1

Attachment2:EquipmentandmethodsusedSurveyseismicreflectionmethodsIdentifyingandinterpretingsedimentswithusefulpalaeoclimaticrecordsrequiresacousticimagingoftheseafloorwitharangeofequipment.Thesurveyplanstouseamultibeambathymetricechosoundertomapseafloortopographyandasubbottomprofilertoidentifysurfacesedimentssuitableforshallowcoring.Toidentifythickerdepositssuitableforlongcoresandtounderstandhowthesedepositsformed,itwillbenecessarytouseahigh-resolutionseismic,airgun-basedsystem.Thissystemwilluse2highfrequencyairgunsasasourceandashorthydrophonestreamertoimagetheuppertensofmetersofthecontinentalslope.Seismiclineswillbecollectedalongselectedtransectsacrossthestudyareaandwillrepresentapproximately20%(7days)oftheplanned37daysinthearea.SourcecharacteristicsandexposurethresholdsThesurveywilluse2SercelGenerator-Injector(GI)airgunswithacombinedcapacityof6.88litres.Thisrepresentsavolumeofabout10%ofatypicalairgunarraysusedinpetroleumindustrysurveys.GIgunscanbeusedinairgunmodewheretheentirevolumeisusedtogeneratesound,orinGIgunmodewhereabout60%oftheairisinjectedintotheinitialbubbletopreventbubblecollapseandproduceacleanersignal.Theairgunswillbetowedabout30mbehindthevesselsduringdataacquisition.Breitzkeetal.(2008)measuredthesourcelevelofasingleGI-guninairgunmodeandfoundasourcesoundexposurelevelof202dBre1μPa2s@1m.Theyalsomeasureda3GIgunarray,findingasoundexposurelevelof211dBre1μPa2s@1m.Intheabsenceofmeasurementsfor2GIguns,wehaveestimatedthesourcelevelof2GIgunsasdoublethatofonei.e.208dBre1μPa2s@1m.ThissourcelevelisbelowthethresholdforinjuryforasinglepulsesuggestedbySouthalletal(2007)andbelowthelevelforinjuryformultiplepulseswithinafewmetersoftheguns.ItalsomeansthattheDepartmentofEnvironmentpreferredthresholdforTemporaryThresholdShift(TTS)inwhalehearingof160dBre1μPa2s@1misreachedat251mfromthesourceassumingsphericalspreadingofthesound.ThismeansthattheTTSthresholdwillbereachedinacirclemuchlessthan1kmandthatextendsabout130metersinfrontofthevessel.The2GIgunarrayhasasourcelevelcomparabletosomenaturalsoundsourcesinAntarcticwaters.Icebergsproducesourcelevelsof220-245dBre1μPa-rms@1mwithsimilarfrequencycontenttoairguns(Matsumotoetal.2014).AsingleGIgunsproduces216dBre1μPa-rms@1mand3GIgunsproduce225dBre1μPa-rms@1m(Breitzkeetal.2008).

