1887
Volume 23, Issue 1-2
  • ISSN: 0812-3985
  • E-ISSN: 1834-7533

Abstract

The Bureau of Mineral Resources completed a major marine multi-channel seismic reflection survey (MCS) off southeast Queensland in December 1989. The research cruise, using RV ‘’, was designed to investigate the structure, stratigraphy and petroleum resource potential of offshore basins along this sector of the Australian continental margin. About half of the 2900 km of seismic data acquired were recorded over the Capricorn Basin and margins of the northern Tasman Basin. The survey included seismic ties to the only deep offshore wells in the region, Aquarius-1 and Capricorn-1A, located in the northern Capricorn Basin. It was the first MCS survey shot in the region since 1974. Sonobuoy refraction, gravity, magnetic and bathymetric data were also collected.

The Capricorn Basin evolved in the Late Cretaceous as a failed rift arm at the northern end of the Tasman rift system. From the seismic data, basin development in the Capricorn Basin is seen as typically comprising 0.5 - 1.0 s twt of syn-rift continental / restricted marine deposits (Late Cretaceous - early Palaeogene) overlain by about 1.5 s twt of Eocene-Recent, mainly marine, post-rift sediments. Though basement structures generally follow a north-northwest trend, the structural pattern is complex, comprising a mainly discontinuous series of rift basins of various geometries. Complex structure is also indicated by gravity mapping. Shallow-dipping horizons that extend well into ‘basement’ may be fault-plane reflections from deep extensional structures, but could also be indicative of large wedges of old (Cretaceous+) sediments or volcaniclastics.

In the deep-water southeastern part of the basin, at least 3.6 s twt (4 km) of Late Cretaceous - Palaeogene section is associated with major half-graben development. A mid-Eocene compressional or transpressional event has reactivated basement structures and produced minor faulting and folding in the section. The event, which also produced significant uplift and erosion, is attributed to intraplate stress resulting from major global plate reorganization that occurred at about 43 Ma. Volcanism was active in the southern Capricorn Basin during Late Oligocene. Volcanic edifices several hundred metres high and 3 to 5 km across are exposed on the seafloor.

In the Tasman Basin, a 3-km thick pile of Cainozoic postbreakup sediments overlies oceanic basement and highly extended continental crust at the base of the continental slope to the southeast of Fraser Island. A similar thickness of sediment is present at abyssal depths along the northern transform margin. Large-scale mass movements have taken place on the basin’s steep and rugged marginal slopes.

© 1992 ASEG
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1071/EG992153
1992-03-01
2026-01-16

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1071/EG992153
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Benbow, D. D. (1980). ‘The petroleum prospects of the Great Barrier Reef region’. APEA J.20, 159–175.
  2. Carlsen, C. T., and Wilson, T. C. (1968a). ‘Gulf-AOG Capricorn No. 1A, well completion report’. Petroleum Search Subsidy Act Report (unpublished).
  3. Carlsen, C. T., and Wilson, T. C. (1968b). ‘Gulf-AOG Aquarius No. 1, well completion report’. Petroleum Search Subsidy Act Report (unpublished).
  4. Chaproniere, G. C. H., Pigram, C. J., Symonds, P. A., and Davies, P. J. (1990). ‘The northeast Australian margin and adjacent areas — a biostratigraphic review and geohistory analysis’. Bur. Miner. Resour. Aust. Rec. 1990/7.
  5. Davies, P. J., Symonds, P. A., Feary, D. A., and Pigram, C. J. (1989). ‘The evolution of the carbonate platforms of northeast Australia’. In Controls on carbonate platform and basin development. SEPM Special Publication 44.
  6. Etheridge, M., McQueen, H., and Lambeck, K. (1991). ‘The role of intraplate stress in Tertiary (and Mezozoic) deformation of the Australian continent and its margins: a key factor in petroleum trap formation’. Explor. Geophys.22, 123–128.
  7. Ericson, E. K. (1976). ‘Capricorn Basin’. In Leslie, R. B., Evans, H. J., and Knight, C. L. (eds), Economic Geology of Australia and Papua New Guinea, Petroleum. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy 3, 464–473.
  8. Grimes, K. G. (1982). ‘Stratigraphic drilling report — GSQ Sandy Cape 1-3R’. Q. Govt Min. J.83, 224–233.
  9. Grimes, K. G., Searle, D. E., and Palmieri, V. (1984). ‘The geological setting of the Capricornia section, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’. In Ward, W. T., and Saenger, P. (eds), The Capricornia section of the Great Barrier Reef — past, present and future. Royal Society of Queensland Symposium, 5–16.
  10. Gulf Research and Development Co. and Australian Gulf Oil Co. (1974). ‘Marine geophysical reconnaissance of Permits Q/4P, Q/5P, Q/6P, Q/7P and adjacent areas’. PSLA Report (unpublished).
  11. Hekel, H. (1973). ‘Late Oligocene to Recent nannoplankton from the Capricorn Basin’. Geol. Surv. Q. Publ. 359.
  12. Hill, P. J., and Pigram, C. J. (1990). ‘RV Rig Seismic investigation of the offshore Maryborough Basin, southern Queensland continental margin and northern Tasman Basin — structure, stratigraphy and petroleum resource potential’. Bur Min. Resour. Aust. Rec. 1990/69.
  13. Lambeck, K. (1983). ‘The role of compressive forces in intracratonic basin formation and mid-plate orogenies’. Geophys. Res. Lett.10, 845–848.
  14. Lister, G. S., and Etheridge, M. A. (1989). ‘Detachment models for uplift and volcanism in the Eastern Highlands and their application to the origin of passive margin mountains.’ In Johnson, R. W. (ed.), Intraplate volcanism in eastern Australia and New Zealand. Cambridge University Press, 297–313.
  15. McDougall, I., and Duncan, R. A. (1988). ‘Age progressive volcanism in the Tasmantid Seamounts’. Earth Plan. Sci. Lett.89, 207–220.
  16. Shaw, R. D. (1979). ‘On the evolution of the Tasman Sea and adjacent continental margins’. Ph.D thesis, University of Sydney (unpublished), 312 pp.
  17. Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd (1977). ‘Report on offshore Queensland seismic scientific investigation’. PSLA Report (unpublished).
  18. Wilson, T. C. (1967). ‘Exploration — Great Barrier Reef area’. APEA J.7, 33–39.
/content/journals/10.1071/EG992153
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Capricorn Basin; fault reactivation; gravity mapping; mass movements; regional unconformity; rift; seismic stratigraphy; Tasman Basin; transform margin; transpression; volcanics; well tie

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error