AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Polychaetes of Northern Australia (species identifications)

This dataset contains identifications of polychaetes collected during surveys on the RV Solander in northern Australia:  SOL4934 (27 August-24 September, 2009) , SOL5117 (30 July-27 August, 2010), SOL5463 (3-31 May 2012), and SOL5650 (12 September-6 October 2012). Sediment was collected with a Smith McIntyre grab or boxcore and elutriated over a 500um sieve. Elutriated material was then sorted back at Geoscience Australia, and all polychaetes were removed and sent to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT). Chris Glasby and Charlotte Watson taxonomically identified each animal to the lowest possible level, differentiating species using established names and operational taxonomic units (OTUs).  Specimens are lodged at the MAGNT. See relevant post-survey reports (GA Records 2010/09, 2011/08,  2012/66  and 2013/38) for further details on survey methods and specimen acquisition. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, Infauna, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, marine
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
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: Geoscience Australia Data
Petrel Sub-basin Marine Survey (GA-0335 / SOL5463) (NLECI Program) - interpreted geomorphic map

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken by the RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This dataset comprises an interpreted geomorphic map.
Interpreted local-scale geomorphic maps were produced for each survey area in the Petrel Sub-basin using multibeam bathymetry and backscatter grids at 2 m resolution and bathymetric derivatives (e.g. slope; 1-m contours). Five geomorphic units; bank, plain, ridge, terrace and valley, were identified and mapped using definitions suitable for interpretation at the local scale (nominally 1:10 000). Maps and polygons were manual digitised in ArcGIS using the spatial analyst and 3D analyst toolboxes.

Tags: GIS Dataset, Marine Data, Marine Geoscience, Published_External, geomorphology, marine, marine environmental baselines, seabed
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Predicted seabed gravel, mud and sand content in the Timor Sea region in the Australian continental EEZ 2018

This dataset provides the spatially continuous data of seabed gravel (sediment fraction >2000 µm), mud  (sediment fraction < 63 µm) and sand content (sediment fraction 63-2000 µm) expressed as a weight percentage ranging from 0 to 100%, presented in 10 m resolution raster grids format and ascii text file.

The dataset covers the eight areas in the Timor Sea region in the Australian continental EEZ.

This dataset supersedes previous predictions of sediment gravel, mud and sand content for the basin with demonstrated improvements in accuracy. Accuracy of predictions varies with sediment types, with a VEcv = 71% for mud, VEcv = 72% sand and VEcv = 42% for gravel. Artefacts occur in this dataset as a result of noises associated predictive variables (e.g., horizontal and vertical lines resulted from predictive variables derived from backscatter data are the most apparent ones). To obtain the most accurate interpretation of sediment distribution in these areas, it is recommended that noises with backscatter data should be reduced and predictions updated.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Marine Biodiversity Hub, Marine Geoscience, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, Seabed sediments
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
MODIS Derived Chlorophyll a dataset: Seasonal Variations

The dataset measures the long-term seasonal variations of the chlorophyll a concentrations of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and December 2017 are used to calculate the standard deviations of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The unit of the dataset is mg/m3.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, MODIS, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, chlorophyll
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
MODIS Derived Primary Productivity: Overall Hotspots

The dataset indicates the long-term overall primary productivity hotspots of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and August 2014 are used to identify the overall primary productivity hotspots. The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The value (between 0 and 1.0) of the dataset represents the likelihood of the location being a primary productivity hotspot.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, MODIS, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, primary productivity
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
MODIS Derived Chlorophyll a dataset: Seasonal Means

The dataset measures the long-term seasonal means of the chlorophyll a concentrations of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and December 2017 are used to calculate the means of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The unit of the dataset is mg/m3.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, MODIS, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, chlorophyll
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
MODIS Derived Sea Surface Temperature dataset: Seasonal Means

The dataset measures the long-term seasonal means of the sea surface temperature (SST) of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly SST images between July 2002 and December 2017 are used to calculate the means of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The unit of the dataset is Celsius degree.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, MODIS, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, SST
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Shining new light on the (previously) dark depths of the East Tennant region

The East Tennant region, located between Tennant Creek and the Northern Territory–Queensland border and centred on the Barkly Roadhouse, is an emerging new frontier both for the geological understanding of the North Australian Craton and for mineral exploration. Geophysical datasets acquired as part of Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program identified the potential of the East Tennant region as a new mineral exploration fairway (Hackney et al 2020; Schofield et al 2020) with prospective Paleoproterozoic rocks completely concealed beneath relatively thin cover (typically less than 200 m; Bonnardot et al 2020; Czarnota et al 2020). Prior to the East Tennant Project’s program of precompetitive geoscience work, which commenced in 2016, only a few mineral exploration boreholes had been drilled to intersect Paleoproterozoic basement and, as a result, the basement geology of the region has remained poorly understood. 
Although geophysical data provide tantalising insights into the potential of the East Tennant region to host mineral resources, the task of enabling and facilitating future mineral exploration requires new data to resolve the regional stratigraphy and geological event history. In order to test geophysical interpretations and obtain samples to undertake detailed analysis, a ten-hole stratigraphic drilling program was undertaken in the East Tennant region in late 2020 as part of the MinEx CRC’s National Drilling Initiative (NDI; Schofield et al 2021). T
his stratigraphic drilling intersected variably deformed and metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks with lithological characteristics similar to those in the Tennant Creek area (Clark et al 2021a) and confirmed that, overall, these basement rocks occur at relatively shallow cover depths. In places, the Paleoproterozoic basement rocks have been altered and mineralised (Clark et al 2021a). Analyses of drill core samples from the East Tennant NDI campaign included whole rock geochemistry, geochronology, and petrophysical characterisation. The results have revolutionised our understanding of the East Tennant region by establishing its geological framework and mineral potential, as well as its tectonostratigraphic context within the North Australian Craton.
Presented at the 2022 Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES)

