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Research Projects in Basin studies

Neoproterozoic of the Flinders Ranges

ARC DISCOVERY 2005-2007 Gallagher, McGowran, Holdgate, Wallace, Exon
PROJECT TITLE
Southern gateways - the icehouse cometh: Eocene to Oligocene evolution of southeast Australia
PROJECT SUMMARY
50 to 30 million years ago the climate of the Earth evolved from greenhouse to icehouse conditions. We will investigate evidence of this change by studying the stratigraphy, microfossils and sediments in southeast Australia. We will examine the relatively unknown highly sampled strata of the Bass and Gippsland Basin and a new section in the Otway Basin. This research is highly significant since it will improve Australian microfossil zones and fill a critical biogeographic gap in the fossil record. The innovative integrated stratigraphic approach will lead to better correlations of reservoir and seal rocks, improving petroleum exploration efficiency in Australia.
SUMMARY OF NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY BENEFIT
The 50 to 30 million years old strata of southeastern Australia have great economic importance for Australia. Most of the gas and oil extracted in the region comes from strata of this age. The research will lead to better age constraints on these reserves, thus enhancing petroleum prospectivity in the area. The global environment changes from 50 to 30 million years charted in this project will lead to a better understanding of the geological record of greenhouse-icehouse change. Knowledge of the nature of this change in the past is critical to predicting how our climate is going to behave in the future.

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ARC DISCOVERY 2005-2007 Wallace, Sandiford, Gallagher
PROJECT TITLE
Murray Basin: A unique archive of late Neogene global change
PROJECT SUMMARY
Through a detailed study of the near-surface sediments of the Murray Basin, we hope to produce a record of the last 6 million years of time, in terms of relative sea level change, climate change and the development of aridity, neotectonics and drainage system evolution. This will contribute to our knowledge of how the modern southeastern Australian environment was produced and will provide a better understanding of the environmental problems facing arid Australia.
SUMMARY OF NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY BENEFIT
Salinization, soil erosion, groundwater depletion and surface water degradation are but a few of the inter-related environmental problems facing the Murray-Darling Basin. These problems require an understanding of the way in which shallow groundwater, salts and surface water interact with near-surface sediments. This project is aimed at a better understanding the nature of those near-surface sediments in the Murray Basin and how they were formed. If we can understand how the basin came to be the way it is (in the modern setting), we may better understand the way it might behave when subject to man-made changes like increased groundwater usage, etc.

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ARC LINKAGE PROJECT 2002-2004 Wallace, Gallagher
PROJECT TITLE
Seismic velocity problems associated with Cretaceous-Tertiary carbonate sediments that overlie oil and gas fields of the North West Shelf
PROJECT SUMMARY
The major aim of this collaborative study between Partner Oil Companies and The University of Melbourne is to understand seismic velocity problems associated with tropical carbonate sediments on Australias’ North West Shelf. These problems can hinder the hydrocarbon exploration efforts below these carbonates. The project is a multi faceted study and will involve integration of seismic stratigraphy with sedimentological, micropaleontological, and geophysical data. The methods outlined below would underpin any seismic depth migration applications, thereby assisting with the delineation of new gas and oil fields, and help with the estimation of reserves in existing fields.

Potential PhD Projects

Origin and Evolution of a Pleistocene Megalake - Lake Bungunnia of the Murray Basin, SE Australia

During Late Pliocene to Pleistocene time, the ancestral Murray River (Australia's largest river system) was dammed by regional uplift on the SW side of the Murray Basin, forming an enormous lake system. We know from the sedimentary record of the lake sediments that some parts of the lake evolved from a freshwater to hypersaline environment. In this sense, Lake Bungunnia arguably provides a unique record of the onset of aridity in Australia. Yet the origin, age and evolution of this giant lake system are very poorly constrained. This research project would aim to constrain the tectonic origins of the lake, the age of the lake and the evolution of the lake system. the project would involve field mapping, stratigraphy, sedimentology (of lacustrine clays and evaporitic carbonates), neotectonics, petrology and geochemistry. The project will also involve the extensive use of digital terrain models and other remotely sensed data sets

