Goodbye to planet Earth as we know it

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion will open the Geological Survey of Western Australia’s Open Day.
Date: Tuesday, 17 February 2015

3D modelling will be a highlight of GSWA’s Open Day on 27 February. 

Thanks largely to the efforts of the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), the State is approaching the end of what many geoscientists call the “cartoon era” – a two-dimensional view of the Earth.

Significant advances in data acquisition and 3D modelling enabled by the Department of Mines and Petroleum’s (DMP) Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) will be spotlighted at the GSWA Open Day at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle on Friday, 27 February.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion will open the popular annual event.

“The integration of high-quality surface geological mapping with depth data will enable the creation of realistic models in 3D that accurately visualise the Earth’s crust in Western Australia,” GSWA Acting Executive Director Dr Ian Tyler said.

“The 3D modelling will be a boon to the resources sector because it will reduce uncertainty and risk in exploration targeting.”

Data will be made available at the Open Day from last year’s 3D seismic survey of the Harvey/Waroona area as part of DMP’s South West Hub Carbon Capture and Storage program.

“The data is another important step in establishing the feasibility of storing industrial carbon dioxide within the Lesueur Sandstone,” Dr Tyler said.

The Open Day will showcase collaborative geoscience projects being carried out in Western Australia.

A session will be devoted to a current UNCOVER Australia project that Dr Tyler described as “an excellent example of a Team WA approach to collaborative geoscience research”, involving GSWA, CSIRO, Curtin University and UWA.

The Capricorn Distal Footprints of Giant Ore Systems project has attracted $16 million in funding from industry, the Science and Industry Endowment Fund, the Minerals and Energy Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), the EIS, Curtin University and UWA.

Results from GSWA’s ongoing pre-competitive geoscience program will be on show, including the latest hard copy and digital map products.

Among the new business systems being demonstrated at the Open Day are the latest updates for GeoVIEW.WA, GSWA’s award-winning, state-of-the-art geoscientific web application.

Also on show will be a new viewer for mobile devices called WAGeology that displays geoscience maps, mining and petroleum tenements, mineral deposits and petroleum information.

Open Day details:

When: Friday, 27 February 2015 – 8.30am-4.30pm followed by a sundowner
Where: Esplanade Hotel, corner Marine Terrace and Essex Street, Fremantle?
Cost: $110 (includes lunch, morning and afternoon teas, and the sundowner)
Online bookings close Wednesday 25 February 2015, after which registration can be made either by ringing Deenikka on 9222 3634, or on the day.

Open Day Registration.

View the GSWA 2015 Brochure PDF

For more information, call (08) 9222 3168.