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The Geology and Deep Marine Terrains of Australia's Western Margin

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The Geology and Deep Marine Terrains of Australia's Western Margin ISSUE 94 June 2009 L in a) 112°30' e 0 10 km b) W The geology and deep marine A 9 Exmouth 1 -0 DR02 ange Can Plateau 1 DR26 R yon e p DR31 a n Houtman C DR29 terrains of Australia’s western marginnyo DR30 Ca Sub-basin DR28 n DR09 28°30' a 22° tm u DR10 o Preliminary results from major marine H Exmouth DR32 Sub-basin C Zeewyck loate DR33 s Ca reconnaissance survey DR12 DR27 Sub-basin nyon 0 20 km DR11 Danielle Payne, Daniel Mantle, Irina Borissova, Chris Nicholson and Diane Jorgensen 113° 09-3752-4 Seismic line Basin outline Dredge The recently completed marine reconnaissance survey of Australia’s 110° Exmouth 115° southwestern margin was the first survey to collect rock samples Plateau Exmouth from this under-explored deepwater area. Significant outcomes of Figure 2a Sub-basin the survey included: • the recovery of nearly 200 rock samples from deep to ultra- WESTERN deepwater sedimentary basins. SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA 25° CARNARVON • new evidence for the westward extension of the Exmouth and BASIN Zeewyck sub-basins • mapping and sampling of several submarine volcanic features Houtman which provide the first evidence of recent volcanism on the western Sub-basin Australian margin Figure 2b The sampling program conducted during the survey covered a vast Zeewyck PERTH 30° Sub-basin BASIN area from the Perth Canyon in the south to the Exmouth Plateau 0 200 km in the north. Samples were obtained from deepwater areas (1000 to 5000 metres water depth) in the Perth and South Carnarvon basins. 09-3752-1 To date, hydrocarbon exploration in the area has focussed on shallow- Basin outline Dredge water plays, leaving the deepwater parts of these basins under-explored Figure 1. Location of dredge sites and poorly understood. in the Perth and southern Carnarvon Basins. “The sampling program conducted during the hydrocarbon prospectivity assessment (Totterdell et al the survey covered a vast area from the 2008). Perth Canyon in the south to the Exmouth Most of the dredge sites were located in submarine canyons Plateau in the north.” and scarps where steep slopes offer the best opportunity for Of particular interest were the Zeewyck and northern Houtman sampling the sedimentary strata. sub-basins of the Perth Basin (figure 1) which had been identified as Grab samples were taken at potentially prospective frontier basins (Bradshaw et al 2003). Samples the base of a steep slope and collected during this survey provided the first opportunity to get provided additional information insights into the age and composition of sedimentary rocks in these on lithologies present in the basins. The dredge sampling used the technique developed during the sedimentary succession above. Great Australian Bight Survey in 2007 to successfully target source A total of 199 rock samples were rock intervals and provide invaluable geological data to support collected from 53 dredges, The geology and deep marine terrains of Australia’s western margin 1 ISSUE 94 June 2009 13 grabs, three benthic sleds and one box core. These samples Cattamarra Coal Measures. The include a suite of sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Their composition northern Houtman Sub-basin and organic content will be determined by geochemical analysis has only a sparse coverage by whilst microfossil analysis will help resolve the age and depositional regional seismic lines and little environment of the sedimentary strata. is known about its hydrocarbon Considerable effort went into planning the dredge locations before prospectivity. and during the survey. Dredge sites were selected within deeply The Zeewyck Sub-basin is a incised canyons that exposed rocks from the synrift succession, using deep-water frontier basin with no seismic data and seafloor bathymetry images. The Houtman Canyon, record of previous exploration. which intersects both the Zeewyck and Houtman sub-basins, and the Seismic data coverage is limited Cape Range Canyon, to the south of the Exmouth Plateau, are the to 20 regional dip lines of varying two largest canyons within the survey area (figure 2) and provided vintage and quality. The sub- some of the best sampling targets. Dredges were deployed in different basin appears to consist of a parts of these canyons to provide samples from different stratigraphic series of depocentres containing levels in the basin succession. This article highlights preliminary Middle Jurassic–Lower results from these two locations. A full description of the sampling Cretaceous synrift strata overlain program and the rocks collected during this survey will be published by Lower Cretaceous–Cainozoic later this year in a post-survey report. postrift strata (Bradshaw et al 2003). It has the potential Houtman Canyon: Zeewyck to be a deepwater to ultra- and Houtman Sub-basins deepwater petroleum province Both the Houtman and Zeewyck sub-basins are part of the 1300 with hydrocarbons possibly kilometre long north-south trending Perth Basin (figure 1). The generated from