AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Hydrogeology of a raised coral atoll - Niue Island, South Pacific Ocean

Niue Island, in the south Pacific Ocean, is a raised coral atoll with an area of 259 km^2. The original atoll rim is preserved as a peripheral ridge about 60 m above sea level, and the original lagoon floor now forms an internal basin about 35 m above sea level. Drilling has proved limestone of Miocene age to a depth of more than 200 m. Gravity and magnetic surveys indicate that the limestone probably overlies volcanic bedrock at a depth of about 300 m below sea level. The classical Ghyben-Herzberg freshwater lens does not exist on Niue Island. Results of electrical resistivity depth probes indicate that in the centre of Niue the freshwater layer is 40-80 m thick and beneath the former atoll rim it is 50-170 m thick. It decreases to 0 within 500 m of the coast, where salt water mixing occurs along fissures in the limestone. The irregular configuration of the freshwater layer is ascribed to permeability differences in the limestone. Considering the recharge conditions on Niue, the safe yield of a freshwater layer 50 m thick would be about 4000 m^3 of groundwater per year per hectare. Aquifer tests on two specially constructed bores indicate specific capacity (yield-to-drawdown ratio) of about 12 I/s per metre of drawdown, and a safe long-term pumping rate of about 8 I/s.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, NU, Published_External, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Marine Bathymetry Data Collection

Bathymetry is the study and mapping of the sea floor. It involves obtaining measurements of the depth of the ocean and is the equivalent to mapping topography on land. Bathymetric data is collected in multiple ways:



Satellite data can be used to produce maps showing general features over a large area at low resolution. Satellite altimetry measures the height of the ocean surface. If there are hills/mountains on the sea floor, the gravitational pull around that area will be greater and hence the sea surface will bulge. This measurement can be used to show where the seafloor is higher, and this can be used to produce maps showing general features over a large area at low resolution. 

Single beam echosounders produce a single line of depth points directly under the equipment. These measurements are usually made while a vessel is moving to identify general sea floor patterns and/or schools of fish.

Equipment that captures swathes of data by acquiring multiple depth points in each area, such as multibeam echosounders (or swath echosounders) and airborne laser measurements (LADS). These datasets are very high resolution, with data down to better than one metre accuracy.


This bathymetry dataset is a collection of singlebeam data sourced from seismic navigation lines, multibeam data, satellite and LADS data acquired by GA and by other government and non-government agencies.

Tags: Published_External, bathymetry, bathymetry grid, coastal, continental shelf, environmental science, geoscience, marine, marine data, marine geoscience, marine survey, multibeam, seabed mapping, sonar
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
National Gravity Compilation 2019 Ausdrape elevation ellipsoid grid

Digital Elevation data record the terrain height variations from the processed SRTM surface elevation 3 second grid data with a drape surface overlain. This National Gravity Compilation 2019 Ausdrape elevation ellipsoid grid contains the elevation of the observation surface for the 2019 Australian National Gravity Grids B series relative to the GRS80 ellipsoid (GDA94 datum). These data are used in the project No. 202008. The grid has a cell size of 0.00417 degrees (approximately 435m). All data (i.e., ground, airborne and marine derived from satellite altimetry) were vertically continued to this surface during processing. The surface was generated to mimic a smooth airborne survey drape surface with a minimum surface clearance of 250 m and an isotropic maximum climb and descent rates of 25 m per km. The ground surface data were derived from SRTM data with 3 second grid cell size. The data are given in units of meters.

Tags: Ausdrape, Australia, DEM, EARTH SCIENCES, Earth sciences, Elevation, GADDS2.0, NCI, None, Published_External, airborne, digital data, ellipsoid, geophysical survey, geophysics, grid, raster, survey 202008, terrain
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Accommodating Spatially Varying Tidal Planes in Tsunami Hazard Assessments

Tsunami hazard assessment is commonly performed using a conservatively high sea level, typically the highest astronomical tide (HAT). However, HAT is not constant but varies from location to location. This is especially true in northern Australia such as along Queensland’s Coast where HAT varies from 1.4 m at Lady Elliot Island to over 5.4 m near St Lawrence. Picking any single tidal plane leads to over or under-estimation of the HAT tsunami inundation at most sites.

We propose a simple yet effective technique to model tsunamis with a spatially varying HAT. It does not require separate simulations at multiple tidal levels and does not induce spurious flows due to an uneven sea surface. We demonstrate the accuracy of this method using the Gladstone region as a case study. The tests include comparisons with tsunami scenarios at different HAT levels, and comparisons of “mini” probabilistic tsunami hazard assessments at three sites with markedly different HAT levels: Lady Elliot Island, South Trees, and Rosslyn Bay. The “mini” probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment considers four major earthquake source zones and uses importance sampling to efficiently leverage offshore scenarios and return periods from the 2018 Australian Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment. Tsunamis are simulated globally from the earthquake source to the Gladstone region using nested grids with resolution down to a 10 m to resolve inundation and marine hazards.

