Crustal Transects of the Great Australian Bight: 4087 km of Deep-Seismic Data

4087 km of deep-seismic data was proposed for acquisition in the central Great Australian Bight and south of Western Australia. The dataset, associated with the Australian Ocean Data Network, is a cruise proposal supporting petroleum exploration, the Ocean Drilling Program, and Australia's continental shelf claim under UNCLOS. The proposal aims to define deep crustal structure and the continent-ocean boundary.

Use Cases

• Model tectonic evolution of a passive rifted margin based on deep crustal structure data.
• Support petroleum exploration acreage release programs based on interpreted seismic transects.
• Provide framework data for Ocean Drilling Program proposals based on seismic refraction and deep imaging.
• Inform legal claims to an extended continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile EEZ based on structural data.

Strengths

• Proposed acquisition of 4087 km of deep-seismic data with a 16-second record length.
• Specific scientific aims defined, including imaging detachment surfaces and determining the continent-ocean boundary.
• Intended to integrate with legacy seismic refraction data from 1976.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Proposed acquisition via the AGSO research vessel Rig Seismic.

Time Range

Proposal references data from 1976; specific survey timeframe is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06 27 17:12:05.394215; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Central Great Australian Bight and continental margin south of Western Australia.