This Earthcache is located at Geoscience Australia in Canberra. At the main building you will find a range of visitor facilities. The opening times are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Closed on weekends.
Inside there is an information counter, sales centre, education centre, library and a variety of displays. There is also a café.
Geoscience Australia undertakes a wide variety of research into fields such as natural hazards, mineral exploration, energy resources, greenhouse gas storage, Australia’s marine boundaries and groundwater.
It also has a superb collection of world-class minerals, rocks, fossils, geoscience maps, satellite imagery and historical equipment on display in the public foyer.
The Timewalk starts near the main entrance on the right hand side as you enter. It is a loop gravel paved track that has a series of marked stops, plaques and points of interest. If finishes back at the entrance.
To claim this Earthcache you will have to visit the Timewalk and collect the answers to 6 questions and email these to us for verification using the contact details in the listing. Once verified, you can post your log. We will respond as quickly as we can.
We also ask that you post a picture of yourself or your team with what you find to be an interesting feature on the Timewalk (but don’t give any of the answers away please).
Here are the questions for you to answer:
1. Paleoarchean Era 3600-3200 Ma: From the plaque at this site, state which area in Western Australia contains crust from this era.
2. Neoarchean Era 2705 Ma: The Kambalda nickel sulphide ore is hosted in lava flows. What percentage of nickel is contained in the ore?
3. Mesoproterozoic Era 1590 Ma: The mineral in this rock was used in which space program?
4. Silurian 440 Ma: Look at the rock sample from Cadia, NSW. What is the average width (in millimeters) of the quartz band running across the centre of the rock?
5. Permian Period 300 Ma: Look at the markings on the rock. What do you think caused these?
6. Precipice Sandstone early Jurassic 199-183 Ma: The sandstone rock at this plaque was brought from Stanwell in Queensland. What caused the hole in the rock?
The Geoscience Building is interesting in itself. The building project was funded by the Commonwealth Government and completed in December 1997, with Geoscience Australia occupying the building in January 1998.
Approximately 17 000 cubic metres of concrete and 1 200 tonnes of structural steel were used to construct the two buildings which total about 40 000 square metres.
The main building is a conventional concrete structure clad with a variety of materials, including metal panels, glass, and precast and off-form concrete. It has a curved metal deck roof featuring skylights and cowls to maximise the level of natural light within the building.
The design brief for the building sought to demonstrate an appropriate pragmatic response to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) design principles. The building show-cases a significant number of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) design features, while maintaining a sound balance with cost efficiency and functionality.
A particular feature is the air conditioning which incorporates a geothermal heat pump system which consists of 210 individual packaged units throughout the building and a ground loop system of 350 pipes to use the Earth as a heat sink or heat source at different times of the year. The geothermal air conditioning system provides significant energy savings from equipment, lighting and air conditioning as well as allowing the system to be operated only when an area of the building is occupied.
For more information go to: www.ga.gov.au
Enjoy your Timewalk!
First to find: LuckyL10n