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Exploring for the Future: Integrated geoscience supporting exploration and discovery in the under-cover Tennant Creek – Mount Isa region

While much of the focus in addressing the challenges of undercover exploration lies in how to directly detect the footprints of buried mineral systems, an equally significant challenge is the identification of new prospective exploration fairways at a regional (or larger) scale which have not been previously recognised or effectively explored. This narrowing of the search space is a key objective of the Australian Government’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, a four-year (2016–2020), $100.5 million program investigating the mineral, energy and groundwater resource potential in northern Australia and parts of South Australia (Figure 1). The program is delivering new geoscience data, knowledge and decision support tools that support increased industry investment and sustainable economic development.
The Tennant Creek to Mount Isa (TISA) area emerged as an area of interest for the EFTF program on the basis of geophysical, geochemical and geological datasets acquired in northern Australia. Data have been acquired at a range of scales and depths, from the base of the lithosphere to the surface, arguably making the TISA area the best-imaged piece of lithosphere on Earth.
It is increasingly recognised that large-scale controls, often expressed deep in the Earth’s crust and mantle, are important for localising large mineral systems. Large hydrothermal mineral systems have expressions at mantle depth in datasets such as long-period magnetotellurics (MT) and seismic velocity. Clues from these deep imaging datasets in the TISA area, together with more conventional and near-surface lines of evidence, have led to the identification of the East Tennant region as a new mineral exploration fairway.
The East Tennant region is an entirely buried corridor of interpreted high mineral systems potential between Tennant Creek in the west and the Murphy Province near the Queensland border in the east. This abstract outlines the key rationale for selecting this region, new insights and follow-up data acquisition, as well as future plans for stratigraphic drilling to test models, ideas and predictions arising from the integration of multi-disciplinary datasets.
Abstract submitted to  21st Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES), 24-25 March 2020 (https://industry.nt.gov.au/news/2020/march/ages-2020)

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, East Tennant, Exploring for the Future - EFTF, GEOCHEMISTRY, GEOLOGY, GEOPHYSICS, OTHER EARTH SCIENCES, Pre-competititve geoscience, Published_External
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
MODIS Derived Primary Productivity: Seasonal Hotspots

The dataset indicates the seasonal primary productivity hotspots of ocean surface waters. They are derived from MODIS (aqua) images using NASA's SeaDAS image processing software. The monthly chlorophyll a images between July 2002 and August 2014 are used to identify the primary productivity hotspots of the four austral seasons: winter (June, July, and August), spring (September, October and November), summer (December, January and February) and autumn (March, April and May). The extent of the dataset covers the entire Australian EEZ and surrounding waters (including the southern ocean). The value (between 0 and 1.0) of the dataset represents the likelihood of the location being a primary productivity hotspot.
This research is supported by the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub through Project D1.

Tags: Earth Sciences, MODIS, Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, primary productivity
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
South-west Corner Marine Park survey – bathymetry (GA-4858)

This resource includes bathymetry 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 (excluding transit) offshore from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin coast, with underwater imagery of benthic communities and demersal fish collected by the University of Western Australia on separate field deployments. This bathymetry dataset contains a 5 m resolution 32-bit geotiff file of the survey area produced from the processed Kongsberg EM2040C multibeam sonar system using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software. 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.This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Tags: AusSeabed, Bathymetric grids, Bathymetry, EARTH SCIENCES, HVC_144641, Marine, Multibeam, Published_Internal
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Extreme crustal fractionation in a Proterozoic chemical hotspot

The distribution of mineral systems is heterogeneous over space and time, reflecting transient element enrichment within Earth’s evolving crust. Australian Proterozoic rocks host some of the world’s largest ore deposits including the Broken Hill lead-zinc-silver deposit, within the Curnamona Province, and the Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold-silver super-deposit, within the Gawler Craton, offering key insights into crustal preconditioning for mineralization. New whole-rock and feldspar Pb isotopic data and apatite geochronology support a common source for Mesoproterozoic magmatism in the Curnamona Province and Gawler Craton and a genetic link between their world-class ore deposits. Exceptionally radiogenic Pb isotope ratios in the Curnamona Province indicate extreme crustal fractionation, driven by a positive feedback scenario where crustal anatexis produced melts strongly enriched in heat-producing, incompatible elements, which in turn prolonged anatectic conditions through radiogenic heat production, promoting metal transport. This chemical hotspot may have been triggered by delamination following the assembly of the Nuna supercontinent.

