The Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) and Geoscience Australia are teaming-up with Daishsat Geodetic Surveyors to measure extremely small variations in the Earth’s gravity.
The data collected will be added to the state’s growing public geological knowledge base. It will also help inform local resource and land management decisions.
Over the next 12 months, the partnership will measure the Earth’s gravity at about 20,000 locations along public roads and tracks in northern Victoria between Shepparton, Seymour, Echuca and Wodonga.
Measurements are taken by placing a gravity meter, which is a box containing a weight suspended from a spring, on the ground for about two minutes while it measures the Earth’s gravitational “pull” at that location.
Using gravity measurements to map geological structures like faults and the distribution of rock types helps us better understand of how eastern Australia was formed.
This knowledge may provide insights into natural hazards like earthquakes and the potential presence of resources like critical minerals, vital for renewable energy generation and mobile devices.
Local councils across the region have been informed of the survey, which will have no impact on the ground – apart from footprints and tyre tracks.