2

Insummary,theseismicsourcefortheproposedsurveywillproducesoundpulseswhichwillbewithintherangeofnaturalsourcesandbelowTTSlevelsbeyond251mfromtheairgun.EPBCActProtectedMattersEPBCActProtectedMattersreportlists3speciesofcetaceanandanumberofprotectedseabirdsinthearea.Theseabirdswillnotbeaffectedbythesurveybecauseitinvolvesnofishingactivities,iswellawayfrompotentialbreedingsitesandthevesselhasbestpractisewastemanagementplansthatpreventdischargesthatmayattractbirds.Theinteractionwithcetaceanwillbeminimisedassetoutbelow.CetaceansinthesurveyareaTheAntarcticcontinentalmarginisanimportantfeedinggroundformanyspeciesofcetaceanhoweveritisdifficulttoassessthenumberslikelytobeencounteredinanyparticularareaaroundthecontinent.Theregionisverylargeandthedistributionofcetaceansnotuniform.Studiesthathaveattemptedtodeterminethedistributionofwhalesexpresstheirfindingsas“Encountersperarea”(Kasamatsuetal.1996),sightingsper1000km(Branchetal.2007)orthepopulationforagivenspeciesinabroadarea(Branch2011).Wehaveusedsuchpublishedestimatestoderiveawhaleperunitareafiguretothencalculatethelikelynumberencounteredbytheseismiccomponentofthesurvey.Thetableprovideddoesnotallowfractionssosomespeciesarelistedat0whenthereisasmallbutfiniteprobabilityofanencounterwith1whale.Forexample,Branchetal.(2007)expressedtheencounterrateofBlueWhalesas0.17-.52per1000km.Thusthesurveymightencounter0.26-0.8BlueWhales.Thenatureofencounterswiththeproposedsurveywillalsobedifferenttoencountersbycetaceansurveys.Indedicatedcetaceansurveys,anencounterisanobservationwithinavisualradiusfromtheobservership.ThisobservableradiusismuchlargerthantheTTSradiusfortheGIguns.Thecalculatedencounterednumbersmeansasmallnumberofwhalescouldbewithinaudiblerangeoftheairgun.ThesurveywilltargetasmallproportionofthetotalAntarcticmarginhabitatusedbycetaceans.ThesmallsourcewillbeaudibletoafewwhalesthatrepresentasmallproportionofthetotalwhalepopulationusingAntarcticwaters.Thoughaudible,thesourcewillnotexceedTTSlevelsunlessawhaleisveryclosetotheairgun(<251m).Thiswillbemanagedbystandardmitigationstrategies.MitigationmethodsAirgunseismicreflectiondatawillonlybecollectedduringdaylighthours.ThesurveypersonnelwillincludeadedicatedMarineMammalObserverwhowillbeonthebridgeduringseismicoperationssothatmitigationmethodssetoutinEPBCActPolicyStatement2.1-Interactionsbetweenoffshoreseismicexplorationandwhales,AustralianGovernment,DepartmentofEnvironment,September2008,willbeapplied.

3

ReferencesBranch,T.A.,2011.Humpbackwhaleabundancesouthof60oSfromthreecompletecircumpolarsetsofsurveys.JournalofCetaceanResearchandManagement(SpecialIssue)3,53-69.Branch,T.A.,2007.AbundanceofAntarcticbluewhalessouthof60oSfromthreecompletecircumpolarsetsofsurveys.JournalofCetaceanResearchandManagement,9,253-262.Branch,T.A.,2007.Pastandpresentdistribution,densitiesandmovementsofbluewhalesBalaenopterusmusculusintheSouthernHemisphereandnorthernIndianOcean.MammalReview,37,116-175.Breitzke,M.,Boebel,O.,ElNaggar,S.,Jokat,W.andWerner,B.,2008.Broad-bandcalibrationofmarineseismicsourcesusedbyR/VPolarsternforacademicresearchinpolarregions.GeophysicalJournalInternational,174,505-524.Kasamatsu,F.andJoyce,G.G.,1995.CurrentstatusofodontocetesintheAntarctic.AntarcticScience,7,365-379.Kasamatsu,F.etal.,1996.CurrentoccurrenceofbaleenwhalesinAntarcticwaters.ReporttotheInternationalWhalingCommission,46,293-303.Matsumoto,H.etal.2014.Antarcticicebergs:AsignificantnaturaloceansoundsourceintheSouthernHemisphere.Geochemistry,Geophysics,Geosystems,15,3448-3458.Southalletal.2007.Marinemammalnoiseexposurecriteria:initialscientificrecommendations.AquaticMammals,33,411-521.

4

Attachment3:Stepsusedtominimisepossibleimpactsoncetaceans

• Theuseofa2airgunsourceisconsistentwiththeScientificCommitteeforAntarcticResearch(SCAR)recommendationtousethesmallestsourcenecessarytoachievesurveyobjectives.

• Thesurveyhasbeenplannedtocollecttheminimumamountofseismicdatanecessarytoachieveitsobjectives.

• Seismicoperationswillonlybeconductedduringdaylighthours.• SeismicoperationswillbeconductedunderconsiderationsoftheEPBCAct

PolicyStatement2.1.Asoftstartwillbeachievedusing1airgunatthestart.• Amarinemammalobserverwillbestationedonthebridgeduringseismic

operations.

