Australia’s geoscience community has been given a $23 million boost to further understanding of the country’s geophysical structure.

AuScope, a consortium of 23 Australian universities, research organisations and government bodies, will be receiving the government funding to create a national subsurface observatory.

The Australian Geophysical Observing System (AGOS) will focus on emerging geophysical energy issues, which could be applied in area such as large geo-engineering projects.

The project entails building a nationally integrated research infrastructure platform to meet future energy needs, which will involve probing of the upper 5km of the Australian crust. The research and infrastructure will be spread across Australia at numerous locations including Macquarie University, the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University.

“The AGOS will be the first national subsurface observatory capable of monitoring the physical state of the Australian continent,” Senator Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said. “Spreading AGOS across Australia will maximise scientific returns and support for the massive geo-engineering projects now being considered – such as deep geothermal drilling.”

Additional funding, estimated at $82 million, is slated to come from a range of partners including the University of Queensland, Geoscience Australia, Petratherm and Primary Industry Resources SA.