Rock properties

Last updated:7 June 2023

Rock properties provide the vital link between observed geophysical data and interpreted geology. Geoscience Australia and its State and Territory partners have periodically made measurements of rock properties to support various investigations into the composition and structure of the Earth.

The Rock Properties Project consolidates this information into a single database structure and makes it accessible to external clients via a Geoscience Australia Portal, a web mapping service (WMS) and a web feature service (WFS). We have chosen to initially concentrate on mass density and magnetic properties including magnetic susceptibility and natural magnetic remanence, as these are of prime importance to the important gravity and magnetic datasets maintained for the Australian region by Geoscience Australia. Additional property types and more extensive datasets will be added over time.

We invite you to contact us if you have rock property data that can be considered for inclusion in the database. To be suitable, the data needs to be located, measured using a recognised technique, and not be available through any other online service. We also invite you to provide feedback on the project, scope, datasets, and web application to help us deliver the best possible service to our clients.