5

Attachment4:ObjectivesandpurposesoftheactionTheproposedactionisasurveyaimedatunderstandingthebehaviouroftheTottenGlacierinEastAntarcticaduringthelastdeglaciationandseveralpastglacialcyclesinordertounderstanditspossibleresponsetoglobalwarming.TheTottenGlacierisalargeoutletglacierinEastAntarcticawhichdrainsaverydeepsubglacialbasin,theAuroraBasin,whichcontainsthickesticeinAntarctica.RecentobservationssuggestthattheTottenGlacieristhinningrapidlyinasimilarmannertothePineIslandGlacierinWestAntarctica.RapidretreatoftheTottenGlacierintotheAuroraBasincouldcauseaccelerateddrawdownoftheEastAntarcticIceSheetandmatchingaccelerationinsealevelrise.IthasbeenproposedthattheTottenGlacierismeltingbecauseofintrusionofwarmCircumpolarDeepWaterontothecontinentalshelf,asishappeninginPineIslandBay.WewillinvestigatewhethersuchamechanismwasinvolvedinpastretreatsoftheTottenGlacierbystudyinghowtheTottenGlacierbehavedduringpasttimesofwarmingclimaterecordedbythesedimentitdeliveredtothecontinentalslope.Wewillmapthegeomorphologyandshallowseismicstratigraphyofslopesedimentstounderstandtheirmodeoforiginandtoidentifythebestplacestocollectlongpistoncorestoobtainrecordsofpasticeadvanceandretreat.Seafloorvideodatawillbecollectedtohelpunderstandthesedimentaryprocessesactiveontheslopeandidentifycoringsitesforthissurvey.ThesevideoswillalsobetostudyseafloorhabitatsinaproposedMarineProtectedAreawhichcoversthestudyarea.Thesurveywillspend37daysinthesurveyarea.Ofthistime,weanticipatecollectingairgunseismicdataforabout7days.

EPBC Act Protected Matters Report

This report provides general guidance on matters of national environmental significance and other mattersprotected by the EPBC Act in the area you have selected.

Information on the coverage of this report and qualifications on data supporting this report are contained in thecaveat at the end of the report.

Information is available about Environment Assessments and the EPBC Act including significance guidelines,forms and application process details.

Other Matters Protected by the EPBC Act

Acknowledgements

Buffer: 50.0Km

Matters of NES

Report created: 04/07/16 16:57:56

Coordinates

This map may contain data which are©Commonwealth of Australia(Geoscience Australia), ©PSMA 2010

CaveatExtra Information

DetailsSummary

Summary

This part of the report summarises the matters of national environmental significance that may occur in, or mayrelate to, the area you nominated. Further information is available in the detail part of the report, which can beaccessed by scrolling or following the links below. If you are proposing to undertake an activity that may have asignificant impact on one or more matters of national environmental significance then you should consider theAdministrative Guidelines on Significance.

Matters of National Environmental Significance

Listed Threatened Ecological Communities:

Listed Migratory Species:

None

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park:

Wetlands of International Importance:

Listed Threatened Species:

None

14

None

None

National Heritage Places:

Commonwealth Marine Area:

World Heritage Properties:

None

2

11

The EPBC Act protects the environment on Commonwealth land, the environment from the actions taken onCommonwealth land, and the environment from actions taken by Commonwealth agencies. As heritage values of aplace are part of the 'environment', these aspects of the EPBC Act protect the Commonwealth Heritage values of aCommonwealth Heritage place. Information on the new heritage laws can be found athttp://www.environment.gov.au/heritage

This part of the report summarises other matters protected under the Act that may relate to the area you nominated.Approval may be required for a proposed activity that significantly affects the environment on Commonwealth land,when the action is outside the Commonwealth land, or the environment anywhere when the action is taken onCommonwealth land. Approval may also be required for the Commonwealth or Commonwealth agencies proposing totake an action that is likely to have a significant impact on the environment anywhere.

A permit may be required for activities in or on a Commonwealth area that may affect a member of a listed threatenedspecies or ecological community, a member of a listed migratory species, whales and other cetaceans, or a member ofa listed marine species.

