Find, explore and reuse Australia’s public data
The Geophysical Archive Data Delivery System (GADDS2) portal provides HTTP download of geophysics datasets in a number of formats. Point and line datasets are available in NetCDF and ASEG-GDF2. Grid datasets are available in NetCDF, GeoTIFF and ERS.
File available for download in various formats from the GADDS2 portal
RV Solander Trip 5130 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
One Tree Island Weather Station Rain Intensity Daily Averages
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of Maizab.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at Maizab, From 24 May 2017 To 10 Mar 2023
HAMPOOLFL1 Water Temperature @5m duplicate2 Daily Averages
Two sediment cores collected from beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica describe the physical sedimentation patterns beneath an existing major embayed ice shelf. Core AM01b was collected from a site of basal freezing, contrasting with core AM02, collected from a site of basal melting. Both cores comprise Holocene siliceous muddy ooze (SMO), however, AM01b also recovered interbedded siliciclastic mud, sand and gravel with inclined bedding in its lower 27 cm. This interval indicates an episode of variable but strong current activity before SMO sedimentation became dominant. 14C ages corrected for old surface ages are consistent with previous dating of marine sediments in Prydz Bay. However, the basal age of AM01b of 28250 ± 230 14C yr bp probably results from greater contamination by recycled organic matter. Lithology, 14C surface ages, absolute diatom abundance, and the diatom assemblage are used as indicators of sediment transport pathways beneath the ice shelf. The transport pathways suggested from these indicators do not correspond to previous models of the basal melt/freeze pattern. This indicates that the overturning baroclinic circulation beneath the Amery Ice Shelf (near-bed inflow-surface outflow) is a more important influence on basal melt/freeze and sediment distributions than the barotropic circulation that produces inflow in the east and outflow in the west of the ice front. Localized topographic (ice draft and bed elevation) variations are likely to play a dominant role in the resulting sub-ice shelf melt and sediment distribution.
Sedimentological Signatures of the Sub-Amery Ice Shelf Circulation
RV Solander Trip 7691 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
Gravity data measure 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. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid is produced from the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids B series. These gravity data were acquired under the project No. 202008. The grid has a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m). The data are derived from ground observations stored in the Australian National Gravity Database (ANGD) as at September 2019, supplemented by offshore data sourced from v28.1 of the Global Gravity grid developed using data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. Airborne gravity and gravity gradiometry data were also included to provide better resolution to areas where ground gravity data was not of a suitable quality. Out of the approximately 1.8 million gravity observations, nearly 1.4 million gravity stations in the ANGD together with Airborne Gravity surveys totaling 345,000 line km and 106,000 line km of Airborne Gravity Gradiometry were used to generate this grid. The ground and airborne gravity data used in this grid has been acquired by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, the mining and exploration industry, universities and research organisations from the 1940's to the present day. Station spacing for ground observations varies from approximately 11 km down to less than 1 km, with major parts of the continent having station spacing between 2.5 and 7 km. Airborne surveys have a line spacing ranging from 0.5 km to 2.5 km. The grid shows a tilt of the de-trended global isostatic residual (DGIR) anomalies over Australia and its continental margins. The DGIR grid was obtained by subtracting 3 quantities (i.e., the near-field isostatic correction, the far-field isostatic correction, and a first order trend correction) from Complete Bouguer Anomaly data (CBA) of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids B series. A tilt filter was calculated by applying a fast Fourier transform (FFT) process to the DGIR grid of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids B series to produce this grid. A tilt filter is a ratio of the vertical derivative to the total horizontal derivative and is used for detection of edges of geological units.
National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid
A reconnaissance survey of the Brighton Downs 4-mile Sheet area was conducted by geologists R. R. Vine and W. Jauncey of the Bureau of Mineral Resources between June and August, 1961. Cretaceous rocks crop out over nearly the whole of the Brighton Downs Sheet area. Lower Cretaceous marine sediments appear in the north-west and dip gently eastwards below freshwater deposits of Lower to Upper Cretaceous age. In two main areas of Tertiary sedimentation, one in the north and the other in the south-west, sandstone, clay and limestone have been deposited. Lateritisation is widespread over the area.
Explanatory notes, Brighton Downs Sheet, Queensland (BMR Explan Notes and map)
Bremer Marine Park Bathymetry 2018 100m (tif) [1.28 MB]
RV Solander Trip 5668 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 7691.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 7691 From 30 Nov 2021 To 10 Dec 2021
OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS) for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid WCS
This Resource is a maps of Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Shipping waste and oil spills for current, 2013-2017 and 2018-2023.
The deeply incised northern margin of the Exmouth Plateau has been dredged extensively along seismic reflection profiles, in water 2000- 5600 m deep, by R. V. Sonne (Cruise SO-8) and R. V. Rig Seismic (BMR Cruise 56). Geological samples obtained have greatly increased our understanding of the Late Triassic- Recent history of the margin. Detailed petrography and microfacies analysis have enabled us to define seven major lithofacies associations. Three Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic associations were laid down roughly coevally on this southeastern margin of Tethys: (1) a Late Triassic- early Liassic volcanic and volcaniclastic association of early rift volcanics, (2) a Late Triassic- Middle Jurassic shallow water carbonate association, and (3) a ?Late Triassic- Middle Jurassic coal measure association. The coal measures were uplifted and weathered to form a ?Jurassic ferruginous sediment and ironstone association. We distinguish 14 Late Triassic- Callovian microfacies types of shallow water carbonates, which can be correlated with the facies of coeval platform carbonates in the Alps and Mediterranean area of the Tethys ocean. During Late Triassic times intertidal to shallow-subtidal carbonates were deposited in the Swan Canyon area close to the palaeo-coastline in the east, and deeper subtidal and shelf lithologies in the Wombat Plateau area in the west. During the latest Triassic and earliest Jurassic, the carbonate platform subsided and was structured into shoals with red biomicrites, and basinal areas with hemipelagic autochthonous micrites and redeposited calcarenitic turbidites. Locally, uplifted blocks, such as the Wombat Plateau horst, were subaerially eroded during Jurassic or earliest Cretaceous times. Carbonate platform deposition continued in places until Middle Jurassic time. Following breakup to form the Argo Abyssal Plain in the earliest Cretaceous, the margin started to subside and a Lower Cretaceous marginal-marine claystone association was deposited, followed by a hemipelagic late Lower Cretaceous radiolarian claystone. As subsidence continued, from Turonian times onwards, there was increasingly pelagic deposition of a Late Cretaceous to Cainozoic association of hemipelagic to eupelagic variably silicified marls and chalks. Complex diagenetic transformations involve silica, silicates, carbonates, and phosphates.
Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks dredged from the northern Exmouth Plateau: petrography and microfacies
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6325.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6325 From 18 Nov 2015 To 27 Nov 2015
The Great Artesian Basin occupies 1.7 X 10^6 km^2, or about one-fifth of Australia, extending across parts of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. It underlies arid and semi-arid regions where surface water is sparse and unreliable. The discovery of the basins groundwater resources around 1880, and their subsequent development, have allowed an important pastoral industry to be established. Pastoral activity and town water supplies are to a very large extent dependent on artesian groundwater. The groundwater basin consist of a multi-layered confined aquifer system, with aquifers occurring in continental quartzose sandstones of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous age. The intervening confining beds consist of siltstone and mudstone; a thick argillaceous sequence of sediments of marine origin and Cretaceous age forms the main confining unit. The basin is, in places, 3000 m thick, and forms a large synclinal structure, uplifted and exposed along its eastern margin and tilted southwest. Recharge occurs mainly in the eastern marginal zone, and large-scale groundwater movement is generally towards the southwestern, western and southern margins. Natural discharge occurs from spring in these areas; most springs are connected with structural features. Minor recharge occurs in the western margin. The potentiometric surfaces of the Triassic, Jurassic and Early Cretaceous aquifers are still above groundlevel in most areas of the basin. Considerable lowering occurred in heavily developed areas; from about 1880 to 1970, regional differences of up to 80 m were recorded, and in some areas waterwells ceased to flow. Water levels of some Cretaceous aquifers are below the groundsurface throughout most of the basin area. Hydraulic gradients of the main aquifers in the Lower Cretaceous-Jurassic sequence are about 1:2000, and of aquifers in the Cretaceous sequence 1:1800. Transmissivity values of the main aquifers in the Lower Cretaceous-Jurassic sequence, from which most flowing artesian wells obtain their water, usually are several tens to several hundreds m^2/day. Hydraulic conductivities range from 0.1 to 10 m/day, with a predominance in the lower part of the range. Storage coefficients, as interpreted from wire-line logs, average about 10^-5. Aquifer thicknesses range from several metres to several hundred metres. Average groundwater velocity in the eastern marginal parts is from 1 to 5 m/year. Environmental isotope analysis shows that the artesian water is of meteoric origin. About 4700 flowing artesian wells have been drilled to depths of up to 2000 m, but average 500 m. Individual flows exceeding 10 000 m^3/day have been recorded. About 3100 wells remained flowing during the early 1970s, when the accumulated artificial discharge was about 1.5 X 10^6 m^3/day, as compared to the maximum flow from the basin of about 2 X 10^6 m^3/day from about 1500 artesian wells around 1918. The high initial discharge in the early years of exploitation, which was caused by the release of pressure in the aquifers, gradually levelled off, and has now approached a steady-state condition, in which total basin discharge is roughly balanced by recharge. Non-flowing artesian water-wells mainly in the higher Cretaceous aquifers number about 20 000, and are generally shallow, up to several hundred metres deep, and are usually equipped with windmill-operated pumps, supplying on average about 10 m^3/day each. Most flowing wells occur in the marginal areas of the basin, as the main aquifers in the Lower Cretaceous-Jurassic sequence which they tap are too deep for economical abstraction in the central part of the basin. In the central part mainly non-flowing shallow wells are found.
OGC Web Mapping Service (WMS) for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid WMS
NetCDF Subsetting Service (NCSS) for National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid NCSS
DATA ACCESS (Surface Geology Reclassified 250K) - Shapefile format
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6326 Turbidity @1.9m Daily Averages
Data supplied as CSV via OGC WFS filtered by species.
DATA ACCESS - Mongolian Lesser Sand Plover data inventory for Gippsland ORE area
Rig Seismic Research Cruises 10 & 11 : structure, stratigraphy, and tectonic development of the Great Australian Bight region : preliminary report
NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project A11 webpage
WILKFL1 Depth @3.7m Reef Flat Site 1 Daily Averages
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:6325
DATA ACCESS (Surface Geology Reclassified 100K) - Shapefile format
RV Solander Trip 5117 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6325 Seawater Intake Temperature @1.9m Daily Averages
This report provides details of activities undertaken by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Geoscience Australia, the University of Western Australia and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory during a marine biodiversity survey to the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) in 2012. The survey was an activity within the Australian Government's National Environmental Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub and is a key component of Theme 4 - Regional Biodiversity Discovery to Support Marine Bioregional Plans. Data collected during the survey will be used to support research being undertaken in other Themes of the Marine Biodiversity Hub, including the modelling of ecosystem processes for the northern region, and to support the work programs of the Department of Environment.
Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) Biodiversity Survey: GA0339/SOL5650 Post-Survey Report
WILKFL1 Water Temperature @3.7m Daily Averages
Gravity data measure 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. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR tilt image is produced from the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. These gravity data were acquired under the project No. 202008. The grid has a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m). The %%MV_DATASETS/SURVEY_NAME% are derived from ground observations stored in the Australian National Gravity Database (ANGD) as at September 2019, supplemented by offshore data sourced from v28.1 of the Global Gravity grid developed using data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. Out of the approximately 1.8 million gravity observations, nearly 1.4 million gravity stations in the ANGD together with marine data were used to generate this grid. The ground gravity data used in the national grid has been acquired by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, the mining and exploration industry, universities and research organisations from the 1940's to the present day. Station spacing for ground observations varies from approximately 11 km down to less than 1 km, with major parts of the continent having station spacing between 2.5 and 7 km. The DGIR was obtained by subtracting 3 quantities (i.e., the near-field isostatic correction, the far-field isostatic correction, and a first order trend correction) from Complete Bouguer Anomaly data (CBA) of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. The image shows a tilt of the de-trended global isostatic residual (DGIR) anomalies (A series) over Australia and its continental margins. A tilt filter was calculated by applying a fast Fourier transform (FFT) process to the DGIR grid of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. A tilt filter is a ratio of the vertical derivative to the total horizontal derivative and is used for detection of edges of geological units.
