AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Benthic Community Survey, Mertz Glacier Region, East Antarctica - Post Survey Report, RSV Aurora Australis, Marine Science Voyage (2010/11 VMS), January - February 2011

The Marine Science Voyage (2010/11 VMS) to the Mertz Glacier region was a collaborative survey involving scientists from a number of research institutions, working across a number of different projects, with the overall aim of conducting a coordinated and comprehensive study to measure and monitor the impact of the Mertz Glacier calving event on the local and regional environment.
The survey took place in January 2011 and enabled the collection of data shortly after the calving event so that physical, chemical and biological changes in response to the new conditions can be monitored over time. As such, data collected on VMS will provide a benchmark for tracking future change in the Mertz Glacier region environment.
Geoscience Australia and the Australian Antarctic Division conducted a benthic community survey during the voyage. The purpose of the benthic community survey was to collect high-resolution still images of the sea floor to address three main objectives:
1. to investigate benthic community composition in the area previously covered by the MGT and to the east, an area previously covered by approximately 30 m of fast ice;
2. to investigate benthic community composition (or lack thereof) in areas of known iceberg scours; and
3. to investigate the lateral extent of hydrocoral communities along the shelf break.
The survey collected over 1800 images of the sea floor on the continental shelf and slope in the Mertz Glacier region, including in the area previously covered by the Mertz Glacier tongue. There were 75 successful camera deployments and a further 7 stations where images were of poor quality but may still provide useful information.
The benthic images will be examined in detail to provide information on benthic community composition and substrate type. The survey has provided a major new set of data which will greatly enhance the understanding of Antarctic marine biodiversity and the relationship between physical conditions and benthic communities.

Tags: AQ, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, continental shelf, habitat, marine, marine survey
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Terrigenous sedimentation in the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon: a model from the Burdekin Region.

The central Great Barrier Reef Province is characterised by a mainland prograding terrigenous clastic shoreline and an inner shelf dominated by fluvially derived mud. The Burdekin River acts as a large point source of sediment, which is dispersed to the northwest of the mouth. Fluvial sand is wholly contained within the coastal zone and the sand and gravel components of inner and middle-shelf sediments are largely relict or palimpsest. Vertical accumulation of terrigenous mud is limited to a thin veneer on the inner shelf and is negligible on the middle shelf. Coastal progradation accounts for the bulk of Holocene terrigenous sedimentation, which decreases in a northwesterly direction, from 2.5 m yr-1 at the present delta front to 0.1 m yr-1 on the coastal plain north of Townsville. Progradation of the shoreline occurs as four distinct sedimentary assemblages (beach-ridge plain, chenier plain, mangrove-mud-flat plain, and barrier bar-lagoon complex). The overall prograding coastal wedge, where preserved in the geological record, would have recognisable seismic stratigraphic elements (coastal onlap and toplap, distal down lap and marine offlap). The pattern of late Quaternary sea-level oscillations suggests that terrigenous marine and/or alluvial sediments should predominate across most of the shelf of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, Published_External, QLD, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Euphausiid-specific metabarcoding data from eDNA samples and video footage collected on IN2021_V01 voyage

This dataset was collected during the 2021 TEMPO voyage in the East Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. It was acquired during the Marine National Facility (MNF) RV Investigator research voyage IN2021_V01. The voyage occurred from Hobart (TAS) to Hobart between 29 January and 24 March 2021 (AEST) as part of the 2021 TEMPO (Trends in Euphausiids off Mawson, Predators, and Oceanography) survey. The dataset comprises (A) environmental DNA (eDNA) sequence data and (B) video observations acquired using a CTD-mounted camera system.

eDNA samples were obtained by filtering 5 L of seawater collected from both surface and near-seafloor depths at CTD stations, as well as from the uncontaminated seawater intake line in and around krill swarms (total n = 110). Following DNA extraction, a euphausiid-specific metabarcoding marker was applied to detect and characterise the presence of Southern Ocean krill species within each sample. Video data were collected using a camera mounted on the CTD frame, capturing approximately 5 minutes of footage at both surface and near-seafloor depths at each station.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Franklin Voyage FR 14/98 Underway Data (including TSG)