Other Matters Protected by the EPBC Act

None

None

3

Listed Marine Species:

Whales and Other Cetaceans:

9

Commonwealth Heritage Places:

None

None

Critical Habitats:

Commonwealth Land:

Commonwealth Reserves Terrestrial:

NoneCommonwealth Reserves Marine:

Extra Information

This part of the report provides information that may also be relevant to the area you have nominated.

None

NoneState and Territory Reserves:

Nationally Important Wetlands:

NoneRegional Forest Agreements:

Invasive Species: None

NoneKey Ecological Features (Marine)

Details

Listed Threatened Species [ Resource Information ]Name Status Type of PresenceBirds

Southern Royal Albatross [1072] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Diomedea epomophora (sensu stricto)

Wandering Albatross [1073] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Diomedea exulans (sensu lato)

White-bellied Storm-Petrel (Tasman Sea), White-bellied Storm-Petrel (Australasian) [64438]

Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Fregetta grallaria grallaria

Southern Giant-Petrel, Southern Giant Petrel [1060] Endangered Breeding known to occurwithin area

Macronectes giganteus

Northern Giant Petrel [1061] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Macronectes halli

Fairy Prion (southern) [64445] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Pachyptila turtur subantarctica

Antarctic Tern (Indian Ocean) [64452] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Sterna vittata vittata

White-capped Albatross [82344] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche cauta steadi

Grey-headed Albatross [66491] Endangered Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche chrysostoma

Campbell Albatross, Campbell Black-browed Albatross[64459]

Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche impavida

Black-browed Albatross [66472] Vulnerable Species or speciesThalassarche melanophris

Commonwealth Marine Area [ Resource Information ]

Name

Approval is required for a proposed activity that is located within the Commonwealth Marine Area which has, will have, or islikely to have a significant impact on the environment. Approval may be required for a proposed action taken outside theCommonwealth Marine Area but which has, may have or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment in theCommonwealth Marine Area. Generally the Commonwealth Marine Area stretches from three nautical miles to two hundrednautical miles from the coast.

EEZ and Territorial SeaExtended Continental Shelf

Matters of National Environmental Significance

Name Status Type of Presencehabitat likely to occur withinarea

Mammals

Blue Whale [36] Endangered Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour known to occurwithin area

Balaenoptera musculus

Southern Right Whale [40] Endangered Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour may occur withinarea

Eubalaena australis

Humpback Whale [38] Vulnerable Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour known to occurwithin area

Megaptera novaeangliae

Listed Migratory Species [ Resource Information ]* Species is listed under a different scientific name on the EPBC Act - Threatened Species list.Name Threatened Type of PresenceMigratory Marine Birds

Southern Royal Albatross [1072] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Diomedea epomophora (sensu stricto)

Wandering Albatross [1073] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Diomedea exulans (sensu lato)

Southern Giant-Petrel, Southern Giant Petrel [1060] Endangered Breeding known to occurwithin area

Macronectes giganteus

Northern Giant Petrel [1061] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Macronectes halli

Grey-headed Albatross [66491] Endangered Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche chrysostoma

Campbell Albatross, Campbell Black-browed Albatross[64459]

Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche impavida

Black-browed Albatross [66472] Vulnerable Species or species habitatlikely to occur within area

Thalassarche melanophris

White-capped Albatross [64462] Vulnerable* Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche steadi

Migratory Marine Species

Blue Whale [36] Endangered Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour known to occurwithin area

Balaenoptera musculus

Southern Right Whale [40] Endangered Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour may occur withinarea

Eubalaena australis

Humpback Whale [38] Vulnerable Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour known to occurwithin area

Megaptera novaeangliae

Listed Marine Species [ Resource Information ]* Species is listed under a different scientific name on the EPBC Act - Threatened Species list.Name Threatened Type of PresenceBirds

Southern Royal Albatross [1072] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Diomedea epomophora (sensu stricto)

Wandering Albatross [1073] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Diomedea exulans (sensu lato)

Southern Giant-Petrel, Southern Giant Petrel [1060] Endangered Breeding known to occurwithin area

Macronectes giganteus

Northern Giant Petrel [1061] Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Macronectes halli

Fairy Prion [1066] Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Pachyptila turtur

Grey-headed Albatross [66491] Endangered Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche chrysostoma

Campbell Albatross, Campbell Black-browed Albatross[64459]

