A significant mission to retrieve 27 seismometers from the rugged ocean floor near Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean will unlock the secrets of the Earth's inner layers.
The prize after decades of investment into geoscience data, tools and collaboration between government and industry? A mineral deposit discovery that will provide raw materials for clean energy technologies.
The September earthquake in eastern Victoria shook the ground for hundreds of kilometres around and damaged buildings as far away as Melbourne – and took many people by surprise.
While Australia doesn’t compare with seismic hotspots like New Zealand and Japan, relatively small quakes are expected, with Geoscience Australia’s quake tracker listing more than a dozen in the past week alone.