AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction - wall map 2020

A wall map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction depicting Australia's extended continental shelf approved by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in April 2008 on a blue Etopo2 background (seabed) and land imagery from NASA - Blue Marble.  Updated in March 2020 to reflect the 2018 Australia - Timor-Leste Maritime Boundaries Treaty.

This map is indicative only of the location of the territorial sea baselines and the outer limits of Australia's maritime zones, and should NOT be used as a definitive source of information.  Some limits may be subject to change.

Tags: Administrative Boundary, Earth Sciences, Published_External, Thematic Map, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
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: Australian Ocean Data Network
Estimating global shelf sediment mobility due to swell waves

Global climate models, such as those produced at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, generate data that are relevant to the study of marine sedimentary processes. We used estimates of significant wave height and period, derived from an European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Global climate models, to predict for the first time the area of continental shelves over which sediment is mobilised.

Tags: Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, Scientific Journal Paper, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
L029 Heywood experimental seismic survey, Western District Basin, VIC, 1956

An experimental seismograph survey was carried out near Heywood in the Western District Basin, south-western Victoria, during November and December, 1956 by the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics. The work was requested by Frome-Broken Hill Pty. Ltd. and was intended primarily to ascertain if reflections from deoper sediments could be recorded through a surface layer of basalt which covers considerable areas in the Western District of Victoria.

Several short traverses were shot during the survey at places where a variety of surface conditions for seismic exploration could be tested. Pattern and air-shooting techniques were tried as well as the conventional single shot-hole technique. Good reflections were recorded from depths down to eleven
thousand feet in areas where there was no basalt. Some apparent reflections of poor quality were recorded at times as great as 5 seconds after the shot was fired. An attempt has been made to correlate the reflections with stratigraphic horizons. Reflections were obtained from strata beneath a basalt cover in some places when explosive charges were fired in single shot holes; reflection quality was improved when pattern and air-shooting techniques were used.It was not possible to record reflections through a cover of tuff containing basalt bands on the slopes of Mt. Clay. Pattern and air-shooting were tried unsuccessfully.

Sub-surface information in the Heywood area is obtainable by seismic exploration and techniques for gaining the best information from the seismic method are discussed.

Tags: AU-VIC, HVC_144637, Published_External, Seismic Data seismic survey, Seismology and Seismic Exploration, geophysics, petroleum exploration, seismic reflection, seismic refraction
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
The marine geological imprint of Antarctic ice shelves

Widespread reductions in the thickness and extent of Antarctic ice shelves are triggering retreat, acceleration and increased discharge of marine-terminating glaciers. However, while the impacts of recent ice-shelf changes are now well documented, their role in modulating past ice sheet dynamics – especially at a resolution required to identify drivers of change and test ice sheet models - remains poorly constrained. This reflects two persistent issues: (i) the effective discrimination between sediments and landforms deposited in a sub-ice-shelf setting from other glacimarine environments, and (ii) challenges associated with dating these records. Here we summarise recent progress in deciphering the ‘geological imprint’ of Antarctic ice shelves, including important advances in dating methods and the proxies required to reconstruct the drivers of change. Despite this improved ‘toolbox’ for establishing ice shelf presence and absence, we recognise several challenges that need to be overcome if we are to fully exploit the palaeo record.

Citation: Smith, J.A., Graham, A.G.C., Post, A.L. et al. The marine geological imprint of Antarctic ice shelves. Nat Commun 10, 5635 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13496-5

Tags: Antarctic, Antarctica, EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, atmospheric warming, dating methods, geological imprint, ice shelves
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
RV Investigator Voyage IN2023_V05 Catch Data

This record describes the catch data from the Marine National Facility (MNF) RV Investigator voyage IN2023_V05, titled "Untangling the causes of change over 25 years in the southeast marine ecosystem (SEA-MES Voyage 1)." The voyage took place between 27 June 2023 and 29 July 2023 (AEST), departing from Hobart and returning to Hobart. The dataset contains catch data for specimens collected by Museums Victoria during the voyage. Records include species identification, counts and/or weights, and are linked to sampling metadata such as station number, location (latitude and longitude), depth, time, and gear type. These data provide a baseline for assessing species composition, abundance, and distribution, supporting long-term monitoring, research, and management of the southeast Australian marine ecosystem.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Report on the geology of Manus Island, Territory of Papua and New Guinea with reference to the occurrence of bauxite

