AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Major Crustal Boundaries of Australia (2D) - 2024 Edition

The ‘Major crustal boundaries of Australia’ data set synthesises more than 40 years of acquisition of deep seismic reflection data across Australia, where major crustal-scale breaks, often inferred to be relict sutures between different crustal blocks, have been interpreted in the seismic reflection profiles. The widespread coverage of the seismic profiles now provides the opportunity to construct a map of major crustal boundaries across Australia. Starting with the locations of the crustal breaks identified in the seismic profiles, geological (e.g. outcrop mapping, drill hole, geochronology, isotope) and geophysical (e.g. gravity, aeromagnetic, magnetotelluric, passive seismic) data are used to map the crustal boundaries, in map view, away from the seismic profiles. For some of these boundaries, a high level of confidence can be placed on the location, whereas the location of other boundaries can only be considered to have medium or low confidence. In other areas, especially in regions covered by thick sedimentary successions, the locations of some crustal boundaries are essentially unconstrained. 
The ‘Major crustal boundaries of Australia’ map shows the locations of inferred ancient plate boundaries, and will provide constraints on the three dimensional architecture of Australia. It allows a better understanding of how the Australian continent was constructed from the Mesoarchean through to the Phanerozoic, and how this evolution and these boundaries have controlled metallogenesis. It is best viewed as a dynamic dataset, which will need to be refined and updated as new information, such as new seismic reflection data, becomes available.


Tags: ARF - Australia's Resources Framework, EFTF – Exploring for the Future, Major Crustal Boundaries, Published_External, Seismology and seismic exploration, Structural geology and tectonics, crustal architecture, crustal evolution, national dataset, seismic interpretation
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Underexplored but not forgotten. Assessing the energy resources potential of the greater Pedirka Basin region through play based mapping

The Pedirka, Simpson and western Eromanga basins in central Australia have undergone a chequered exploration history which has seen a total of only 42 wells drilled across a study area of ~210,000km2. Exploration initially focused on conventional hydrocarbons from the 1950s-1980s, before shifting towards coal seam gas (CSG) opportunities in the mid-2000s. Active petroleum systems have been proven in the region by a non-commercial oil discovery at Poolowanna 1 in 1977, and by several wells that showed evidence of residual oil columns. CSG exploration wells have confirmed the presence of thick, marginally mature coal intervals on the flanks of the basins, but are yet to evaluate the deeper troughs.
Geoscience Australia, the Northern Territory Geological Survey and the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining have been collaborating on the Australia’s Future Energy Resources project under the Australian government funded Exploring for the Future Program to undertake an assessment of the resource potential for conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, and the geological carbon and storage (GCS) potential of the greater Pedirka region. 
The project applied a play-based exploration approach to qualitatively assess the resource potential of the region. The Carboniferous to Cretaceous stratigraphic interval was divided into 14 plays which were evaluated for the presence of sediment-hosted energy resources through post-drill analysis, gross depositional environment mapping and common risk segment mapping. The analysis identified energy resources and GCS potential across multiple plays and locations within the study area. These results demonstrate, that while the region is underexplored, it should not be overlooked by future exploration activities.

Published in The APPEA Journal 2023.
Citation:
Iwanec Jeremy, Strong Paul, Bernecker Tom (2023) Underexplored but not forgotten: assessing the energy resources potential of the greater Pedirka Basin region through play-based mapping. The APPEA Journal 63, S251-S256.
https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22150

Tags: Australia’s Future Energy Resources, Conventional Hydrocarbons, EFTF – Exploring for the Future, Eromanga Basin, Pedirka Basin, Prospectivity, Published_External, Resource geoscience, Simpson Basin, Unconventional Hydrocarbons, play based exploration
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Geochemical characteristics of early Carboniferous petroleum systems in Western Australia

