Hydrocarbon Sniffer Survey Data from Southeastern Australian Basins, 1989

A 30-day research cruise in 1989 measured light hydrocarbon gases in the water column over five offshore sedimentary basins in southeastern Australia. The survey, a cooperative effort between Geoscience Australia and a U.S. company, used a towed 'sniffer' device for continuous gas chromatography analysis. This data aims to assess the technique's applicability for indicating petroleum source rock maturity and potential accumulation zones in the Australian context.

Use Cases

• Modeling hydrocarbon seepage from subsurface reservoirs based on water column gas concentrations.
• Correlating gas composition anomalies with known oil and gas fields mentioned in the Gippsland Basin.
• Assessing the maturity of hydrocarbon source rocks based on the molecular composition of light hydrocarbon gases.
• Evaluating the 'sniffer' survey technique's effectiveness for frontier basin exploration in Australian offshore regions.

Strengths

• Data originates from a dedicated 30-day research cruise with a defined scientific mission.
• Covers five distinct geological basins (Gippsland, Bass, Otway, Stansbury, Torquay Sub-basin) in a targeted region.
• Includes both regional survey lines and detailed programs over known hydrocarbon accumulations.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a single survey in 1989; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Data collected via a towed hydrocarbon 'sniffer' device performing continuous gas chromatography on seawater.

Time Range

Survey conducted between February 1 and March 2, 1989.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:27:11.151607; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southeastern Australia, covering the Gippsland, Bass, Otway, and Stansbury Basins and the Torquay Sub-basin.