Airborne geophysical mapping of the Australian continent

Abstract

Many countries have significant coverage of publicly funded airborne magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometric surveys that are available to explorers as precompetitive information to encourage exploration. However, individual surveys are generally small, and after decades of data acquisition, explorers are faced with the problem of how to effectively combine the individual surveys into coherent regional compilations. The Australian government’s response was to fly a baseline survey over the whole of Australia at approximately 75-km flight line spacing. This has enabled all of Australia’s public-domain magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometric surveys to be leveled to common datums using new techniques facilitated by the baseline control provided by the new traverses. This adds significant value to these data, as they can now be used for the interpretation of regional-scale features and for direct comparison of geophysical signatures from different parts of the continent. Also, quantitative modeling and analysis of the data can now be carried out over much larger areas.