Updated:
28 May 2007
Index of Airborne Geophysical Surveys
(Ninth Edition)
Compiled by P.J. Percival
Geoscience Australia Record 2007/05
Summary
This catalogue provides details of the specifications of more than 1000 airborne geophysical surveys conducted by or for the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. The data for these surveys are available to the public either through Geoscience Australia (GA), or through the relevant State/Territory Geological Surveys. They comprise more than 27 million line kilometres of mainly total magnetic intensity and gamma-ray spectrometric data. Land elevation data derived from GPS recordings made during airborne magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometric surveys, and electromagnetic data are also available for some areas.
The surveys in the Index usually cover one or more 1:250,000 Sheet areas. Prior to 1990, most of the surveys had a flight line spacing of 1,500 m or more and many were conducted as part of the Bureau of Mineral Resources' first pass airborne geophysical reconnaissance of Australia. From 1990, surveys have usually been conducted with flight line spacings of 400 m or less.
The surveys have been flown under a number of auspices. The Australian Geological Survey Organisation (the forerunner of Geoscience Australia) used its own aircraft between 1951 and 1999. Surveys have also been conducted by airborne geophysical companies operating under contract to Geoscience Australia and State and Territory Geological Surveys, either separately or in joint projects. A number of other surveys, carried out for the private sector, have been purchased or acquired by Geoscience Australia, some under the Petroleum Search Subsidy Act (PSSA). A few of the surveys were conducted under the Petroleum Submerged Lands Act (PSLA).
The airborne geophysical data collected by government surveys are held in Geoscience Australia's National Airborne Geophysical Database (NAGD). State and Territory Geological Surveys hold the data pertaining to each State or Territory.
Periodically, the specifications of all airborne surveys in the NAGD are compiled in an updated Geoscience Australia Record called the Index of airborne geophysical surveys. The Ninth Edition contains metadata for all surveys in the NAGD up to 2 May 2007. The Index is prepared from a report which is compiled directly from an Oracle database which is maintained by the Continental Geophysics Project, in the Onshore Energy and Minerals Division of Geoscience Australia.
For up-to-date information on metadata for open file surveys in the NAGD, clients can also access the online Airborne Surveys Database via Geoscience Australia's website. This utility allows queries to be made over the Internet using a standard web browser.
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