Waxy Bitumen Stranding in Southern Australia: Geochemical Analysis of 96 Specimens

Southern Australian beaches have recorded bitumen strandings since European settlement. This dataset likely contains geochemical analysis results for 96 individual waxy bitumen specimens collected from beaches in South Australia and western Victoria, surveyed during 1991–1992. The data was published by Geoscience Australia and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Classifying oil families based on elemental, isotopic, and biomarker differences described in the study.
• Modeling the transport of non-indigenous Southeast Asian crude oils to Australia via the Leeuwin Current.
• Investigating the origins of stranded hydrocarbons from inferred source facies like lacustrine, deltaic, or marine environments.
• Assessing the contribution of natural seepage versus tanker cleaning operations to coastal pollution.

Strengths

• Analysis of 96 individual specimens provides a substantive sample size.
• Data distinguishes at least five distinct oil families with detailed geochemical signatures.
• Specimens were collected from repeated surveys on six South Australian beaches, offering temporal and spatial context.

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 the specific survey periods and locations.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Geochemical analysis (elemental, isotopic, biomarker) of physically collected specimens.

Time Range

Specimens collected during surveys including 1991–1992.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:17:12.263089; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Beaches in South Australia and western Victoria, southern Australia.