A geochemical study was conducted to establish oil-oil correlations and evaluate potential source rocks within the latest Devonian–earliest Carboniferous succession of the onshore Canning Basin, Western Australia. Aromatic hydrocarbons, together with the routinely used saturated biomarker ratios and stable carbon isotopes, demonstrate that the recently discovered Ungani oilfield located on the southern margin of the Fitzroy Trough are similar, but not identical, to the early Carboniferous Larapintine 4 (L4) oil family present to the north of the Fitzroy Trough on the Lennard Shelf. The L4 oil family has been correlated to a lower Carboniferous (Tournaisian) source rock core sample from the Laurel Formation at Blackstone-1 although its bulk geochemical properties signify that it could generate substantially more gas than liquid hydrocarbons.

The Ungani oils can be distinguished from the L4 oils by their higher concentrations of paleorenieratane and isorenieratane, coupled with more depleted &delta;13C values for n-alkanes, pristane and phytane compared with other components. Hopane isomerisation ratios show distinct grouping of the two oil families that reflect both source and maturity variations. The oil from Wattle-1 ST1 on the Lennard Shelf also has an unusual composition, exhibiting some molecular and isotopic features similar to both the L4 and Ungani oils. Source rocks for the Ungani and Wattle-1 ST1 oils are unknown since their geochemical signature does not match that of the Tournaisian Laurel Formation or the Middle−Upper (Givetian–Frasnian) Devonian Gogo Formation which sourced the Devonian-reservoired Larapintine 3 oils at Blina and Janpam North-1. It is postulated that such potential oil-prone source rocks could occur within the Famennian–Tournaisian succession.

Citation: Gemma Spaak, Dianne S. Edwards, Clinton B. Foster, Andrew Murray, Neil Sherwood, Kliti Grice, Geochemical characteristics of early Carboniferous petroleum systems in Western Australia, Marine and Petroleum Geology, Volume 113, 2020, 104073, ISSN 0264-8172.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.104073

Tags: Biomarkers, Canning Basin, Carboniferous, Devonian, EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, Ungani oilfield, alkylbenzenes, aromatic carotenoids, oil-sourced correlation, photic zone euxinla, stable carbon isotopes
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Coastal dynamics of Northern Australia – Insights from the Landsat Data Cube

We demonstrate the capacity of detailed time-series of remotely sensed data to identify notable changes and trends in coastal morphology and vegetation over the last three decades, and illustrate how these data can help identify drivers of change, and areas that require further investigation. Time-series analysis (1987–2016) of the Australian Landsat archive is enabled by the Australian Geoscience Data Cube (AGDC), in which the data has been processed and restructured. We use Hovmoller plots to graphically display this time series for three test sites on the tropical coast of northern Australia. Initial results reveal distinct differences between sites: 1. Abrupt loss of mangrove cover (2004, 2006), which clearly relates to the passage of cyclones (Junction Bay); 2. Gradual seawards expansion of mangrove (1987–1996), and subsequent rapid narrowing of the mangrove zone (2013–2016; Burketown); 3. Minor seawards expansion of mangrove (1987–2004) in a stable embayment (Darwin Harbour). The density and duration of the time series enables clear links to be made to recorded events (e.g. cyclones), and identifies focus areas that exhibit unprecedented patterns of change (e.g. loss of mangrove) where regional or global environmental processes may be driving local change.
Citation: Brendan Brooke, Leo Lymburner, Adam Lewis, Coastal dynamics of Northern Australia – Insights from the Landsat Data Cube, Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, Volume 8, 2017, Pages 94-98, ISSN 2352-9385, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2017.08.003.

