Geochronology online:
Access to our geochronology database (OZCHRON) is now made easy with a map-based interface that allows users to select regions, lithologies, stratigraphic units and dating methods. The available geochronology is then delivered in tabular form to your computer screen.
From the OZCHRON home page, users can enter a textual or spatial database query to retrieve geochronology data and related field information. The table can be downloaded or further information displayed by highlighting data points of particular interest.
Concordia plots of SHRIMP ages are also available so users can make their own judgment of the data quality.
Plotting capability online:Ever wanted to use Geoscience Australia's whole rock and stream sediment geochemical database (OZCHEM)
With our new on-line plotting application, PLOT-IT, you can extract data directly from OZCHEM into a table: then filter, sort, and group data from the table before plotting it as an X-Y scatter diagram, a ternary plot, a spidergram or a histogram.
Users have access to a fully functional Java-enabled version that allows them to zoom, pan and manipulate the plotting characteristics, such as colour, symbols etc. or to a simple HTML-only version. Tables of data and plots can be downloaded to the users' PC for later manipulation and display. An on-line help manual is also available.
Redevelopment of Geoscience Australia's Geochemical Data Analysis package to run on a standard web browser provides users with an easily accessible software application to retrieve and visualise geochemistry data.
The Mt Stromlo Global Positioning System (GPS) station that was destroyed by bushfires in January 2003 is operational once again. The receiver, antenna and auxiliary computer equipment have been replaced. Data is available from 7th November. The station is one of 16 permanent geodetic-quality GPS receivers which form the Australian Regional GPS Network (ARGN), which contributes to the International GPS Service.
GPS is a satellite-based navigation system developed by the United States Department of Defense. It is widely used for civilian navigation and positioning, surveying and scientific applications.
Rebuilding of the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station at Mt Stromlo is well under way and is expected to be fully operational in early 2004. The SLR stations contribute to the geodetic framework for the spatial data infrastructure in Australia and its Territories. They also provide input for satellite orbits and the measurement of earth processes, such as crustal dynamics and sea level rise.
A Short Course on Medical Geology: Health and the Environment will be held at Geoscience Australia in Canberra from 1-4 December 2003.
Medical Geology is an emerging discipline that examines links between geological materials and processes, and the incidence and spatial/temporal distributions of human (and other animal) diseases. A large body of evidence points to significant health effects resulting from our interactions with the natural world since the beginnings of human civilization, around 10,000 years ago. While the connections between the physical environment and human disease have long been recognized, momentum has been building in recent years to solidify and formalize the study of such interactions.
If you have an interest in the effect of toxic metal ion species on environmental and human health, this Short Course is for you. Geologists, ecologists, chemists, biologists, occupational and environmental scientists, medical professionals, toxicologists, epidemiologists, pathologists and any other public health, environmental and geo-sciences professional will find it interesting.
The course is jointly sponsored by: US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; US Geological Survey; International Union of Geological Sciences; Commission on Geological Sciences for Environmental Planning; International Working Group on Medical Geology; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; University of Canberra; CRC for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration; and Geoscience Australia.
Geoscience Australia now provides free online access to geophysical data, in line with the Australian Government's Spatial Data Access and Pricing.
Improved access to geophysical data will benefit industry sectors such as mineral exploration companies who can now have instant access to the data they require. Geophysical consultants, educational users, State Geological Surveys and other government departments will also benefit from the new data delivery system.
Known as GADDS (Geoscience Australia Data Delivery System), this web-based application delivers data from the airborne geophysics and gravity databases. It allows the user to select a specific area of interest and have that data delivered free online within a very short time frame.
The main features of GADDS are:
There are detailed instructions on how to use GADDS, the online delivery system for geophysical datasets.
As part of the Australian Government's new funding to support pre-competitive geoscience for oil exploration, Geoscience Australia, through its Seeps & Signatures Project, will be hosting a workshop on the use of remote sensing data in offshore exploration.
The aims of the workshop are to:
The workshop will be held from 24 - 26 November in Canberra. The cost of $500 includes lunches, course material and a dinner on Tuesday night.
This three day workshop will address the role of humankind and natural geological processes as factors causing environmental changes over periods of 100 years or less.
The workshop will be of interest to national parks managers, ecologists, biologists, environmental scientists, geologists, and environmental and geo-sciences professionals with an interest in environmental management. It will have a strong focus on:
The workshop will be held from 24-26 November 2003 at Geoscience Australia, Symonston, ACT.
The geoindicator concept is a new approach to the indicators of landscape change and aims to assist in environmental research, monitoring, and reporting. It is being advanced by an international working group, called the Geoindicators Initiative that was set up by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Geoscience Australia is a member of the Initiative.