Geology of the Exmouth and Wallaby Plateaus: Seismic Sequences and Rock Samples

29 sampling stations on the Exmouth Plateau and 12 stations on the Wallaby Plateau and Cuvier Abyssal Plain provided pre-Quaternary rocks, mainly via dredging. The dataset, presented by the Australian Ocean Data Network, contains detailed geological information from seismic profiles and rock samples, leading to revised interpretations of the region's geological history. It includes descriptions of lithofacies such as Middle and Late Triassic paralic sediments, Early Jurassic shallow-water carbonates, and mid-Jurassic coal measures.

Use Cases

• Modeling basin evolution based on described seismic stratigraphy and rock sequences.
• Assessing petroleum potential based on the described coal-measure and carbonate sequences.
• Studying volcanic plateau formation based on descriptions of interbedded basalts and volcaniclastic deposits.
• Analyzing paleoenvironmental changes from the described facies transitions (e.g., paralic sediments to shallow-water carbonates).

Strengths

• Sampling from 41 distinct stations provides multi-point geological coverage.
• Description details specific lithofacies associations (A, B, C) and their compositions.
• Includes a minimum age determination (K/Ar age: 89 m.y.) for a basalt sample.

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/temporal bias inherent to data_gov_au.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Rock samples obtained primarily by dredging from seismic profile targets.

Time Range

Samples are pre-Quaternary, spanning from at least the Triassic to the Tertiary.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 04:55:30.035231; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Exmouth Plateau, Wallaby Plateau, Cuvier Abyssal Plain, and Sonne Ridge off northwest Australia.