REASSESSING POTENTIAL ORIGINS OF SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR) SLICKS FROM THE TIMOR SEA REGION OF THE NORTH WEST SHELF ON THE BASIS OF FIELD AND ANCILLARY DATA

Abstract

The Timor Sea region of the North West Shelf is one of natural hydrocarbon accumulation and seepage, which has been investigated by integrated remote sensing studies in the past 10 years. One of the primary tools incorporated in these studies has been Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). During a recent Geoscience Australia marine survey to the Yampi Shelf area, active hydrocarbon seepage was directly observed in the form of gas plumes rising from the sea-floor. Active seepage was not observed in areas associated with dense clusters of elongated to irregularshaped features in the SAR data, which have previously been interpreted as natural hydrocarbon seepage slicks. These slicks, and another dense cluster of slicks across the Browse–Bonaparte Basin Transition Zone, are reassessed in the context of alternative formational processes.

Mapping of bathymetric channels directly beneath the SAR slicks using multi-beam swath bathymetry and measurement of tidal currents using an acoustic doppler current profiler indicates that tidal current flows may have contributed to slick formation over the Yampi Shelf headland. In contrast, coral spawning may have contributed to the formation of annular to crescent-shaped SAR slicks associated with submerged reefs and shoals over the nearby transition zone. Subsequent to identifying potential alternative origins for these two types of SAR features, the remaining slicks across the area were re-categorised on the basis of their size and shape in the context of ancillary hydrographic and environmental data. An alternative nonseepage origin was established for most of the 381 SAR slicks previously identified as being related to natural hydrocarbon seepage. This may necessitate a significant downgrading of the extent and frequency of active hydrocarbon (particularly oil) seepage in the region.