AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Geophysical Studies of Australia's Remote Eastern Deep-Water Frontier: Results from the Capel and Faust Basins

The Capel and Faust Basins in Australia's remote eastern offshore frontier, 800 km east of Brisbane in 1000-3000 m of water, are being studied as part of the Australian Government's Energy Security Initiative. A variety of geophysical data has been obtained and efforts are currently focussed on integrated interpretation of 2D seismic reflection data, sonobuoy refraction data and marine potential-field data. 

Negative residual gravity anomalies generally correlate with basins evident in the seismic reflection data. The anomalies highlight elongate, roughly N-S-trending or arcuate depocentres, with limited strike extent, that are best developed in the north and northwest of the survey area where increased crustal extension appears to have occurred. The 20-50 km separation between 2D seismic lines and the isolated nature of the basin depocentres complicates the process of linking structures between lines, but 3D mapping of faults and horizons is facilitated by the potential-field data. Instead of correlating with depocentres and basement highs, reduced-to-pole positive magnetic anomalies may reflect the distribution of volcanics and intrusives, variably evident as high-amplitude or low-frequency reflectors, and volcanic features at or near the seafloor. 

Interpretation of the seismic reflection data suggests the presence of four main syn-rift megasequence packages (?Early Cretaceous-?Santonian) and several post-rift sag packages (?Early Campanian-Recent). Maximum unequivocal depocentre thickness is ~4s TWT. Forward and inverse modelling of the gravity and magnetic data in 3D is providing a means to characterise different basement terranes and to construct surfaces that represent the sequence boundaries within the depocentres.

Tags: 3D model, Abstract, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, geophysics, marine survey, petroleum exploration
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Darwin Harbour Habitat Mapping Program: Predicted seabed gravel content

This resource contains a predicted seabed gravel content grid for the greater Darwin Harbour region as part of a baseline seabed mapping program of Darwin Harbour and Bynoe Harbour. This project was funded through offset funds provided by an INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project to the Northern Territory Government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NTG-DENR) with co-investment from Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The intent of this 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 and information to underpin marine resource management decisions. The predicted seabed gravel content grid was derived from a compilation of multiple surveys undertaken by GA, AIMS and NTG-DENR between 2011 and 2017, including GA0333 (Siwabessy et al., 2015), GA0341 (Siwabessy et al., 2015), GA0351/SOL6187 (Siwabessy et al., 2016), GA4452/SOL6432 (Siwabessy et al., 2017), GA0356 (Radke et al., 2017), and GA0358 and GA0359 (Radke et al., 2018), adding to those from a previous survey GA0333 collected by GA, AIMS and NTG-DENR. This dataset provides spatially continuous predictions of seabed %gravel (&gt;2000 µm) content for the Darwin and Bynoe harbour region, northern Australian marine margin. Data are presented in 10 m resolution raster grids format and ascii text file. Predictions are based on 395 samples and 14 environmental variables derived from high resolution multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter data. Accuracy of predictions is high, with a VEcv = 59% for gravel; and the predictive accuracy has been increased by 68.4% for gravel in comparison with the commonly used method (i.e., IDW).  Absences in predictions occur in this dataset as a result of non-availability associated with predictive variables. This dataset supersedes previous predictions of mud content for the Darwin and Bynoe harbour region with demonstrated improvements in predictive accuracy.

Tags: Darwin Harbour, Habitat Mapping, Published_External, gravel
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Seabed glacial geomorphology features on the East Antarctic continental shelf: first results from RV Polarstern expedition PS141, EASI-3

The recent RV <em>Polarstern</em> Expedition PS141 <em>"East Antarctic Ice Sheet Instability and its interaction with changes in Southern Ocean circulation - Part 3”</em> (EASI-3; 6 Feb to 14 April 2024) aimed to investigate past ocean-ice sheet interactions along the East Antarctic margin over different geological timescales. East Antarctic Ice Sheet fluctuations directly impact global sea level and ocean circulation through the interplay between oceanic processes and seabed topography, especially offshore of the vulnerable Aurora subglacial basin and Shackleton Ice Shelf.