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Carbon isotope evidence of Eocene to Oligocene greenhouse to icehouse transition in the Gippsland Basin, southeast Australia

50 to 30 million years ago the climate of the Earth evolved from greenhouse to icehouse conditions. This project will investigate evidence of this change by studying the carbon isotopes within a series of exceptionally thick coals in the onshore Gippsland Basin southeast Australia. The detailed isotope approach will lead to better understanding of climatic change and how it effects a predominant terrestrial sequence through the plant record. This project will use coal facies, wireline log analyses together with core, sidewall core and cutting samples to achieve the following:
(1) To establish the stable carbon isotope record through the thick Traralgon Formation coal seams.
(2) To constrain the palaeoclimatic record of the Eocene to Oligocene coal facies.
(3) To provide isotopic data that can help distinguish different coal facies and lithotypes within the coal seams and how this may heve been affected by external influences to the swamp environments

Carbon isotope evidence of Oligocene to Miocene greenhouse climatic optimum in the Gippsland Basin, southeast Australia

30 to 15 million years ago the climate of the Earth went into a series of climatic optima when vast coal deposits formed. This project will investigate evidence of these events by studying the carbon isotopes within a series of exceptionally thick coals in the onshore Gippsland Basin southeast Australia. The detailed isotope approach will lead to better understanding of these climatic changes and how they effected a predominant terrestrial plant record. This project will use coal facies, wireline log analyses together with core, sidewall core and cutting samples to achieve the following:
(1) To establish the stable carbon isotope record through the thick Morwell Formation coal seams.
(2) To constrain the palaeoclimatic record of the Oligocene and Miocene coal facies.
(3) To provide isotopic data that can help distinguish different coal facies and lithotypes within the coal seams and how this may heve been affected by external influences to the swamp environments.

Microfossil evidence of the Eocene to Oligocene greenhouse to icehouse transition in the Gippsland Basin, southeast Australia

50 to 30 million years ago the climate of the Earth evolved from greenhouse to icehouse conditions. This project will investigate evidence of this change by studying the stratigraphy, foraminifera and sediments in the Gippsland Basin southeast Australia. The detailed stratigraphic approach will lead to better correlations of reservoir facies and seal strata of the region. This project will use 2D seismic, microfossils, facies and wireline log analyses together with core, sidewall core and cutting samples to achieve the following:
(1) To chart the geometry of the marine "channels" such as the Tuna and Flounder Channel that host economic oil and gas accumulations.
(2) To constrain the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Latrobe Group Eocene to Oligocene marine facies.
(3) To data key marine reservoir sequences and using foraminiferal assemblages with other facies data and wireline logs and/or seismic data correlate these marine events

The late Cenozoic foraminiferal environments and stratigraphy of the Northwest Shelf and evolution of the east Indian Ocean

This project will chart the evolution of the east Indian Ocean over the last 10 million years. The research will date the tropical to subtropical carbonates on the northwest margin of Australia and constrain the environment of a large buried sand body called the Bare Formation using foraminiferal and stratigraphic studies. The carbonates and related sand units reach up to 1 km thick and cause marked problems with seismic acquisition in this hydrocarbon rich region
The study will utilise 2D seismic, foraminiferal data, lithofacies analyses of cuttings and wireline logs to:
1. Provide accurate age dating of representative sections of bores and well sequences using foraminifera.
2. Determine the oceanographic evolution of the east Indian Ocean using comparisons with modern studies.

The evolution of the marine environments in the Murray Basin in the last 6 million years

This PhD study of the foraminifera of the near-surface marine sediments of the Murray Basin, will chart relative sea level change, climate change and the development of aridity, in southeast Australia. The project will integrate field stratigraphic logging and foraminiferal analyses to achieve the following aims:
1. The date the late Neogene strata.
2. To chart fine scale sea level change in the region
3. To document the evolution of open marine to estuarine conditions.