidal). • Radar-derived digital elevation model (geoidal). 3. Outlines (survey extents) • Polygon outlines showing the extent of each block and the entire survey in ArcGIS shapefile format (GDA2020, MGA55). 4. Reports • P5003_3D_topographic_correction_of_gamma_ray_data.pdf i. Details of the 3D topographic corrections applied to the radiometric data. • P5003_calibration_report_fixed_wing.pdf i. Details of the calibration performed on the fixed wing aircraft (block 1). • P5003_calibration_report_helicopter.pdf i. Details of the calibration performed on the helicopter (blocks 2-5). • P5003_operations_and_processing_report.pdf i. Summary of the data acquisition and processing. © Mineral Resources Tasmania, Government of Tasmania and Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2021. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and where otherwise noted, this product is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode).

Geoscience Australia commissioned ACIL Allen Consulting (ACIL Allen) to independently quantify the return on investment from six pre-competitive geoscience projects. These projects include three from the first phase of the $225 million Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program (2016-2024) and three pre-EFTF projects that were undertaken within the last two decades: the Mineral Potential Mapper Project (2012-2016), the Salt Lakes Study (2012-2014), and the Northeast Yilgarn Project (2001-2004). ACIL Allen has shown that the net benefits that have been estimated to flow as a result of Geoscience Australia’s spending on each of the projects are all positive, and in many cases, quite large. The return on investment analysis for the three EFTF case studies is published separately (https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/132897) and the analysis of the three pre-EFTF case studies is available here in three standalone reports. An additional overview report synthesises the findings from all six case studies to assess the broader impact and value of pre-competitive geoscience projects. This synthesis includes projects undertaken by Geoscience Australia alone or in collaboration with state/territory geological surveys and other research organisations. ACIL Allen estimated that the net present value of benefits to Australia attributed to Geoscience Australia’s contribution to the three pre-EFTF projects are between $962 million and $2.4 billion, depending on the scenario considered. ACIL Allen also estimated that for every dollar invested by Geoscience Australia in these pre-EFTF projects, the Australian Government could gain a net benefit of at least $15 and potentially as much as $157. The analysis also shows that direct jobs associated with mining operations potentially arising from GA’s work on the six projects could number in the thousands. The ACIL Allen analysis also demonstrates that considerable time may elapse between the completion of a Geoscience Australia project and commencement of the mining of any resources that are identified. The three pre-EFTF projects examined suggest that it is around 10 years between the publication of Geoscience Australia’s results and the development of a mine. Therefore, If the development of any resources based on the findings of the EFTF projects follow similar timelines, then we could potentially expect to see new mines in operation sometime between 2026 and 2030.

Gravity data measures small changes in gravity due to changes in the density of rocks beneath the Earth's surface. The data collected are processed via standard methods to ensure the response recorded is that due only to the rocks in the ground. The results produce datasets that can be interpreted to reveal the geological structure of the sub-surface. The processed data is checked for quality by GA geophysicists to ensure that the final data released by GA are fit-for-purpose. These line dataset from the GA302 Capel and Faust Basins MSS survey were acquired in 2006 for Geoscience Australia. This survey acquired a range of pre-competitive geological and geophysical data that included seismic reflection, gravity, magnetic and swath bathymetry measurements, as well as seafloor dredge samples.

Total magnetic intensity (TMI) data measures variations in the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field caused by the contrasting content of rock-forming minerals in the Earth crust. Magnetic anomalies can be either positive (field stronger than normal) or negative (field weaker) depending on the susceptibility of the rock. The data are processed via standard methods to ensure the response recorded is that due only to the rocks in the ground. The results produce datasets that can be interpreted to reveal the geological structure of the sub-surface. The processed data is checked for quality by GA geophysicists to ensure that the final data released by GA are fit-for-purpose. These line dataset from the GA302 Capel and Faust Basins MSS survey were acquired in 2006 for Geoscience Australia. This survey acquired a range of pre-competitive geological and geophysical data that included seismic reflection, gravity, magnetic and swath bathymetry measurements, as well as seafloor dredge samples.

Gravity data measures small changes in gravity due to changes in the density of rocks beneath the Earth's surface. The data collected are processed via standard methods to ensure the response recorded is that due only to the rocks in the ground. The results produce datasets that can be interpreted to reveal the geological structure of the sub-surface. The processed data is checked for quality by GA geophysicists to ensure that the final data released by GA are fit-for-purpose. These line dataset from the GA310 South West Margin 2D MSS survey were acquired for Geoscience Australia in 2008/2009 as part of the Australian Government's Offshore Energy Security Program. This survey acquired a range of pre-competitive geological and geophysical data that included seismic reflection, gravity, magnetic and swath bathymetry measurements, as well as seafloor dredge samples. A total of 26,000 line-kilometres of magnetic and gravity data were acquired during this survey.