During a geological reconnaissance of Manus Island, nodular bauxite deposits were observed in three widely separated localities. The occurrences are not laterally connected. Two are derived from basaltic flows and the third is formed over a medium-grained rock probably of tuffaceous origin. These volcanic rocks are products of a comparatively recent vulcanism and they unconformably overlie recrystallised limestones and marine tuffaceous sediments deposited on a plutonic basement. Palaeontological evidence of the age of these sediments is lacking but it is probable that they are Miocene or younger. The volcanics are sub-horizontal or possess a low primary dip determined by the underlying surfaces. The process of bauxitization has been more rapid than usual indicating that physiographic and petrographic conditions have been particularly favourable. Present day conditions of high temperatures, high rainfall and slow drainage are recognised as favourable. It is probable that these conditions have prevailed since the volcanics were laid down and that bauxitization is still proceeding. Regional considerations suggest that the bauxites will be widespread, particularly over the western end of the island. The deposits described were only observed as residual concentrations of bauxite nodules at the surface. They have not been tested as depth. The results of analyses of individual nodules from two of the deposits show a high available alumina content. Further prospecting and testing at depth, particularly in the west, is strongly recommended.

Tags: GA Publication, Geology, PG, Published_External, Record, geology, mineral deposits, stratigraphy, structural geology, topography
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
RV Investigator Voyage IN2025_V06 End of Voyage (EOV) Archive

This record describes the End of Voyage (EOV) data archive from the Marine National Facility (MNF) RV Investigator voyage IN2025_V06, titled "The Coral Sea frontier: Deep-sea biodiversity assessment of the Coral Sea Marine Park." The voyage took place between October 10, 2025 and November 14, 2025 (AEST), departing from Brisbane and returning to Brisbane.

For further information please refer to the voyage documentation links.

Instruments used and data collected include:
Regular measurements:
Lowered ADCP (LADCP), Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP; 38, 75, 150 KHz ), Greenhouse Gas Analysers (Picarro), Cloud Condensation Nuclei counter (CCN), Condensation Particle Counters (CPC), Disdrometer, Radon sensor, Black Carbon sensor (Aethalometer), CTD, Hydrochemistry, Fisheries Echosounder (EK80), Multibeam Echosounder (EM712, EM124, EM2040), Sub-bottom Profiler (SBP29), GPS Positioning System, Doppler Velocity Log, Thermosalinographs (TSG), Fluorometer, Oxygen Optode, Infrared Sea Surface Temperature Autonomous Radiometer (ISAR), pCO2, Gravimeter, Ozone Sensor, Atmospheric Temperature, Humidity, Pressure, Wind and Rain sensors, Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) sensor, Precision Infrared Radiometer (PIR), Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP), Starboard and Portside Radiometers, Air Sampler, Ultra Short BaseLine Underwater Positioning System (USBL), Weather Radar.

Voyage-specific measurements:
Beam Trawl, Cloud Radar (BASTA), Deep Towed Camera (DTC), Demersal Trawl, Environmental DNA (eDNA), Fishing dropline, NIWA sled (mini-Sherman), Wildlife Observations (seabirds, cetaceans and seals).

The archive for the IN2025_V06 EOV raw data is curated by the CSIRO National Collections and Marine Infrastructure (NCMI) Information and Data Centre (IDC) in Hobart, with a permanent archive at the CSIRO Data Access Portal (https://data.csiro.au/), providing access to voyage participants and processors of the data collected on the voyage.