More than 10,000 nautical miles of new hydroacoustic data (continuous multibeam and sub-bottom profiles) were collected from parts of the Davis and Mawson Seas, in a target area off the ice margin between Wilhelm II to Wilkes Land (between 85° E and 115° E). We present some preliminary bathymetric and geomorphic mapping results that reveal a variety of submerged glacial features on the continental shelf, including iceberg scours, mega-scale glacial lineations, subglacial basins, and grounding zone wedges. Further detailed mapping and interpretation of these features will help extend the record of past glacier and ice sheet changes in East Antarctica and inform contemporary models and future projections.



Prepared for the Australian Antarctic Research Conference, Hobart, November 2024.

Tags: Antarctic Geoscience, Antarctica, EAIS, EASI-3, Ice Sheet, Marine Geoscience, Published_External, Sea Level, Seabed Mapping, Southern Ocean, conference material
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Including biogeochemical factors and a temporal component in benthic habitat maps: Influences on infaunal diversity in a temperate embayment

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.

Tags: AU-NSW, CERF, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, abiotic surrogates, environmental, geochemistry, marine, marine survey, seabed
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Darling Basin hydrogeological inventory

This Darling 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 geological Darling Basin, covering approximately 130,000 square kilometres in western New South Wales (with parts in South Australia and Victoria), is filled with over 8,000 m of mainly Devonian sedimentary rocks formed in various environments, from alluvial to marine. It sits atop regional basement structures, coinciding with boundaries between Late Paleozoic Kanmantoo, Lachlan, and Southern Thomson Fold Belts. The basin's outcrops are scarce, obscured by younger rocks and sediments.

Sedimentary rocks from Late Silurian to Early Carboniferous periods make up the basin, with marine shales and fluvial quartz-rich sandstones being the most common. The Menindee and Bancannia Troughs rest unconformably over Proterozoic and Lower Paleozoic basement rocks, while eastern sub-basins onlap deformed and metamorphosed Lower Paleozoic rocks.

A major tectonic shift at the end of the Ordovician transformed south-eastern Australia's palaeogeography from a marginal marine sea to deep troughs and basins. The Darling Basin's discrete sedimentary troughs formed in areas of maximum tectonic extension, including the Ivanhoe, Blantyre, Pondie Range, Nelyambo, Neckarboo, Bancannia, Menindee troughs, and Poopelloe Lake complex. Spatial variation in sedimentary facies indicates potential interconnections between the troughs.

The western basin overlies Proterozoic and Lower Paleozoic rocks of the Paroo and Wonominta basement blocks, while the eastern basin onlaps folded, faulted, and metamorphosed older Paleozoic rocks of the Lachlan Fold Belt.

The Darling Basin has seen limited hydrocarbon exploration, with wells mostly situated on poorly-defined structures. Indications of petroleum presence include gas seeping from water bores, potential source rocks in sparsely sampled Early Devonian units, and occasional hydrocarbon shows in wells. Reservoir units boast good porosity and permeability, while Cambrian to Ordovician carbonates and shales beneath the basin are considered potential source rocks.

Tags: Basin Analysis, EARTH SCIENCES, ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, Environmental Management, Exploring for the Future, GEOLOGY, Groundwater, Hydrogeology, Land Use and Environmental Planning, National Groundwater Sytems, National Hydrogeological Inventory, PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE, Published_External, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy (incl. Biostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy)
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Final report for Co-operative Research Centre for Spatial Information CRC-SI Project 114: Reconciling height datums in Australia: the bathymetric component

Vertical height datums are necessary as a reference for height measurements over the Earth. However the choice of reference is dependant on the purpose for the height data. For terrestrial users (especially on the coast), heights above a Mean Sea Level (MSL) are desired, whilst marine uses that depend on under keel clearance, prefer a low water tidal datum. The result of these preferences has produced two different types of height datum in Australia. Topography heights are referenced to the
Australian Height Datum (AHD), Roelse (1975), and bathymetry heights are referenced to Chart Datum (CD) or Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT), calculated through a tidal observation. Both are not directly compatible with satellite based data in ellipsoidal heights, which span the land/sea interface. Users of these data sets are increasingly aware of difficulties in joining these adjacent datasets, primarily a result of datum disparities.
The focus of the research in this report is to reconcile the various bathymetry datums to allow joining of bathymetry datasets. A methodology has been presented to calculate uncertainty for short span observation MSL's relative to a long term reference epoch. This will increase the number of available MSL observations around the coast, which will aid in the creation of an ellipsoidal MSL surface with
uncertainties. Despite their inclusion in the original project scope, methodologies for computing uncertainties of the Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) and Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) tidal planes have not been developed. Several alternative options for high water and low water tidal planes with associated uncertainties to define the intertidal zone about MSL in Australia will be presented for consideration.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Report, marine
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction off the Australian Antarctic Territory

Map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction off the Australian Antarctic Territory.
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.
3400mm x 1050mm (for 42" plotter) sized .pdf downloadable from the web.

