Geoscience Australia

Last updated

Geoscience Australia
Geoscience Australia.jpg
Geoscience Australia headquarters located in the Canberra suburb of Symonston
Agency overview
Formed2001
Preceding agencies
  • Australian Surveying and Land Information Group
  • Australian Geological Survey Organisation
JurisdictionAustralia
Headquarters Symonston , Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
35°20′36″S149°09′30″E / 35.34333°S 149.15833°E / -35.34333; 149.15833
Employees671 (as at 30 June 2023) [1]
Annual budgetA$207.30 million (2020) [2]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Dr James Johnson, Chief Executive Officer
Parent department Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Website portal.ga.gov.au , ga.gov.au

Geoscience Australia is a statutory agency of the Government of Australia that carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on aspects of geoscience, and serves as the repository of geographic and geological data collated by the Commonwealth.

Contents

On a user pays basis, the agency offers geospatial services, including topographic maps and satellite imagery. It is also a major contributor to the Australian Government's free, open data collections such as data.gov.au [3] and portal.ga.gov.au .

Strategic priorities

The agency has six strategic priority areas: [4]

  1. building Australia's resource wealth in order to maximise benefits from Australia's minerals and energy resources, now and into the future;
  2. ensuring Australia's community safety so that Australian communities are more resilient to natural hazards;
  3. securing Australia's water resources in order to optimise and sustain the use of Australia's water resources;
  4. managing Australia's marine jurisdictions in order to maximise benefits from the sustainable use of Australia's marine jurisdiction;
  5. providing fundamental geographic information in order to understand the location and timing of processes, activities and changes across Australia to inform decision-making for both natural and built environments; and
  6. maintaining geoscience knowledge and capability in order to maintain an enduring and accessible knowledge base and capability to enable evidence-based policy and decision-making by government, industry and the community.

History

Geoscience Australia came into being in 2001 when the Australian Surveying and Land Information Group (AUSLIG) merged with the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO). Its history dates back almost to Federation in 1901 when it was decided to set aside land for the national capital. This decision led to the establishment of the Australian Survey Office in 1910, when surveying began for the Australian Capital Territory.

AUSLIG's main function was to provide national geographic information. It was formed in 1987, when the Australian Survey Office joined with the Division of National Mapping, which was formed in 1947. Another important component of AUSLIG was the provision of satellite imagery to industry and government, started by the Australian Landsat Station in 1979, renamed the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing (ACRES) in 1986.

AGSO's predecessor organisation the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics [5] (BMR) was established in 1946; with the name changing to AGSO in 1992.

The BMR was a geological survey with the main objective was the systematic geological and geophysical mapping of the continent as the basis for informed mineral exploration. [6]

Geoscience Australia's activities have expanded and today it has responsibility for meeting the Australian Government's geoscience requirements. This role takes the Agency well beyond its historic focus on resource development and topographic mapping to topics as diverse as natural hazards such as tsunami and earthquakes, environmental issues, including the impacts of climate change, groundwater research, marine and coastal research, carbon capture and storage and vegetation monitoring as well as Earth observations from space. Geoscience Australia's remit also extends beyond the Australian landmass to Australia's vast marine jurisdiction. [7] [6]

Summary of predecessor agencies

Predecessor agencies [8] [9]
Name of agencyStartEndResponsible department
Lands and Survey Branch19111932 Department of Home Affairs (1911-1916)
Department of Home and Territories (1916-1925)
Department of Works and Railways (1925-1932)
Property and Survey Branch19321951 Department of the Interior (1932-1938)
Department of Works (1938-1939)
Department of the Interior (1939-1951)
1951: surveying and mapping functions separated
Surveying agencies
ACT Development and Planning Branch19511958 Department of the Interior (1939-1972)
Lands and Survey Branch19581963
Survey Branch19631974
Department of Services and Property (1972-1975)
Survey Division19741975
Australian Survey Office19751987 Department of Urban and Regional Development (1975)
Department of Administrative Services (1975-1984)
Department of Local Government and Administrative Services (1984-1987)
Mapping agencies
National Mapping Section19511956 Department of the Interior
Division of National Mapping19561987 Department of National Development (1956-1972)
Department of Minerals and Energy (1972-1975)
Department of National Resources (1975-1977)
Department of National Development (1977-1979)
Department of National Development and Energy (1979-1983)
Department of Resources and Energy (1983-1987)
1987: surveying and mapping functions reunited
Australian Surveying and Land Information Group 19872001 Department of Administrative Services (1987-1993)
Department of the Arts and Administrative Services (1993-1994)
Department of Administrative Services (1994-1997)
Department of Industry, Science and Tourism (1997-1998)
Department of Industry, Science and Resources (1998-2001)
Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (2001-2007)
Geoscience Australia2001
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (2007-2013)
Department of Industry (2013-2014)
Department of Industry and Science (2014-2015)
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (2015-2020)
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (2020–present)

Facilities

It has a free place name search [10] and its earthquake monitoring services can be freely accessed. [11] The Library is the premier geoscience library in Australia providing services to geoscience organisations, universities, research centres, the mining and petroleum industries and the public. [12]

Economic Demonstrated Resources

Geoscience Australia defines Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR) as

resources for which profitable extraction or production under defined investment assumptions is possible

—  [13]

For EDR, tonnages and grades are computed from samples of the resource taken from points spaced to provide assured resource continuity.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geophysics</span> Physics of the Earth and its vicinity

