Bight Basin Geological Sampling and Seepage Survey SS01/2007

A marine geological survey conducted in February-March 2007 by Geoscience Australia using the R/V Southern Surveyor. The survey collected 37 dredge hauls, 69 gravity cores, 15 grab samples, 4600 km of swath data, and 2400 km of sub-bottom profile data from nine areas in the eastern Bight Basin. It aimed to sample potential Cretaceous source rocks and investigate evidence for active petroleum systems.

Use Cases

• Modeling petroleum systems in the Bight Basin based on recovered source rock samples.
• Mapping potential hydrocarbon seepage sites based on collected geophysical and sample data.
• Analyzing the distribution of Albian-Santonian age facies based on seafloor sampling locations.
• Correlating seismic and geophysical evidence with physical samples from the Ceduna and Eyre Terraces.

Strengths

• Successfully sampled all nine targeted areas, providing comprehensive spatial coverage for the eastern Bight Basin.
• Collected a substantial volume of physical samples and geophysical data, including 121 core/grab/dredge samples and 7000 km of geophysical track lines.
• Provides the first evidence for a world-class marine Cretaceous source rock in the Bight Basin, as stated in the description.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for quantitative analysis.
• Data is from a single survey in 2007; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Marine survey using dredges, gravity cores, grab samples, swath mapping, and sub-bottom profiling.

Time Range

February-March 2007

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 09:28:26.359096; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Eastern Bight Basin, Australia, including the Ceduna and Eyre Terraces.