Basin architecture, depositional environments and sediment pathways in the Cooper Basin
Channel: GeoscienceAustralia
Date: 2022-07-05

This seminar will showcase new results from the late Carboniferous to Middle Triassic Cooper Basin that challenge existing notions on its evolution, new insights on sediment dispersal pathways and consequently its resource potential. Topics that will be explored include how the Cooper Basin is similar to other failed rift basins and how depositional facies between each of the half-grabens/troughs are influenced by the relationship between sediment supply and the rate of creation of accommodation. Of note are new, precise dates and carbon isotope data from the thick coals of the Patchawarra Formation suggesting prolonged and uninterrupted peat accumulation for millions of years during the latter stages of the late Palaeozoic ice age – no modern analogue exists to compare the conditions and longevity of these ancient mires. Come along to the talk to learn more about the Cooper Basin.