Geochemical Comparisons of Southern Australian Asphaltites and Cretaceous Source Rocks

Evidence for a mid-Cretaceous source for southern Australian asphaltites is presented, based on geochemical and carbon isotopic comparisons. The article was prepared for the Eastern Australian Basins Symposium in 2001 and is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network. The dataset was last updated on 2026-04-28.

Use Cases

• Correlating asphaltite samples to potential source rocks based on carbon isotope signatures mentioned in the description.
• Investigating depositional environments using biomarker data such as C30 methylsteranes and C26 norsteranes.
• Studying the genetic link between asphaltites and source rocks using data from artificial pyrolysis of polar fractions.
• Assessing the presence of metalloporphyrins as an indicator for anoxic, deep-water depositional settings.

Strengths

• Analysis includes diverse geochemical signatures such as carbon isotopes and age-diagnostic biomarkers.
• Compares samples from specific geological formations: the Albian-Cenomanian Blue Whale Supersequence and the Albian Toolebuc Formation.
• Dataset metadata includes a specific last updated timestamp of 2026-04-28 12:41:45.071202.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary article is from 2001, so the underlying research may not reflect the most recent scientific consensus.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Geochemical and isotopic laboratory analysis of rock and asphaltite samples.

Time Range

Focus on Early to mid-Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) source rocks.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 12:41:45.071202; freshness should be verified against the original 2001 research.

Geography

Southern Australian margin, specifically the Bight Basin and Eromanga Basin.