Help
Map Controls
Use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons to focus on your area of interest.
Use the Full Extent button to return the map to the default extent.
Use the Prev Extent button to undo a zoom action.
Use the Pan button to navigate the map by clicking and dragging your mouse to move the map. Double click, or scroll your mouse wheel upwards, to zoom in. Scroll your mouse wheel downwards to zoom out. Hold the Shift key, then click and drag to form a box of interest to zoom in to.
Use the Zoom Box button to form a box of interest to zoom in to via click and drag.
Use the Bounding Box button to define, via click and drag, a custom rectangle as a spatial constraint for a Search. The latitudes and longitudes corresponding to the edges of the rectangle are shown, and can be edited, in the Search tab on the right-hand side.
Use the Information button to query result markers by either clicking on a result marker, or clicking and dragging to form a query box of interest. The corresponding query results in the right hand pane will be selected and expanded.
Use the Layers button to select the desired Base and Overlay layers for the map display.
To expand or contract the right side pane click and drag the vertical bar that is to the immediate right of the map.
Note:
symbols, visible when the ‘Data Sites’ Layer is
[checked/ticked/switched on], denote the locations of records
available via this system. They are intended solely as an aid to
Searches that utilise spatial criteria. Perform a Search in order to
access the data associated with the records.
Search Tab
GA Sample No: A system-assigned number (usually 7 digits) that uniquely defines a GA Sample; also sometimes known as the LABSUBS number.
GA Sample ID: A geologist-assigned alphanumeric code (up to 30 characters, and need only be unique for a specific Originator) used to identify a GA Sample. The most common format is an 8- or 10-digit number where the first 2 or 4 digits represent the year of collection.
Originator: A lookup (controlled by auto-complete) of people and organisations responsible for collecting Site and Sample data; also an indication of where to go for additional information.
Lithology Group: A lookup of hierarchical terms used to specify a basic rock type (e.g. "meta-igneous felsic intrusive"). Checking "Include Children" incorporates into the Search the chosen term and any subordinates it may have (e.g. if the selected Lithology Group is "meta-igneous felsic", then the Search will also encompass "meta-igneous felsic intrusive", and "meta-igneous felsic volcanic").
Stratigraphic Name: A lookup (controlled by auto-complete) of hierarchical unit-names, derived from the Australian Stratigraphic Units Database. Checking "Include Children" incorporates into the Search the chosen unit name and any subordinates it may have (e.g. for a specified Group, the Search will also encompass all Formations and Members associated with that Group).
Geological Region: A lookup of two-dimensional geographic areas (i.e. map polygons) within which field sites (or drillhole collars) lie. Geological Regions may be visualised by checking the Australian Geological Regions overlay on the map.
Province: A lookup (controlled by auto-complete) of hierarchical Geological Provinces, which are three-dimensional geological entities that need not be spatially coherent (e.g. dyke swarms). Checking "Include Children" incorporates into the Search the chosen Province and any subordinates it may have (e.g. for " Goldfields Province", the Search will also encompass "Kalgoorlie Subprovince", "Kurnalpi Subprovince" etc.).
Mineral: A lookup of possible targets materials for geochronological analysis and interpretation.
Interpreter: A lookup of geochronologists responsible for synthesising geochronological datasets into geological interpretations.
Interpreted Between: Allows geochronological Interpretations to be Searched by a specified calendar date-range.
Age: A two-part field allowing Age Results to be filtered directly by Age. The dropdown specifies the qualifier: EQ = equal to; GT = greater than; GE = greater than or equal to; LT = less than; LE = less than or equal to; selecting "Between" enables entry of the lower and upper limits of a range. The Age field(s) specify the numeric value(s) of the Age(s) of interest, in Ma.
Rock Event Age: Allows Age Results to be filtered according to whether they define a Rock Event Age (e.g. "magmatic crystallization", "max depositional age", "metamorphism") or not (e.g. "Pb loss", "inherited clusters", "provenance individuals"). Checking the box excludes the latter category.
Geological Attribution: A lookup of generic geological events or processes (e.g. "magmatic crystallization", "max depositional age", "metamorphism") for which an Age Result can be interpreted from geochronological data.
State: A lookup of onshore Australian States and Territories. JPDA = Joint Petroleum Development Area (offshore Western Australia and Northern Territory).
1:1M map sheet: A lookup of 1:1 000 000 topographic map sheet names, derived from the International Map of the World series.
1:250k map sheet: A lookup (controlled by auto-complete)of 1:250 000 topographic map sheet names, derived from the Australian 1:250 000 topographic series.
1:100k map sheet: A lookup (controlled by auto-complete) of 1:100 000 topographic map sheet names, derived from the Australian 1:100 000 topographic series.
Bounds: Fields to permit entry (or editing) of decimal-degree latitudes and longitudes corresponding to the edges of a custom Search rectangle. Minus signs are used to denote latitudes in the Southern hemisphere and longitudes in the Western hemisphere. "Clear Bounds" deletes any existing numeric data from all four fields.
Select Results: Allows the set of matching records to be defined using two different criteria. "Full Interpretation Sets" delivers the full set of data and interpretations for every Sample that matches the Search criteria. "Age Results only" delivers only the segments of data and interpretations for each Sample that matches the Search criteria, and can only sensibly be applied to Searches where criteria have been specified for one or more of: Age, Rock Event Age, and Geological Attribution.
For example, a Search with Geological Attribution = "magmatic crystallisation" and "Full Interpretation Sets" selected will deliver full-Sample datasets and interpretations (i.e. including inheritance, Pb loss, etc.) for every Sample with a magmatic crystallization age. In contrast, selecting "Age Results only" will deliver only the segments of those Sample datasets and interpretations that relate specifically to magmatic crystallisation, with all other Geological Attributions (and associated analyses) ignored.
Max. Results: Specifies a maximum number of matching records for a Search. Note that the Export Data routine on the Results page will export a maximum of 200 Full Interpretation Sets or 500 Age Results.
Results Tab
Search Results are presented in order of descending Sample No.
Use the "+" button for a accordion-style expansion of a record of potential interest, to view an executive summary of its geochronological interpretation. Use the check-box to identify the record on the map (it will change from yellow to red), and also to mark the record for potential export.
Visible Rows: Use this button (at the base of the Search Results) to clean up the display if desired. Choose whether to view only Selected records (checked), only Unselected records (unchecked), or both, which is the default.
Select Export Content: Allows the content of the Excel workbook created during the Export process to be specified. All workbooks contain "Interpreted Data" (which is an interlinked series of six human-readable worksheets ("Samples_Sites", "Interpretation_Sets", "Age_Results", "Analytical_Data_Table", "Subsample_Aliquots" and "Sessions_Calibrations") intended for general and scientific use.
The other two check-boxes ("Database Tables" and "Lookup Data") are for the benefit of custodians of geochronological data, who may be interested in extracting data for import into a relational database. The Excel worksheets intended for this purpose have upper-case names corresponding to the database table name, and the worksheet containing all the lookup-table data is the last worksheet in the series (i.e. at extreme right).
Select Export: Allows the record-set for Export to be specified. "Export Selected" exports only those records which have been checked; Export All ignores the check-boxes and attempts to Export the entire record-set. Note, however, that the Export function has a 200-record limit, and that records will be Exported in order of descending Sample No.
