Depth contours derived from the NSW Basement Elevation Model.

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.

Basement type interpreted by Geognostics with support from government, academia and industry. The basement type describes the geological processes that has produced each basement block

Isostatic residual Bouguer gravity image overlain on tilt-filtered total magnetic intensity reduced to the pole (Tilt TMI RTP) image. The image is a partially-transparent pseudocolour layer of Isostatic residual Bouguer gravity, with a histogram-equalised colour-stretch, overlain on a greyscale intensity layer of the Tilt TMI RTP, with a histogram-equalised stretch. Bouguer gravity compensates for variations in latitude, 'free-air' elevation and Bouguer correction (assuming a crustal density of 2.67 T/m³). The isostatic correction removes the effect of variations in the thickness of the Earth’s crust due to changes in topography. The tilt-angle filter of total magnetic intensity produces a local positive maximum over a magnetic source and is zero near the edge of the source, and is useful for tracing geological structure below variable depths of cover.

Greyscale image of the first vertical derivative (1VD) of total magnetic intensity reduced to the pole (TMI RTP) which has been upward continued by 500m. Darker tones indicate lower values and lighter tones represent higher values. Reduction to the pole filters magnetic anomalies to appear as if the Earth's magnetic field were locally vertical, as at the magnetic pole (assuming all magnetic sources are inductively magnetised). Upward continuation artificially increases the elevation which removes the influence of high frequency signals caused by near surface geology. The 1VD filter shows the vertical rate of change in the Earth's total magnetic field and enhances boundaries and structural detail of shallow sources. Variations in the magnetic field are caused by lithological factors, principally magnetite (and/or pyrrhotite) content. This Statewide image was generated by merging many individual airborne magnetic surveys.

This collection contains mineral specimens from locations of economic mineral importance in NSW>

Marine protected areas are parts of the NSW marine estate managed to conserve marine biodiversity and support marine science, recreation and education. The NSW system of marine protected areas includes: marine parks – six multiple use marine parks cover around one third (approximately 345,000 hectares) of the NSW marine estate aquatic reserves – 12 aquatic reserves cover around 2,000 hectares of the NSW marine estate national parks and nature reserves – include around 20,000 hectares of estuarine and oceanic habitats.

Hydrogeochemistry is the sampling and analysis of water to test its chemical properties. The chemistry of bore water can provide clues to the properties of the underlying rocks it has flowed through. Hydrogeochemistry data provides useful information about the quality of groundwater and the processes affecting it. The data is useful for landholders and local government agencies in assessing groundwater resources and their suitability for human and animal consumption, and for industry, other government agencies and scientists to assist with targeting and assessment of natural resources in the earth’s crust. The hydrogeochemistry data presented here has been sourced from various entities including the Geological Survey of New South Wales (GSNSW), Water NSW, CSIRO, and Geoscience Australia (GA). GSNSW and GA collect hydrogeochemistry data on a project basis. CSIRO has curated a groundwater hydrochemistry dataset by collating and standardising data from most State and Territory lead water agencies. Data within NSW will be continually added to this dataset as it is collected or acquired by GSNSW in the future. The hydrogeochemistry dataset presented here includes the following data: • Field measurements and laboratory analyses, such as pH, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids (TDS, a measure of salinity) • Major and minor ions, such as sodium and calcium • Trace element metals and non-metals, such as gold, silver, copper and zinc • Stable and radioactive isotopes, such as oxygen-18, carbon-14, and sulphur-34 In addition to this, CSIRO has calculated variables such as saturation indices, which are derived from the hydrochemistry measurements. Information for methodologies used by CSIRO, including the saturation indices, is available from the CSIRO Research Publications Repository.

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 is a five-year initiative of the Geological Survey of New South Wales which commenced in late 2013 and aims 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. Version 2 is the 2nd major update to the NSW Seamless Geology and was released in May 2020. This release includes: final data from the East Riverina Mapping Project; updates to the geology of several areas in the Lachlan Orogen; approximately 11,000 new structure points in the Lachlan Orogen and Curnamona Province; detailed revision of the Cenozoic Igneous Province; detailed mapping of the Newcastle Coal Measures; and extensive upgrades to the RockUnit polygon attribute table. The geology of Lord Howe Island is also included for the first time. A single layer version of the Seamless Geology dataset has been created to give a view of the New South Wales surface geology only by removing all the data from overlapped feature classes of the full NSW Seamless Geology dataset and merging the remaining data into a single feature class. As well as giving a view of the surface geology that is faster to display than the full NSW Seamless Geology dataset, the single layer NSW Seamless Geology dataset is also useful for performing statewide queries that would otherwise have to be performed multiple times on the full multi-layered New South Wales Seamless Geology dataset. Version 2.1 is the 3rd major update to the NSW Seamless Geology and was released in May 2021. This release includes: the NSW Metamorphic dataset; an upgrade of the geology of the Cenozoic Murray Basin (southwest New South Wales); an upgrade of the geology of the Sydney Basin and Mesozoic intrusions of the Illawarra region; changes to the boundaries of several depo-centres of the Darling Basin; over 50,000 trendlines and dykes were added to the Curnamona Province data in the Broken Hill area; the geology of Kinchega National Park, near Menindee, has been reinterpreted and updated using ADS imagery and radiometric data; and updates were made to the stratigraphy and nomenclature of the Fifield Suite (Lachlan Orogen). This release also features many new additions to the RockUnit attribute table, including an "Ultramafic" field, and new or updated magmatic fertility attributes (Lachlan Orogen only). NOTE: A substantial amount of overlay, erase and intersect geoprocessing of the original multi-layered Seamless Geology was undertaken to produce the single layer surface NSW Seamless Geology dataset. Due to small tolerance differences between different layers in the Seamless Geology dataset, this has, in some places, created small “sliver” polygons between boundaries common to more than one layer of the original multi-layered NSW Seamless Geology. This is a known issue with the current single layer Seamless Geology dataset and while some attempt has been made to resolve these issues, a number of small “sliver” polygons remain. Users are cautioned to be aware of this problem when using this dataset at high zoom levels (ie. under 1:1,000 scale) and to refer to the full Seamless Geology dataset for clarification.