The proposed tidal adjustment technique allows tsunami hazard assessments to be conducted in regions where the chosen tidal plane is spatially inhomogeneous. In Gladstone, these methods produce inundation that is typically much smaller than currently used heuristics that are not derived from hydrodynamic models. These support tsunami evacuation plans and enable emergency management planners to refine the tsunami procedures for mariners and better focus procedures for onshore evacuation in the event of a land-warning tsunami.

Presented at the 2025 Australasian Coasts &amp; Ports Conference

Tags: Natural Hazards, Published_External, probabilistic hazard assessment, tides, tsunami
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Application of random forest, generalised linear model and their hybrid methods with geostatistical techniques to count data: Predicting sponge species richness

Spatial distribution of sponge species richness (SSR) and its relationship with environment are important for marine ecosystem management, but they are either unavailable or unknown. Hence we applied random forest (RF), generalised linear model (GLM) and their hybrid methods with geostatistical techniques to SSR data by addressing relevant issues with variable selection and model selection. It was found that: 1) of five variable selection methods, one is suitable for selecting optimal RF predictive models; 2) traditional model selection methods are unsuitable for identifying GLM predictive models and joint application of RF and AIC can select accuracy-improved models; 3) highly correlated predictors may improve RF predictive accuracy; 4) hybrid methods for RF can accurately predict count data; and 5) effects of model averaging are method-dependent. This study depicted the non-linear relationships of SSR and predictors, generated spatial distribution of SSR with high accuracy and revealed the association of high SSR with hard seabed features.

Citation: Jin Li, Belinda Alvarez, Justy Siwabessy, Maggie Tran, Zhi Huang, Rachel Przeslawski, Lynda Radke, Floyd Howard, Scott Nichol, Application of random forest, generalised linear model and their hybrid methods with geostatistical techniques to count data: Predicting sponge species richness, Environmental Modelling &amp; Software, Volume 97, 2017, Pages 112-129, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.07.016

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, feature selection, machine learning - ML, model selection, predictive accuracy, spatial prediction, spatial predictive model
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Eddies and Fields Based on Sea Surface Temperature in the Australian Region

The CSIRO Marine Research Remote Sensing facility automatically receives and archives data from the USA's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites. Up to 18 passes per day are tracked to receive data. The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data is received on the High Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) signal. Within an hour of reception, these data are automatically processed into full resolution sea surface temperature (SST) images. This set of data layers have been designed to show regions of core homogeneity, heterogeneity, eddy activity and frontal activity by CSIRO for the National Oceans Office, for the purposes of marine mapping, as part of an ongoing commitment to natural resource planning and management through the 'National Marine Bioregionalisation' project.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Seabed Environments, Habitats and Biological Assemblages

Pitcher, C.R., P.J., Doherty, and T.J. Anderson. (2008). Seabed environments, habitats and biological assemblages. pages 51-58. In: Hutchings, P.A., M.J. Kingsford, and O. Hoegh-Guldberg (eds.). The Great Barrier Reef: Biological, Environment and Management. CSIRO Publishing, Springer.

Tags: AU-EEZ, Article, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, habitat, marine, seabed
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Sea Surface Temperature Warming Rates in Australian Marine Parks

This dataset measures the overall warming rates of the sea surface temperature (SST) in 58 Australian Marine Parks (except the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Park) over the past 15 years (2003 to 2017). They are derived from the monthly MODIS (aqua) SST images. The fields of "slope_y" and "slope_m" represent the annual and monthly SST warming rates, respectively. The units of the warming rates are Celsius degree/per annual and Celsius degree/per month.

This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, Marine Biodiversity Hub, Marine Park, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, SST
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Sequence analysis and depositional models of crinoidal limestones, Permian Yessabah Limestone, Manning-Macleay Basin, eastern Australia

The Permian Yessabah Limestone, a thick crinoidal limestone unit, appears abruptly in the stratigraphic succession over a large area of the Hastings Block in northeastern New South Wales, disconformably overlying clastic rocks with sharply contrasting facies associations. The formation is part of a thick depositional sequence that began with a major sea-level fall at the end of the Carboniferous. The sea-level fall produced a major basinward shift in facies causing rejuvenation of streams and the deposition of braided-stream gravels in the onshore areas while a mass-movement association, the Parrabel Beds, was deposited offshore in the deep basin (the lowstand systems tract). The Yessabah Limestone was deposited as part of the transgressive systems tract in a shallow-marine high-energy environment as sea level again began to rise. The highstand systems tract then prograded over the Yessabah Limestone in the form of a distal turbidite association , the Warbro Formation and associated units, as sea level reached its maximum. The growth of both crinoids and bryozoa was prolific; their two distinctive faunal assemblages alternately dominated the sea floor, producing thick units of well-washed crinoid-rich limestone followed by a bryozoan-rich unit. As sea level rose, conditions became unsuitable for carbonate deposition and the area was again invaded by clastic sediments, forming a distal turbidite association that prograded across the limestones as part of the highstand systems tract.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, NSW, Published_External
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Interactions between Fluid Flow, Geochemistry and Dibgeochemical Processes at Methane Seeps

