A highly resolved chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework for Pre-Salt Brazilian core basins. Hydrocarbon production and exploration today support viable economies. The engagement of industry with higher learning institutions will advance and enhance the discipline of petroleum geology, with a resultant spectrum from new sources of oil and gas to significantly reducing CO2 emissions (and decreasing the impact of global warming). National and community benefits are diverse: training ....A highly resolved chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework for Pre-Salt Brazilian core basins. Hydrocarbon production and exploration today support viable economies. The engagement of industry with higher learning institutions will advance and enhance the discipline of petroleum geology, with a resultant spectrum from new sources of oil and gas to significantly reducing CO2 emissions (and decreasing the impact of global warming). National and community benefits are diverse: training and research support for many graduate students and staff in Australia, a better understanding of ancient greenhouse climates, testing and refinement of new techniques (e.g. bioevents, biosteering) in petroleum studies and practical experience of integrating data from frontier exploration wells.Read moreRead less
Integrating Stress and Strain Data from the North West Shelf, Australia: Implications for Hydrocarbon Seal Integrity. Many exploration wells in the Australian North West Shelf encounter residual columns from which hydrocarbons have leaked due to fault reactivation. Recently there has been a significant increase in our knowledge of contemporary stress (from data such as borehole breakouts)
and strain (from fault reactivation styles) on the North West Shelf.
This project will integrate informati ....Integrating Stress and Strain Data from the North West Shelf, Australia: Implications for Hydrocarbon Seal Integrity. Many exploration wells in the Australian North West Shelf encounter residual columns from which hydrocarbons have leaked due to fault reactivation. Recently there has been a significant increase in our knowledge of contemporary stress (from data such as borehole breakouts)
and strain (from fault reactivation styles) on the North West Shelf.
This project will integrate information on stress and strain in order to investigate whether the current state-of-stress is consistent with
observed reactivation styles, and thus develop predictive models for
fault reactivation and hydrocarbon leakage based on the distribution of
stress and strain.Read moreRead less
The dynamic evolution of sheared continental margins. This project will contribute to the fundamental science of understanding plate tectonic processes, and also have important practical implications for the oil and gas resources that are developed and hosted in continental margin settings. The study is therefore relevant to the National Research Priority goal of 'Developing Deep Earth Resources'. The project will also enhance our national scientific standing by addressing important scientific q ....The dynamic evolution of sheared continental margins. This project will contribute to the fundamental science of understanding plate tectonic processes, and also have important practical implications for the oil and gas resources that are developed and hosted in continental margin settings. The study is therefore relevant to the National Research Priority goal of 'Developing Deep Earth Resources'. The project will also enhance our national scientific standing by addressing important scientific questions of global significance, and by establishing strong international collaborations with prominent researchers outside Australia. In addition, the work will help sustain a world-leading research capability and provide a training ground for a new generation of younger scientists in Australia.Read moreRead less
The neo- and seismo-tectonics of northwestern Australia. Australia's two largest earthquakes occurred in NW Australia (magnitudes 7 and 7.9 in 1941 and 1906). Onshore and offshore geologic evidence indicates other such events in recent geological history. Our present seismic database records no such events. We propose to document the nature, frequency, intensity, distribution and possible causes of seismicity in NW Australia, through deployment of seismograph arrays. We will test the effects ....The neo- and seismo-tectonics of northwestern Australia. Australia's two largest earthquakes occurred in NW Australia (magnitudes 7 and 7.9 in 1941 and 1906). Onshore and offshore geologic evidence indicates other such events in recent geological history. Our present seismic database records no such events. We propose to document the nature, frequency, intensity, distribution and possible causes of seismicity in NW Australia, through deployment of seismograph arrays. We will test the effects of basement reactivation, determine the crustal structure beneath the cratonic mass, examine onshore and offshore faults, determine local and regional stress orientations and investigate implications for petroleum production in the region, and whether natural resource extraction causes local seismicity.Read moreRead less
Detachments in evaporites and shales: their controls on fold-thrust belt style and wedge geometry. Deepwater fold-thrust belts comprise large structural traps, currently a major focus of Australian petroleum exploration. The structural style of a fold-thrust belt is controlled by its detachment and new field analogues will demonstrate the fundamental role of detachments.
