Dredge rocks were recovered on scientific voyage SS2011_06 on the MNF RV Southern Surveyor, from the Perth Abyssal Plain, offshore Western Australia. Continental rocks (gneiss, granite, sandstone) were dredged from both the Batavia Knoll and the Gulden Draak Ridge (dredge sites 1, 2, and 3). A small amount of high weathered basalt was recovered from the Gulden Draak Ridge (dredge site 4). Three successful dredges were undertaken along the Dirck Hartog Ridge recovering predominantly gabbro (dredge 5) and basalts (dredge sites 6 and 7).

The final lithospheric breakup of the Australian-Antarctic rift system remains controversial due to sparse geological constraints on the nature of the basement along the ocean-continent transition zones. We present new interpretations of multichannel seismic reflection transects, as well as new petrological data of dredged mantle rocks along the East Antarctic margin (Seamount B, offshore Terre Adélie). By combining both datasets, we show that a 50–100 km wide domain of cold (900°C), fertile subcontinental mantle was exhumed along the non-volcanic Antarctic margin. The dredged peridotites preserve characteristics similar to mantle xenoliths found in syn- to post-rift volcanism at the eastern end of the Australian margin (Victoria and Tasmania), indicating the sampling of a common fertile subcontinental mantle during rifting between Australia and Antarctica. Seamount B represents the initial stages of exhumation of cold subcontinental lithosphere along an ocean-continent transition during rifting. This thick mantle domain was likely affected by syn-rift melt impregnation at high-pressure (8 kbar), leading to the formation of plagioclase-pyroxenites. Overall, the combination of continental rifted blocks, a 50-100 km wide domain of volcanic-poor subcontinental mantle and (ultra)-slow spreading implies that ocean-continent transition zones along the Australian-Antarctic margins represent a recent analogue to ocean continent transition zones from the Jurassic Western Tethys. Additionally, evidence of syn-rift melt stagnation at high pressure suggests that magmatism along the Australian-Antarctic rifted margins was sufficient to form magnetic anomalies that can be used as isochrons despite their formation in lithosphere other than mature, steady-state ocean crust.

The Petrel Sub-basin Marine Environmental Survey GA-0335, (SOL5463) was undertaken by the RV Solander during May 2012 as part of the Commonwealth Government's National Low Emission Coal Initiative (NLECI). The survey was undertaken as a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and GA. The purpose was to acquire geophysical and biophysical data on shallow (less then 100m water depth) seabed environments within two targeted areas in the Petrel Sub-basin to support investigation for CO2 storage potential in these areas. This dataset comprises an interpreted geomorphic map. Interpreted local-scale geomorphic maps were produced for each survey area in the Petrel Sub-basin using multibeam bathymetry and backscatter grids at 2 m resolution and bathymetric derivatives (e.g. slope; 1-m contours). Five geomorphic units; bank, plain, ridge, terrace and valley, were identified and mapped using definitions suitable for interpretation at the local scale (nominally 1:10 000). Maps and polygons were manual digitised in ArcGIS using the spatial analyst and 3D analyst toolboxes.

The Oceanic Shoals survey (SOL5650, GA survey 339) was conducted on the R.V. Solander in collaboration with Geoscience Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), University of Western Australia and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory between 12 September - 5 October, 2012. This dataset comprises an interpreted geomorphic map. Interpreted local-scale geomorphic maps were produced for each survey area in the Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR) using multibeam bathymetry and backscatter grids at 2 m resolution and bathymetric derivatives (e.g. slope; 1-m contours). Six geomorphic units; bank, depression, mound, plain, scarp and terrace were identified and mapped using definitions suitable for interpretation at the local scale (nominally 1:10 000). Maps and polygons were manual digitised in ArcGIS using the spatial analyst and 3D analyst toolboxes. For further information on the geomorphic mapping methods please refer to Appendix N of the post-survey report, published as Geoscience Australia Record 2013/38: Nichol, S.L., Howard, F.J.F., Kool, J., Stowar, M., Bouchet, P., Radke, L., Siwabessy, J., Przeslawski, R., Picard, K., Alvarez de Glasby, B., Colquhoun, J., Letessier, T. & Heyward, A. 2013. Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve (Timor Sea) Biodiversity Survey: GA0339/SOL5650 Post Survey Report. Record 2013/38. Geoscience Australia: Canberra. (GEOCAT #76658).

Supporting geological data to accompany Halpin et al. "Ediacaran–Cambrian high-strain melt-present deformation of the Archean Charcot Province, East Antarctica” in review with AGU Tectonics. Includes tables of sample details, field observations, whole rock geochemical data, zircon U–Pb data, zircon Hf-isotope data and feldspar Pb–Pb data. These tables are uploaded separately in XLSX format. Abstract for "Ediacaran–Cambrian high-strain melt-present deformation of the Archean Charcot Province, East Antarctica” in review with AGU Tectonics: The assembly of Gondwana involved several Pan-African orogens, although their extension into ice-covered Antarctica remains contentious. Particularly problematic is our understanding of the Kuunga orogenic system in East Antarctica, including its eroded architecture and temporal evolution. The remote Charcot Province, at the easternmost extent of the Antarctic Kuunga Orogen, presents a key opportunity to test recent tectonic models. Here we investigate the geological history of Alligator Island, a rarely visited exposure of the Charcot Province. Field relationships, petrography and zircon U–Pb–Hf geochronology indicate that the Alligator Island migmatitic gneisses originated from a Mesoarchean (c. 2.97–2.95 Ga) volcano-sedimentary package. Metamorphism during the Neoarchean (c. 2.76 Ga) was characterised by channelled melt migration. An apparent tectonic quiescence followed until the Ediacaran–Cambrian (580–540 Ma) when high-strain melt-present deformation led to pervasive migmatitic textures and tight folding. Zircon Hf isotopic signatures from anatectic 580–540 Ma grains indicate that melt was sourced from crust older than 3.0 Ga. Melt metasomatism affected whole rock chemistry and feldspar Pb–Pb compositions highlighting complex interactions within the crust. Correlations within the Charcot Province suggest that Alligator Island's Mesoarchean volcano-sedimentary package was deposited on a basement complex possibly represented by Paleo-Mesoarchean gneisses exposed 40–60 km to the east at Cape Charcot and Davis Peninsula. Overall our findings are consistent with a recent model in which Charcot Province rocks formed through gravitational spreading within the Kuunga orogenic system during Gondwana assembly, and enhance our understanding of the tectonic processes shaping East Antarctica.

New ground-based gravity and GNSS data set collected at nine sites along a ~14 km transect across the Denman Glacier system during the Denman Terrestrial Campaign 2023/24. The survey was conducted along the existing ICECAP airborne geophysical flight line ASB/JKB2c/Y11b, enabling direct comparison between ground-based and airborne observations. Coincident GNSS observations are provided for precise station positions and ellipsoidal heights.