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR tilt image
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of Creal Reef.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at Creal Reef, Great Barrier Reef From 26 May 2009 To 06 Nov 2009
Geoscience Australia's collaborative Antarctic Geoscience program provides scientific and strategic leadership on key national priorities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. From February to April 2024 one of our scientists participated in an international marine expedition to the East Antarctic Ice Shelf along Australia's Antarctic Territory coast. The expedition aboard the Research Vessel Polarstern entitled "East Antarctic Ice Sheet Instability and its interaction with changes in Southern Ocean circulation - Part 3" (EASI-3), was the third of the EASI expeditions to investigate ocean–ice sheet interactions along the East Antarctic margin. This talk presents the voyage highlights, including scientific exploration, seabed mapping, sonars, sediment sampling, ship life and wildlife, by inviting the audience into the world of an Antarctic expeditioner.
Sights and soundings from the Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF)
The Merchant Vessel Xutra Bhum is a platform of the Sea Surface Temperature Sensors for Australian Vessels Sub-Facility. The vessel is a container ship (callsign HSB3402 ), 196 m length (beam 32 m, draught - 10 m). It performed regular transects around Australian coasts up to Singapore, with use of this ship for data collection now discontinued (April 2013). SST data are processed from the hull-contact sensor SBE48 which is located in the bow thruster room at 8.5 m depth. Observed data are 1-minute median SST values and are retrieved from the vessel once an hour and quality controlled at the Bureau of Meteorology. A daily file is available after 0100 UTC. High-resolution 1-minute median data are available in the delayed mode approximately every 3 months.
Merchant Vessel Xutra Bhum : a platform of the IMOS Ships of Opportunity – Sea Surface Temperature Sensors for Australian Vessels Sub-Facility
Oceans | Ocean Temperature | Sea Surface Temperature
Be isotopes are a useful tracer of sediment source and transport pathways but have not been widely tested in glacio-marine environments. We measured Be isotopes in a range of depositional environments from open marine, sub-ice shelf and subglacial settings throughout Prydz Bay, one of Antarctica’s largest ice drainage systems. We find that strong sub-ice shelf and bottom current circulations can advect 10Be-rich open marine sediments into an ice shelf cavity, and 10Be-poor terrestrial sediments onto the continental shelf at the ice shelf outflow, meaning that 10Be concentrations reflect sub-ice shelf circulation patterns rather than depositional environment. However, HCl-extractable 10Be/9Be ratios can provide a more robust discrimination of sediment deposited in open marine and sub-ice shelf settings. Thus, Be isotopes are a useful tracer of both environmental setting and sub-ice shelf circulation strength in both modern and paleo-ice sheet margins. Citation: Duanne A. White, David Fink, Alexandra L. Post, Krista Simon, Ben Galton-Fenzi, Simon Foster, Toshiyuki Fujioka, Matthew R. Jeromson, Marcello Blaxell, Yusuke Yokoyama, Beryllium isotope signatures of ice shelves and sub-ice shelf circulation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 505, 2019, Pages 86-95, ISSN 0012-821X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.004
Beryllium isotope signatures of ice shelves and sub-ice shelf circulation
ODP drilling in the Coral Sea : sealevel variation, fluid flow, and paleoceanography : proposal 510-rev 1
HAMPOOLFL1 Depth @5m duplicate Daily Averages
Davies Reef Sensor Float 5 Conductivity @5.2m Daily Averages
Lacepede Channel, WA (HIPP SI 1014) Bathymetry 2021 30m (zip) [45.3 MB]
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6165 Turbidity @1.9m Daily Averages
This record presents data collected from tagged and recaptured Short-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris), with data presented throughout the Southern Ocean. The study was initially conducted on Wedge Island (43 km2), southern Tasmania (43o 07' S, 147o 40' E). Fifty geolocation archival (GLS) tag deployments were made on 34 adult birds in the pre-laying exodus (n = 18), incubation (n = 12) and early chick-rearing (ECR) phases (n = 20). In 2012, 12 birds were tracked during the pre-laying exodus. GLS tags were deployed between the 10th and the 18th of October. Ten birds were tracked from Wedge Island (as in 2010) and 2 were tracked from Whalebone Point, Bruny Island (43.44 South, 147.23 East; birds 22 and 80).
States, Territories (Australia) | New South Wales
Marine Features (Australia) | Bass Strait, TAS/VIC
States, Territories (Australia) | Western Australia
States, Territories (Australia) | Victoria
States, Territories (Australia) | Tasmania
Marine Features (Australia) | Great Australian Bight, SA/WA
Offshore Islands (Australia) | Macquarie Island
Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
Finucci B, Duffy CAJ, Francis MP, Gibson C, Kyne PM. The extinction risk of New Zealand chondrichthyans. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst. 2019; 29: 783–797. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3053
This report contains the preliminary results of Geoscience Australia survey 266 to central Torres Strait. The survey was undertaken to investigate the seabed geomorphology and sedimentary processes in the vicinity of Turnagain Island and to infer the possible effects (if any) on the distribution, abundance and survival of seagrasses. The Turnagain Island region was chosen because it is a known site of recent widespread seagrass dieback. The present survey is the first of two by Geoscience Australia to be carried out in 2004 and is part of a larger field-based program managed by the Reef CRC aimed at identifying and quantifying the principal physical and biological processes operating in Torres Strait. The impetus for the program is the threat of widespread seagrass dieback and its effects on local dugong and turtle populations and the implications for indigenous islander communities.
Biophysical Processes in the Torres Strait Marine Ecosystem - Post Cruise Report
RV Solander Trip 5668 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
DATA ACCESS (Coastal Geomorphology Reclassified 50K) - Shapefile format
CREALFL1 Water Temperature @3.6m Reef Flat Site 1 Daily Averages
New 2D seismic data acquired in the Mentelle Basin by Geoscience Australia in 2008-09 has been used for a seismic facies study of the post-rift succession. The Mentelle Basin is a large deep to ultra deep-water, frontier basin located on Australia's southwestern margin about 200 km southwest of Perth. The study focused on the post-rift sequences deposited following the breakup between Australia and Greater India. Stratigraphic wells DSDP 258 and DSDP 264 provide age and lithological constraints on the upper portion of the post-rift succession down to mid-Albian strata. The depositional environment and lithology of the older sequences are based on analysis of the seismic facies, stratal geometries and comparisons to the age equivalent units in the south Perth Basin. Fourteen seismic facies were identified based on reflection continuity, amplitude and frequency, internal reflection configuration and external geometries. They range from high continuity, high amplitude, parallel sheet facies to low continuity, low amplitude, parallel, subparallel and chaotic sheet, wedge and basin fill facies. Channel and channel fill features are common in several facies along with a mounded facies (probably contourite) and its associated ponded turbidite fill. A progradational sigmoidal to oblique wedge facies occurs at several stratigraphic levels in the section. A chaotic mound facies, probably comprising debrite deposits, has a localised distribution. During the Valanginian to Hauterivian breakup on the south‐western margin, the Mentelle Basin was characterised by extensive syn‐depositional volcanism. Sedimentary packages comprising interbedded marine sands and silty clays were deposited predominantly in the western Mentelle Basin surrounded by paleo‐highs or areas of non‐deposition. Marine‐deltaic sediments prograded from the east and south into the main post‐ rift depocentre. Post‐breakup thermal subsidence began in the Hauterivian with sedimentation dominated by a widespread high continuity, parallel sheet facies. From the Aptian through to Campanian, considerable accommodation space was created in the western Mentelle Basin. Sediments deposited during this period are characterised by several parallel to divergent sheet facies in the eastern Mentelle Basin and to the south these grade into a time‐equivalent prograding deltaic wedge facies. A regionally extensive, shelf‐slope wedge facies occurs to the west of the Margaret Hinge Zone which separates the shallow‐ and deep‐water parts of the Mentelle Basin. Sedimentation rates in the Albian were very high (>45 m/my) with an intra‐slope basin developing over the western Mentelle Basin. The Albian section is characterised by an extensive basin‐fill facies occurring throughout the western Mentelle Basin and in the northern part of the eastern Mentelle Basin. These two facies both comprise deep marine black mudstones, recovered by DSDP 258. Towards the end of the Albian period an open marine environment was established across the Mentelle Basin and clastic sedimentation switched to carbonate sedimentation with the deposition of Turonian and Cenomanian chalks and Santonian to Campanian chalks and limestone. In the Middle Eocene, the margin of the Mentelle Basin collapsed resulting in flexure along the Margaret Hinge Zone and rapid deepening of the western Mentelle depocentre. The deep marine carbonate sedimentary section corresponding to this period is often condensed, discontinuous and extensively eroded. It is characterised by several extensive channelised sheet facies in the eastern Mentelle Basin and channelised sheet and mound facies in the western Mentelle Basin. Carbonate chalk and ooze slump deposits just west of the Margaret Hinge Zone are probably associated with Eocene fault reactivation and margin collapse in the region. Seismic facies analysis of the post‐rift sequences in the Mentelle Basin has contributed to a better understanding of the depositional history and sedimentation processes in the region, as well as provided additional constraints on regional and local tectonic events. Abstract presented at the 2010 Australian Earth Science Convention (AESC).
New Insights into the Post-rift Depositional History of the Mentelle Basin Based on Seismic Facies Mapping
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6381 Seawater Intake Temperature @1.9m Daily Averages
Palynological analyses have been undertaken on four fully cored boreholes in the central west Murray Basin (Woodlands-1, Manilla-I, Piangil West-2 and Hatfield-1 holes) to provide a biostratigraphic framework for geological factors related to groundwater. Three of these boreholes penetrated the marine sequence of the Geera Clay and its associated facies, which acts as an aquitard confining groundwater flow within the aquifers of the Renmark Group. This study has been augmented by analysis of cores and cuttings from boreholes in the areas east of the main marine influence, and by reference to previously studied sequences at Oakvale-1, on the western margin of the basin. Early Cretaceous sediments of non-marine character are present at Manilla-1 and at Mitfords Corner in the Wentworth Trough. Within the Cainozoic sequence, application of zonal schemes modified from those developed in the Gippsland Basin shows that aquifers in the lower partof the Renmark Group can be assigned to the Middle and Upper Nothofagidites asperus Zones, of mid-Eocene to earliest Oligocene age. They contain dinoflagellates which suggest that the effects of the marine incursion reflected by the Buccleuch Beds in the southwest of the Murray Basin were probably felt over a much wider area of the basin than hitherto believed. The Geera Clay and its associated facies were deposited during the interval of time represented by the Proteacidites tuberculatus and Triporopollenites bellus Zones or parts thereof, during the Late Oligocene and Early to Middle Miocene. Resolution of the palynological zones is too poor to identify pulses of marine transgression with those represented on the global sea-level curve; phases of onlap including TB1.4 and TB2.3 (22 Ma and 16 Ma) may both be represented. There is a strong likelihood of condensed sequences in this interval. Pollen assemblages from the Murray Basin contain a number of taxa, many of them with affinities to modern tropical plant species or groups which are unknown in other southeastern Australian basins. Many of these are of potential stratigraphic value. Broad scale shifts in vegetation, presumably in response to climatic change, are discernible in the Late Oligocene to earliest Miocene over much of the basin. There is a suggestion that the initiation of this shift, which reflects a change from year-round to seasonal rainfall patterns, was diachronous for west to east, but patterns of change in space and time are complex, so the correlative value of changes in pollen frequencies remains limited.
Palynostratigraphy of the central west Murray Basin
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 8163.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 8163 From 31 Oct 2023 To 25 Nov 2023
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6165 Fluorescence @1.9m Daily Averages
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6381 Salinity @1.9m Daily Averages
Six posters approximately A1 in size (31.5 x 25.59 inches) on prehistoric lifeforms. Each poster shows a sketch of the liveform, and a geological timescale showing the period during which the lifeform was found on Earth. Ideal for display in the classroom. Lifeforms are diprotodon, ammonite, glossopteris, conodont, brachiopod and a themed poster on the Devonian Pepiod.
