Triassic Reef Distribution Maps for Northern Exmouth Plateau

A 1990 research project proposed a 34-day marine survey to map Triassic and Jurassic carbonate reefs and facies. The work aimed to acquire 2500 km of seismic profiles, 15 dredge samples, and up to 5 cores in the northern Exmouth Plateau and offshore Canning Basin. It was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) Marine Division to assess petroleum potential.

Use Cases

• Map the spatial extent of Triassic and Jurassic carbonate facies using seismic profiling and dredging data.
• Assess the petroleum trap potential of identified Late Triassic reef complexes from seismic character analysis.
• Evaluate source rock potential from lagoonal facies within mapped reef systems.
• Correlate seismic parameters from known reefs in the Exmouth Plateau to identify similar features in the outer Bonaparte Basin.

Strengths

• Proposed acquisition of 2500 km of multichannel seismic profiles.
• Plan for 15 targeted dredge samples and up to 5 cores for ground truthing.

Limitations

• Data is from a proposed 1990 project; actual collected data and results are not confirmed.
• Primary deliverables are PDF/HTML reports, not structured tabular or raster datasets.
• Geographic scope is limited to the northern Exmouth Plateau and southwestern Canning Basin.

Provenance

Source

Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR) Offshore Sedimentary Basins Program.

Collection Method

Proposed marine survey using seismic profiling, dredging, and coring from the vessel 'Rig Seismic'.

Time Range

Project proposed for early 1990.

Freshness

Project proposal from 1990; metadata last updated 2026-04-04.

Geography

Northern Exmouth Plateau and Rowley Sub-basin of the southwestern Canning Basin, Australia.