All voyage documentation is available electronically to MNF support via the local network. Applications to access voyage documentation by non-CSIRO participants can be made via data-requests-hf@csiro.au All processed data from this voyage are made publicly available through the MNF Data Trawler (in the related links)

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
AGSO Research Newsletter 18

Titles in this newsletter:
Epithermal gold potential in the northern Coen Inlier
The Australian groundwater quality assessment project
Connecting the Riverina and Waroonga Gneisses, Eastern Goldfields
Extension of the Woodroffe Thrust, Musgrave Block, into Western Australia
High-pressure granulite to eclogite-facies metamorphism in the western Musgrave Block, central Australia
The Australian palaeoclimatic record: the key to future climate-change modelling
Prospective layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the East Kimberley
Regional evidence for Mount Isa-style copper ore systems
The Murray Basin Hydrogeological Map Series: Underpinning ecologically sustainable management strategies
Christmas Island research cruise defines offshore resource potential
New model for evolution of the Gippsland Basin
Advanced remote-sensing mapping of shallow-marine environments
Tectonic history of the Champ de Mars and westernmost Hinckley Range areas
Australian petroleum systems: framework for exploration

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Research Newsletter
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
SSCN SEGMENT 2-C Murray Marine Park Bathymetry Acquisition (20240016S)

This dataset is part of a broader survey carried out by EGS onboard the survey vessel RV Bold Explorer (RV BE) during the  SUBCO Subsea Cable Network (SSCN) cable route survey. 

The area is confined to the data within the Murray&nbsp;Marine Park. The Survey team and client representative joined the RV Bold Explorer on 17th April 2024 at Fremantle Port,  Australia. Following the embarkation of the survey team, equipment testing and commissioning was carried out. Calibration and verification of the DGPS positioning system and survey gyros onboard RV BE were performed while the vessel was alongside at Fremantle Port, Australia between 17th April and 18th April 2024. 

Prior to departure, tow sensors and hull-mounted sensors were wet tested. All systems were found to be operational. The RV Bold Explorer departed Fremantle Port, Australia and transited to the first site on 19th April 2024. The offshore calibration of shallow water multibeam echosounder (MBES) and USBL were performed on 19th April 2024 while the  calibration of deep water MBES was carried out on 20th April 2024.

The SSCN Segment 2-C survey comprised an investigation of bathymetry, seabed features and shallow geology along the proposed route. A subsequent geotechnical sampling programme was also executed.

This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Tags: AusSeabed, Australia-wide geoscience data, EARTH SCIENCES, HVC_144641, Multibeam, Oceans, Offshore Mapping, Published_External, Resourcing Australia's Prosperity, bathymetry, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Numerical techniques applied to the geochemistry of some estuarine sediments from Broad Sound, Queensland

Q-mode factor analysis classified the estuarine samples from Broad Sound into two main geologically distinct groups representing intertidal and supratidal deposition. This classification was supported statistically by stepwise discriminant analysis, and mathematically by Q-technique canonical correlation analysis. Analysis of variance was useful in identifying significant error with some of the measured variables, and proving the stability of the pH and Eh readings over time. Using R-mode factor analysis, with the associated correlation coefficients, and stepwise regression analysis, the various processes controlling the concentration of P2O5, Cu, Pb and Zn, in the supratidal and intertidal sediments are identified. Although Cu, Pb, and Zn are mainly deposited in both supratidal and intertidal zones adsorbed onto iron hydroxide colloids, the three trace elements (but especially Pb) are released with decreasing pH and Eh in the intertidal zone and form metal sulphides or metallo-organic complexes. The reduced iron is also redeposited as iron sulphide. Under supratidal oxidizing conditions the Cu and Zn remain attached to the iron colloids but Pb is released with increasing acidity. The absorption of P2O5 on clay particles increases with acidity in the intertidal zone, but P2O5 is mainly associated with organic carbon in the supratidal sediments.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, Published_External, QLD, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
50m Multibeam Dataset of Australia - Tile number: SM55

This tile contains all multibeam data held by Geoscience Australia on August 2012 within the specified area. The data has been gridded to 50m resolution.  

Some deeper data has also been interpolated within the mapped area.

The image provided can be viewed on the free software CARIS Easyview, available from the CARIS website: www.caris.com under Free Downloads.

