Mid-Tertiary Permeability Barriers in the Murray Basin, Southeastern Australia

A 2026 paper from the Australian Ocean Data Network summarizes the stratigraphy and geometry of subsurface permeability barriers in the Murray Basin. The analysis is based on subsurface facies analysis of borelogs and palaeogeographic reconstructions, focusing on marine incursions from about 32 million years ago. It details specific formations like the Ettrick Formation, Winnambool Formation, and Geera Clay, which act as confining layers and barriers to groundwater flow.

Use Cases

• Modeling groundwater flow paths based on described subsurface permeability barriers like the Geera Clay.
• Stratigraphic correlation and 3D aquifer geometry reconstruction using the described formations and their distributions.
• Analyzing the impact of paleogeographic marine incursions on contemporary aquifer systems.
• Assessing sediment porosity and permeability for hydrogeological studies, referencing the specific analysis from the Piangil West-2 borehole.

Strengths

• Includes specific geological timeframes, such as marine incursions commencing about 32 million years ago.
• Provides detailed lithological descriptions and thickness ranges for key formations (e.g., Ettrick Formation 10-30 m, Murray Group limestone >100 m).
• Contains quantitative porosity analysis from a cored section, reporting effective porosity of 0-7% for the Geera Clay.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Subsurface facies analysis of borelogs and palaeogeographic reconstructions, as described in the paper.

Time Range

Mid-Tertiary (Oligocene to Miocene), with specific events from about 32 million years ago.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 18:24:17.437419; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Subsurface of the Murray Basin, southeastern Australia.