This dataset contains the processed Underway (UWY) data collected on Franklin voyage FR 14/98. The voyage took place in New South Wales Coast during November 1998. This dataset has been processed and is archived within the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Data Centre in Hobart. Additional information regarding this dataset is contained in the cruise report for this voyage and/or the data processing report (as available). The standard Underway (=continuously recorded) dataset from a research voyage includes Navigation (NAV), Sounder, Thermosalinograph (TSG) and Meteorological (MET) data. NAV data includes GPS (Global Positioning System) measurements of latitude, longitude, ship's direction and speed. MET data includes atmospheric temperature, humidity and pressure, wind speed and direction, and incident radiation intensity. Data are recorded at or averaged over 5 minute intervals.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Implications of Australian seismic and gravity measurements for the structure and composition of the upper mantle

In a previous paper densities of crustal layers were inferred from seismic refraction surveys in Australia and surrounding marine areas. These indicated substantial variations in crustal mass. As the free-air gravity field does not show anomalies corresponding to these, it is inferred that compensating mass variations must occur in the upper mantle. Sub-crustal mantle densities, inferred from Pn velocities, in general do not provide the required mantle mass distribution; however in some parts of the continent observed increases in seismic velocity at depths of 60 to 100 km suggest density changes which would lead to approximate compensation at about 130 km depth, corresponding to the top of a low-velocity layer suggested by surface wave studies. Marine crustal masses are reasonably close to a common value, but the wide variation of Pn velocities implies a corresponding variation of densities which would counteract this compensation if they persisted in depth. It is suggested that the Pn velocities represent comparatively thin layers, and that deeper density changes occur so that compensation takes place at 80 to 100 km, at the top of the sub-oceanic asthenosphere. The West Australian shield has the highest crustal mass, and also the highest Pn velocity, which implies a further relative increase in mass with depth. If the sub-shield mantle is assumed to consist of refractory peridotite with a relatively low density corresponding to its Pn velocity, the discrepancy in crustal mass with respect to the other areas is reduced with increasing depth, but is still not eliminated at depths less than about 160 km. This suggests that the sub-shield mantle above this depth has enough strength to support the differential pressure associated with the excess crustal mass. This conclusion is in accordance with other evidence, suggesting that sub-shield or sub-continental mantle differs from sub-oceanic mantle to depths of several hundreds of kilometres, and hence that the return flow compensating for plate-tectonic motions cannot take place at depths of 100 to 200 km, as often supposed.

Tags: AUS, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, Published_External
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Fitzroy River Basin, Queensland, Australia. III. Identification of Sediment Sources in the Coastal Zone

Sediment sources to the Fitzroy River coastal zone have been identified and quantified using an integrated geochemical and modelling approach. Geochemical data indicate a sediment composition consistent with derivation from mixed catchment sources. The coastal sediments display little geochemical variation as a result of substantial homogenisation during hydrodynamic processes. A lack of substantial temporal geochemical variation in the sediment records indicates weathering regimes and hydrodynamic transport have been relatively consistent throughout the Holocene. Despite this apparent geochemical homogeneity, a modelling approach using a Bayesian statistical model revealed changes in catchment sediment sources over time. Variations in the occurrence and intensity of rainfall events in different parts of the catchment as well as catchment clearing and landuse changes following European settlement are likely to have had a substantial effect on the relative contributions of the catchment sources delivered to and deposited in the coastal zone. Additionally, large variations in flow events and variable estuary hydrodynamics result in different catchment soil types being delivered and deposited under different conditions. This study found that the proportion of basaltic material deposited in the coastal zone has increased in recent time and is now the dominant catchment source with an estimated enrichment of ca. 3 relative to catchment and estuary abundances. Basaltic soils present as a more recent and extensive, weathered surficial cover are more readily mobilised than other catchment soils and will be transported further within freshwater flood plumes. It is likely that in large flood events this basaltic material may reach the coral-dominated outer shelf. Improved land management practices to reduce sediment loads can be targeted to the areas supplying the majority of sediment to the coastal zone.