Tags: AQ, Administrative Boundary, Earth Sciences, Published_External, Thematic Map, administrative boundaries, bathymetry, continental shelf, marine jurisdiction
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction off Northern Australia

Map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction off Northern Australia.  This includes areas contiguous to the north of the continent and as far west as Christmas Island, but excludes areas around Cocos (Keeling) Islands and areas west of Christmas Island.
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 bathymetry image is derived from a combination of the 2009 9 arc second bathymetry and topographic grid by Geoscience Australia and a grid by W.H.F. Smith and D.T. Sandwell, 1997. Background land imagery derived from Blue Marble, NASA's Earth Observatory.
2800mm x 1050mm (for 42" plotter) sized .pdf downloadable from the web.

Tags: Administrative Boundary, Earth Sciences, Published_External, Thematic Map, administrative boundaries, bathymetry, continental shelf, marine, marine jurisdiction
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Rig Seismic Geophysical and Geological Research Cruise off Western and Southeastern Tasmania

R/V Rig Seismic carried out Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) research cruise 78 on the Tasmanian margin from 24 March to 18 April, 1988. The first half of the cruise was devoted to multichannel seismic surveying - 1750 km on the west Tasmanian margin and 265 km off southeast Tasmania. The west Tasmanian seismic survey examined the King Island and Strahan Sub-basins of the Sorell Basin, tested the structure of the continental margin from the continental shelf to undoubted oceaniccrust, and provided a key seismic tie through the thick sedimentary basin on the west Tasmanian continental slope. The southeast Tasmanian seismic survey examined the Palaeozoic sequences near Bruny Island on which oil seeps are known.

The latter half of the cruise was devoted to geological sampling on the west Tasmanian margin. Twelve stations were designed to sample basement and older outcropping sequences (Mesozoic and Palaeogene) to provide control for seismic interpretation. Younger sequences were cored at 37 stations in order firstly, to establish amodel for Cainozoic sedimentation, and secondly, to allow the analysis of surface sediments to define areas of anomalous concentrations of thermogenic gas. Near-surface thermal gradient and thermal conductivity were measured at 10 stations as a means of establishing thermal flux.

The work will enable us to better define the geology of the basins, and especially their history of rifting, their stratigraphy, and their petroleum potential.

Tags: AU-TAS, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, geology, geophysics, marine, marine survey
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Southeast Tasmania Temperate Reef Survey: Post-Survey Report

This report provides a description of the research activities completed during the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub survey of southeast Tasmanian temperate reefs, aboard RV Challenger, as part of the Hub's Surrogates Program. The survey was undertaken as a collaborative exercise between the Tasmania Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI, University of Tasmania) and Geoscience Australia (GA), and was completed in two stages during 2008 and 2009. 

This report describes the methods employed in the mapping and video characterisation of shallow-shelf temperate reef habitats across seven survey sites in southeast Tasmania. Preliminary results are provided of the analysis of multibeam sonar and underwater video data. Examples of the types of biota encountered in the towed video and stills photography, and initial interpretations of the benthic communities are also provided. In addition, initial results are presented from the deployment of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to collect high resolution photographs of reefs and associated biota.

