Sequence Stratigraphic Correlation of Cretaceous Rocks in Australia's Bight Basin

A new stratigraphic interpretation of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks from petroleum wells, stratigraphic holes, and water bores along the southern Australian coast. The record, presented by the Australian Ocean Data Network, correlates onshore and offshore sections using biostratigraphic and seismic data. The succession reaches a maximum thickness of more than 357 meters in the Madura 1 well, documenting depositional environment evolution from the Valanginian to Campanian stages.

Use Cases

• Modeling basin evolution and depositional environments based on described sequence stratigraphic framework.
• Assessing hydrocarbon source rock potential based on identified organic-rich shale and marine facies.
• Correlating onshore and offshore geological sections based on biostratigraphic and seismic data interpretation.
• Studying Cretaceous paleoenvironmental changes in southern Australia based on the described transition from non-marine to marine conditions.

Strengths

• Maximum thickness of more than 357 meters documented in the Madura 1 well.
• Correlation integrates multiple data sources: petroleum wells, stratigraphic holes, water bores, biostratigraphy, and seismic data.
• Identifies specific organic-rich facies (Early Cretaceous non-marine shales and Late Cretaceous marine facies) relevant for source rock analysis.

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 bias inherent to data_gov_au, focused on a specific Australian basin.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Interpretation of data from petroleum exploration wells, stratigraphic holes, water bores, biostratigraphy, and seismic surveys.

Time Range

Cretaceous period, specifically Valanginian to Campanian stages.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06 27 19:42:38.807267; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Australian coast, within the Bight Basin, covering parts of Western Australia and South Australia.