AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Identifying vulnerable ecosystems in an Antarctic coastal marine environment

Monitoring changes in shallow-water benthic ecosystems requires baseline information against which any future changes can be assessed. This includes information on the existing spatial extent and physical habitat requirements of the different benthic communities. 

A detailed study in shallow coastal waters of the Vestfold Hills has shown that seafloor geomorphology information provides a physical framework for understanding benthic habitats and a broad indication of the distribution of benthic communities in the region. Macroalgae is common in the coastal waters, inhabiting very shallow areas with hard substrate. Areas with extended sea ice cover are dominated by invertebrates and are devoid of macroalgae. Studies have shown that these shallow invertebrate-dominated ecosystems are vulnerable to changes in sea ice extent which will increase light availability and drive regime shifts towards macroalgae-dominated communities (Clark et al. 2013. DOI:10.1111/gcb.12337).

New high-resolution multibeam data collected over the broader Vestfold Hills region is being used to expand our understanding of the spatial extent of benthic habitats across the shallow coastal environment and identify potential habitat for macroalgae communities. Bathymetry derived from multispectral satellite imagery is used to fill data gaps in very shallow areas and areas under sea ice. This seafloor information is useful to guide further biological studies to determine if and when regime shifts occur.

Presented at the 2023 POLAR 2018 A SCAR &amp; IASC Conference

Tags: Antarctica, EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, Vestfold Hills, benthic habitats, marine, seabed mapping
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Aquatic Substrate Library - Lihou Reef 2008

Record for source data hosted in the National Spectral Database (NSD) Aquatic Library

Citation:
A.G. Dekker, E.J. Botha, Y.J. Park, J.M. Anstee, N. Cherukuru, L. Clementson (2009) Remote sensing for habitat mapping and change detection in tropical Commonwealth marine protected areas – phase 2; Report prepared for: The Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; National research Flagships, Wealth from Oceans, CSIRO, Australia.; pp: 135.

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

Tags: Aquatic Substrate Library, Australian National Spectral Database (NSD), Australian spectral data, EARTH SCIENCES, End-member studies, Field spectroscopy, HVC_144490, NSD Source Dataset, Published_External, Remote sensing
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Geochemical characteristics of Palaeozoic petroleum systems in Northwestern Australia

Isotopic and biomarker analyses carried out on Cambrian to Permian oils and source rocks in the Arafura, Bonaparte (Petrel Sub-basin) and Canning Basins have been used to geochemically characterise five distinct petroleum systems within the Larapintine and Gondwanan Petroleum Supersystems. The Larapintine 1 Petroleum System is characterised by isotopically light, free hydrocarbons in the Arafura Basin (δ13Csat = -32 ‰ Arafura-1) which have been correlated to kerogens of similar isotopic signature within the Middle Cambrian Jigaimara Formation. The richness and maturity of these source rocks indicate that an effective Larapintine 1 Petroleum System may exist in the northern parts of the Arafura Basin. Larapintine 2 oils, with <i>Gloeocapsomorpha prisca</i>-type signatures, are found on the Barbwire-Dampier Terraces and Admiral Bay Fault Zone in the Canning Basin. These oils can be correlated to source rocks in the Early Ordovician Goldwyer Formation on the Barbwire Terrace and the Bongabinni Formation in the Admiral Bay Fault Zone by their diagnostic odd-carbon-number preference in the C15–C19 n-alkanes. Larapintine 3 oils are derived from Late Devonian marine carbonates in the Canning Basin and Petrel Sub-basin and have a diagnostic biomarker signature which includes a predominance of steranes relative to diasteranes and abundant gammacerane and 30-norhopanes, similar to those observed in the Late Devonian Gogo and Pillara Formations. Larapintine 4 oils are derived from Early Carboniferous marine, clay-rich mudstones in both the Petrel Sub-basin and Canning Basin. They are isotopically light (mean δ13Csat = -28 ‰) and have a unique terpane signature which has been identified within the Milligans Formation. Gondwanan 1 Petroleum System hydrocarbons, represented here by the Petrel-4 condensate, have a heavy isotopic signature (δ13Csat = -24 ‰) which, coupled with an abundance of the diasterane and diahopane biomarkers, indicates derivation from Permian deltaic source facies. Recognition of the diagnostic geochemical components of each Palaeozoic petroleum system has led to the identification of Permian-like isotopic signatures in some hydrocarbon accumulations in the Timor Sea that were previously attributed to Mesozoic sources.