Tags: DEM pixel, Marine Geoscience, Marine Map, Published_External, bathymetry, geoscience, marine, multibeam
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
North Wollongong (Bellambi Point to Stanwell Park), NSW Bathymetry Acquisition (20170028S)

The North Wollongong, Bellambi Pont to Stanwell Park, NSW bathymetry survey was acquired by the NSW government (Department of Planning and Environment – DPE) onboard the RV Bombora during the period 13 Aug 2017 – 4 Mar 2022, using DPE’s R2Sonic 2022 multibeam sonar. The survey was completed as part of the SeabedNSW program funded by NSW government through Coastal Reforms (&gt;2015), HabMap Program funded through Marine Parks Authority (now under Marine Estate Management Authority) or through collaborations with partner agencies or institutions. The purpose of the project was to 1) provide a baseline dataset and 2) map the spatial distribution of seabed types.  This dataset contains 32-bit floating point geotiff files of bathymetry and backscatter in 5m resolution for the study area, derived from the processed Hypack, R2Sonic GUI, POSView, POSPac, Qimera and FMGT software. General details on vessel setup, mobilisation and processing are provided at https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/-/media/OEH/Corporate-Site/Documents/Research/Our-science-and-research/seabed-nsw-standard-operating-procedures-multibeam-surveying-190101.pdf with survey specific details in the Survey Report and DPIE Rigor Statement (can be provided upon request).

This dataset is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Tags: AusSeabed, Australia-wide geoscience data, EARTH SCIENCES, Earth Science | Oceans | Bathymetry/Seafloor Topography | Bathymetry, HVC_144641, Oceans, Offshore Mapping, Published_External, Resourcing Australia's Prosperity, bathymetric grids, bathymetry
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Planktonic foraminifera, age of sediments and polarity reversals, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Samples from the Rudiger Point-Cape Ruge area, New Britain, are not from a conformable late Miocene-earliest Pliocene sequence, as was presumed by previous workers, but rather are of two age groups, one of general middle Miocene age, and a younger group of late Miocene age. A sample of volcanolithic sandstone, NG34B, is of late Pliocene-middle Pleistocene, Zone N.21-Zone N.22, age; this is the youngest marine sediment yet recognised in New Britain. Planktonic Zone N.18 is correlated, at least in part, with a normally magnetised interval.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, PNG, Published_External
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
FK150301 Henderson Perth Canyon to Henderson Bathymetry 2015 (4441/20150012S)

The FK150301 bathymetry Survey/Acquisition was acquired by University of Western Australia onboard the Research Vessel Falkor during the period 1st of March 2015 to 12th March 2015 using the Sensor/Instrument Kongsberg EM302 (30 kHz), EM710 (30 kHz) 

A primary goal for the mission was to run ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) surveys at various depths to assess what animals might be found, their abundance, and the best sites for more focused research. The researchers expected to find a range of species including corals, sponges, sea fans, sea pens, urchins, sea stars, and large fish including sharks. While researchers had ideas of what they would see, having never actually explored the canyon there was no telling what they might find. Species new to science are always a possibility, especially during deeper dives. 

Appropriate acknowledgment must be given to both the original scientists (Professor Malcolm McCulloch)(https://www.marine-geo.org/tools/search/DataSets.php?data_set_uids=22296,22297) and to the Marine Geoscience Data System (www.marine-geo.org).

This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

Not to be used for navigational purposes

Tags: AusSeabed, Australia-wide geoscience data, Bathymetry, EARTH SCIENCES, Indian Ocean, Marine, Offshore Mapping, Published_External, RV Falkor, Resourcing Australia's Prosperity, multi-beam echosounders
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Image Collection - RV Investigator Voyage IN2024_V03 - SEA-MES: Untangling the causes of change over 25 years in the southeast marine ecosystem - Voyage 2

This data set contains the imagery collected on the Marine National Facility (MNF) RV Investigator voyage IN2024_V03, titled ‘Untangling the causes of change over 25 years in the southeast marine ecosystem (SEA-MES Voyage 2) ." The voyage took place between May 01, 2024 and May 31, 2024 (AEST), departing from Hobart and returning to Sydney, collecting imagery of benthic habitats together with oceanographic data.

Instrument(s) used to collect this data:
MNF Deep Towed camera (DTC)

Datasets include: 
Video (oblique forward view)
Stereo stills (oblique forward view)
Navigational data

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network