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Overview

The onboard collection of data
© Geoscience Australia

The Field and Engineering Support Project provides services which allows Geoscience Australia to undertake marine and terrestrial geoscience research in the field. We have a diverse range of equipment and skills which enable the collection of data sets and samples to a high standard. The design and construction of specialist research equipment is an integral part of this activity.

Surveys

Geoscience Australia undertakes resource assessments and gathers data for environmental management throughout the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone, including Australia's extended continental shelf. Geophysical, geological and geochemical surveys, for example, provide data for petroleum exploration, environmental mapping and maritime boundary definition. Surveys are also conducted in remote and largely unexplored regions of Australia's extended continental shelf in the Indian and Pacific oceans as well as in the waters of the Australian Antarctic Territory.

A Box Corer is used to collect
undisturbed samples of the seafloor
© Geoscience Australia

Marine surveys often involve the deployment of several types of equipment or instrument arrays, including multibeam sonar, multi-channel seismic, sub-bottom profilers, magnetometers, gravity instruments and sidescan sonar. Both petroleum and environmental surveys typically include geological sampling such as grab samples, sediment cores, underwater video and dredge samples. Land based support is provided also for groundwater research and geophysical monitoring stations.

Equipment

The Field and Engineering Support equipment includes:

• a high resolution multi-channel seismic system
• an EM3002D 300KHz multibeam sonar system (MBES)
• sub-bottom profilers (a coastal and deep water parametric system)
• sidescan sonar and magnetometers
• dual frequency sidescan (to 2000m depth)
• towed underwater video systems, including a deep sea camera system
• rock dredges and benthic sleds
• grab samplers, including mini Van Veen and Shipek grabs
• gravity and piston corers
• vibracorers and an underwater rotary drill
• benthic chambers, including fully automated versions
• oceanographic systems and fluorometers.

Sub-bottom Profiling System generates
high resolution images of the rock
layers beneath oceans, lakes and rivers
© Geoscience Australia