<b>Citaton:</b> Edwards D, Summons R, Kennard J, Nicoll R, Bradshaw J, Bradshaw M, Foster C, O'Brien G, Zumberge J. (1997) GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PALAEOZOIC PETROLEUM SYSTEMS IN NORTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA. The APPEA Journal 37, 351–379

Tags: Arafura Basin, Bonaparte Basin, Canning Basin, EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, Timor Sea, biomarkers, isotopes, petroleum systems
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Law of the Sea. Teacher notes and student activities on Australia's offshore territory

A comprehensive black and white teachers' guide reviews the history and development of the United Nation's Convention on the Law of the Sea and its application to Australian marine jurisdiction. Case studies on the North West Shelf, Antarctica and Orange Roughy are included. 108 page booklet with student activities and suggested answers. Suitable for secondary geography and science students Years 8-12.

Tags: AU, Earth Sciences, Educational Product, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, coasts, continental margins, geoscience education, hydrocarbons, marine, marine jurisdiction
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Palaeoshorelines on the Australian continental shelf: morphology, sea-level relationship and applications to environmental management and archaeology

Palaeoshorelines that lie submerged on stable continental shelves are relict coastal depositional and erosional structures formed during periods of lower sea level. An analysis of the well-dated Late Quaternary (0–128 ka) sea-level record indicates that the most persistent (modal) lower sea levels were at 30 – 40 m below present, which occurred between 97 and 116 ka and at approximately 85 ka and 10 ka. A secondary modal position was at 70–90 m that occurred mostly during a period of fluctuating sea level between 30 and 60 ka, as well as at around 87 ka (70 – 80 m only) and 12−15 ka. For the tectonically stable Australian continental shelf, we show that a range of shorelines formed at each of these sea level modal positions and their morphology and degree of preservation depends on composition (carbonate vs siliciclastic) and oceanographic setting (wave, tide and wind energy). These ancient coasts record a range of oceanographic and geological regimes that existed during relatively long periods of lower sea level and provide a guide to the general depth zones in which similar features likely occur on other shelves globally. Australian palaeoshorelines represent distinctive benthic habitats that strongly influence the distribution of biodiversity across the shelf. Accurate mapping of these features provides a robust geospatial framework for investigations of marine species distributions and environmental change monitoring. These data also enable the better targeting of relict coastal areas that potentially include sand resources and sites of human occupation during periods of lower sea level.

<b>Citation:</b> Brendan P. Brooke, Scott L. Nichol, Zhi Huang, Robin J. Beaman, Palaeoshorelines on the Australian continental shelf: Morphology, sea-level relationship and applications to environmental management and archaeology, <i>Continental Shelf Research</i>, Volume 134, 2017, Pages 26-38, ISSN 0278-4343.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2016.12.012.

Tags: Biodiversity, EARTH SCIENCES, Late Quaternary, Published_External, Sea level, Shelf reefs, marine archaeology
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Sustainable Management of Coastal Groundwater Resources

The Sustainable Management of Coastal Groundwater Resources (SMCGR) project aims to improve the management of groundwater in coastal dune aquifers, which is used to supply water for coastal communities in the Mid North Coast region.

There is increasing pressure on groundwater resources from expanding urbanisation and tourism in this region, which has made sustainable management of existing groundwater supplies an important issue for coastal communities and councils.

Over extraction from groundwater systems can affect the water available for ecosystems, which may be dependent on shallow groundwater resources. Withdrawal of groundwater resources in excess of the
sustainable yield may also result in fresh water resources being degraded by seawater intrusion or by upcoming from underlying saline water bodies.

Tags: AU-NSW, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, Report, groundwater, marine
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Examination of Samples from Cossigny No. 1, Flinders Shoal No. 1, Hampton No. 1 and Lawley No. 1, Offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia, for Triassic Conodonts

Examination of samples from Cossigny No. 1, Flinders Shoal No. 1, Hampton No. 1 and Lawley 1, offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia, for Triassic conodonts.

Tags: AU-WA, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Professional Opinion, Published_External, marine
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) Biodiversity Survey: GA0339/SOL5650 Post-Survey Report

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.

Tags: AU-WA, GA Publication, Marine Geoscience, NERP, Published_External, Record, bathymetry, marine, marine biodiversity, marine environmental baselines, marine survey
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
The petrology of the carbonate rocks of the western Undilla Basin

This Record contains the preliminary petrological results of a study of the dolomite facies in the Undilla Basin. Thin sections and cut, etched and stained surfaces of rocks from the Camooweal Dolomite, Age Creek Formation, V-Creek, Mail Change and Thorntonia Limestones were examined.

Tags: AU-QLD, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, petrology
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Methane anomalies in seawaters of the Ragay Gulf, Philippines: methane cycling and contributions to atmospheric greenhouse gases

The vertical distribution of methane has been measured in the water column of a semi-enclosed basin, the Ragay Gulf, in the Philippines archipelago. The methane distribution is characterised by unusual mid-water and bottom-water plumes, between 80 and 100 m thick. The plumes are confined to water depths between about 100 and 220 m, where the temperature-depth (a proxy for seawater density) gradient is steepest. Plumes of high methane are trapped within the main thermocline; these are local features, persisting over kilometre-scale distances. Geochemical and geological evidence suggests that the elevated methane concentrations are thermogenic in origin (although an oxidised biogenic origin cannot be ruled out for some of the methane anomalies), and have migrated from the sea floor into the overlying water.  The mid and bottom-water methane maxima support fluxes of methane from depth into surface waters and, subsequently, from the oceans to the atmosphere. The average supersaturation of methane in the top 5 m of the sea, at nine locations , was 206Â±16.5%; range 178- 237%. The average estimated sea- air flux was 101 nmole.cm-2.y-1; range 75- 129 nmole.cm-2.y-1, and probably represents a minimum flux, because of low wind speeds of &lt; 10 knots. These fluxes, we suggest, are supported by seepage from the sea floor and represent naturally occurring fluxes of mostly fossil methane (in contrast to anthropogenic fossil methane), from the sea to the atmosphere.  The estimated minimum fluxes of naturally occurring fossil methane are comparable to those biogenic fluxes measured elsewhere in the surface oceans , but are less than those naturally occurring methane inputs from sediments of the Barents Sea. Ragay Gulf fluxes are also less than anthropogenic fluxes measured in areas of petroleum exploration and development, such as the Texas and Louisiana, USA shelf areas.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, PHIL, Published_External, marine
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Benthic sediment surveys of inner Darwin Harbour (GA0358) and shallow water areas in and around Bynoe Harbour (GA0359) in 2017: Grain size measurements on seabed sediments.

Benthic sediment sampling of Inner Darwin Harbour (GA0358) and shallow water areas in and around Bynoe Harbour (GA0359) was undertaken between May 29 and June 19, 2017. Partners involved in the surveys included Geoscience Australia (GA), the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources within the Northern Territory Government (NT DENR) (formerly the Department of Land and Resource Management (DLRM)). These surveys form part of a four year (2014-2018) science program aimed at improving knowledge about the marine environments in the regions around Darwin and Bynoe Harbour’s through the collection and collation of baseline data that will enable the creation of thematic habitat maps to underpin marine resource management decisions.  This project is being led by the Northern Territory Government and is supported by the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project, in collaboration with - and co-investment from GA and AIMS. This dataset comprises grain size measurements on seabed sediments.

Tags: Published_External, continental shelf, marine, marine baselines, marine surveys, seabed, sedimentology
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf 30 m bathymetry and derived Morphological Surfaces

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 marine data.  “Eco-narrative” documents are being developed for those parks, where sufficient information is available, delivering collations and interpretations of seafloor geomorphology, oceanography and ecology. Many of these interpretations rely on bathymetric grids and their derived products, including those in this data release.


Geoscience Australia has developed a new marine seafloor classification scheme, which uses the two-part seafloor mapping morphology approach of Dove et al (2016). This new scheme is semi-hierarchical and the first step divides the slope of the seafloor into three Morphological Surface categories (Plain, &lt;2°; Slope, 2-10°; Escarpment, &gt;10°). This classification was applied to the portion of the Beaman and Spinnocia (2018) 30 m grid within the marine park. 


Beaman, R.J. and Spinoccia, M. (2018). High-resolution depth model for Northern Australia - 30 m. Geoscience Australia.


Dove, D., Bradwell, T., Carter, G., Cotterill, C., Gafeira, J., Green, S., Krabbendam, M., Mellet, C., Stevenson, A., Stewart, H., Westhead, K., Scott, G., Guinan, J., Judge, M. Monteys, X., Elvenes, S., Baeten, N., Dolan, M., Thorsnes, T., Bjarnadóttir, L., Ottesen, D. (2016). Seabed geomorphology: a twopart classification system. British Geological Survey, Open Report OR/16/001. 13 pages.

