Hydrocarbon Sniffer Survey Data from Southeastern Australian Basins, 1989

Southeastern Australia's Bass, Otway, Stansbury, Gippsland, and Torquay basins were surveyed for light hydrocarbon gases in the water column between February 1 and March 2, 1989. The 30-day research cruise was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and Transglobal Exploration and Geoscience. Measurements likely contain concentrations and molecular compositions of gases to assess petroleum source rock maturity and accumulation locations.

Use Cases

• Predicting petroleum accumulation locations based on hydrocarbon gas concentrations in the water column.
• Assessing hydrocarbon source rock maturity and type based on molecular composition data.
• Mapping regional geochemical anomalies across multiple offshore sedimentary basins.
• Comparing 'sniffer' survey effectiveness in Australian basins versus overseas techniques.

Strengths

• Survey conducted over a defined 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 1989.
• Coverage includes five distinct geological basins and sub-basins in southeastern Australia.
• Description specifies a detailed proprietary program in the Bass and Stansbury basins.

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 1989 survey.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Data likely gathered via a towed hydrocarbon 'sniffer' device analyzing water pumped to a surface gas chromatograph.

Time Range

February 1 to March 2, 1989

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 00:37:09.022653; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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