The map covers an area of 1.6 degrees longitude by 2.17 degrees latitude or about 160 kilometres from east to west and about 238 kilometres from north to south. This map contains natural and constructed features including road infrastructure, vegetation, hydrography, contours (interval 50m), localities and administrative boundaries for the Francois Peron National Park and Shark Bay Marine Park, both inclusive of a World Heritage Area. The reverse side of the map depicts the same area using a satellite image with an overlay of major roads, tourism features and facilities as well as insets featuring the towns of Carnarvon and Denham. The topographic map and data index shows coverage of the sheets. Product Specifications: Coverage: The series covers the whole of Australia with 513 maps. Currency: Ranges from 1995 to 2009. 95% of maps have a reliability date of 1994 or later. Coordinates: Geographical and either AMG or MGA (post-1993) Datum: AGD66, GDA94, AHD. Projection: Universal Traverse Mercator (UTM) Forward Program: Selected maps under revision.
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 7083.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 7083 From 12 Mar 2019 To 19 Mar 2019
RV Solander Trip 5117 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
The Geoscience Australia’s Semi-automated Morphological Mapping Tools (GA-SaMMT) were developed as ArcGIS Pro Python tools using Python 3+ to map ten bathymetric high and eight bathymetric low Morphology Features (defined in Dove et al., 2020; cf. Nanson et al., 2023). These tools comprise seven toolboxes: 1. The BathymetricHigh.pyt toolbox is used to map bathymetric high features, and includes three tools: (i) TPI Tool Bathymetric High; (ii) TPI LMI Tool Bathymetric High; (iii) and Openness Tool Bathymetric High. 2. The BathymetricLow.pyt toolbox is used to map bathymetric low features, and includes three tools: (i) TPI Tool Bathymetric Low; (ii) TPI CI Tool Bathymetric Low; and (iii) Openness Tool Bathymetric Low. 3. The AddAttributes.pyt toolbox is used to calculate attributes for bathymetric high and low features, and includes six tools: (i) Add Shape Attributes High Tool; (ii) Add Shape Attributes Low Tool; (iii) Add Topographic Attributes High Tool; (iv) Add Topographic Attributes Low Tool; (v) Add Profile Attributes High Tool; and (vi) Add Profile Attributes Low Tool. 4. The AddAttributesFast.pyt toolbox is also used to calculate attributes for bathymetric high and low features, and has the advantage (over the AddAttributes.pyt toolbox) of having multiprocessing capabilities. This version of the add attributes toolbox contains four tools: (i) Add Shape Attributes High Tool Fast; (ii) Add Shape Attributes Low Tool Fast; (iii) Add Profile Attributes High Tool Fast; and (iv) Add Profile Attributes Low Tool Fast. The two add topographic attributes tools do not require multiprocessing capabilities to improve their performance. 5. The ClassificationFeature.pyt toolbox is used to classify bathymetric high and low features into Morphological Feature categories defined in Dove et al. (2020), and includes two tools: (i) Classify Bathymetric High Features; and (ii) Classify Bathymetric Low Features. 6. The Accessory_Tools.pyt toolbox provides four accessory tools to help the mapping processes: (i) Merge Connected Features Tool; (ii) Connect Nearby Linear Features Tool; (iii) Connect Nearby Linear HF Features Tool; and (iv) Update Feature Boundary Tool. 7. The Surface.pyt toolbox is used to map three classes of Morphological surfaces (Dove et al., 2020), and includes two tools: (i) Morphological Surface Tool Bathymetry; and (ii) Morphological Surface Tool Slope. The system and data format requirements of these ArcGIS tools are described in the tutorials and user guide that accompany the tools, which also include sampled data and step-by-step examples of their application. Further details of these tools, including their description, graphic illustrations and usages, and python code examples, are also available in their metadata. These tools have been applied to many study areas with real world applications, including those published in Huang et al. (2023) which should be used as the key reference to the GA-SaMMT. Dove, D., Nanson, R., Bjarnadóttir, L., Guinan, J., Gafeira, J., Post, A., Dolan, M.; Stewart, H.; Arosio, R, Scott, G. (October, 2020). A two-part seabed geomorphology classification scheme (v.2); Part 1: morphology features glossary. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4075248 Nanson, R., Arosio, R., Gafeira, J., McNeil, M., Dove, D., Bjarnadóttir, L., Dolan, M., Guinan, J., Post, A., Webb, J., & Nichol, S. (2023). A two-part seabed geomorphology classification scheme; Part 2: Geomorphology classification framework and glossary (Version 1.0) (1.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7804019 Huang, Z., Nanson, R., McNeil, M., Wenderlich, M., Gafeira, J., Post, A, Nichol, S., 2023. Rule-based semi-automated tools for mapping seabed morphology from bathymetry data, Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1236788.
Geoscience Australia's Semi-automated Morphological Mapping Tools (GA-SaMMT) for Seabed Characterisation
This paper describes the highlights of AGSO's work in the North Pilbara Project, a joint AGSO-Western Australia Geological Survey (GSWA) effort conducted under the National Geoscience Mapping Accord (NGMA) between 1995 and 2000. One of the principal drivers for AGSO's research in the Pilbara was the possible inapplicability of exploration models and genetic interpretations of Archaean mineral deposits because these models were commonly based upon late Archaean examples. One of our goals was to document the differences between the late Archaean and the early-mid Archaean mineral systems, and to develop regional thematic synthesis datasets so that more robust models could be developed to encompass the entire Archaean era. These datasets, together with our research into new exploration tools, have, and continue to assist exploration in the Pilbara. Our results also have applications to other terranes.
North Pilbara National Geoscience Mapping Accord project (1995-2000) - Scientific highlights
RV Solander Trip 6920 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:5599
Geoscience Australia undertook seabed mapping surveys in the eastern Bonaparte Gulf in 2009/2010 to deliver integrated information relevant to marine biodiversity conservation and offshore infrastructure development. The survey objectives were to characterise the physical, chemical and biological properties of the seabed, document potential geohazards and to identify unique or sensitive benthic habitats and collect baseline information on these habitats. Different clustering methods were applied to a 124 sample dataset comprising 74 physical and geochemical variables which describe organic matter (OM) reactivity/quantity/source and geochemical processes relevant to biodiversity. Infauna data were used to assess different groupings because they are an important food source for epibenthic crustaceans and fish and purveyors of ecosystem services including nutrient cycling and mineralisation. Clusters based on physical/geochemical data discriminated infauna better than geomorphic features. Major variations amongst clusters included grainsize and a cross-shelf transition in from authigenic-Mn /As enrichments (inner shelf) to authigenic-P enrichment (outer shelf) which relate to energy levels and sediment oxygen status. Groups comprising raised features had the highest reactive OM concentrations (e.g. based on low chlorin indices and C:N-ratios, and high k) and benthic algal -13C signatures. Surface area normalised OM concentrations higher than continental shelf norms were observed in association with: (i) low -15N, inferring Trichodesmium input; and (ii) pockmarks. The pockmarks are shown to impart bottom-up controls on seabed chemistry and cause inconsistencies between bulk and pigment OM pools. The geochemical data and clustering methods provide insight into ecosystem processes which influence biodiversity patterns in the region. Low Shannon-Wiener diversity occurred in association with low porewater pH and evidence for low sediment redox status and high energy levels, while the highest beta-diversity was observed at euphotic depths. Pair-wise ANOSIM results for infauna are brought together in a summary model which highlights the influence of the clusters on beta diversity. Abstract presented at GEOHAB 5-9 May 2014 Lorne, Australia
Linking patterns and processes on a tropical sediment-starved shelf: Insights from cluster analysis on physical and geochemical variables
RV Solander Trip 5599 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 5599.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 5599 From 09 Oct 2012 To 23 Oct 2012
Kyne, P.M., Heupel, M.R., White, W.T. and Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2021). The Action Plan for Australian Sharks and Rays 2021. National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub, Hobart.
RV Solander Trip 5130 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
An investigation of beach-sand heavy-mineral deposits between the mouth of the Clarence River in northern New South Wales, and North Stradbroke Island in southern Queensland, was made by the Bureau of Mineral Resources during the years 1948 to 1950. The work done between the mouth of the Clarence River and Southport comprised detailed boring and sampling of beaches and coastal dunes and portion of coastal plains up to a mile or two inland. The levels of the bore-collars were determined in relation to high water mark on the beaches. On North Stradbroke Island, boring was done by Zinc Corporation and a reconnaissance geological investigation by the Bureau of Mineral Resources. The results of this work are being published by the Bureau, and portions of it which have a bearing on the changing sea-levels are summarized below.
Changing sea levels of the Australian east coast, suggested by levels of water-laid sand-deposits and by dune morphology
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6924 Fluorescence @1.9m Daily Averages
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6381.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6381 From 05 Feb 2016 To 13 Feb 2016
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6165.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6165 From 07 Apr 2015 To 23 Apr 2015
Geoscience Australia has completed the first phase of an areal map of Australia's coastal geomorphological units. Utilising pre-existing GIS datasets procured from local, state and federal government agencies, this national scale map conforms to a coastal geomorphology classification scheme developed at Geoscience Australia. Phase one consists of a geodatabase containing a series of state wide feature datasets that have been reclassified into the national coastal geomorphology classification scheme.
A Nationally Consistent Geomorphic Classification of the Australian Coastal Zone
AUSTRALIA EXCLUDING EXTERNAL TERRITORIES
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6326 Salinity @1.9m Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 5599 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
DATA ACCESS - This OGC WFS service returns the data (Estuarine habitats of SA) in Shapefile format
Palynological analysis of the marine Oligocene-Miocene Geera Clay and Renmark Group in the Oakvale-l corehole in the western Murray Basin has shown diverse and well-preserved assemblages of spores, pollen, and dinoflagellates throughout the sequence. Pollen of Nothofagus is present throughout, with Nothofagidites emarcidus the most common form . Myrtaceous pollen is abundant: most types are referable to closed forest genera such as Syzygium, Acmena and Tristania, although a significant component of Eucalyptus type pollen is present. Podocarpaceae are common, and include types comparable to the extant Podocarpus, Dacrycarpus, Phyllocladus, Microcachrys and Dacrydium. Araucariaceae, probably as Araucaria, locally reaches high frequencies. Casuarinaceae is consistently present, and Cyperaceae and Poaceae at some levels reach frequencies in excess of 10 per cent. A group of pollen and spores that were first recorded from Tertiary strata in the modern tropics is present, although in low numbers; these include Polypodiisporites usmensis, Margocolporites vanwijhei, and a form similar to Perfotricolpites digitatus. The site provides good fossil records for a number of extant Australian taxa - Acacia pollen (as Acaciapollenites myriosporites) is present from the late Oligocene, and Gyrostemonaceae pollen was recorded from the same interval - and also the first fossil record in Australia for pollen of Utricularia (as Polycolpites sp.) and Gardenia (as Triporotetradites sp.). There is clear evidence too of diversity within the Cyperaceae by the late Oligocene. Recycled Permian and early Cretaceous spores and pollen are most common in the upper part of the Geera Clay. Dinoflagellate cysts occur throughout the section. The assemblages are dominated by the Spiniferites ramosus complex, with Hystrichokolpoma rigaudae, Lingulodinium machaerophorum, Operculodinium centrocarpum, and Systematophora placacantha the most common of the other components. There is a general similarity to coeval assemblages from Europe and elsewhere, but one major difference is the absence of peridinioid forms such as Deflandrea, Wetzeliella sensu lato, and Palaeocystodinium. These apparently did not persist into the late Oligocene in this region. The base of the Triporopollenites bellus Zone of the Gippsland Basin has been tentatively identified at 80 m. A quantitative zonation for this corehole sequence, based on the frequencies of the major pollen taxa, has been statistically calculated, enabling a division into two major zones; the younger of these has been further divided into four sub-zones. The basal Zone II, incorporating the Olney Formation and lower Geera Clay, is characterised by high Myrtaceae and high Nothofagus brassi type values. N. brassi, however, is lower here than at coeval sites in southeastern Australia. These assemblages are considered to indicate the presence of evergreen rainforest with abundant myrtaceous trees, in association with the N. brassi producers. A climatic regime of high, year-round precipitation may haye supported this forest type. In the late Oligocene, the vegetation changed; N. brassi became reduced in importance, and Araucaria became more prominent. This has been interpreted as reflecting a drier type of rainforest growing under a mildly seasonal moisture regime.
Palynology of the Oligocene-Miocene sequence in the Oakvale-1 corehole, western Murray Basin, South Australia
RV Solander Trip 5130 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
Sediment and water flux were monitored at Boulder Reef, in the Northern Great Barrier Reef, before, during, and after the passage of Tropical Cyclone Dominic. Rainfall at Cooktown as a result of Dominic amounted to 430 mm in 3 days, this effecting a record discharge in the Endeavour River of nearly 50 000 megalitres/day. At Boulder Reef, conditions prior to Dominic of 10-20 knot winds effected average water velocities of 11 cm/s across the reef, which generated a substantial reef-derived sediment load with particulate organic material up to ten times greater than particulate inorganic carbon by weight. During the high-energy event, winds in excess of 50 knots generated water movements of up to 40 cm/s and sediment loads two to five times greater than before the event. In addition, the sediment contained a substantial terrestrial component (illite and kaolinite), probably originating from the Endeavour River. Three days after the passage of Dominic, water velocities across the reef were still rapid (up to 60 cm/s) and sediment loads still high, although now only reef-derived. However, further monitoring indicated a second pulse of terrigenous material reaching Boulder Reef four days after Dominic. Large amounts of reef-derived carbonate and organic material are lost daily from the system to the inter-reef areas. Conversely, large quantities of terrestrially derived clay are added to the reef every five years or so, in amounts within the range 135- 228 tonnes: this has probably occurred at this periodicity for the past 5000 years. Cores through the Holocene section confirmed that clay deposition has occurred throughout its growth.
High-energy reef and terrigenous sedimentation, Boulder Reef, Great Barrier Reef
File download for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid file download
MAIZABFL1 Water Temperature Daily Averages
MAIZABSL1 Water Temperature Daily Averages
DATA ACCESS (Smartline100K) - CSV format
OPeNDAP web service for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR tilt image
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR tilt image OPeNDAP
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:7691
Related product: Petrel Sub-basin Study 1995-1996 : Summary Report, including Well, Map, and Seismic Folios
Map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction off Central Western Australia. One of the 27 constituent maps of the "Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series" (GeoCat 71789). Depicting Australia's extended continental shelf approved by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in April 2008 and various maritime zones. Background bathymetric image is derived from a combination of the 2009 9 arc second bathymetric and topographic grid by GA and a grid by Smith and Sandwell, 1997. Background land imagery derived from Blue Marble, NASA's Earth Observatory. A0 sized .pdf downloadable from the web.
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction off Central Western Australia
Related product: Petrel Sub-basin Study 1995-1996 : 2-D Gravity Modelling
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6924 Salinity @1.9m Daily Averages
Bremer Marine Park Bathymetry 2018 20m (tif) [12.42 MB]
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6326 Seawater Intake Temperature @1.9m Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 8163 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
OPeNDAP web service for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR 1VD image
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR 1VD image OPeNDAP
This dataset contains point data describing physical properties of marine sediments as held within the Geoscience Australia Marine Sediment database (MARS) for samples acquired by marine surveys that occurred between 1905 and 2017. Samples were collected from within the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone, plus waters within Australian Antarctic Territory, waters around Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) and outside the EEZ within the Timor Sea and waters around Papua New Guinea. Samples are sourced from a range of organisations, with sampling technique, spatial accuracy and sample preservation varying between surveys. Attributes include survey ID and name, sample ID, sampling method, water depth and location information. Sediment properties include %mud, %sand, %gravel, mean grain size and texture (classified using the Folk (1954) nomenclature for sediments). There is no consistent datum and projection due to the time span, differing collecting organisations and method of measurement across the dataset. All data is referenced to WGS 84 unless stated otherwise.
View the online article in Scientific Results, Vol. 188,
Davies Reef Sensor Float 5 Salinity @5.2m Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 7691 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6165 Seawater Intake Temperature @1.9m Daily Averages
DATA ACCESS (Coastal Geomorphology Reclassified 100K) - Shapefile format
DATA ACCESS (Regolith Geomorphology 25K) - Shapefile format
This WFS service returns the data for download in various vector formats.
The 'Wireless Sensor Networks Facility' (formerly known as Facility for The Automated Intelligent Monitoring of Marine Systems (FAIMMS)), part of the Great Barrier Reef Ocean Observing System project (GBROOS), is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the Great Barrier Reef Wireless Sensor Network.
Davies Reef Salinity From 09 Dec 2009 To 29 Jan 2016
BONNER1 Water Temperature @3.2m Daily Averages
Geoscience Australia has the mandated authority for determining the Australia’s maritime jurisdiction and the framework for managing marine resources including supporting marine planning: deliver certainty, stability, predictability and visibility to Australia’s international and domestic boundaries deliver systems that support planning in the maritime jurisdiction support our neighbours in the region to address global priority issues in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) This presentation (May 2025) will communicate the benefits and progress associated with the digital transformation of maritime boundaries both within Australia, under Australian-led international programs and global influence.
Certainty and Stability, Australia Maritime Boundaries in a Changing World
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7659 Turbidity @1.9m Daily Averages
This map supersedes the Australia's Maritime Zones/BoundariesMap Edition 3 by C.J. French, published in June 2006. Catalogue Number/GeoCat 63690. This map has been derived from Geoscience Australia's Australian Maritime Boundaries (AMB) version 2.0 data which is a digital representation of Australia's territorial sea baseline and the maritime limits and boundaries as established under the Sea and Submerged Lands Act 1973. On the 9 April 2008 the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf confirmed Australia's continental shelf limits. This edition shows those limits together with those areas yet to be resolved and the area off the Australian Antarctic Territory that Australia requested the commission not consider for the time being. The map describes the different maritime zones, explains how Australia defines and updates its maritime boundaries, and lists the different maritime boundary arrangements with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, France (New Calendonia and Kerguelen) and New Zealand. It shows the extent of Australia's maritime boundaries, stretching from Heard and McDonald Islands in the west to Norfolk Island in the east, and from the Torres Strait and Arafura Sea in the north to the Australian Antarctic Territory in the south. This map can be downloaded from the Web in PDF format. Coverage: Australia Currency: 2013 (web map) Coordinates: Geographical Projection: Bonne with 134E longitude and 30S at projection centre Medium: Web delivery
Preview report for the marine geophysical survey of the Gulf of Papua and the Bismarck Sea, 1970
Dense coral-sponge communities on the upper continental slope off George V Land have been identified as a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem in the Antarctic. The challenge is now to understand their likely distribution. The CEAMARC survey found these communities at sites on the upper slope in depths of 570 - 950m. Based on these results we propose some working hypotheses defining the physical settings suitable for such assemblages. Icebergs scour to 500m in this region and the lack of such disturbance is probably a factor allowing growth of rich benthic ecosystems. In addition, the richest communities are found in the heads of canyons. We suggest two possible oceanographic mechanisms linking abundant filter feeder communities and canyon heads. The canyons in which they occur receive descending plumes of Antarctic Bottom Water formed on the George V shelf and these water masses could entrain abundant food for the benthos. Maps of water properties measured during the Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC) survey provide some support for this idea. Another possibility is that the canyons harbouring rich benthos are those that cut the shelf break. Such canyons are known sites of high productivity in other areas because of a number of oceanographic factors, including strong current flow and increased mixing, and the abrupt, complex topography. These hypotheses provide a framework for the identification of areas where there is a higher likelihood of encountering these Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems.
Physical Controls on Coral Communities on the George V Land Slope: Some Working Hypotheses
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7785.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7785 From 18 Mar 2022 To 24 Mar 2022
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:7083
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:5130
RV Solander Trip 5117 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:7659
One Tree Island Weather Station Rain Accumulation Daily Averages
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7659 Seawater Intake Temperature @1.9m Daily Averages
Explore and download the data via Ausseabed Marine Data Portal
One Tree Island Weather Station Rain Duration Daily Averages
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:6920
Related product: Free Download - Australian Maritime Boundaries GIS Data
HAMPOOLFL1 Water Temperature @5m Daily Averages
File download for National Gravity Compilation 2019 (free air grid)
/g/data/iv65/Geoscience_Australia_Geophysics_Reference_Data_Collection/national_geophysical_compilations/Gravmap2019/Gravmap2019-grid-grv_fa.nc file download
DATA ACCESS - Shearwater biologging [direct download]
Mapping of benthic habitats seldom considers biogeochemical variables or changes across time. We aimed to: (i) develop winter and summer benthic habitat maps for a sandy embayment; and (ii) compare the effectiveness of various maps for differentiating infauna. Patch-types (internally homogeneous areas of seafloor) were constructed using combinations of abiotic parameters, and are presented in sediment-based, biogeochemistry-based and combined sediment/biogeochemistry-based habitat maps. August and February surveys were undertaken in Jervis Bay, Australia, to collect samples for physical (%mud, sorting, %carbonate), biogeochemical (chlorophyll a, sulfur, sediment metabolism, bio-available elements) and infaunal analyses. Boosted Decision Tree and cokriging models generated spatially continuous data-layers. Habitat maps were made from classified layers using GIS overlays, and were interpreted from a biophysical-process perspective. Biogeochemistry and %mud varied spatially and temporally, even in visually homogeneous sediments. Species turnover across patch-types was important for diversity, and the utility of habitat maps for differentiating biological communities varied across months. Diversity patterns were broadly related to reactive carbon and redox which varied temporally. Inclusion of biogeochemical factors and time in habitat maps provides a better framework for differentiating species and interpreting biodiversity patterns than once-off studies based solely on sedimentology or video-analysis.
Including biogeochemical factors and a temporal component in benthic habitat maps: Influences on infaunal diversity in a temperate embayment
View and download this data through the interactive IMAS Data Portal.
Map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction in the southern part of the Coral Sea. One of the 27 constituent maps of the "Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series" (GeoCat 71789). Depicting Australia's extended continental shelf, approved by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in April 2008, treaties and various maritime zones. Background bathymetric image is derived from a combination of the 2009 9 arc second bathymetric and topographic grid by GA and a grid by Smith and Sandwell, 1997. Background land imagery derived from Blue Marble, NASA's Earth Observatory. A0 sized .pdf downloadable from the web.
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction in the Coral Sea (South)
Previous research: EDNA data for Crown of Thorns Seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris)
Gravity data measure 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. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid is produced from the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. These gravity data were acquired under the project No. 202008. The grid has a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m). The data are given in units of um/s^2, also known as 'gravity units', or gu. The data are derived from ground observations stored in the Australian National Gravity Database (ANGD) as at September 2019, supplemented by offshore data sourced from v28.1 of the Global Gravity grid developed using data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. Out of the approximately 1.8 million gravity observations, nearly 1.4 million gravity stations in the ANGD together with marine data were used to generate this grid. The ground gravity data used in this grid has been acquired by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, the mining and exploration industry, universities and research organisations from the 1940's to the present day. Station spacing for ground observations varies from approximately 11 km down to less than 1 km, with major parts of the continent having station spacing between 2.5 and 7 km. The grid shows de-trended global isostatic residual anomalies (A series) over Australia and its continental margins. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid (DGIR) was obtained by subtracting 3 quantities (i.e., the near-field isostatic correction, the far-field isostatic correction, and a first order trend correction) from Complete Bouguer Anomaly data (CBA) of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series.
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid
RV Solander Trip 8163 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
AHO ReferenceSurface (Banks Strait) 2023 0.5m (zip) [63.7 MB]
OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS) for National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid WCS
Australia has established a network of 58 marine parks within Commonwealth waters covering a total of 3.3 million square kilometres, or 40 per cent of our exclusive economic zone (excluding Australian Antarctic Territory). These parks span a range of settings, from near coastal and shelf habitats to abyssal plains. Parks Australia manages the park network through management plans that came into effect for all parks on 1 July 2018. Geoscience Australia is contributing to their management by collating and interpreting existing environmental data, and through the collection of new data. This includes compiling existing bathymetry datasets for select marine parks. This dataset includes a compilation of multibeam sonar bathymetry (gridded to 100 m spatial resolution) for Bremer Marine Park, in the South-west Marine Park Network. The park incorporates Bremer Canyon and adjacent smaller canyons that incise the continental slope and outer shelf. This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.
The upper Permian to Lower Triassic sedimentary succession in the southern Bonaparte Basin represents an extensive marginal marine depositional system that hosts several gas accumulations. Of these, the Blacktip gas field has been in production since 2009, while additional identified gas resources are under consideration for development. The sedimentary succession extends across the Permian–Triassic stratigraphic boundary, and shows a change in lithofacies changes from the carbonate dominated Dombey Formation to the siliciclastic dominated Tern and Penguin formations. The timing, duration, distribution and depositional environments of these formations in the Petrel Sub-basin and Londonderry High is the focus of this study. The sedimentary succession extending from the Dombey to the Penguin formations is interpreted to represent marginal marine facies which accumulated during a long-lasting marine transgression that extended over previous coastal and alluvial plain sediments of the Cape Hay Formation. The overlying Mairmull Formation represents the transition fully to marine deposition in the Early Triassic. Regional scale well correlations and an assessment of available biostratigraphic data suggest marginal marine deposition systems were initiated outboard before the End Permian Extinction event, subsequently migrated inboard at about the Permian–Triassic stratigraphic boundary, and continued to be deposited through the faunal and floral recovery phase as Triassic species became established. The depositional history of the basin is translated to a chronostratigraphic framework which has implications for predicting the character and distribution of petroleum system elements in the Petrel Sub-basin and Londonderry High. Appeared in The APPEA Journal 61(2) 699-706, 2 July 2021
New insights into the Late Permian–Early Triassic depositional history in the southern Bonaparte Basin – Extended Abstract 2021 APPEA Conference
Stratigraphy (incl. Biostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy)
Related product: Petrel Sub-basin Study 1995-1996 : Organic Geochemistry of Oils and Source Rocks
RV Solander Trip 6920 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
This ESRI map (web) service contains geospatial seabed morphology and geomorphology information for the Beagle Marine Park (South-east Marine Parks Network) and is intended for use by marine park managers, regulators and other stakeholders. This web service uses the data product published in Nanson et al. (2023); eCat Record 147976.
Seabed morphology and geomorphology of the Beagle Marine Park, south-eastern Australia, Version 1 MapServer
Geomorphology and Earth Surface Processes
Gravity data measure 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. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR 1VD image is produced from the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. These gravity data were acquired under the project No. 202008. The grid represented in this image has a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m). The data are derived from ground observations stored in the Australian National Gravity Database (ANGD) as at September 2019, supplemented by offshore data sourced from v28.1 of the Global Gravity grid developed using data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. Out of the approximately 1.8 million gravity observations, nearly 1.4 million gravity stations in the ANGD together with marine data were used to generate this grid. The ground gravity data used in this grid has been acquired by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, the mining and exploration industry, universities and research organisations from the 1940's to the present day. Station spacing for ground observations varies from approximately 11 km down to less than 1 km, with major parts of the continent having station spacing between 2.5 and 7 km. The grid shows the first vertical derivative of the de-trended global isostatic residual anomalies (A series) over Australia and its continental margins. The original DGIR was obtained by subtracting 3 quantities (i.e., the near-field isostatic correction, the far-field isostatic correction, and a first order trend correction) from Complete Bouguer Anomaly data (CBA) of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. A first vertical derivative was calculated by applying a fast Fourier transform (FFT) process to the DGIR grid of the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids to produce the grid represented in this image.
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR 1VD image
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7659 Fluorescence @1.9m Daily Averages
CREALFL1 Depth @3.6m Reef Flat Site 1 Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 5668 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
Bathurst Island lies north of Darwin, Northern Territory; it measures 2050 km2 Cenomanian marine argillaceous sediments are exposed in cliffs at the south coast, and were first reported and diagnosed to be of Cretaceous age by Daily in 1955. Molluscs collected from various outcrop localities were dated mid- to late Cenomanian by Wright in 1963. Gravity and seismic refraction surveys by petroleum companies since 1956established the presence of a considerable rock sequence of Mesozoic age. Subsequent regional field work by the BMR concluded that the Cenomanian strata probably accumulated in a shallow sea bordered in the north by scattered land areas. Two wells, Bathurst Island Nos. I and 2, penetrated the rock sequence at the south coast of the island to a depth of slightly over 300 m, and were continuously cored. Examination of ammonites and foraminifera established the sequence as Cenomanian to possibly lower Turonian.Samples from 20 cores from these wells were selected for palynological study. The results are presented in this Bulletin. The spores and pollen grains are thought to have been shed by temperate vegetation. The spore-pollen sequence is divided into 2 intervals, palynological unit K3a, of Cenomanian age, and palynological unit K3b, of possibly early Turonian age. Dinoflagellate Zone. Two subdivisions are distinguished: a lower Subzone, ofCenomanian age, and an upper Subzone, of late Cenomanian to possibly early Turonian age. In the descriptive and taxonomic work of the microplankton by M. S. Norvick, 104 dinoflagellate cyst and 16acritarch species, varieties, and species groups are differentiated, belonging to a total of 61 previously known genera. Eight new species of dinoflagellate cysts are described: and In the systematic study of the spores and pollen grains by D. Burger, 40 spore species and 23 pollen species are described or documented. Two new genera, and 7 new species are proposed: and 1956 established
Palynology of the Cenomanian of Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Australia
STCRISPFL1 Water Temperature @2m Daily Averages
Well preserved assemblages of plant microfossils have been recovered from Lower Carboniferous sediments - principally or entirely marine in origin and Visean in age encountered in four boreholes in the landward Bonaparte Gulf Basin of Western Australia and Northern Territory. The sediments are representative of the following lithostratigraphic units: Bonaparte Beds (upper portion) and overlying Tanmurra Formation (intersected by Bonaparte Nos 1 and 2 Wells, central basinal province of Bonaparte Gulf Basin, Western Australia); Milligans Beds (Spirit Hill No. 1 Well; Spirit Hill and Milligans No. 1 Bores, all located in the southeastern platform region of the basin, Northern Territory) and overlying Burvill Beds (basal portion) of Milligans No. 1 only. The 55 species of plant microfossils recognized are distributed among 32 genera of trilete sporae dispersae, including one new genus, Exallospora, which is instituted for the reception of distally annulate cingulate forms having typically verrucate sculptural elevations. Twenty-two species are referable (six tentatively so) to previously established taxa. The palynological flora is dominated by the pan-Australian, Famennian to ?mid-Carboniferous species Granulatisporites frustulentus Balme, Hassell (emended herein), which accounts for 44-83 percent of the spore populations. Certain (inevitably subordinate) spore forms, either the same as or closely similar to species known from northern hemisphere Lower Carboniferous sediments, lend confirmation to the Visean age previously adduced from the contained fauna.
Lower Carboniferous spores from the Bonaparte Gulf Basin, Western Australia and Northern Territory
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6326.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6326 From 29 Nov 2015 To 18 Dec 2015
DATA ACCESS (Offshore Geomorphology Reclassified 100K) - Shapefile format
Understanding the vulnerability of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification is a critical issue, especially in the Southern Ocean (SO), which is likely to be the one of the first, and most severely affected regions. Since the industrial revolution, ~30% of anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the global oceans. Average surface seawater pH levels have already decreased by 0.1 and are projected to decline by ~0.3 by the year 2100. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is shallowing the saturation horizon, which is the depth below which calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dissolves, likely increasing the vulnerability of many resident marine calcifiers to dissolution. The negative impact of OA may be seen first in species depositing more soluble CaCO3 mineral phases such as aragonite and high-Mg calcite (HMC). Ocean warming could further exacerbate the effects of OA in these particular species. Here we combine a review and a quantitative meta-analysis to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about skeletal mineralogy of major taxonomic groups of SO marine calcifiers and to make projections about how OA might affect a broad range of SO taxa. We consider a species' geographic range, skeletal mineralogy, biological traits, and potential strategies to overcome OA. The meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the OA on a range of biological responses such as shell state, development and growth rate illustrates that the response variation is largely dependent on mineralogical composition. Species-specific responses due to mineralogical composition indicate that taxa with calcitic, aragonitic, and HMC skeletons, could be at greater risk to expected future carbonate chemistry alterations, and low-Mg calcite (LMC) species could be mostly resilient to these changes. Environmental and biological control on the calcification process and/or Mg content in calcite, biological traits, and physiological processes are also expected to influence species-specific responses. Citation: Figuerola B, Hancock AM, Bax N, Cummings VJ, Downey R, Griffiths HJ, Smith J and Stark JS (2021) A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci.8:584445. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.584445
A Review and Meta-Analysis of Potential Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Calcifiers From the Southern Ocean
Download the extended abstract (pdf) [1.7 MB]
In a previous paper densities of crustal layers were inferred from seismic refraction surveys in Australia and surrounding marine areas. These indicated substantial variations in crustal mass. As the free-air gravity field does not show anomalies corresponding to these, it is inferred that compensating mass variations must occur in the upper mantle. Sub-crustal mantle densities, inferred from Pn velocities, in general do not provide the required mantle mass distribution; however in some parts of the continent observed increases in seismic velocity at depths of 60 to 100 km suggest density changes which would lead to approximate compensation at about 130 km depth, corresponding to the top of a low-velocity layer suggested by surface wave studies. Marine crustal masses are reasonably close to a common value, but the wide variation of Pn velocities implies a corresponding variation of densities which would counteract this compensation if they persisted in depth. It is suggested that the Pn velocities represent comparatively thin layers, and that deeper density changes occur so that compensation takes place at 80 to 100 km, at the top of the sub-oceanic asthenosphere. The West Australian shield has the highest crustal mass, and also the highest Pn velocity, which implies a further relative increase in mass with depth. If the sub-shield mantle is assumed to consist of refractory peridotite with a relatively low density corresponding to its Pn velocity, the discrepancy in crustal mass with respect to the other areas is reduced with increasing depth, but is still not eliminated at depths less than about 160 km. This suggests that the sub-shield mantle above this depth has enough strength to support the differential pressure associated with the excess crustal mass. This conclusion is in accordance with other evidence, suggesting that sub-shield or sub-continental mantle differs from sub-oceanic mantle to depths of several hundreds of kilometres, and hence that the return flow compensating for plate-tectonic motions cannot take place at depths of 100 to 200 km, as often supposed.
Implications of Australian seismic and gravity measurements for the structure and composition of the upper mantle
RV Solander Trip 7083 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
Davies Reef Sensor Float 4 Salinity @10.7m Daily Averages
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:8163
RV Solander Trip 7083 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:5668
Download the presentation (pdf) [3.1 MB]
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of Hamelin Pool.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at Hamelin Pool, From 26 Apr 2012 To 29 May 2017
RV Solander Trip 7691 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
This Perth Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Perth Basin is a complex geological region extending along Australia's southwest margin for about 1,300 km. It comprises sub-basins, troughs, terraces, and shelves, hosting sedimentary rocks with coal, oil, gas, and significant groundwater resources. Off the coast of Western Australia, it reaches depths of up to 4,500 m, while its onshore part extends up to 90 km inland. The basin is bounded by the Yilgarn Craton to the east, and the Carnarvon and Bremer basins to the north and south. The basin's history involves two main rifting phases in the Permian and Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, creating 15 sub-basins with varying sedimentary thickness due to compartmentalization and fault reactivation. The sedimentary succession mainly comprises fluviatile Permian to Early Cretaceous rocks over Archean and Proterozoic basement blocks. Differences exist between northern and southern sequences, with the south being continental and the north featuring marine deposits. During the Permian, faulting and clastic sedimentation dominated, with marine transgressions in the north and continental rocks in the south. The Triassic saw a similar pattern, with the southern succession being continental and the northern succession showing marine deposits. The Kockatea Shale became a primary hydrocarbon source. The Jurassic period witnessed marine incursions in the central basin, while the Late Jurassic experienced sea level regression and deposition of the Yarragadee Formation. The Cretaceous saw the formation of the Early Cretaceous Parmelia Group due to heavy tectonic activity. The southern basin had a marine transgression leading to the Warnbro Group's deposition with valuable groundwater resources. Post-Cretaceous, Cenozoic deposits covered the basin with varying thicknesses. Overall, the Perth Basin's geological history reveals a diverse sedimentary record with economic and resource significance.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
RV Solander Trip 6920 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6924 Turbidity @1.9m Daily Averages
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6924.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6924 From 17 Apr 2018 To 05 May 2018
CENTSL1 Water Temperature Daily Averages
Following on from previous CoTS Control Innovation Program (CCIP) projects focused on developing an eDNA method to detect and quantify CoTS, the data here include field data gathered as part of an effort to operationalise previous research. Data Dictionary Field name: Explanation/units Date: Julian Date Year: Collection Year Reef: Reef Name ReefName: Official GBRMPA Reef name and ID Site_name: Site name Site_No: Site number Lat: Latitude in decimal degrees Long: Longitude in decimal degrees Project: Project Code Collection organisation: Organisation that conducted the primary collection Collection vessel: Vessel from which samples were collected Reef_rep: replicate number on a reef basis Site_rep: replicate number on a site PCR1_binary: First technical PCR replicate: positive or negative (1 or 0) PCR2_binary: First technical PCR replicate: positive or negative (1 or 0) LOD_sample_positive: Limit of Detection based: 1 if either of the technical replicates are positive PCR1_conc: CoTS eDNA copy number per L water filtered, first technical replicate PCR2_conc: CoTS eDNA copy number per L water filtered, second technical replicate Conc_mean: CoTS eDNA copy number per L water filtered, averaged over both replicates
EDNA data for Crown of Thorns Seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris) - CCIP-RT-02
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 5117.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 5117 From 31 Jul 2010 To 26 Aug 2010
DATA ACCESS (Oz Estuaries Reclassified 100K) - Shapefile format
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7659.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7659 From 07 Oct 2021 To 27 Oct 2021
The dataset comprises 8953 individuals from 192 species of fishes, sharks, rays and sea snakes observed at around Shoals : Southern Great Barrier Reef using 43 baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS(TM)). 1285 images were captured from these cameras. Approximately 3500 of the best images from all BRUVS (TM) projects are stored in a reference library. Data recorded concern: - classification of the habitat in the field of view (topography, sediments, benthos) - the identity of fish and CAABCODES - their time of arrival - their behaviour (8 categories, including feeding on the bait) - their maturity (adult or juvenile) - their relative abundance (as MaxN = the maximum number visible at one time, or distinguishable at different times as separate individuals e.g. much larger/smaller, male/female) - the time elapsed before MaxN and feeding occurs. A custom interface has been developed by AIMS staff, using Microsoft Access, for reading and analysis of BRUVS(TM) tapes.
