Geoscience Australia Survey 267: Hydrocarbon Seepage Detection on the Yampi Shelf

Geoscience Australia Marine Survey 267 directly observed natural hydrocarbon seepage plumes in the Timor Sea region of Australia's North West Shelf in March 2004. The survey tested detection tools including echosounders, side-scan sonar, a towed fluorometer, and multi-beam swath bathymetry over the Yampi Shelf. Data includes observations of gas bubbles with oily films, sediment samples, and tidal current measurements from an acoustic doppler current profiler.

Use Cases

• Validate synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interpretations of hydrocarbon seepage based on direct observations and tidal current data.
• Model the relationship between seepage activity and tidal cycles based on observations of activity suppression during high tide.
• Correlate seepage site locations with hydrocarbon-related diagenetic zones (HRDZs) interpreted from 3D seismic data.
• Analyze macro-biotic distribution in active seep zones based on grab and dredge sediment samples.

Strengths

• Includes direct, in-situ observations of hydrocarbon seepage plumes and gas bubbles, which were previously only interpreted remotely.
• Survey employed multiple complementary detection tools including echosounders, sonar, a fluorometer, and bathymetry.
• Covers a known region of intense and widespread hydrocarbon seepage on the Yampi Shelf.

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.
• The survey length was curtailed by unfavourable weather conditions from tropical cyclones Evan and Fay.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, undertaken aboard the vessel Parmelia K.

Collection Method

Marine survey utilizing echosounders, side-scan sonar, a towed fluorometer, multi-beam swath bathymetry, an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP), and sediment sampling.

Time Range

Survey conducted from 3 March 2004 to 18 March 2004.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 15:50:13.425088; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Yampi Shelf, Timor Sea region of the North West Shelf, northwestern Australia.