The Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO; formerly the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, or BMR) has had a long scientific interest in the NorthWest Shelf, dating back to the earliest systematic surveys of the region, carried out by BMR in1967. The Continental Margins Survey of 1970-73 was the first systematic survey of the continental margin extending to abyssal depths, and in many areas (eg Scott Plateau, northern Exmouth Plateau) it remains the only regional data set available. Since obtaining and fitting out the research vessel Rig Seismic in late 1984/early 1985, BMR/AGSO has carried out two rounds of research on the North West Shelf. The first round (1986) concentrated on heat flow studies on the Exmouth Plateau (Choi, Stagg, & others, 1987) and on multichannel seismic surveying of the margins of the Exmouth Plateau as a precursor to ODP drilling (references). The second round commenced in 1990 and is scheduled to run until late 1993 or early 1994.