Tags: AU-QLD, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, Scientific Journal Paper, geochemistry, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Australian Seabed Sediments Collection

This dataset contains point data describing physical properties of marine sediments as held within the Geoscience Australia Marine Sediment database (MARS) for samples acquired by marine surveys that occurred between 1905 and 2017. Samples were collected from within the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone, plus waters within Australian Antarctic Territory, waters around Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) and outside the EEZ within the Timor Sea and waters around Papua New Guinea. Samples are sourced from a range of organisations, with sampling technique, spatial accuracy and sample preservation varying between surveys. Attributes include survey ID and name, sample ID, sampling method, water depth and location information. Sediment properties include %mud, %sand, %gravel, mean grain size and texture (classified using the Folk (1954) nomenclature for sediments). There is no consistent datum and projection due to the time span, differing collecting organisations and method of measurement across the dataset. All data is referenced to WGS 84 unless stated otherwise.

Tags: Published_External, grain size, seabed, sediments, texture
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
RETIRED: eReefs GBR4 Hydrodynamic SHOC model data - Version 1.85 All

This sample dataset was decomissioned in May 2022, and is no longer available via the NCI THREDDS server. Please contact the eReefs team if you need access to this data.

This is the eReefs GBR 4 km resolution complete hydrodynamic Sparse Hydrodynamic Ocean Code (SHOC) model data v1.85. It is comprised of ALL the tracers that are present in the SHOC model. The output format is non-CF compliant as it is a "standard" SHOC ALL file. It is based on the Arakawa-C grid with velocities on face centres that are oriented relative to the grid while all tracer values and surface elevation values are cell centred.

Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
The nature and origin of beach ridges, western Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

Two sets of beach ridges are known from the western side of Cape York Peninsula. The older set are thought to be late Pleistocene. They rest on a basement of older fan deposits and are regarded as a regressive sequence of barrier islands. The younger ridges represent a progradational sequence post-dating the Holocene transgression. The earliest formed ridge, which is poorly developed, formed as a chenier. It was followed by a barrier island complex whose development lasted until about 3000 years B.P. Subsequently, there was rapid progradation and the development of two sets of chenier-type beach ridges, the younger of which is locally discordant to the ridges of the barrier island complex. These ridges rest on a marine sand and mud unit which appears continuous with a similar unit mapped offshore. The Pleistocene ridges consist of quartzose sand, with negligible carbonate, while the Holocene ridges consist of quartzose sand, shell sand and shells. They show a progressive leaching with age.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, Published_External, QLD
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction in the Arafura and Coral Seas

Map showing Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction in the Arafura and Coral Seas.
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.
A0 sized .pdf downloadable from the web.

Tags: Administrative Boundary, Earth Sciences, Published_External, Thematic Map, administrative boundaries, bathymetry, continental shelf, marine, marine jurisdiction
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Global sea-level change as a method of correlating the Late Permian coal measures in the Sydney, Gunnedah, and Bowen Basins, eastern Australia

Eustatic changes in sea level can be used to correlate sequences in widely separated areas.  Thick terrestrial sequences with marine intercalations are especially suitable, provided the marine beds are not the result of tectonic subsidence. The method has been used to correlate Late Permian coal measures in the Sydney, Gunnedah, and Bowen Basins.  The Dempsey Formation and its equivalents in the Sydney Basin, an unnamed correlative in the Gunnedah Basin, and the Black Alley Shale and MacMillan Formation in the Bowen Basin have been identified as being deposited during the same eustatic highstand, a result consistent with palynological conclusions. The Kulnura Marine Tongue (Sydney Basin) and the lower Burngrove Formation (Bowen Basin), on the other hand, owe their origin to tectonism. The correlations indicate that deposition of Late Permian coal measures began in the Bowen Basin later than in the Sydney and Gunnedah Basins, a conclusion that appears to be supported by marine macrofossil studies.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Journal, NSW, Published_External, QLD
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Deep Sea Lebensspuren: Biological Features on the Seafloor of the Eastern and Western Australian Margin

Much of the deep sea encompasses soft-sediment plains, with very few hard substrates for invertebrates to colonise. At first glance, these habitats seem barren, but they are actually teeming with life. Compared to organisms from shallow water, many animals here are quite small. In addition, most of the animals are infaunal, meaning they live within the sediment. During feeding and burrowing, these animals form a range of features called lebensspuren, defined as any type of sedimentary structure produced by a living organism. Sampling deep sea animals can be a challenge, and traditional methods of grabs and boxcores provide only a single snapshot of a small area to characterise broad regions. Underwater imagery facilitates the characterisation of biological communities over a larger area, but the quantification of biodiversity from video is often restricted to larger epifauna, thus reducing its utility to measure biodiversity in deep sea soft sediments where animals are often small or infaunal. High resolution still images provide an interesting avenue with which to quantify biological activity based on lebensspuren.