Tags: Coast, EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, mangrove, time series
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Submerged banks in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, greatly increase available coral reef habitat

Anthropogenic global ocean warming is predicted to cause bleaching of many near-sea-surface (NSS) coral reefs, placing increased importance on deeper reef habitats to maintain coral reef biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, the location and spatial extent of many deep reef habitats is poorly known. The question arises: how common are deep reef habitats in comparison with NSS reefs? We used a dataset from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) to show that only about 39% of available seabed on submerged banks is capped by NSS coral reefs (16 110 km2); the other 61% of bank area (25 600 km2) is submerged at a mean depth of around 27 m and represents potential deep reef habitat that is spatially distributed along the GBR continental shelf in the same latitudinal distribution as NSS reefs. Out of 25 600 km2 of submerged bank area, predictive habitat modelling indicates that more than half (around 14 000 km2) is suitable habitat for coral communities.
Citation: Peter T. Harris, P. T., Bridge, T. C. L., Beaman, R. J., Webster, J. M., Nichol, S. L., and Brooke, B. P. 2013. Submerged banks in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, greatly increase available coral reef habitat. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 284–293.
https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss165

Tags: AU-QLD, Earth Sciences, External Publication, Great Barrier Reef, Published_Internal, Scientific Journal Paper, benthic habitats, biodiversity, mesophotic, refugia, submerged banks
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Digital soil mapping of lithium in Australia

With a higher demand for lithium (Li), a better understanding of its concentration and spatial distribution is important to delineate potential anomalous areas. This study uses a digital soil mapping framework to combine data from recent geochemical surveys and environmental covariates to predict and map Li content across the 7.6 million km2 area of Australia. Soil samples were collected by the National Geochemical Survey of Australia at a total of 1315 sites, with both top (0–10 cm depth) and bottom (on average 60–80 cm depth) catchment outlet sediments sampled. We developed 50 bootstrap models using a Cubist regression tree algorithm for both depths. The spatial prediction models were validated on an independent Northern Australia Geochemical Survey dataset, showing a good prediction with an RMSE of 3.82 mg kg-1 for the top depth. The model for the bottom depth has yet to be validated. The variables of importance for the models indicated that the first three Landsat bands and gamma radiometric dose have a strong impact on Li prediction. The bootstrapped models were then used to generate digital soil Li prediction maps for both depths, which could select and delineate areas with anomalously high Li concentrations in the regolith. The map shows high Li concentration around existing mines and other potentially anomalous Li areas. The same mapping principles can potentially be applied to other elements.&nbsp;
Citation:
Ng, W., Minasny, B., McBratney, A., de Caritat, P., and Wilford, J.: Digital soil mapping of lithium in Australia, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2465–2482, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2465-2023, 2023.

Tags: EFTF – Exploring for the Future, Inorganic geochemistry, National Geochemical Survey of Australia, Published_External, Soil chemistry and soil carbon sequestration (excl. carbon sequestration science), critical element, digital soil mapping, lithium, machine learning
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Thermal history of the Carrara Sub basin insights from modelling of the NDI Carrara 1 drill hole

NDI Carrara 1 is a 1750 m stratigraphic drill hole completed in 2020 as part of the MinEx CRC National Drilling Initiative (NDI) in collaboration with Geoscience Australia under the Exploring for the Future program and the Northern Territory Geological Survey. It is the first stratigraphic test of the Carrara Sub-basin, a recently discovered depocentre in the South Nicholson region. The drill hole intersected Cambrian and Proterozoic sediments consisting of organic-rich black shales and a thick sequence of interbedded black shales and silty sandstones with hydrocarbon shows. A comprehensive analytical program carried out by Geoscience Australia on the recovered core samples from 283 m to total depth at 1751&nbsp;m provides critical data for calibration of burial and thermal history modelling.
Using data from this drilling campaign, burial and thermal history modelling was undertaken to provide an estimate of the time-temperature maxima that the sub-basin has experienced, contributing to an understanding of hydrocarbon maturity. Proxy kerogen kinetics are assessed to estimate the petroleum prospectivity of the sub-basin and attempt to understand the timing and nature of hydrocarbon generation. Combined, these newly modelled data provide insights into the resource potential of this frontier Proterozoic hydrocarbon province, delivering foundational data to support explorers across the eastern Northern Territory and northwest Queensland.
Citation:
Palu Tehani J., Grosjean Emmanuelle, Wang Liuqi, Boreham Christopher J., Bailey Adam H. E. (2023) Thermal history of the Carrara Sub-basin: insights from modelling of the NDI Carrara 1 drill hole. The APPEA Journal 63, S263-S268.
https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22048