Citation: Liebmann, J., Ware, B., Kirkland, C.L., Mole, D.R., Fraser, G., Mahan, B., Wainwright, A.N. & Maas, R. 2025. Extreme crustal fractionation in a Proterozoic chemical hotspot. Journal of Petrology, 66(3), egaf017,
https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egaf017.

Tags: EFTF – Exploring for the Future, Geochemistry, Isotope Geochemistry, Pb isotopes, Proterozoic, Published_External, mineral systems
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Enhancing Marine Spatial Planning through Integrated Seabed Mapping and Science Communication

Pre-competitive geoscience information, including bathymetry compilations, seabed geomorphology and sediment stability maps and other spatial information is essential to support planning and investment decisions. Integrated, multidisciplinary datasets enhance our understanding of Australia's seabed and have wide-ranging applications across multiple ocean sectors. Bathymetric and geoscience maps are used to design surveys, identify areas suitable for offshore infrastructure, and provide important regional context for environmental impact assessments, thereby reducing investment risk and supporting evidence-based decisions consistent with government policies and regulations.&nbsp;
Geoscience Australia’s integration and digital delivery of marine data provides valuable insights into the distribution and evolution of seabed features and their associated characteristics, processes and regulatory designations. Our Australian Marine Spatial Information System (AMSIS) provides a web-based interactive mapping and decision support system that improves access to integrated government and non-government spatial layers, tools, visualizations, and data for the management of Australia’s marine jurisdiction. This robust scientific information ecosystem drives the translation of data into information and knowledge to support decision-makers

Poster presented at the Australian Marine Science Association 2025 conference, Melbourne, 14-17 July 2025.

Tags: Australian Marine Spatial Information System (AMSIS), Geomorphology, Geomorphology and earth surface processes, Marine, Ocean, Published_External, Spatial Planning, conference material
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Alteration out of sight. A petrographic and HyLogger study of the McPhillamys gold deposit, east Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales

Lithology, alteration and Au-mineralisation characteristics of the McPhillamys gold deposit in central NSW have proved difficult to interpret due to structural overprinting. Previous models for the genesis of Au-mineralisation include syngenetic (late Silurian Au-rich volcanic massive sulfide; VMS) or epigenetic (Carboniferous orogenic Au). We combine extensive new HyLogger spectral data (SWIR and TIR), petrographic analysis, geochronology and isotopic data to determine the alteration/mineralisation paragenesis, alteration zonation and effects of lithological control on mineralisation by using both downhole and broadscale 3D mineralogical characterisation. The mineralisation at McPhillamys is stratabound within a coarse andesitic/dacitic volcaniclastic package. Alteration involved the development of an initial potassic core (microcline (ex-adularia)–quartz–pyrite) associated with the mineralised volcaniclastic package at the centre of the orebody and extending into the overlying non-mineralised andesitic volcanic/volcaniclastic package north and south of the mineralised zone. Propylitic-style alteration (albite–pyrite–chlorite–carbonate ± epidote) forms an outer shell to the mineralisation, except at the northern and southern extents of the mineralised trend. White mica, chlorite, feldspar and carbonate all display consistent and mappable compositional variation between mineralised and non-mineralised sequences. It is difficult to decipher the early history of the deposit and available (U–Pb and Ar–Ar) geochronology is unable to distinguish if mineralisation and alteration developed just after deposition of the host sequences during the latest Silurian (ca. 423 Ma) with extensive recrystallisation during both Tabberabberan (ca. 390 Ma) and Kanimblan (ca. 350 Ma) orogenic events, or if mineralisation developed solely during the Tabberabberan Orogeny (ca. 390 Ma) with extensive recrystallisation during the Kanimblan Orogeny (ca. 350 Ma). We favour a latest Silurian age form mineralisation and suggest the mineralogy, broad spatial distribution (700 m long, 250 m width, and up to 700 m depth) and paragenesis of alteration and mineralisation at McPhillamys is consistent with a deformed late Silurian lithologically-controlled low sulfidation epithermal, or potentially a shallow water (subsea-floor) Au-rich VMS system.
Citation:J. Fitzherbert, K. Hughes, K. Montgomery, P. Downes, C. Folkes, J. Egan, P. Flitcroft, S. Bodorkos &amp; H. Huang (13 Jul 2025): Alteration out of sight: a petrographic and HyLogger study of the McPhillamys gold deposit, east Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, DOI: 10.1080/08120099.2025.2526037

Tags: Geochronology, Geoscience data visualisation, HyLogger, Igneous and metamorphic petrology, Isotope geochemistry, Lachlan Orogen, Mineralogy and crystallography, New South Wales, Petrography, Published_External, gold
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data