BRUVS (TM) - Fish and Benthic survey of Shoals : Southern Great Barrier Reef 2007-02-05 to 2007-02-20
A BMR Marine Geoscience Program in Antarctica
RV Solander Trip 5117 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
Rumbelow, K ., Speziali, A. & Bloomfield, A. (2010). Working Towards a Statewide Inventory of Estuaries: Advancing the Inventory of Estuaries in Five NRM Regions of South Australia. Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Adelaide.
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6326 Fluorescence @1.9m Daily Averages
CENTFL1 Water Temperature Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 8163 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
WILKSL1 Water Temperature @7.2m Reef Slope Site 1 Daily Averages
3D images and text describing Australia's Southeast Marine Region
Continental Shelf Definition in the Kerguelen Plateau Region : Law of the Sea Cruise proposal
RV Solander Trip 5599 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
OPeNDAP web service for National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid OPeNDAP
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of St Crispin Reef.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at St Crispin Reef, From 15 Mar 2014 To 20 Sep 2025
HAMPOOLFL1 Water Temperature @5m duplicate Daily Averages
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of Wilkie Island.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at Wilkie Island, Great Barrier Reef From 19 Oct 2004 To 04 Dec 2017
OGC Web Mapping Service (WMS) for National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid WMS
File download for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR tilt image
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR tilt image file download
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6325 Fluorescence @1.9m Daily Averages
STCRISPSL1 Water Temperature @9m Daily Averages
Related product: Map of Australian Maritime Zones in the Torres Strait
Bremer Marine Park Bathymetry 2018 50m (tif) [4.77 MB]
RELATED INFO: National Coastal Geomorphology Information Framework: Discovery and Distribution
This OGC WFS service returns the data for download in subsettable CSV format.
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6165 Salinity @1.9m Daily Averages
Original metadata record [SA Location Metadata System]
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6381 Fluorescence @1.9m Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 5668 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
Department of the Environment and Energy: NESP MB Hub website
RV Solander Trip 7691 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
During the late Neogene, the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf drainage system flowed across Prydz Bay in an ice stream that reached the shelf edge and built a trough mouth fan on the upper continental slope. The adjacent banks saw mostly subglacial till deposition beneath slower-moving ice. The fan consists mostly of debris flow deposits derived from the melting out of subglacial debris at the grounding line at the continental shelf edge. Thick debris flow intervals are separated by thin mudstone horizons deposited when the ice had retreated from the shelf edge. Age control in ODP Site 1167 indicates that the bulk of the trough mouth fan was deposited prior to the Brunhes-Matuyama Boundary (780 ka) with as few as 3 debris flow intervals deposited since then. This stratigraphy indicates that extreme advances of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system ceased during the mid Pleistocene. Possible causes for this change are progressive over-deepening of the inner shelf, a reduction in maximum ice volumes in the interior of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet caused by temperature change and a change in the interaction of Milanckovich cycles and the response time of the ice sheet.
Prydz Channel Fan and the History of Extreme Ice Advances in Prydz Bay
Previous research: Developing an effective marine eDNA monitoring: eDNA detection at pre-outbreak densities of corallivorous seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris)
Record for source data hosted in the National Spectral Database (NSD) Aquatic Library Citation: Blackburn, D. T, and Dekker, A. G. (2007). “Remote sensing study of marine and coastal features and interpretation of changes in relation to natural and anthropogenic processes. Final Technical Report”. ACWS Technical Report No.6 prepared for the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study Steering Committee, July 2007 David Blackburn Environmental Pty Ltd and CSIRO Land and Water. For further information and instructions to access the database go to the following URL: https://cmi.ga.gov.au/data-products/dea/643/australian-national-spectral-database
Aquatic Substrate Library - Bolivar 2001
Australian National Spectral Database (NSD)
DATA ACCESS (Coastal Geomorphology Reclassified 25K) - Shapefile format
As part of Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) survey 67 using Rig Seismic offshore South Australia, Victoria and West Tasmania, many gravity cores were sampled and analysed for light hydrocarbons as part of the Continental Margins surface geochemistry project. Eight of those cores were analysed, both at sea and in Canberra, for a variety ofcomplementary geochemical data. This Record provides a summary of the geochemical analyses subsequently conducted on those cores. The data presented here include (i) porewater metabolites (ii) geochemical analyses of major and trace element abundances (iii) radiochemical data and select palaeoceanographic indicators. Some of these data have been used to assist in the interpretation of the light hydrocarbon data, while much of theother data has applications to a variety of environmental and resource issues in southern Australia. These data (i) provide a data-base which can be used to assess long-termenvironmental change associated with anthropogenic discharges to the southern marginsof Australia (ii) allow assessment of Late Quaternary and natural climatic change and (iii) provide clues to geochemical processes operating in the sediments which are important inidentifying formation of some seafloor minerals including marine phosphorites and manganese crusts and nodules. This Record and these data also form part of ageochemical data-base which includes data from other parts of the Australian continental margin. These data will be used to systematically develop the basis for an understanding of the controls on the geochemical compositions of sediments from around Australia. The pore water data indicate that the outer-shelf/upper-slope cores are probably sub-oxicto anoxic in character within the top few centimetres as a result of organic carbon burialand recycling in the core-tops. In contrast the lower-slope sediments are more oxic (oxicto sub-oxic) and these reflect generally lower rates of organic matter input into these sediments. Pore water silicate data in some cores suggest uptake of silica into the solid phases at depth, which may be indicative of glauconite formation in the sediments. Glauconite is often associated with modern phosphorite accumulations in sediments, although these data provide no direct clues to phosphorite formations in these sediments. The inventory of sedimentary manganese in the outer-shelf/upper-slope cores is generally significantly lower than that measured in lower-slope cores. This observation, and the pore water data which shows manganese remobilisation andrecycling between pore waters and sediments, may help explain an important processcontributing to the formation of abundant manganese crusts and nodules in the deepwaters off West Tasmania including the South Tasman Rise. The down-core distributions of some radiochemical species, including authigenicuranium and excess thorium 230 are being used to both determine sedimentation ratesand assess Late Quaternary paleoceanography in the region. These data and several other potential palaeoceanographic indicators indicate down-core trends which may beindicative of natural palaeoceanographic and palaeochemcial changes between glacialand interglacial periods, but these cannot be assessed until these sediments have been dated. This dating is in progress at the Flinders University of South Australia.
Geochemistry of Surface Sediments from the Southern Australian Continental Margin Including Offshore West Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:6381
Davies Reef Sensor Float 4 Conductivity @10.7m Daily Averages
The Lacepede Channel bathymetry survey was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) onboard the MV Pacific Conquest and USV Blue Shadow - 901 during the period 19 May 2021 – 22 Sep 2021. This was a contracted survey conducted for the Australian Hydrographic Office by Fugro as part of the Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program. The survey area encompases an area in Lacepede Channel, Western Australia. Bathymetry data was acquired using a Kongsberg EM2040 Mk II, and processed using Caris Hips & Sips processing software. The dataset was then exported as a 30m resolution, 32 bit floating point GeoTIFF grid of the survey area. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.
SI 1014 Lacepede Channel, WA (HIPP) Bathymetry Acquisition (20210013S)
Earth Science | Oceans | Bathymetry/Seafloor Topography | Bathymetry
RV Solander Trip 6920 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
Over the past five years, scientists of the Bureau of Mineral Resources and James Cook University of North Queensland have drilled 61 holes into 24 reefs throughout the Great Barrier Reef Province between 15°30S and 25°50S. Eleven holes penetrated to the Pleistocene and nearly 250 radiocarbon dates have been recorded. Analysis of drill-hole core has delineated five major biosedimentologic facies - coralline algal facies. coral-head framework facies, branching-coral framework facies, detrital carbonate facies, and detrital siliciclastic facies. Latitudinal uniformity in framework facies contrasts markedly with major regional variations in detrital facies, the reefs of the mid-shelf of the central region being dominated by clastic carbonates. Depositional rates of detrital carbonate facies vary between 1-4 m/1000 yr for sand flat progradation , 7-9 m/1000 yr for trade wind storm sedimentation, and 13-18 m/1000 yr for high-energy low-frequency events. Framework growth rates varv from 1- 16 m/1000yr with low rates (2 m/I000 yr) for coralline algae. intermediate rates (up to 7 ml 1000 yr) for coral head facies, and high rates (up to 16 m/lOOO yr) for branching frameworks. Rates of 8-12 m/1000 yr occur in all environments: modes of 7-8 m/1000 yr typify patch reefs , 4-6 m/1000 yr typify windward margins. and 3-9 m/1000 yr typify leeward margins. Fringing reefs usually grow at rates of 1-4 m/1000 yr and are dominated by coral-head facies. Depth to the Pleistocene is generally greater in the central region compared to the northern and southern reefs: reef initiation, however, began at the same time throughout the province (8-9000 yr B. P.). Initial reef growth lagged significantly behind sea-level rise, such that water depths of up to 12 m developed over reef surfaces prior to sea-level stabilisation. However, some reefs in the southern region exhibit no growth lag - initial colonisation and growth maintaining pace with sea-level rise. The growth rate of most reefs decreased markedly as reef surfaces approached stabilised sea level.
Growth fabrics and growth rates of Holocene reefs in the Great Barrier Reef
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 5668.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 5668 From 27 Oct 2012 To 18 Nov 2012
Three economic (1 oil and gas/condensate, 1 gas/condensate, and 1 gas) and fourteen uneconomic (6 oil, 7 gas, and 1 oil/gas) petroleum accumulations have been discovered since 1963 in the Amadeus Basin of central Australia. The petroleum in the Amadeus Basin mainly occupies the structural, fold- related traps within the Upper Proterozoic to Upper Ordovician marine to marginal marine clastic and evaporitic sequences. It is believed to be of algal/bacterial origin. The API gravity ranges from 18 to 54o for crude oils, and from 52 to 64o for condensates; gases are dry and wet. The basin's estimated petroleum resources as at 31 December 1985 comprise 5.74 x 106m3 of oil, 1.53 x 106m3 of natural-gas liquids, and 14.93 x 109m3 of sales gas. Production from Mereenie (oil) and Palm Valley (gas/condensate) accumulations commenced during 1984. Up to 31 December 1985 the cumulative production from the basin stood at 156.3 x 103m3 of oil and condensate, and 44.0 x 106m3 of sales gas. The gas/condensate is transported 146 km to Alice Springs through a 20-cm-diameter pipeline; the oil is transported 269 km to Alice Springs through a 20cm pipeline and from there by rail tankers to Adelaide refinery. As from February 1987 gas from Palm Valley will also be transported to Darwin via a 1537-km pipeline of 35.3 cm diameter.