Tags: Carrara Sub-basin, Minex CRC, NDI Carrara 1, Northern Territory, Petroleum, Published_External, Resource geoscience, South Nicholson Basin, hydrocarbon prospectivity, petroleum systems modelling, resource potential, temperature, thermal history model
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Lowstand ramps, fans and deep-water palaeoproterozoic and Mesproterozoic facies of the Lawn Hill Platform: the Term, Lawn, Wide Doom Supersequences of the Isa Superbasin, northern Australia

The Term, Lawn, Wide and Doom Supersequences represent tectonically driven, second‐order sedimentary accommodation sequences in the Isa Superbasin. The four supersequences are stacked to form two major depositional wedges or packages extending south from the Murphy Inlier onto the central Lawn Hill Platform. A major intrabasin structure, the Elizabeth Creek Fault Zone separates the two depositional wedges. The Term and Lawn Supersequences each form a thick, crudely fining‐upward sedimentary succession. The basal part of each supersequence comprises sand‐dominated facies, deposited under lowstand conditions. The overlying transgressive deposits comprise thick successions of carbonaceous, shale‐prone sediment that represents times of increased accommodation. Synsedimentary fault activity along the northwest‐trending Termite Range Fault and major northeast‐trending faults including the Elizabeth Creek Fault Zone resulted in overthickened sections of parts of the Term and Lawn Supersequences in regional depocentres. A regional extensional event occurred during Wide Supersequence time, and resulted in strike‐slip deformation, uplift and tilting of fault blocks and erosion of underlying Lawn sequences. This tectonic event created small, fault‐bounded depocentres, where basal silty turbidites of the Wide Supersequence are locally thickened. Denudation of fault blocks in the hinterland provided increasing coarse clastic sediment‐supply forming thick, sand‐dominated, lowstand deposits of the upper Wide Supersequence. Overall, the Wide Supersequence exhibits a coarsening‐upwards facies trend. Tectonic quiescence resulted in the accumulation of siltstone‐dominated transgressive and highstand turbidite deposits in mid‐Wide time. The base of the Doom Supersequence comprises thick, feldspathic, debris‐flow sandstones signalling a new provenance. Decreasing accommodation is reflected by coarsening‐ and shallowing‐upwards facies trends in late Doom time. Declining accommodation and the end of sedimentation in the Isa Superbasin were most likely initiated by deformation at the start of the Isan Orogeny.
Citation: Krassay, A. A., Domagala, J., Bradshaw, B. E., &amp; Southgate, P. N. (2000). Lowstand ramps, fans and deep‐water Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic facies of the Lawn Hill Platform: The Term, Lawn, Wide and Doom Supersequences of the Isa Superbasin, northern Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 47(3), 563–597. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-0952.2000.00791.x

Tags: Earth Sciences, External Publication, Isa Superbasin, Lawn Hill Formation, McNamara Group, Mesoproterozoic, Paleoproterozoic, Published_External, Scientific Journal Paper, Termite Range Formation
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Extent and persistence of photic zone euxinia in Late Devonian seas – insights from the Canning Basin and implications for petroleum source rock formation