Geophysics is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists, who usually study geophysics, physics, or one of the Earth sciences at the graduate level, complete investigations across a wide range of scientific disciplines. The term geophysics classically refers to solid earth applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational, magnetic fields, and electromagnetic fields ; its internal structure and composition; its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation. However, modern geophysics organizations and pure scientists use a broader definition that includes the water cycle including snow and ice; fluid dynamics of the oceans and the atmosphere; electricity and magnetism in the ionosphere and magnetosphere and solar-terrestrial physics; and analogous problems associated with the Moon and other planets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundaring, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Mundaring is a suburb located 34 km east of Perth, Western Australia on the Great Eastern Highway. The suburb is located within the Shire of Mundaring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoinformatics</span> Application of information science methods in geography and geosciences

Geoinformatics is a scientific field primarily within the domains of Computer Science and technical geography. It focuses on the programming of applications, spatial data structures, and the analysis of objects and space-time phenomena related to the surface and underneath of Earth and other celestial bodies. The field develops software and web services to model and analyse spatial data, serving the needs of geosciences and related scientific and engineering disciplines. The term is often used interchangeably with Geomatics, although the two have distinct focuses; Geomatics emphasizes acquiring spatial knowledge and leveraging information systems, not their development. At least one publication has claimed the discipline is pure computer science outside the realm of geography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalton, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Dalton is a small inland country town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. The population was 230 in the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetotellurics</span> Electromagnetic geophysical technique

Magnetotellurics (MT) is an electromagnetic geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface electrical conductivity from measurements of natural geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the Earth's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Geological Survey</span>

The China Geological Survey (CGS) (Chinese: 中国地质调查局) is a government-owned, not-for-profit, Chinese organization researching China's mineral resources. It is a public institution managed by the State Council's ministries and commissions responsible for geological and mineral exploration under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. According to the national land and resources survey plan, it is now managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources. It is the largest Geoscience agency in China since being reinstated in 1999, and the headquarter is in Beijing, the capital of China.

The Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin unites the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences with two research units, the Institute for Geophysics and the Bureau of Economic Geology.

Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) is a government agency responsible for mapping the geology of Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geological Survey of Norway</span> Norwegian government agence

Geological Survey of Norway, abbreviation: NGU, is a Norwegian government agency responsible for geologic mapping and research. The agency is located in Trondheim with an office in Tromsø, with about 200 employees. It is subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Geological Survey</span>

The Alberta Geological Survey (AGS), founded in 1921, is the official provincial geological survey of Alberta, Canada and currently operates as a division within the Alberta Energy Regulator. The AGS provides geological information and advice about the geology of Alberta to the Government of Alberta, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), industry, and the public to support the exploration, sustainable development, regulation, and conservation of Alberta's resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador</span>

The Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador is a scientific research agency that is part of the Department of Natural Resources of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the agency responsible for performing geological mapping and surveying which provides geological maps, reports, and mineral analysis, and for developing Newfoundland and Labrador's natural resources and protecting the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geologist</span> Scientist who studies geology

A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the field and the laboratory. Geologists work in the energy and mining sectors to exploit natural resources. They monitor environmental hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis and landslides. Geologists are also important contributors to climate change discussions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Geological Survey</span> Scientific agency of the US government

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March 3, 1879, to study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The agency also makes maps of extraterrestrial planets and moons based on data from U.S. space probes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mines and Geosciences Bureau</span>

The Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) is a government agency of the Philippines under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The MGB is responsible for the conservation, management, development and use of the country's mineral resources, including those in reservations and public lands.

The Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, subtitled An International Geoscience Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published eight times per year by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Geological Society of Australia. The journal broadly covers the earth sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières</span> French geological survey

BRGM is France's public reference institution in Earth Science applications for the management of surface and subsurface resources and risks. It also deals with geological surveys of French territory.

Australian Surveying and Land Information Group (AUSLIG) was an Australian organization that merged in 2001 with the Australian Geological Survey Organization to become Geoscience Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China University of Geosciences (Beijing)</span> Public university in Beijing, China

The China University of Geosciences (Beijing) is a public university located in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Natural Resources. The university is part of the Double First-Class Construction and Project 211.

The Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) is the Australian state of Queensland's government body responsible for the management of geoscience knowledge. It is a unit within the Government of Queensland's Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.

References

  1. ↑ "Geoscience Australia Annual Report 2022-23 Earth sciences for Australia's future". Annual Report, Geoscience Australia. Australian Government. 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Department of Industry, Innovation and Science Annual Report 2020-21". Annual Report, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science . Australian Government. 2020. p. 186. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ↑ A search on the http://data.gov.au catalogue revealing many thousands of Geoscience Australia datasets:
  4. ↑ "Strategic Priorities". Geoscience Australia Strategic Priorities. Geoscience Australia. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Townley, K. (1976) History of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics pp.101 - 111 - in Johns, R. K. (Robert Keith); Johns, R. K. (Robert Keith), (ed.); Australia. Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics (1976), History and role of government geological surveys in Australia, A. B. James, Govt. printer, ISBN   978-0-7243-2497-2 {{citation}}: |author2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 Geoscience Australia National Library of Australia, Trove, People and Organisation record for Geoscience Australia
  7. ↑ "Our history". Geoscience Australia. Australian Government. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Whyte, Brendan (2020). "Lists of British, Australian and New Zealand Surveyors-General, Government Geologists, Printers, Ministers, etc useful to cataloguers and researchers for the dating of Australian and New Zealand maps" (PDF). Australian and New Zealand Map Society.
  9. ↑ "Agency details for: CA 7605". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Gazetteer of Australia place name search". Geoscience Australia. Australian Government . Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Earthquakes". Geoscience Australia. Australian Government . Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "N H (Doc) Fisher Geoscience Library". Geoscience Australia. Australian Government. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  13. ↑ https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=isr/resexp/chapter2.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.