Evolution of the outer basin high, Ceduna Sub-basin, southern Australia
Jane Cunneen A B , Candice Grigg A and Eoin Keating AA Department of Applied Geology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: Jane.Cunneen@curtin.edu.au
The APPEA Journal 57(2) 722-725 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ16196
Accepted: 17 March 2017 Published: 29 May 2017
Abstract
Recent exploration in the Bight Basin has identified an uplifted area on the outer margin of the Ceduna Shelf, known as the outer basin high. The Tiger Supersequence, a potential source rock, thins onto the uplifted area, so the timing and extent of uplift has implications for petroleum system maturity.
The outer basin high is 15–40 km wide and extends along the south-western flank of the Ceduna Sub-basin, beneath the outer flank of the Ceduna Terrace. Relative uplift of greater than 2000 m occurs within the area. The outer basin underlies a transitional zone of deformation between the extensional faulting and outer fold and thrust regions of the overlying White Pointer and Hammerhead delta systems. Detailed mapping using the recently released Ceduna 3D seismic dataset reveals two main episodes of relative uplift, in the Santonian and again in the Maastrichtian to Eocene. The first phase of relative uplift is associated with thinning of the Tiger Supersequence onto the high. The second phase is identified as a decrease in thickness of the Hammerhead Supersequence overlying the high. The exact timing of this uplift is difficult to constrain due to truncation of the Hammerhead Supersequence by the basin-wide Eocene unconformity, however, estimates of the amount of uplift are based on seismic mapping.
Keywords: basement, Ceduna 3D, deep water fold-thrust belts, extension, inversion, ridge push, rifting, southern margin, thermal subsidence.
Jane Cunneen joined Curtin University in June 2014 as a Research Fellow in the Petroleum Geology group. Prior to that she worked in both the petroleum and minerals exploration industries, as well as spending seven years as a science specialist with the United Nations helping to develop the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Jane received her PhD in geology from the University of Western Australia in 2005 and is a member of PESA, ASEG and AAPG. |
Candice Grigg completed Honours in Applied Geology at Curtin University in 2016. She graduated with a BSc (Applied Geology) in 2015 from Curtin University. Candice also has a B.Com (2010) from Murdoch University. Her Honours thesis involved structural analysis of the Ceduna Sub-basin with a focus on tectonic evolution of the outer basin high. Candice is a student member of PESA. |
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Eoin Keating completed Honours in Applied Geology at Curtin University in 2016. His thesis title is ‘Eocene uplift history in the Ceduna Shelf, Bight Basin, Australia’. |
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