Gondwana in East Asia? A biogeographic test using Permian marine invertebrate biota. Combining Permian fossil collections from key Australian, NE Chinese, East Russian and Japanese localities, coupled with a detailed quantitative biogeographical analysis, this project will provide fundamental data for evaluating current plate tectonic models regarding the palaeo-positions of some of the tectonic blocks in East Asia. In particular, this project will test, using biogeographical data, the validity ....Gondwana in East Asia? A biogeographic test using Permian marine invertebrate biota. Combining Permian fossil collections from key Australian, NE Chinese, East Russian and Japanese localities, coupled with a detailed quantitative biogeographical analysis, this project will provide fundamental data for evaluating current plate tectonic models regarding the palaeo-positions of some of the tectonic blocks in East Asia. In particular, this project will test, using biogeographical data, the validity of several recently proposed claims that continental East Asia contains some tectonic blocks of Gondwana origin. An improved understanding of the Permian palaeogeographical relationship between Gondwanaland and East Asia is critical for improving geological models for resources exploration and the understanding of earth history.Read moreRead less
The bipolarity of Late Palaeozoic marine faunal distributions: origin, processes and implications for modern global marine biogeography. The fossil record of 'deep-time' ecological processes provides the only tangible tool and material to probe into the dynamics of past biotic responses to global environmental perturbations at a temporal scale extending well beyond the human impact. It is in this context that the project is linked to the National Research Priority Goal 1.5 (Australia's biodivers ....The bipolarity of Late Palaeozoic marine faunal distributions: origin, processes and implications for modern global marine biogeography. The fossil record of 'deep-time' ecological processes provides the only tangible tool and material to probe into the dynamics of past biotic responses to global environmental perturbations at a temporal scale extending well beyond the human impact. It is in this context that the project is linked to the National Research Priority Goal 1.5 (Australia's biodiversity), Goal 1.7 (climate change and variability) and Goal 3.1 (breakthrough new knowledge). In addition, the project will enhance Australia's global research profile through multinational and multidisciplinary research collaborations, and, importantly, also provide a crucial training opportunity for the next generation of Australian palaeobiologists.Read moreRead less
LATE PALAEOZOIC PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL ASIA: A PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH USING IMPROVED BIOSTRATIGRAPHY. Fossil data from Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, NW China, Mongolia, Altaids) indicate significant degree of palaeo-latitudinal variation in biogeographical patterns across the Palaeo-Tethys and its flanking shelves during Late Palaeozoic, but details of these patterns and implications for enhancing contemporaneous palaeogeographical models are virtually unknown. Thi ....LATE PALAEOZOIC PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL ASIA: A PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH USING IMPROVED BIOSTRATIGRAPHY. Fossil data from Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, NW China, Mongolia, Altaids) indicate significant degree of palaeo-latitudinal variation in biogeographical patterns across the Palaeo-Tethys and its flanking shelves during Late Palaeozoic, but details of these patterns and implications for enhancing contemporaneous palaeogeographical models are virtually unknown. This project will analyse the biogeographical patterns of Late Palaeozoic brachiopod, coral, fusulinid faunas using advanced statistical methods, and integrate biogeographical signals with palaeomagnetic data to constrain models for the Late Palaeozoic geological evolution of Central Asia-a vast region that is known to bear enormous potential for natural resources but remains geologically little explored.Read moreRead less
Latest Jurassic history of the Exmouth Sub-basin, North West Shelf: lowstand deposits of the basal Barrow Group. Sand-filled canyons may be excellent petroleum reservoirs, however, interpretation of formation and sediment filling of these major deep marine features is controversial. This project seeks to elucidate the origin of canyons and associated basin floor fans by combining sedimentological data with seismic interpretation and modelling to generate new insights into the history of the E ....Latest Jurassic history of the Exmouth Sub-basin, North West Shelf: lowstand deposits of the basal Barrow Group. Sand-filled canyons may be excellent petroleum reservoirs, however, interpretation of formation and sediment filling of these major deep marine features is controversial. This project seeks to elucidate the origin of canyons and associated basin floor fans by combining sedimentological data with seismic interpretation and modelling to generate new insights into the history of the Exmouth Sub-basin during the Latest Jurassic. In particular, this project provides an opportunity to explore the role of tectonism in canyon formation, the results of which will be of international interest. Geological models developed in this project will enhance our understanding of deep marine systems.Read moreRead less
Large-scale three dimensional deformation of the lithosphere by subduction and mantle flow. We will be modelling of the dynamics of the Earth's crust and shallow lithosphere in response to the huge stresses created by plate motions. For Australia these stresses are transmitted from the distant plate boundaries, but they have a direct controlling influence on the evolution of the petroleum rich basins of Australia. These basins have reached maturity; further exploration will be in deep water wher ....Large-scale three dimensional deformation of the lithosphere by subduction and mantle flow. We will be modelling of the dynamics of the Earth's crust and shallow lithosphere in response to the huge stresses created by plate motions. For Australia these stresses are transmitted from the distant plate boundaries, but they have a direct controlling influence on the evolution of the petroleum rich basins of Australia. These basins have reached maturity; further exploration will be in deep water where geophysical prospecting methods are unreliable. Model-driven "exploration geodynamics" methods such as those we are developing will be needed to support traditional exploration techniques in these areas.Read moreRead less