Tags: AU-TAS, CERF, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, bathymetry, continental shelf, marine, marine biodiversity
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Petroleum Prospectivity of the Northern Australian Marine Region

The northern marine region of Australia has been selected by the Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEW; with statutory and policy responsibility for MPAs) and other stakeholders (Commonwealth of Australia, 2007) as a possible location for the establishment of marine parks. This report examines the petroleum prospectivity of the proposed region, with an assessment undertaken by Geoscience Australia. The northern marine assessment region is located offshore on the northern shelf of Australian, extending from the Torres Strait to the NT/WA state boundary. Geologically the region encompasses three provinces; 1) the Timor Sea, 2) the Arafura Sea and 3) the Gulf of Carpentaria. These areas were assessed separately due to different development histories, sedimentary fill and associated prospectivity.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, marine, petroleum exploration
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Coral Sea - Kenn Seamount - Geomorphology and Surface Classification

Voyage IN2019_V04 contributed an additional 29,000 kms2 of seafloor survey data to the Coral Sea knowledge base. From this new bathymetric data individual seamounts have been extracted and have been classified to the Geoscience Australia Geomorphology Classification Scheme. This dataset contains two layers representing the classification layers- 1) Surface (Plain, Slope, Escarpment) and 2) fine scale Geomorphology of the seamount for the Kenn Seamount.
Ongoing research with this survey data will provide new insights into the detailed geomorphic shape and spatial relationships between adjacent seabed features. This information will be released in future publications to show the potential of how the scale of such seafloor data can be used for predictive habitat modelling when analysed with the biological data overlays.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Remote sensing surface canopy mapping of Giant Kelp forests in Southern Australia, 2016–2023

Australia's kelp forests are among the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) can develop extensive forests and create dense surface canopies, providing a variety of ecological functions and ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and habitat provision.

Giant Kelp forests naturally fluctuate from year to year and experience dramatic interannual variability. However, over the last 4–5 decades, a ~95% loss of surface-canopy forests has been recorded in eastern Tasmania due to a combination of ocean warming, changing currents, recruitment limitation, and intense herbivory by expanding sea urchin populations. While kelp forests also occur on mainland southeastern Australia, relatively little is known about the ecology of Giant Kelp in this region. In recognition of the species' rapid declines in eastern Tasmania and the lack of data elsewhere, Giant Kelp communities in Australia were declared an endangered marine community in August 2012 under the EPBC Act.

Given the conservation status of Australian Giant Kelp communities, ongoing threats, and absence of a sanctioned recovery plan, there is an urgent need to establish the current extent for Giant Kelp in Australia, and to monitor changes over time. Historical aerial surveys techniques are costly, logistically difficult, and prone to cloud interference - impairing the ability of resource managers to consistently assess Giant Kelp abundance and distribution across jurisdictions. Recent improvements satellite remote sensing techniques now offer a reliable and cost-effective means for long-term kelp canopy monitoring at broad spatial and temporal scales.

This project mapped the surface canopy of Giant Kelp forests from 2016 to 2023 using 3 m resolution satellite imagery across the known historical range in Tasmania, Victoria, southern New South Wales, and eastern South Australia. The mapping workflow was divided into the following broad steps:

• Generate a precise land/water mask to exclude intertidal areas
• Create a first-pass machine learning (ML) classification using Sentinel-2 (10 m) imagery
• Acquire and process PlanetScope (3 m) daily imagery
• Train and evaluate a second-pass ML model for kelp detection using PlanetScope imagery
• Visualise results via an interactive Earth Engine application to enable input from expert review

---DATA DESCRIPTION---
• KelpWatch_KelpExtent_ALL_shp.zip: binary kelp extent - by year x zone (near-coast &amp; estuary/embayment vs open water)
• KelpWatch_KelpProb_ALL.zip: continuous probability of kelp - by year x zone x threshold (low vs high)

Tags: Machine Learning (ML), Macrocystis pyrifera, remote sensing
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Antarctic marine sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) sequences: Extraction method comparison for diatom sedaDNA recovery

This dataset is derived from a comparative study evaluating six DNA extraction methods for their efficiency in recovering diatom sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) from Antarctic marine sediments. Sediment samples were collected from two sites: U1536C (Scotia Sea, West Antarctica) and KC02 (Sabrina Coast, Totten Glacier Region, East Antarctica). Each of the six extraction methods was applied to the same set of samples. Following shotgun metagenomic sequencing, the methods were assessed based on metrics such as diatom DNA recovery, average fragment length, and taxonomic diversity. The purpose of the study was to identify the optimal extraction approach for maximizing the yield and quality of diatom sedaDNA, thereby improving its utility for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

Tags: Bacillariophyta, diatom DNA, metagenomics, sedimentary ancient DNA
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network