Jurassic and Early Houtman Sub-basin is a major Paleozoic–Mesozoic depocentre Cretaceous source intervals. initially formed as a series of Permian to Early Triassic rift basins. New data collected during this In the Triassic these basins were overlain by sag deposits and in the survey will help to develop an Early Jurassic a new rifting phase led to the development of Jurassic understanding of the geology depocentres (or areas of major sediment accumulation). The southern and exploration potential of the Houtman Sub-basin potentially hosts commercially viable Jurassic Zeewyck Sub-basin and data- petroleum systems with gas and oil shows in the Early to Mid-Jurassic poor areas of the Houtman Sub-basin. The Houtman Canyon is L in a) 112°30' e 0 10 km b) W located about 400 kilometres A 9 Exmouth 1 -0 DR02 ange Can Plateau 1 DR26 R yon north of the Perth Canyon e p DR31 a n Houtman C DR29 and extends from the upper nyo DR30 Ca Sub-basin DR28 n DR09 28°30' continental slope (600 metres a 22° tm u DR10 o water depth) down to the abyssal H Exmouth DR32 Sub-basin plain (4900 metres depth). C Zeewyck loate DR33 s Ca DR12 DR27 Sub-basin nyon Part of the seismic line in figure 3 0 20 km DR11 intersects the Houtman Canyon, 113° showing that both synrift and 09-3752-4 Seismic line Basin outline Dredge postrift sections are exposed in Figure 2. Location of dredge sites: a) the Houtman; b) the Cloates and Cape the canyon walls. In the upper Range canyons. Houtman Canyon (Houtman The geology and deep marine terrains of Australia’s western margin 2 ISSUE 94 June 2009 NW SE and a volcaniclastic breccia with SP 1000 1500 2000 2500 a carbonate matrix from the 1 0 10 km DR10 northern cone. This discovery of DR09 recent volcanism in the Houtman Sub-basin is very important for understanding the basin’s tectonic 2 and thermal history. Cape Range Canyon: Two-way time (s) Exmouth Sub-basin 3 The Exmouth Sub-basin is the southernmost part of the Exmouth-Barrow-Dampier Line WA91-01 09-3752-3 4 intracratonic rift system of Sedimentary succession targeted by dredge sampling in the the Carnarvon Basin. It is a Houtman Canyon (not sampled at this location, see figure 2) Valanginian breakup unconformity major Early to Middle Jurassic Figure 3. Example ofDredge a seismic track line (WA91-01) intersecting the upper part depocentre containing over 12 of the Houtman Canyon. Location of dredge paths on the volcanic cones kilometres of predominantly are shown by the black lines while the targeted part of the basin succession dredged at other locations in the canyon is shown by the red dashed line. marine and non-marine siliciclastics. The sub-basin is Sub-basin), 19 samples were obtained from three dredges in the a proven petroleum province interval from 2100 to 1700 metres water depth. Dark grey-green hosting a number of oil and gas sandstones and claystones are the most common lithologies in this fields. Upper Jurassic marine area, but siltstones, limestones and stratified siliciclastics were also shales form the principal hydrocarbon source and the recovered. Sedimentary structures recovered include planar, wavy, and Lower Cretaceous Barrow Group ripple cross lamination. Additionally, coaly and mudstone intraclasts sandstones are the primary were observed in some of the samples. reservoirs in this sub-basin. In the lower Houtman Canyon (Zeewyck Sub-basin), 18 samples However, the southern part of were collected from three dredges in the interval between 4100 and the Exmouth Sub-basin remains 3800 metres water depth. This 300 metre section yielded mostly under-explored. yellow-brown and grey sandstones along with claystones, limestone, Cape Range Canyon (figure 2) basalt, chert and mixed siliciclastics. The predominant sandstones is one of the largest canyons on were largely unstructured although planar and trough cross bedding, the western margin of Australia. normal grading and laminae were recorded from interbedded clay- It extends for over 120 kilometres and sandstone samples. from the westernmost Exmouth In the area surrounding the Houtman Canyon, seismic data shows Sub-basin (1800 metres water several 200 to 300 metre high conical features exposed on the sea depth) to the Gascoyne abyssal floor (figure 3). Preliminary interpretations identified two possible plain (4800 metres depth). origins: either extrusive volcanic cones or mud diapirs (Gorter pers. Cloates Canyon is a slightly comm.). Swath mapping confirmed the presence of these features smaller canyon located about and two of them near the upper Houtman Canyon were targeted for 40 kilometres south of the Cape dredging (DR09 & DR10; figures 2 and 3). Three basalt samples Range Canyon and occurs in were recovered: two vesicular basalts from the southern volcanic cone similar water depths. New swath The geology and deep marine terrains of Australia’s western margin 3 ISSUE 94 June 2009 Australian Spore- Australian Dinocyst Perth Basin bathymetry has shown that both AGE Period Epoch Stage Pollen Zonation Zonation Dinocyst Zonation (Ma) (HMP 2006) (HMP 2006) (Backhouse 1988) canyons incise deeply into the A margin, and have steep walls Crybelosporites striatus suitable for dredging in their 115 lower reaches.
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