In this study, we used thousands of still images taken along the edge of the Eastern and Western margins of Australia to identify and characterise deep-sea lebensppuren. The features identified were compiled into a Lebensspuren Directory (Section 7), and the data was used to correlate abiotic factors to lebensspuren and to valuate whether the quantification of lebensspuren from still photographs is an appropriate technique for broadly quantifying biological activity and diversity in the deep sea (Sections 2 - 6).

Tags: AU-WA, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Record, marine, seabed
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Project 1.5: Reactive Reservoir Rocks and their Impact on CO2 Storage

Geological storage of CO2 requires fundamental knowledge and predictive capabilities on the transport and reactions of injected CO2 and associated gases to assess the short and long term consequences. CO2 can be stored in the subsurface through various mechanisms including structural trapping, solubility trapping and by precipitation of carbonate minerals.

While mineral strapping is considered to be the safest storage mechanism as it permanently immobilizes the CO2, the reaction rates and the likely importance for geosequestration is poorly understood. This project has five objectives, which aim to make CO2 storage more predictable and safer. A range of approaches will be used including desk top studies, laboratory and field experiments and geochemical modelling.

Tags: Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Poster/Image, Published_External, carbon dioxide, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
Integrating multibeam sonar and underwater video data to map benthic habitats in an East Antarctic nearshore environment

An integrated analysis of biological and geoscientific data collected from the nearshore marine environment of the Vestfold Hills was used to identify benthic habitats and associated communities and examine relationships between benthic community composition and environmental characteristics. A 48 km2 area was surveyed using a multibeam echosounder system (MBES) to produce high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter intensity maps of the seabed. Epibenthic community data and in situ observations of substrate composition and seafloor bedforms and features were obtained from towed underwater video. 
A comparison of top-down and bottom-up approaches to defining benthic habitats was used to improve understanding of the applicability of mapping methodologies. On a broad scale, both approaches produced habitat classes distinguished largely by geomorphic features, with substrate and depth identified as the main controls of benthic community composition, however, the relationship between benthic community composition and environmental characteristics is complex with many variables contributing to differences in community composition. 
The top-down approach was based on geomorphic units defined using abiotic characteristics and the assemblages identified within the geomorphic were very broad did not always show clear distinction between assemblages. Conversely, the bottom-up approach generated additional habitat classes, identified clear defining taxa for each class, greater distinction between the benthic communities, and allowed identification of additional environmental factors (i.e. sea ice cover) that influence benthic community distribution that are not discernible from geomorphic information alone. The habitat types identified and mapped using the bottom-up approach include shallow boulder fields and exposed bedrock which are dominated by dense macroalgae communities, and steep slopes, muddy basins and sandy plains which are dominated by invertebrate communities.
The results indicate that a bottom-up approach is preferable for benthic habitat mapping, however, where detailed information is not available, geomorphic information provides a reasonable indication of the distribution of benthic habitats and communities. This study highlights the utility of multibeam sonar for interpretation of sea floor morphology and substrate and the multibeam data provide a physical framework for understanding benthic habitats and the distribution of benthic communities. This research provides the scientific context and spatial framework for managing the Vestfold Hills nearshore marine environment and provides a baseline for assessing environmental change.

Tags: AQ, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Published_External, Scientific Journal Paper
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network
The Marine Geology of the Cape York Peninsula between Weipa and Cape Flattery, Northern Queensland

Surveys of the shallow coastal waters of the Cape York Peninsula completed by the Australian
Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) in 1992/1993 form part of the Cape York Land Use
Strategy Project (CYPLUS); a joint Commonwealth and Queensland Government initiative to
assess the natural resources of the region. The CYPLUS region extends from the entrance of the
Mitchell River south of Weipa on the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria coast around to Cooktown on the
Great Barrier Reef Lagoon coast, an alongshelf distance of some 1,500km. This report summarises
the results of AGSO marine surveys which cover a 1,000 km section of the Cape York Peninsula
inner shelf between Weipa and Cape Flattery.

Tags: AU-QLD, Earth Sciences, GA Publication, Published_External, Report, marine
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network