Late Devonian mass extinctions attributed to extensive anoxia and/or euxinia of the oceans are associated with widespread deposition of organic-rich shales. Also in the epeiric waters of the Canning Basin (Western Australia), photic zone euxinia (PZE) prevailed during the Givetian–Frasnian, with geochemical evidence for PZE on the northern (Lennard Shelf)–, and southern (Barbwire Terrace) margins of the Fitzroy Trough. On the Lennard Shelf, shales record episodic pulses of PZE associated with high algal activity due to enhanced nutrient supply, whereas a restricted marine setting on the Barbwire Terrace is thought to be the main driver for the development of persistent PZE and associated bacterial predominance. Structural evidence indicates that the Fitzroy Trough was a confined basin during the Late Devonian with the possibility of limited ocean circulation. Widespread PZE is expected to have developed in the poorly mixed water column, if the basin received sufficient nutrient supply for enhanced primary production.
Notwithstanding the presence of anoxia during deposition of potential source rocks, only two small Devonian-sourced oil fields and numerous oil shows have been found in the Canning Basin. Biomarker assemblages show that the oils produced from the Lennard Shelf fields (i.e. Blina-1, Blina-4 and Janpam North-1) have substantially different molecular compositions to the minor oil recovered from Mirbelia-1 on the Barbwire Terrace. A correlation was established between the Lennard Shelf oils and rock extracts from the Gogo Formation at Blina-1 and McWhae Ridge-1 based on their hopane, sterane and carotenoids abundances. A definitive source correlation was not obtained for the Mirbelia-1 oil, but it did show some genetic affinity to the Givetian–Frasnian extracts from the Barbwire Terrace, suggesting that local source rocks are developed in the region.
Citation: Gemma Spaak, Dianne S. Edwards, Heidi J. Allen, Hendrik Grotheer, Roger E. Summons, Marco J.L. Coolen, Kliti Grice, Extent and persistence of photic zone euxinia in Middle–Late Devonian seas – Insights from the Canning Basin and implications for petroleum source rock formation, Marine and Petroleum Geology, Volume 93, 2018, Pages 33-56, ISSN 0264-8172, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2018.02.033.

Tags: Biomarkers, Canning Basin, Chlorobiaceae, EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External, middle-late Devonian, oil-source rock correlations, photic zone euxinia
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data
Application of Multi-Scale Magnetotelluric Data to Mineral Exploration: An Example from the East Tennant Region, Northern Australia

The footprint of a mineral system is potentially detectable at a variety of scales, from ore deposits to the Earth’s crust and lithosphere. Magnetotellurics is one of few techniques that can provide multi-scale datasets to understand mineral systems. We have used long-period data from the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) as a first-order reconnaissance survey to resolve large-scale lithospheric architecture for mapping areas of mineral potential in northern Australia. The 3D resistivity model reveals a broad conductivity anomaly extending from the Tennant Region to the Murphy Province in the lower crust and upper mantle, representing a potential fertile source region for mineral systems. Results from higher-resolution infill magnetotelluric survey reveal two prominent conductors in the resistive host whose combined responses result in the lithospheric-scale conductivity anomaly mapped in the AusLAMP model. Most importantly, conductive structures indicate a “favorable” crustal architecture linking the lower, fertile source regions with depositional sites in the upper crust. This observation strongly suggests that the major faults are deep-penetrating structures that potentially acted as pathways for transporting metalliferous fluids to the upper crust where they could form mineral deposits. This result and its integration with other datasets suggest high prospectivity for major mineral deposits in the vicinity of these major faults. In addition to this contribution, interpretation of high-frequency magnetotelluric data helps characterise cover and assist with stratigraphic drill targeting which, in turn, will validate the models and improve our understanding of basement geology, cover sequences and mineral potential. 
This study demonstrates that integration of geophysical data from multi-scale surveys is an effective approach to scale reduction during mineral exploration in covered terranes with limited geological knowledge.
Citation: 
Wenping Jiang, Jingming Duan, Michael Doublier, Andrew Clark, Anthony Schofield, Ross C Brodie, James Goodwin, Application of multiscale magnetotelluric data to mineral exploration: an example from the east Tennant region, Northern Australia, Geophysical Journal International, Volume 229, Issue 3, June 2022, Pages 1628–1645, https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggac029

Tags: EARTH SCIENCES, Published_External
Organization: Geoscience Australia Data