Since their first discovery 20 years ago, numerous cold seeps have been found, mainly along active and passive continental margins. Methane gas plays a key role in the global carbon cycle and, as a highly potent greenhouse gas, in the control of the Earth's climate. In diffusion-controlled sediments, methane is completely oxidized within the sediment column and does not reach the overlying water. In contrast, at cold seeps, methane is transported to the sediment surface by advective forces. For geologic reasons, fluid advection and the respective methane flux are spatially and temporarily variable. Microbial communities of methane-oxidizing archaea in syntrophy with sulfate-reducing bacteria have been found to play a key role in consuming methane and thus controlling methane efflux from the sediments. Anaerobic oxidation of methane leads to the production of dissolved inorganic carbon and subsequent precipitation of carbonate, representing a permanent sink for methane-derived carbon. The metabolic pathway and the role of the different groups of methanotrophic archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria that are involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane remain poorly understood. There seem to be site-specific differences in the composition and function of the microbial communities. The upwelling of methane- and sulfide-rich fluids supports rich benthic communities of sulfur-oxidizing bacterial mats and abundant macrofauna species harboring thiotrophic or methanotrophic symbionts. Variation in fluid flow, and thus methane supply and hydrogen sulfide concentrations, are key factors controlling the occurrence and community structure of benthic communities.

Tags: Earth Sciences, External Publication, Monograph, Published_External, fluid flow drivers, geochemistry, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction around Macquarie Island - Mercator projection

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.

Tags: AU-TAS, Administrative Boundary, Earth Sciences, Published_External, Thematic Map, administrative boundaries, bathymetry, continental shelf, marine, marine jurisdiction
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Videos from the Rowley Shoals/ Offshore Canning and Roebuck basins Survey

The Rowley Shoals/Offshore Canning and Roebuck basins survey was conducted on the RV Southern Surveyor survey SS06/2006 (GA-2408) between the 29th May and 22 June 2006. The primary aim of the survey was to identify any sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage, that may provide direct evidence for an active petroleum system within the sub‐surface. A secondary objective was to contribute to the understanding of the modern sedimentary and oceanographic processes influencing this part of the shelf, and to assess the nature of the benthic habitats. Underwater video was captured at 12 sites, with a minimum of 10 minutes to 60 minutes at each site, which totalled approximately 5.5 hours of footage. Video was recorded to mini DV tapes and copied to digital format. Descriptions of footage acquired during the underwater video tows are provided in the post-survey report (GA Record 2007/21 - Geocat # 65453). Please note that the underwater video is unclipped, contains descent and ascent through the water column, laser points in the video are reported to be spaced at 25 cm, and start locations of the underwater video camera stations are found in the Post-survey report.

Tags: HVC_144640, Published_External, Published_Internal, environmental, habitat, mapping, seabed, towed underwater video
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Significance of calcareous nannofossil-bearing Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments on the Rowley Terrace, offshore northwest Australia

Examination of dredge hauls taken from the Rowley Terrace, northwest Australia, has revealed the occurrence of several Mesozoic nannofossil-bearing levels. Dating has been satisfactorily achieved even though some key species important for subdividing Mesozoic rocks elsewhere are either missing or have a different stratigraphic significance, in northwest Australia.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, Published_External, WA, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Preliminary post-cruise report : hydrocarbon gas geochemistry in sediments of the offshore Otway and Gippsland Basin: Project 9131.20 BMR Fossil Fuels Project

During April/May 1988, the BMR research vessel 'Rig Seismic' carried out a 21 day geochemical and sedimentological research program in the Otway (17 days) and Gippsland (4 days) Basins. Light hydrocarbon gases (C1-C6) were measured in sediments at 342 locations on thecontinental shelf and upper continental slope. Thermogenic hydrocarbons were identified in near-surface sediments at forty-two locations in the Otway (32) and Gippsland (10) Basins. The major results from the Otway Basin include:





Evidence of thermogenic hydrocarbon sediments was found at seven locations on the Crayfish Platform, seven locations on the Mussel Platform and eighteen locations in the VolutaTrough.