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

Tags: Marine Biodiversity Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Published_External, bathymetry, bathymetry grid, marine, marine data
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Reference lines, fault classification, transform systems and ocean-floor spreading: discussion

Wellman (1971) has presented erroneous data relating to lineaments in Papua New Guinea. The main faults and folds in Papua New Guinea as determined by ground and remote sensing surveys by the Bureau of Mineral Resources, the Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea and by oil exploration companies are shown on the new BMR - GSPNG 1:1,000,000 Scale geological map of Papua New Guinea.

Wellman (1971) in a recent issue of this journal produced an account of fault systems in the Pacific region. However, his Figure 5and related text (p.205) cannot go unchallenged in so far as they refer to the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, i.e., Papua New Guinea.

An example of the inaccuracy of Figure 5 (Wellman, 1971), is the omission of major faults such as the Owen Stanley Fault (Fig.1) and the Frieda Fault (Fig.2), and the depiction of a non-existent major fault system (which he called the New Guinea Fault).

Exhaustive examinations of airphotos, both vertical and oblique, at scales from 1:20,000 to 1:80,000, and of side-looking airborne radarimagery, by numerous officers of the Bureau of Mineral Resources and theGeological Survey of Papua New Guinea during the last 5 - 10 years have failed to detect the lineations shown by Wellman. Furthermore, these studies, and extensive field mapping by government and oil exploration company geologists over the last 25 years, have revealed the existence
of the fault and fold systems shown here in Figures 3a and 4.

Although a strike slip type of movement is suspected for some of these faults only vertical movements have been proved. Thus the sinistral movement claimed for the imagined "New Guinea Fault" should not be regarded as typical of the fault system of Papua New Guinea.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, marine
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Port Phillip Bay Drift Algae Bathymetry 2018 (4897/20180001S)

The Port Phillip Bay Drift Algae bathymetry survey was acquired by Deakin University Marine Mapping lab onboard the Motor Vessel Yolla over three days in 2018 (18/01/2018-21/01/2018) using a Kongsberg EM2040c. This survey was collected as part of a collaborative program with the University of Melbourne to map out the locations of drift algae within Port Phillip Bay.

Not to be used for navigational purposes

Tags: AusSeabed, Bass Strait (Great Australian Bight), Bathymetry, Delivery, awareness raising and engagement, Digital Delivery, EARTH SCIENCES, MV Yolla, Marine, Offshore Mapping, Published_External, Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity, multi-beam echosounders
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Superficial sediments of the Tasmanian continental shelf and part of Bass Strait

Three hundred and sixty-five surface and near-surface seabed samples provide the basis for an assessment of regional lithofacies variations on the Tasmanian shelf and in eastern and western Bass Strait. Quartz-rich sands with variable amounts of shell debris occur on the innermost shelf and on the rises flanking the central Bass Strait basin. They are essentially modern deposits derived in the main from Pleistocene near shore sand bodies reworked and transported landwards during the Holocene marine transgression. Muddy sediments of the middle shelf off eastern Tasmania and in central Bass Strait are sites of present-day sedimentation, but they are likely to form only a thin veneer, and include coarse material probably reworked from the Pleistocene and early Holocene substrate. Extensive areas of the middle and outer shelf, particularly off southern and western Tasmania, are floored by dominantly relict bryozoan sands and gravels. Fine-grained and shelly, slightly quartzose sands in areas of the middle shelf consist of relict sediment, and sediment from the late Holocene transgressive marine sand sheet, in about equal proportions. Four main suites of heavy minerals are present in the surface sediments. Provenance relationships with sources in the adjacent hinterland suggest that little offshore sediment transport parallel to the coastline has taken place. Rare grains of cassiterite were identified in marine sediments lying off the tin-producing areas of northeastern Tasmania, but 10 ppm Sn was the maximum value recorded in the geochemical analyses. Some phosphatisation of relict limestone gravels on the middle and outer shelf off northwestern Tasmania has taken place, but the highest recorded whole-rock analysis was 3.6 percent Pi&gt;0. Density of sample stations in this part of the shelf is low.

Tags: AU-TAS, Bulletin, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, continental margins
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data