Geoscience Australia Data conducted a 30-day research cruise from February 1 to March 2, 1989, to measure light hydrocarbon gases in the water column over five offshore basins. The survey aimed to assess hydrocarbon source rock maturity and petroleum accumulation locations using a towed 'sniffer' device and gas chromatography. A limited sediment sampling program was also performed over known oil and gas fields in the Gippsland Basin.
Use Cases
- Analyze light hydrocarbon gas concentrations in the water column to infer hydrocarbon source rock maturity across the Bass, Otway, Stansbury, Gippsland, and Torquay basins.
- Compare molecular compositions of hydrocarbon gases from regional survey lines to identify potential petroleum accumulation locations.
- Investigate the light hydrocarbon geochemistry of sediments over known oil and gas fields in the Gippsland Basin to validate water column measurements.
Strengths
- Survey conducted over a defined 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 1989.
- Geographic coverage includes five distinct basins and sub-basins in southeastern Australia.
- Methodology employs a towed hydrocarbon 'sniffer' and gas chromatography for continuous analysis.
Limitations
- Data format is limited to HTML and PDF documents, not structured tabular or geospatial formats.
- Sample data and column definitions are unavailable, hindering direct quantitative analysis.
- Survey is a single event from 1989, providing no temporal series or recent updates.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Cooperative geochemical research survey using a towed hydrocarbon 'sniffer' and gas chromatography.
- Time Range
- February 1 to March 2, 1989
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Gippsland, Bass, Otway, Stansbury Basins and Torquay Sub-basin, Southeastern Australia