Many airborne surveys have been acquired by the NSW government through the NSW Exploration, Discovery 2000 and New Frontiers Initiative funding. Others have been acquired jointly with Geoscience Australia (formerly AGSO). Contained within this vector file are details on each of the surveys and some acquisition parameters, which will help locate survey data stored digitally.

Depth contours derived from the NSW Basement Elevation Model.

AEM curtains are a set of cross-sections generated using geophysical inversion to convert AEM data to conductivity (m/S) versus depth below surface (m). These data represent the conductivity of soil and rocks to a depth of about 400 m. A pseudocolour-stretch has been applied to the data. Blue represents low conductivity values and red represents high values. The colours vary due to; (1) natural variations in the electrical properties of soils, rocks, minerals and groundwater, (2) man-made structures, radio-transmissions and lightning strike and (3) AEM system artefacts.

In 2016, the Geological Survey of NSW (GSNSW) published a state-wide depth to basement 3D model (Robinson 2016, 2017). Since then, new geological and geophysical data have been released and used for the construction of basin-scale 3D geological models for the southern Thomson Orogen and the Sydney, Gunnedah and Bowen basins (Davidson 2019; Oliveira and Davidson 2019; Oliveira et al. 2019). The basement topography under these regions was modelled using constraints from drillholes, seismic, Seamless Geology, magnetics and gravity data. The results have now been incorporated into the updated Statewide 3D Basement Elevation Model reported herein.

Pseudocolour image of the percentage of potassium (K%) in the upper 20 centimetres of the ground. Cooler colours indicate lower abundances of potassium and warmer colours represent higher abundances. Variations in potassium values are caused by varied mineral compositions in host rocks and soils. This statewide image was generated by merging many individual airborne radiometric surveys.

Geothermal gradient model (2023) created by Geognostics with support from government and industry. The geothermal gradient describes how temperature increases with depth inside the Earth. It is expressed in degrees Celsius per kilometre (°C/km). The linear geothermal gradients are from the top of SEEBASE to the surface. These were calculated using the combined heat-flow contribution of multiple crustal heat sources including upper mantle, radiogenic upper crust, and sediment thickness. The highest calculated geothermal gradients are generally related to areas interpreted to be underlain by granitic intrusions in the basement. The composition and heat production characteristics of the granites are largely unconstrained by analyses

This layer shows the boundaries of each airborne gravity survey acquired by the NSW Government. Details on the spacing and age of the gravity data within each project area are in the attributes. The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at time of writing (April 2017). Because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date. The information contained in this publication may not be or may no longer be aligned with government policy nor does the publication indicate or imply government policy.

The Geological Survey of NSW developed a Seamless Geology of UTM Zone 56 during2014 as part of a project to develop a seamless vector geology dataset of the best available geological mapping data covering the whole of NSW.The overarching aims of the Statewide Seamless Geology Project were to: (i) compile the different original scales, formats and rock unit naming conventions into a consistent, statewide format; (ii) edge-match the geology across existing map sheets; and (iii) interpret the basement geology under cover. The resulting geodatabase comprises a series of layers which include: (i) solid basement geology; (ii) cover rocks (defined as undeformed and unmetamorphosed); (iii) Mesozoic igneous rocks; and (iv) Cenozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks. The project was divided into 3 major stages corresponding to the UTM zones which divide New South Wales. This dataset includes the seamless geology layers from the NSW portion of UTM Zone 56 (ie.east of 150 degrees longitude to the coast).

The Geological Survey of NSW developed a Seamless Geology of UTM Zone 56 during 2014 as part of a project to develop a seamless vector geology dataset of the best available geological mapping data covering the whole of NSW.The overarching aims of the Statewide Seamless Geology Project were to: (i) compile the different original scales, formats and rock unit naming conventions into a consistent, statewide format; (ii) edge-match the geology across existing map sheets; and (iii) interpret the basement geology under cover. The resulting geodatabase comprises a series of layers which include: (i) solid basement geology; (ii) cover rocks (defined as undeformed and unmetamorphosed); (iii) Mesozoic igneous rocks; and (iv) Cenozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks. The project was divided into 3 major stages corresponding to the UTM zones which divide New South Wales. This dataset includes the seamless geology layers from the NSW portion of UTM Zone 56 (ie.east of 150 degrees longitude to the coast).

The NSW Seamless Geology Project was originally a five-year initiative of the Geological Survey of New South Wales which commenced in late 2013 and aimed to provide a statewide compilation of the best available digital geological mapping data in an internally consistent format. The overarching aims of the NSW Seamless Geology Project were to: (i) compile the different original scales, formats and rock unit naming conventions into a consistent, statewide format; (ii) edge-match the geology across existing map sheets; and (iii) interpret the basement geology under cover. The resulting geodatabase comprises a series of layers which include: (i) solid basement geology; (ii) cover rocks (defined as undeformed and unmetamorphosed); (iii) Mesozoic igneous rocks; and (iv) Cenozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks. Due to the size of the project, the work was divided into UTM zones, starting in the east with Zone 56, then moving west to Zone 54, and finishing with Zone 55. The western half of Zone 55 was completed in 2018, after which the results were merged with the previously completed Zones to produce version 1 of the NSW Seamless Geology dataset. Completion of this stage saw the end of phase 1 of the Seamless Geology Project, but it is intended that the Seamless Geology dataset will be continually updated and refined as new digital geological mapping data becomes available. Updates to the Seamless Geology dataset generally occur on an annual basis. Version 2.6 is the 8th major update to the NSW Seamless Geology and was released in 2026. This release includes major remapping of the northern Rockley–Gulgong Volcanic Belt; a significant upgrade to the mapping of Broughton Island; significant updates to the Lachlan Orogen and Cenozoic Sedimentary Province in the Canbelego 1:100,000 map sheet area; and attribute updates, data additions, and minor error fixes to all layers. Murray Basin During editing for version 2.1 of the Seamless Geology, the Cenozoic Murray Basin of southwest NSW was divided into its constituent units (formation or group level), with particular emphasis on the Loxton Sands, an economically significant unit containing numerous heavy mineral sand placer deposits and a number of mines producing rutile, zircon, and ilmenite. The Murray Basin linework was edited to reconcile the data with mapping in the existing NSW Seamless Geology dataset. See the lineage section for further details.