Late Hauterivian-Barremian Stratigraphy of Giralia Anticline, Western Australia

Geological study describes the oldest Cretaceous sequence in the Giralia Anticline and Giralia No. 1 well. The analysis includes a 10-meter Birdrong Sandstone unit overlain by 56 meters of Muderong Shale, assessed as late Hauterivian-Barremian age. Research incorporates biostratigraphic data, fossil evidence, and climate indicators from growth-ring analysis.

Use Cases

• Correlate sediment composition and palynomorph assemblage changes to track marine facies retrogradation and aggradation.
• Analyze fossil conifer wood with Teredolites borings and ichthyosauran bones for paleoecological reconstruction.
• Use growth-ring analysis of wood samples to infer seasonal humid mesothermal climate conditions.
• Interpret Birdrong Sandstone and Muderong Shale sequences as transgressive and highstand systems tracts for basin modeling.

Strengths

• Includes detailed stratigraphic measurements for key units: a 10 m thick Birdrong Sandstone and 56 m of Muderong Shale.
• Provides multi-faceted data incorporating biostratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, and paleoclimate indicators.
• Analysis links local sequence to a continent-wide late Hauterivian-Barremian transgressive pulse recognized in widely separated basins.

Limitations

• Data is presented as descriptive text in reports (HTML/PDF), not as a structured, queryable table.
• Age of the upper Muderong Shale and a probable Windalia Sand Member is explicitly noted as uncertain.
• Sample data and row/column counts are unavailable, limiting direct computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Field description and biostratigraphic assessment of outcrop and well data.

Time Range

Late Hauterivian-Barremian (Early Cretaceous)

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Giralia Anticline, Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia