Thermochronological constraints on the tectonic history of the Polda Basin
Simon Holford
A * , Ian Duddy B , Paul Green B , Richard Hillis A and Martyn Stoker A
A
B
Professor Simon Holford is South Australian State Chair of Petroleum Geoscience in the Discipline of Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide. Simon has published ~150 papers on rifted margins, petroleum geomechanics and magmatism in basins. Simon has a PhD from the University of Birmingham and a BSc (Hons) from Keele University. Simon has won multiple awards, including Best Paper prizes at APPEA 2012 and AEGC 2019, Best Extended Abstract at APPEA 2021 and the GSA’s Walter Howchin and ES Hills medals. |
Ian Duddy is a founding Director of Geotrack International Pty Ltd, specialist consultants in thermal history reconstruction for basin modelling. He obtained BSc (Hons) and PhD degrees in Geology from the University of Melbourne and has been researching the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins since 1975. He is a member of PESA and the Geological Society of Australia, which awarded him the Selwyn Medal for significant contributions to Victorian Geology in 2014. |
Paul Green is recently retired from his position as Technical Director of Geotrack International, a private company specialising in thermal history reconstruction in sedimentary basins, and its application to hydrocarbon exploration. He has a PhD from the University of Birmingham and is the author of >100 published papers on fission track analysis and related topics. |
Richard Hillis is Non-Executive Chair of Investigator Resources and Emeritus Professor at the University of Adelaide. He graduated BSc (Hons), Imperial College, and PhD, University of Edinburgh. From 2010 to 2018 he was CEO of the Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre (DET CRC) and from 2019 to 2021 Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Performance) at the University of Adelaide. Richard is a Fellow of ATSE and was South Australian Scientist of the Year 2018. |
Martyn Stoker is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in geology from the University of Leicester in 1977 and then a PhD from the University of Liverpool in 1980. Between 1981 and 2016 he worked in the Marine Science Programme of the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, Scotland, and continues to publish on the tectonostratigraphic development of passive continental margins. |
Abstract
The Polda Basin is a narrow, east–west striking intracontinental basin that extends ~400 km from the onshore Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to the offshore Great Australian Bight and contains up to 5 km of strata, with a thick sequence of Neoproterozoic rocks overlain by unconformably-bound sequences of Carboniferous-Permian, Jurassic and Cenozoic strata. Though the Polda Basin has witnessed limited exploration for hydrocarbons, it is attracting renewed interest due to the potential for underground hydrogen storage in Neoproterozoic halites, whilst surrounding regions of the Gawler Craton are considered prospective for natural hydrogen. To date however, knowledge of the tectonic history of the Polda Basin, which is critical to assessing its potential role in the energy transition, is limited. Here we present results from a regional apatite fission track analysis study of the Eyre Peninsula, focussing on data from the onshore Kilroo-1A borehole, which provide insights into the burial and exhumation history of the Polda Basin. Results indicate that the preserved Upper Jurassic sequence was thicker prior to Late Cretaceous exhumation, which may have supplied sediment to the adjacent Ceduna Sub-basin. Our results highlight a complex history of Phanerozoic vertical motions in this region, which have implications for both resource and energy storage potential.
Keywords: burial, exhumation, exploration, Eyre Peninsula, hydrogen, Polda Basin, tectonic, thermochronology.
Professor Simon Holford is South Australian State Chair of Petroleum Geoscience in the Discipline of Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide. Simon has published ~150 papers on rifted margins, petroleum geomechanics and magmatism in basins. Simon has a PhD from the University of Birmingham and a BSc (Hons) from Keele University. Simon has won multiple awards, including Best Paper prizes at APPEA 2012 and AEGC 2019, Best Extended Abstract at APPEA 2021 and the GSA’s Walter Howchin and ES Hills medals. |
Ian Duddy is a founding Director of Geotrack International Pty Ltd, specialist consultants in thermal history reconstruction for basin modelling. He obtained BSc (Hons) and PhD degrees in Geology from the University of Melbourne and has been researching the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins since 1975. He is a member of PESA and the Geological Society of Australia, which awarded him the Selwyn Medal for significant contributions to Victorian Geology in 2014. |
Paul Green is recently retired from his position as Technical Director of Geotrack International, a private company specialising in thermal history reconstruction in sedimentary basins, and its application to hydrocarbon exploration. He has a PhD from the University of Birmingham and is the author of >100 published papers on fission track analysis and related topics. |
Richard Hillis is Non-Executive Chair of Investigator Resources and Emeritus Professor at the University of Adelaide. He graduated BSc (Hons), Imperial College, and PhD, University of Edinburgh. From 2010 to 2018 he was CEO of the Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre (DET CRC) and from 2019 to 2021 Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Performance) at the University of Adelaide. Richard is a Fellow of ATSE and was South Australian Scientist of the Year 2018. |
Martyn Stoker is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in geology from the University of Leicester in 1977 and then a PhD from the University of Liverpool in 1980. Between 1981 and 2016 he worked in the Marine Science Programme of the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, Scotland, and continues to publish on the tectonostratigraphic development of passive continental margins. |
References
Bendall B (2022) Current perspectives on natural hydrogen: a synopsis. MESA Journal 96, 37-46.
| Google Scholar |
Bradshaw M, Rees S, Wang L, Szczepaniak M, Cook W, Voegeli S, Boreham C, Wainman C, Wong S, Southby C, Feitz A (2023) Australian salt basins–options for underground hydrogen storage. The APPEA Journal 63, 285-304.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Duffy O, Hudec M, Peel F, Apps G, Bump A, Moscardelli L, Dooley T, Bhattacharya S, Wisian K, Shuster M (2023) The role of salt tectonics in the energy transition: An overview and future challenges. Tektonika 1, 18-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Holford SP, Green PF, Hillis RR, Underhill JR, Stoker MS, Duddy IR (2010) Multiple post-Caledonian exhumation episodes across NW Scotland revealed by apatite fission-track analysis. Journal of the Geological Society 167, 675-694.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Holford SP, Green PF, Duddy IR, Hillis RR, Hill SM, Stoker MS (2022) Preservation of late Paleozoic glacial rock surfaces by burial prior to Cenozoic exhumation, Fleurieu Peninsula, Southeastern Australia. Journal of the Geological Society 179, jgs2020-250.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
MacDonald JD, Holford SP, Green PF, Duddy IR, King RC, Backé G (2013) Detrital zircon data reveal the origin of Australia’s largest delta system. Journal of the Geological Society 170, 3-6.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Nelson RG, Crabb TN, Gerdes RA (1986) A review of geophysical exploration in the Polda Basin, South Australia. The APPEA Journal 26, 319-333.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Stagg HMJ, Willcox JB, Needham DJL (1992) The Polda Basin – a seismic interpretation of a Proterozoic-Mesozoic rift in the Great Australian Bight. BMR Journal of Australian Geology & Geophysics 13, 1-13.
| Google Scholar |
Tassone DR, Holford SP, Duddy IR, Green PF, Hillis RR (2014) Quantifying Cretaceous–Cenozoic exhumation in the Otway Basin, southeastern Australia, using sonic transit time data: Implications for conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon prospectivity. AAPG Bulletin 98, 67-117.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