Australian petroleum accumulations report. Amadeus Basin, central Australia
NetCDF Subsetting Service (NCSS) for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid NCSS
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:6326
File download for National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 includes airborne DGIR tilt grid file download
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. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 (free air grid) is a free air anomaly grid for the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids A series. This gravity survey was acquired under the project No. 202008. This gravity anomaly grid is derived from ground observations stored in the Australian National Gravity Database (ANGD) as at September 2019, supplemented with offshore data sourced from v28.1 of the Global Gravity grid developed using data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. Out of the approximately 1.8 million gravity observations, nearly 1.4 million gravity stations in the ANGD were used to generate this grid. The ground gravity data used in this grid has been acquired by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, the mining and exploration industry, universities and research organisations from the 1940's to the present day. Station spacing varies from approximately 11 km down to less than 1 km, with major parts of the continent having station spacing between 2.5 and 7 km. The grid shows free air anomalies over Australia and its continental margins with a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m). The data are given in units of um/s^2, also known as 'gravity units', or gu.
National Gravity Compilation 2019 (free air grid)
Fully qualified pathname of NetCDF file on NCI filesystem for National Gravity Compilation 2019 (free air grid). Users must be logged onto the NCI network to access this file system.
/g/data/iv65/Geoscience_Australia_Geophysics_Reference_Data_Collection/national_geophysical_compilations/Gravmap2019/Gravmap2019-grid-grv_fa.nc file at NCI
The Ninmaroo Formation (Upper Cambrian-Lower Ordovician) is one of several epeiric carbonate sequences in the Georgina Basin. It comprises ooid, peloid, flat-pebble conglomerate, skeletal and mixed carbonate lithofacies, terrigenous sandstones, and a late diagenetic crystalline dolostone lithofacies. Ninmaroo sedimentation took place in a broad, shallow epicontinental sea under normal marine, increasingly saline, and evaporitic conditions. A barrier complex of ooid, peloid and skeletal sands formed the seaward limit of these environments. Channels through this barrier extended weak tidal effects to the periphery of an extensive, non-tidal complex of semi-emergent shoals in a patchwork pattern, Here, algal and nonskeletal carbonate sedimentation predominated because higher salinities restricted the fauna. Sedimentation was cyclic, probably due to repeated shoaling from storms. Sabkhas developed locally on emergent areas of shoals and landward where the complex was transitional with an emergent pavement. Where emergence was prolonged, microkarst resulted with both carbonate and sulphate dissolution. Lithofacies patterns indicate two regressive depositional sequences. An initial southeastern progradation of the barrier and epeiric environments was over a stable and extensive flat shelf. Subsequent instability increased shelf slope locally, and depositional environments along margins were condensed. With increased tidal circulation, skeletal carbonate production became dominant, producing a second offlap to the southeast.
Epeiric carbonate sedimentation of the Ninmaroo Formation (Upper Cambrian-Lower Ordovician), Georgina Basin
Obtain the CCAMLR Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems Workshop volume
Bremer Marine Park Bathymetry 2018 30m (tif) [12.42 MB]
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 7659 Salinity @1.9m Daily Averages
Benthic chamber measurements of the reactants and products involved with biogenic matter remineralization (oxygen, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate, TCO2 and alkalinity) were used to define solute exchange rates between the sediment and overlying water column of Port Phillip Bay, Australia. Measurements at various sites throughout the bay, conducted during the summers of 1994 and 1995, indicate that the variability in flux values within a site is comparable to year-to-year variability (±50%). Four regions of the bay were distinguished by sediment properties and the northern region was identified as having 3-30 times greater nutrient regeneration rates than the other regions. Benthic recycling accounted for 63 and 72% of the annualized N and P input, respectively, to the entire bay as determined by summing benthic, dissolved riverine, atmospheric and dissolved effluent sources. However, bay-wide sedimentary denitrification accounted for a loss of 63% of the potentially recyclable N. This fraction is higher than many other coastal regions with comparable carbon loading. Denitrification efficiency is apparently not enhanced by benthic productivity nor by bio-irrigation. The rate of bio-irrigation is negatively correlated with denitrification efficiency. Bio-irrigation was studied using radon-222 and CsCl spike injection chamber measurements. Radon fluxes from sediments in Port Phillip Bay were enhanced over the diffusive flux by 3-16 times. The modelled rate of loss of Cs from chamber water was positively correlated with radon flux enhancement results. Both methods identify regions within Port Phillip Bay that have particularly high rates of non-diffusive pore-water overlying water solute exchange.
Benthic Nutrient Recycling in Port Phillip Bay, Australia
More information on Australian Maritime Boundaries
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:6165
Map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction around Macquarie Island. Based on Mercator Projection. One of the 27 constituent maps of the "Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series" (GeoCat 71789). Depicting Australia's extended continental shelf, approved by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in April 2008, treaties and various maritime zones. Background bathymetric image is derived from a combination of the 2009 9 arc second bathymetric and topographic grid by GA and a grid by Smith and Sandwell, 1997. A0 sized portrait format .pdf downloadable from the web.
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction around Macquarie Island - Mercator projection
RV Solander Trip 5599 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
AGSO's 1995-96 Petrel Sub-basin Study was undertaken within AGSO's Marine, Petroleum and Sedimentary Resources Division (MPSR) as part of MPSR's North West Shelf Project. The study was aimed at understanding the stratigraphic and structural development of the basin as a framework for more effective and efficient resource exploration. Specifically, the study aimed to: - define the nature of the major basement elements underlying the Petrel Sub-basin and their influence on the development of the basin through time, - determine the nature and age of the events that have controlled the initiation, distribution and tectonic evolution of the basin; - define the nature and age of the basin fill, and the processes that have controlled its deposition and deformation; and, importantly, - determine the factors controlling the development and distribution of the basin's petroleum systems and occurrences.
Petrel Sub-basin Study 1995-1996 : Geohistory Modelling
Methods of sample preparation and analysis used in the Broad Sound estuary study project
RV Solander Trip 5130 Fluorescence @2.5m Daily Averages
One Tree Island Rain From 18 Nov 2008 To 11 Jun 2021
Related product: Petrel Sub-Basin Well Folio
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of Centipede Reef.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at Centipede Reef, From 27 Apr 2012 To 11 Jun 2020
This data set was collected by one or more temperature loggers deployed around the site of Bonner Rocks.
Sea Water Temperature Logger Data at Bonner Rocks, From 27 Apr 2018 To 11 Dec 2019
File download for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR 1VD image
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR 1VD image file download
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6381 Turbidity @1.9m Daily Averages
RV Solander Trip 7083 Turbidity @2.5m Daily Averages
Benthic habitats on the continental shelf are strongly influenced by exposure to the effects of surface ocean waves, and tidal, wind and density driven ocean currents. These processes combine to induce a combined flow bed shear stress upon the seabed which can mobilise sediments or directly influence organisms disturbing the benthic environment. Output from a suite of numerical models predicting these oceanic processes have been utilised to compute the combined flow bed shear stresses over the entire Australian continental shelf for an 8-year period (March 1997- February 2005 inclusive). To quantify the relative influence of extreme or catastrophic combined flow bed shear stress events and more frequent events of smaller magnitude, three methods of classifying the oceanographic levels of exposure are presented: A spectral regionalisation method, A method based on the shape of the probability distribution function, and A method which assesses the balance between the amount of work a stress does on the seabed, and the frequency with which it occurs. Significant relationships occur between the three regionalisation maps indicating seabed exposure to oceanographic processes and physical sediment properties (mean grain size and bulk carbonate content), and water depth, particularly when distinction is made between regions dominated by high-frequency (diurnal or semi-diurnal) events and low-frequency (synoptic or annual) events. It is concluded that both magnitude and frequency of combined-flow bed shear stresses must be considered when characterising the benthic environment. The regionalisation outputs of the Australian continental shelf presented in this study are expected to be of benefit to quantifying exposure of seabed habitats on the continental shelf to oceanographic processes in future habitat classification schemes for marine planning and policy procedures.
The Magnitude and Frequency of Combined Flow Bed Shear Stress as a Measure of Exposure on the Australian Continental Shelf
Related product: Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) Biodiversity Survey (GA0339/SOL5650) - Interpreted Geomorphic Map
RV Solander Trip 7083 Salinity @2.5m Daily Averages
This dataset contains habitat mapping and outer boundaries for estuaries of South Australia. These estuaries were identified in the draft 'Estuaries Policy and Action Plan.' Used to identify the estuarine habitats within South Australia for use in natural resource management and conservaton planning. Description of attributes in related Inventory and Water Quality tables can be found in report: 'Working Towards a State-wide Inventory of Estuaries 2009 - Advancing the inventory of estuaries in five Natural Resource Management Regions of South Australia', DEH and Adelaide Mounty Lofty Ranges NRM Board.
This record provides an overview of the scope and research output of NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project A11 - "Shark action plan". No datasets were generated by this project. Conservation of elasmobranch species (sharks and rays) is an increasing priority globally, including Australia, as evidence of overexploitation of some species becomes apparent. Common issues and threats among elasmobranch species may improve management if considered holistically. This project will produce a Shark Action Plan assessing requirements for improved management including a summary of current status across the taxa, guidelines for reducing impacts and improving management, and identification of key knowledge gaps impeding conservation and management. This Plan will help guide policy for Australian elasmobranchs developed by DoEE and fishery managers. On-ground conservation will be developed from recommendations in this plan. Outputs • Shark Action Plan relevant to management of Australian elasmobranchs including an assessment of current threats, prioritised conservation and management actions for at-risk species and guidance on future management and data needs [written] • Manuscripts for scientific journals outlining the results of project components (eg, Conservation Dependent species framework) [written]
National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub
Website of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS)
RV Solander Trip 8163 Seawater Intake Temperature @2.5m Daily Averages
This project undertook a rapid exploration of information on a priority subset of species identified by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Authority (NOPSEMA) that are listed as critically endangered or endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It specifically focused on these species in relation to the Gippsland declaration area, and the adjacent areas to the declaration area in Bass Strait. This rapid exploration of information was conducted as follows: 1) identify datasets and information sources relevant to priority species identified by DCCEEW and NOPSEMA for the Gippsland declaration area; 2) identify the source of these datasets and information and their level of accessibility; 3) evaluate the utility of datasets and information identified in 2) for assessments/regulatory processes required to be undertaken by DCCEEW and NOPSEMA; and 4) identify what activities would need to be undertaken to improve the accessibility and utility of datasets and information sources identified in 3) that are not currently accessible in useable formats. Fifteen priorities species (12 birds, 3 cetaceans) were identified for which publicly-available occurrence data could be located. This record and the attached download describes the data inventory for Mongolian Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus). To download the data inventory for all fifteen priority species, see https://doi.org/10.25959/GB51-RW44.
