96 individual specimens of waxy bitumen were collected from beaches in South Australia and western Victoria. Geochemical analysis by the Australian Ocean Data Network identified at least five distinct oil families with inferred source facies ranging from lacustrine to marine. The data suggests these strandings likely originate from Southeast Asian crude oils transported by the Leeuwin Current.
Use Cases
- Classify stranded petroleum into distinct oil families based on elemental, isotopic, and biomarker differences.
- Model the transport pathways of non-indigenous crude oils to southern Australia based on geochemical signatures.
- Investigate the potential contribution of tanker cleaning operations to coastal pollution based on the bitumen composition.
- Correlate biomarker assemblages (e.g., Botryococcus sp., dipterocarps) with specific Cenozoic source rocks in Southeast Asia.
Strengths
- Analysis of 96 individual specimens provides a substantial sample size.
- Geochemical data allows assignment to at least five distinct oil families.
- The study focuses on the most common variety, waxy bitumen, which accounted for 90% of strandings in a 1991–1992 survey.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- The description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Geochemical analysis of specimens collected from beach surveys.
- Time Range
- Specimens collected during 1991–1992 surveys and from other beaches.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-05 00:25:34.891932; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Beaches in South Australia and western Victoria, southern Australia.