BMR Cruise 067: Geological and Heat Flow Data from the Otway Basin

A 1987 marine research cruise collected geological, geochemical, and heat flow data from 130 sampling stations in the Otway and Sorell Basins off western Tasmania. The cruise recovered rock samples ranging from Palaeozoic to Quaternary age and conducted headspace gas analyses on sediment cores. The data, provided by Geoscience Australia, was gathered to assess the petroleum potential of the region.

Use Cases

• Modeling hydrocarbon maturation zones based on heat flow measurements from 20 stations.
• Analyzing the distribution of thermogenic hydrocarbons based on headspace gas analyses of sediment cores.
• Developing regional sedimentation models based on a variety of recovered Quaternary sediments.
• Correlating rock sample ages with seismic profiles to understand post-Eocene subsidence.

Strengths

• Data is spatially aligned with seismic profiles, allowing for integration into a regional geological framework.
• Includes multiple data types (rock samples, heat flow, gas analyses) from 130 sampling stations.
• Specific quantitative findings are reported, such as a hydrocarbon maturation zone depth of 2-4 km.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the single 1987 cruise.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Samples and measurements collected during a 29-day research cruise aboard R.V. Rig Seismic using dredges, corers, grabs, and a heatflow probe.

Time Range

1987

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 16:43:06.683182; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Otway Basin and Sorell Basin of the west Tasmanian margin, Australia.