Total magnetic intensity (TMI) data measures variations in the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field caused by the contrasting content of rock-forming minerals in the Earth crust. Magnetic anomalies can be either positive (field stronger than normal) or negative (field weaker) depending on the susceptibility of the rock. The data are processed via standard methods to ensure the response recorded is that due only to the rocks in the ground. The results produce datasets that can be interpreted to reveal the geological structure of the sub-surface. The processed data is checked for quality by GA geophysicists to ensure that the final data released by GA are fit-for-purpose. These line dataset from the GA310 South West Margin 2D MSS were acquired for Geoscience Australia in 2008/2009 as part of the Australian Government's Offshore Energy Security Program. This survey acquired a range of pre-competitive geological and geophysical data that included seismic reflection, gravity, magnetic and swath bathymetry measurements, as well as seafloor dredge samples. A total of 26,000 line-kilometres of magnetic and gravity data were acquired during this survey.

The South Nicholson Basin and immediate surrounding region are situated between the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Mount Isa Province and McArthur Basin. Both the Mount Isa Province and the McArthur Basin are well studied; both regions host major base metal mineral deposits, and contain units prospective for hydrocarbons. In contrast, the South Nicholson Basin contains rocks that are mostly undercover, for which the basin evolution and resource potential are not well understood. To address this knowledge gap, the L210 South Nicholson Seismic Survey was acquired in 2017 in the region between the southern McArthur Basin and the western Mount Isa Province, crossing the South Nicholson Basin and Murphy Province. The primary aim of the survey was to investigate areas with low measured gravity responses (‘gravity lows’) in the region to determine whether they represent thick basin sequences, as is the case for the nearby Beetaloo Sub-basin. Key outcomes of the seismic acquisition and interpretation include (1) expanded extent of the South Nicholson Basin; (2) identification of the Carrara Sub-basin, a new basin element that coincides with a gravity low; (3) linkage between prospective stratigraphy of the Isa Superbasin (Lawn Hill Formation and Riversleigh Siltstone) and the Carrara Sub-basin; and (4) extension of the interpreted extent of the Mount Isa Province into the Northern Territory. <b>Citation:</b> Carr, L.K., Southby, C., Henson, P., Anderson, J.R., Costelloe, R., Jarrett, A.J.M., Carson, C.J., MacFarlane, S.K., Gorton, J., Hutton, L., Troup, A., Williams, B., Khider, K., Bailey, A.H.E. and Fomin, T., 2020. South Nicholson Basin seismic interpretation. In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.

The Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic Officer Basin, located in South Australia and Western Australia, remains a frontier basin for energy exploration with significant uncertainty due to a paucity of data. As part of Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, the objective of this study is to derive the petrophysical properties and characterise potential reservoirs in the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian sedimentary succession in the Officer Basin through laboratory testing, and well log interpretation using both conventional and neural network methods. Laboratory measurements of forty-one legacy core samples provide the relationships between gas permeability, Klinkenberg corrected permeability, and nano-scale permeability, as well as grain density, effective and total porosity for various rock types. Conventional log interpretation generates the volume fraction of shale, effective and total porosity from gamma ray and lithology logs. Self-organising map (SOM) was used to cluster the well log data to generate petrophysical group/class index and probability profiles for different classes. Neural network technology was employed to approximate porosity and permeability from logs, conventional interpretation results and class index from SOM modelling. The Neoproterozoic-Cambrian successions have the potential to host both conventional and tight hydrocarbon reservoirs. Neoproterozoic successions are demonstrated to host mainly tight reservoirs with the range in average porosity and geometric mean permeability of 4.77%-6.39% and 0.00087-0.01307 mD, respectively, in the different sequences. The range in average porosity and geometric mean permeability of the potential Cambrian conventional reservoirs is 14.54%-26.38% and 0.341-103.68 mD, respectively. The Neoproterozoic shales have favourable sealing capacities. This work updates the knowledge of rock properties to further the evaluation of the resource potential of the Officer Basin. Published in The APPEA Journal 2022 <b>Citation:</b> Wang Liuqi, Bailey Adam H. E., Carr Lidena K., Edwards Dianne S., Khider Kamal, Anderson Jade, Boreham Christopher J., Southby Chris, Dewhurst David N., Esteban Lionel, Munday Stuart, Henson Paul A. (2022) Petrophysical characterisation of the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian successions in the Officer Basin. <i>The APPEA Journal</i><b> 62</b>, 381-399. https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21076