Wet gas contents ([C2-C4/C1-C4] x 100), which provide some indication of both hydrocarbon source type and maturity,are highest on the basin margins, i.e. the Crayfish and Mussel Platforms. Wet gas contents were consistently lower in the Voluta Trough.




Total C1-C4 gas concentrations were higher in the Voluta Trough than on the basin margins, probably because of more intense near-surface faulting in the trough.




The geochemical data, when integrated with thermal maturation modelling and well data, suggest that the principal liquidhydrocarbon source rocks are located at the base of the Early Cretaceous Otway Group (i.e. basal Pretty Hill Sandstone). The Late Cretaceous Sherbrook Group appears to be gas-prone.



Preliminary data from the Gippsland Basin identify ten locations which show evidence of thermogenic hydrocarbons in near-surface sediments.

Tags: AU-TAS, AU-VIC, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, geochemistry, hydrocarbons, marine, marine survey
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Seismic Data Processing Report for Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Marine Geoscience and Petroleum Geology Group : Bonaparte Basin Seismic Survey 1991 : BMR Survey 100

This report presents an account of the processing sequenceand techniques used for processing seismic data in theBonaparte Basin for Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geologyand Geophysics, Division of Marine Geoscience and Petroleum Geology.

A total of 2214.350 kms of marine seismic data was processedby Digital Exploration Ltd, Brisbane during the period fromJuly 1991 to December 1991.

Client supervision was provided by Mr. Frank Brassil andMr. Tim Barton. Details of the field data acquisition parameters andprocessing sequence are given in Sections 2 and 3 respectively.
Listing of line numbers with SPN ranges, kilometre indexesand TIME is given in appendix 5.1, archive tape listing inappendix 5.2 and location map in appendix 5.3.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, marine, seismics
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Australian national ocean bottom seismograph fleet advances conventional exploration

A fleet of new Australian ocean bottom seismographs (OBSs) have broadband frequency range, and similar instruments are available at only five or six institutions globally. These OBSs are multi-purpose devices able to record passive-source seismic data (earthquakes, ambient noise) as well as active-source (airgun generated) data and, at the same time, to monitor seismic survey noise and whale calls for environmentally responsible exploration. OBS data collected during commercial seismic surveys in Australian waters prove that it is possible to image the velocity distribution of the whole crust and upper mantle from analysis of both reflected and refracted phases generated by an industry-standard broadband airgun array. This means that valuable information on a regional scale can be obtained as a by-product of commercial seismic surveys. Three-component recording capability of OBSs allows analysis of S-waves in addition to the P-waves that are conventionally used in marine reflection surveys.

Abstract presented at the 2017 Australian Petroleum Production &amp; Exploration Association (APPEA) Conference &amp; Exhibition

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, deep crust, earthquakes, passive seismic, seismic refraction, seismic survey noise,, whales’ calls
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
OCD200201. FV Ocean Dawn ES60 Acoustic Data

38kHz Simrad ES60 acoustic data collected during commercial fishing of spawning blue grenadier off the Tasmanian west coast in 2002. FV Ocean Dawn was one of three factory freezer vessels collection acoustic and biological data as part of a FRDC project. Acoustic data is held by the CSIRO Marine Science Acoustic Group (Hobart). Additional data: gps embedded in ES60 .raw files, AMFA (Australian Fisheries Mangement Authority) observer biological data (species, length, weight, sex, stage)(contact AFMA Observer section), AFMA trawl shot log - filled in by ships officers for each trawl shot, showing catch, location etc (contact AFMA Observer section). Complementary data sets as per above collected by vessels FV Aoraki and FV Petersen during the 2002 season. ES60 history files only. No cruise track or digitised echogram data available. Note cruise dates here indicate the period for which we hold data. This is a subset of the voyage duration. The actual start/end dates of this voyage are not known. This information is probably in the trawl log sheets of which we have copies.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Triassic environments in the Canning Basin, Western Australia

A review of the lithology, sedimentary structures and palaeontology, supplemented by original investigations, suggests that the Triassic system in the Canning Basin can be subdivided into four broad environmental episodes. The sequence records a slow transgression culminating in the Smithian, when the riverine plain in the southeastern Fitzroy Graben was drowned. The resulting shallow embayment in the Fitzroy Graben supported a much impoverished marine biota, made up of species tolerant of reduced saline conditions caused by substantial run-off of fresh water from surrounding streams. A regression began in the Spathian and continued throughout the later Triassic, although there were minor transgressions with marine incursions: the environment evolved into a low-relief coastal alluvial plain, with meandering streams and lakes. A general trend to increasing aridity is evident, with an increase red beds, and is correlated with the withdrawal of the Blina Sea. Finally in Ladinian time the region became an area of non-deposition and remained so until the early Jurassic.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, Published_External, WA
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network