Collated data inventory for Mongolian Lesser Sand Plover in relation to the Gippsland Offshore Renewable Energy declaration area (NESP MaC 3.21)
Threatened, endangered and protected species
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 6920.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 6920 From 22 Apr 2018 To 05 May 2018
Definition of the continental margin using UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 76), and its application to Australia
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:6924
WMS Layer for underway data from trip:5117
The Murray Basin extends over 300 000 km of inland southeastern Australia, is flanked by subdued mountain ranges, and forms a low-lying saucer-shaped basin with thin flat-lying Cainozoic sediments. Over the past 100 years, the Murray Basin has become one of the most important agricultural regions in Australia. Unfortunately it is also a closed groundwater basin, which consists of a thin sequence of sediments containing a number of aquifer systems, with little capacity to absorb additional recharge. Irrigation and clearing of natural vegetation have increased recharge to these aquifer systems. Resultant rising groundwater levels and discharge of saline water into the landscapes and river systems of the basin, have created salinity problems that threaten to have an increasingly adverse impact on both the regional economy and natural environments. Many of the reasons for salinisation lie in the subsurface geology, and can be related to the development of the structural and stratigraphic framework of the basin over the past 60 Ma. Knowledge of these is a prerequisite to understanding hydrogeological systems and processes contributing to the salinity problem. This document summarises the geology of the Murray Basin. Beneath the Murray Basin, geophysical and borehole evidence indicates that folded and partly metamorphosed Proterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic basement is block-faulted, and that the Cainozoic sequence is locally underlain by poorly defined infrabasins preserved in graben-like troughs. These contain thick sequences of Devonian to Lower Carboniferous sedimentary rock and discontinuous, erosional remnants of Upper Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous platform-cover sediments. The Cainozoic succession of the Murray Basin forms an extensive blanket of sediment, with a maximum thickness of about 600 m preserved in the deeper, central-western parts of the basin. A subsidiary depocentre with over 400 m of sediment underlies the central-west Riverine Plain, but in most northern, eastern, and southern parts of the basin the sediment succession is generally less than 200-300 m thick, and could be more accurately described as forming a thin platform-cover succession rather than a true basinal sequence. Within the Tertiary succession at least three major depositional sequences (Paleocene Eocene to Lower Oligocene, Oligocene Middle Miocene, and Upper Miocene Pliocene) have been identified. Each sequence consists of a package of genetically related formations separated by disconformities. Poorly consolidated, non-marine sand, silt, clay, and carbonaceous sedimentary rocks predominate in the east and north, but each of the depositional sequences includes weakly lithified marine sedimentary rocks in central and southwestern areas. The stratigraphy translates into a number of regional aquifer systems, confining layers and permeability barriers to groundwater flow, each with distinctive characteristics. In the Mallee region of the west, the Tertiary sediments of the Murray Basin are almost entirely concealed beneath a mainly fossil' arid and semi-arid landscape of Quaternary aeolian dunefields, with minor fluvial and lacustrine morphostratigraphic units. Farther east, where the basin and adjacent highlands are drained by the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan Rivers, the Tertiary sequence underlies flat-lying fluvio-lacustrine and minor aeolian sediments of the semi-arid landscape of the Riverine Plain. Within the Mallee and Riverine Plain landscapes, active and fossiV (currently inactive) groundwater discharge lake complexes can be identified by characteristic assemblages of Upper Quaternary sediments forming stranded lake floors, gypsum flats, salinas, gypsum and clay pellet dunes and lunettes. These have developed within low-lying areas during the past 0.5 Ma. Their extent indicates the presence of widespread salinisation under 'natural9 conditions at times in the recent geologic past. The main emphasis of the study is on improving our understanding of the geological context of groundwater and surface discharge in the Murray Basin, but at an early stage the scope of the study was expanded to include reference to other mineral resources. These include Cainozoic limestone, alluvial gold, kaolin, heavy minerals, gypsum and halite deposits. The Tertiary succession contains extensive deposits of currently sub-economic brown coal, underlain by Upper Permian coal in the Oaklands Infrabasin in New South Wales. The Cainozoic Murray Basin is not prospective for hydrocarbons, but several concealed pre-Cainozoic infrabasins remain poorly investigated.
The Geology of the Murray Basin, Southeastern Australia
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6325 Turbidity @1.9m Daily Averages
This resource includes seabed backscatter data for South-west Corner Marine Park collected by Geoscience Australia during the periods 9 – 12 March 2020 and 27 January – 16 February 2021 on the charter vessel Santosha. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative project with the University of Western Australia, the University of Tasmania and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (University of Sydney) and funded through the National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, with co-investment by all partners and the Director of National Parks. The purpose of the project was to build baseline information for benthic habitats on the continental shelf in the marine park that will support ongoing environmental monitoring within the South-west Marine Park Network as part of the 10-year management plan (2018-2028). Data acquisition for the project included multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for an area covering 330 km^2 offshore from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin coast, with underwater imagery of benthic communities and demersal fish collected by University of Western Australia on separate field deployments. This backscatter dataset contains a 4 m resolution 32-bit geotiff file of the survey area produced from the processed Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam sonar system data using the CMST-GA MB Process v15.04.04.0 (.64) toolbox software co-developed by the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University and Geoscience Australia. For further information see: Giraldo-Ospina, A. et al., 2021. South-west Corner Marine Park Post Survey Report. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub.
South-west Corner Marine Park survey – backscatter (GA-4858)
OPeNDAP web service for National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid
National Gravity Compilation 2019 DGIR grid OPeNDAP
This dataset represents the current extent of bathymetry compilation products delivered by Geoscience Australia as of June 2019. Compilation products have been generated from numerous data sources including survey data, lidar, interpolation and other depth data. Each polygon shows the extent of the compilation dataset, and attributes contain information regarding data sources, product details and access methods. Contributing individual survey data can be found in the AusSeabed Bathymetry Holdings dataset.
Geoscience Australia Bathymetry Compilations
The Roper Group (minimum age approximately 1300 x 10^6yr) is a shallow water sequence of sandstone, siltstone, and shale, with minor, sub-economic oolitic ironstone. The depositional environments of the Group as a whole, range from fluvial, through deltaic or estuarine, to marine, and a number of different environments of deposition for the ironstones can be recognised. Shales from the McMinn Formation at the top of the Group have yielded an assemblage of microfossils. The microbiota includes algal cells and filaments, large acritarchs and giant filaments of uncertain affinity. A probable life cycle and an example of endospory may indicate that some of the organisms are eukaryotic. The flora is very advanced for its geological age, but this is probably because most other Precambrian microbiotas come from carbonate, stromatolitic environments, where simpler and more conservative forms would have pre-dominated. The microfossils are in a particularly good state of preservation because of the low degree of thermal metamorphism which the sediments have undergone. Geochemical and petrographic studies of the organic matter indicate that its composition and level of organic maturation are appropriate for the generation of oil. The rank of the organic matter is locally increased by proximity to dolerite sills which intrude the Group as a whole.
Proterozoic microfossils from the Roper Group, Northern Territory, Australia
This resource contains multibeam sonar backscatter data for Outer Darwin Harbour collected by Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Northern Territory Government (Department of Land Resource Management) during the period from 28 May and 23 June 2015 on the RV Solander (survey SOL6187/GA0351). This project was made possible through offset funds provided by INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project to Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management, and co-investment from Geoscience Australia and Australian Institute of Marine Science. The intent of this four year (2014-2018) program is to improve knowledge of the marine environments in the Darwin and Bynoe Harbour regions by collating and collecting baseline data that enable the creation of thematic habitat maps that underpin marine resource management decisions. The specific objectives of the survey were to: Obtain high resolution geophysical (bathymetry) data for outer Darwin Harbour, including Shoal Bay; Characterise substrates (acoustic backscatter properties, grainsize, sediment chemistry) for outer Darwin Harbour, including Shoal Bay; and Collect tidal data for the survey area. Data acquired during the survey included: multibeam sonar bathymetry and acoustic backscatter; physical samples of seabed sediments, underwater photography and video of grab sample locations and oceanographic information including tidal data and sound velocity profiles. This dataset comprises multibeam backscatter data. A detailed account of the survey is provided in: Siwabessy, P.J.W., Smit, N., Atkinson, I., Dando, N., Harries, S., Howard, F.J.F., Li, J., Nicholas, W.A., Potter, A., Radke, L.C., Tran, M., Williams, D. and Whiteway, T., 2015. Outer Darwin Harbour Marine Survey 2015: GA0351/SOL6187 Post-survey report. Record 2016/008. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. http://dx.doi.org/10.11636/Record.2016.008
Outer Darwin Harbour Marine Survey 2015: High resolution backscatter grid
We undertook a biological data acquisition program as part of the transit of the R.V. Southern Surveyor between Darwin and Cairns 15-24 October 2012. The overarching aim of this program was to use an ROV and benthic sled to collect benthic marine information and specimens for biodiversity and biodiscovery research in areas previously mapped by Geoscience Australia during survey GA-276, including a bank (Area I) and terrace/hole feature within the proposed Wessel Islands CMR (Area II). This study focuses on sessile invertebrates such as sponges and octocorals due to their ecological importance as habitat providers and their chemical importance as sources of marine natural products and medicines. In less than 24 hours of sampling effort, survey SS2012/t07 resulted in 261 voucher specimens which will be used for biodiversity and natural products research. A total of 49 samples are to be lodged at the ABL, and samples with weights larger than 300 g will be sent to the NCI for screening of active compounds against cancer and HIV. Sponges were the most abundant group collected based on both biomass (~ 139 kg) and number of voucher specimens (93), followed by cnidarians (30 kg, 73 vouchers), particularly hard corals (23 kg, 11 vouchers). As expected the top of the bank in Area I had a seemingly diverse and abundant sessile invertebrate community, with consistent patchy occurrence of sponges, octocorals, and hard corals. The terrace at in Area II supports moderate densities of sponges and octocorals, while the adjacent deep hole at ~ 100 m seems to be covered with muddy gravel and supports scattered mobile and sedentary invertebrates, of which crinoids dominate, as well as skates and numerous small demersal fish.
Benthic Biota of Northern Australia: SS2012t07 Post-survey Report
The Banks Strait Reference Surfaces bathymetry survey was acquired for the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) on 17 Dec 2021. This surface was created from a contracted national reference survey within Banks Strait to Cape Barren, TAS, collected for the purpose of calibrating multibeam echosounders. It was conducted for the Australian Hydrographic Office as part of the Hydroscheme Industry Partnership Program, acquired using Kongsberg EM 2040 MkII and Kongsberg EM 2040P, and processed using QPS Qimera. A grid in 0.5m resolution is provided for the surveyed site within this survey area in MSL, LAT and Ellipsoid vertical datum. The dataset was then exported as a 0.5m resolution, 32 bit floating point GeoTIFF grid of the survey area. This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.
AHO Reference Surfaces Banks Strait 0.5m 2023 (20230009R)
DATA ACCESS (Surface Geology Reclassified 25K) - Shapefile format
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6924 Seawater Intake Temperature @1.9m Daily Averages
RV Cape Ferguson Trip 6325 Salinity @1.9m Daily Averages
Titles in this newsletter: Transpressional strike-slip faulting in the Mount Isa Inlier Sedimentary phosphate discovered on the South Tasman Rise Honour: Dan Bubela Deep-tow side-scan sonar: a new tool for seafloor studies Australian Iron Ore Industry Mission to Brazil, July 1985 Polymetallic nodules: a commercial product or a collectors' item? Erratum: BMR Report 268, Australian Geoscience 1984 Location of the southmagnetic pole737 The Nth-root stack: a process for enhancing the interpretation of geophysical data The oldest age determined for Pilbara greenstones The Ocean Drilling Program: proposed Australasian sites Mineral potential of the southwest Pacific Northeast Australia research cruises Proof of explosive origin for the Lawn Hill circular structure BMR seismic line in SE Queensland probes shallow and deep sedimentary basins Lord Howe Rise cruise: data release Towards the completion of reconnaissance aeromagnetic coverage of Australia Honour: Peter Davies Forthcoming publication: Uranium - world perspective Farewell: Cliff Oilier Research on radioisotope-rich granites International Volcanological Congress, New Zealand: Explosive volcanism, geochemistry, hazards, and metallogenesis US/Australia Joint Scanner Project: Technological advances in remote sensing applied in Australia Otway Basin: Processing of recent regional marine seismic data nears completion Archaean volcanics in the Pilbara Block: Petrogenetic, tectonic, and economic implications of a trace-element study
'Ships of Opportunity' (SOOP) is a facility of the Australian 'Integrated Marine Observing System' (IMOS) project. This data set was collected by the SOOP sub-facility 'Sensors on Tropical Research Vessels' aboard the RV Solander Trip 5130.
IMOS Ships of Opportunity Underway Data from AIMS Vessel RV Solander Trip 5130 From 15 Dec 2010 To 22 Dec 2010
The East Antarctic slope on the Sabrina margin has been shaped by diverse processes related to repeated glaciation. Differences in slope along this margin have driven variations in sedimentation that explain the gully morphology. Areas of lower slope angles have led to rapid sediment deposition during glacial expansion to the shelf edge, and subsequent sediment failure. Gullies in these areas are typically extremely U-shaped, initiate well below the shelf break, are relatively straight and long, and have low incision depths. Areas of higher slope angles enhance the flow of erosive turbidity currents during glaciations associated with the release of sediment-laden basal meltwaters. The meltwater flows create gullies that typically initiate at or near the shelf break, are V-shaped in profiles, have high sinuosity, deep incision depths and a relatively short down slope extent. The short down slope extent reflects a reduced sediment load associated with increased seawater entrainment as the slope becomes more concave in profile. These differences in gully morphology have important habitat implications, associated with differences in the structure and beta-diversity of the seafloor communities. This upper slope region also supports seafloor communities that are distinct from those on the adjacent shelf, highlighting the uniqueness of this environment for biodiversity. Citation: A.L. Post, P.E. O'Brien, S. Edwards, A.G. Carroll, K. Malakoff, L.K. Armand, Upper slope processes and seafloor ecosystems on the Sabrina continental slope, East Antarctica, Marine Geology, Volume 422, 2020, 106091, ISSN 0025-3227, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2019.106091.
Upper slope processes and seafloor ecosystems on the Sabrina continental slope, East Antarctica
Geomorphology and Regolith and Landscape Evolution