Vulnerable Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche impavida

Black-browed Albatross [66472] Vulnerable Species or species habitatlikely to occur within area

Thalassarche melanophris

White-capped Albatross [64462] Vulnerable* Species or species habitatmay occur within area

Thalassarche steadi

Whales and other Cetaceans [ Resource Information ]Name Status Type of PresenceMammals

Blue Whale [36] Endangered Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour known to occurwithin area

Balaenoptera musculus

Southern Right Whale [40] Endangered Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour may occur withinarea

Eubalaena australis

Humpback Whale [38] Vulnerable Foraging, feeding or relatedbehaviour known to occurwithin area

Megaptera novaeangliae

Other Matters Protected by the EPBC Act

Extra Information

- non-threatened seabirds which have only been mapped for recorded breeding sites

- migratory species that are very widespread, vagrant, or only occur in small numbers

- some species and ecological communities that have only recently been listed

Not all species listed under the EPBC Act have been mapped (see below) and therefore a report is a general guide only.Where available data supports mapping, the type of presence that can be determined from the data is indicated in generalterms. People using this information in making a referral may need to consider the qualifications below and may need to seekand consider other information sources.

For threatened ecological communities where the distribution is well known, maps are derived from recovery plans, Statevegetation maps, remote sensing imagery and other sources. Where threatened ecological community distributions are lesswell known, existing vegetation maps and point location data are used to produce indicative distribution maps.

- seals which have only been mapped for breeding sites near the Australian continent

Such breeding sites may be important for the protection of the Commonwealth Marine environment.

For species where the distributions are well known, maps are digitised from sources such as recovery plans and detailedhabitat studies. Where appropriate, core breeding, foraging and roosting areas are indicated under 'type of presence'. Forspecies whose distributions are less well known, point locations are collated from government wildlife authorities, museums,and non-government organisations; bioclimatic distribution models are generated and these validated by experts. In somecases, the distribution maps are based solely on expert knowledge.

The information presented in this report has been provided by a range of data sources as acknowledged at the end of thereport.

Caveat

- migratory and

The following species and ecological communities have not been mapped and do not appear in reports produced from thisdatabase:

- marine

This report is designed to assist in identifying the locations of places which may be relevant in determining obligations underthe Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It holds mapped locations of World and National Heritageproperties, Wetlands of International and National Importance, Commonwealth and State/Territory reserves, listed threatened,migratory and marine species and listed threatened ecological communities. Mapping of Commonwealth land is not completeat this stage. Maps have been collated from a range of sources at various resolutions.

- threatened species listed as extinct or considered as vagrants

- some terrestrial species that overfly the Commonwealth marine area

The following groups have been mapped, but may not cover the complete distribution of the species:

Only selected species covered by the following provisions of the EPBC Act have been mapped:

-62.1 112.91139,-62.03389 124.96681,-66.96944 125.045,-67.37639 112.56056,-62.1 112.91139

Coordinates

-Environment and Planning Directorate, ACT-Birdlife Australia-Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme

-Department of Parks and Wildlife, Western Australia

Acknowledgements

-Office of Environment and Heritage, New South Wales

-Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmania

-Parks and Wildlife Commission NT, Northern Territory Government-Department of Environmental and Heritage Protection, Queensland

-Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria

-Australian National Wildlife Collection

-Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, South Australia

This database has been compiled from a range of data sources. The department acknowledges the followingcustodians who have contributed valuable data and advice:

-Australian Museum

-National Herbarium of NSW

Forestry Corporation, NSW-Australian Government, Department of Defence

-State Herbarium of South Australia

The Department is extremely grateful to the many organisations and individuals who provided expert adviceand information on numerous draft distributions.

-Natural history museums of Australia

-Queensland Museum

-Australian National Herbarium, Atherton and Canberra

-Royal Botanic Gardens and National Herbarium of Victoria

-Geoscience Australia

-Ocean Biogeographic Information System

-Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums-Queensland Herbarium

-Western Australian Herbarium

-Tasmanian Herbarium

-Northern Territory Herbarium

-South Australian Museum

-Museum Victoria

-University of New England

-CSIRO-Other groups and individuals

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Department of the Environment

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