L076 Timor Sea Seismic and Gravity Survey, Northwest Australia, 1965

Northwest Australia's Timor Sea and Joseph Bonaparte Gulf were surveyed in 1965 using a combined gravity meter and seismic spark array. The Bureau of Mineral Resources conducted the survey to test equipment capabilities and investigate the region's geology. Seismic results revealed a large Permian and Mesozoic sedimentary basin containing over 10,000 feet of post-Permian sediments.

Use Cases

• Mapping subsurface sedimentary basin structures based on seismic reflection sections mentioned in the description
• Analyzing gravity anomalies for correlation with seismic-defined geological features described in the survey
• Studying the performance of marine spark discharge seismic sources and surface gravity meters as investigated in the survey
• Modeling the offshore extension of the Bonaparte Gulf Basin based on the identified sediment thickness

Strengths

• Seismic reflection quality was noted as 'much better than expected', with reflections recorded to 1.6 seconds.
• Survey successfully operated gravity and seismic equipment simultaneously at boat speeds of 8 to 9 miles per hour.
• Defined a basin containing at least 10,000 feet of post-Permian sediments.

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 and temporal bias inherent to a single 1965 survey.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Mineral Resources (likely precursor to Geoscience Australia)

Collection Method

Marine survey using a combined gravity meter and seismic spark discharge source (array of electrodes).

Time Range

1965

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:30:30.778013; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Timor Sea and Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, northwest Australia.