Renate Sliwa

Stratigraphic and depositional framework of the Walloon Subgroup, eastern Surat Basin, Queensland

The Middle Jurassic Walloon Subgroup is a prolific coal seam gas (CSG) resource in the Surat Basin, Queensland. Sedimentary framework models constrain stochastic reservoir models of the geological heterogeneity, but there is limited basin analysis information in the public domain. Here we present a regionally consistent stratigraphic framework model for the Walloon CSG play in the eastern Surat Basin. Lithostratigraphic correlation of open-file industry and government wireline logs supports the interpretation of six subunits in the eastern Surat Basin (oldest–youngest: Durabilla Formation; Taroom Coal Measures; Tangalooma Sandstone; and Juandah Coal Measures, informally divided into three members named the lower Juandah Coal Measures, Juandah sandstone and upper Juandah Coal Measures). Important findings are that subunits within the Walloon Subgroup do not correlate along the entire CSG play area; in many places, the overlying Springbok Sandstone (Upper Jurassic) has incised to the lower Juandah Coal Measures level, removing the upper coal seam groups. The Walloon Subgroup thins to the south through a combination of depositional thinning and truncation. Lithofacies analysis and isopach maps support deposition in a southerly prograding fluvial system or clastic wedge. This stratigraphic and depositional interpretation informs models for hydrogeological studies of the Walloon Subgroup and underpins a regional assessment of controls on microbial methane distribution.

The development of a Triassic fold-thrust belt in a synclinal depositional system, Bowen Basin (eastern Australia)

A synclinal depositional system in eastern Australia (Taroom Trough, Bowen Basin) was affected by folds and thrusts, but the structural style associated with this deformation is not fully understood. Using gridded aeromagnetic data and 2D seismic reflection data, we conducted a structural analysis that unravels the geometry and kinematics of major thrust faults in the eastern-central part of the Taroom Trough. Major structures are the east-dipping Cockatoo, Miles and Taroom faults, and west-dipping Burunga and Glebe faults. Our results show that west-dipping thrusts have a listric geometry that produced gentle hanging-wall anticlines. A north-striking gentle symmetric syncline and anticline pair is also observed to the west of the Burunga Fault. These observations indicate that the deformation in the central Taroom Trough was controlled by decollements in the basement rocks. The decollements and resultant structures were likely developed in response to mild contraction of the synclinal depositional system during the last phase of the Permian-Triassic Hunter-Bowen Orogeny (HBO). The last phase of the HBO also resulted in the reactivation of pre-existing east-dipping Cockatoo and Miles faults. The bulk longitudinal strain, however, in the eastern-central Bowen Basin was low (~2.8% shortening), with the deformation restricted to a relatively narrow zone. In contrast, deformation in the northern Bowen Basin was distributed in a wider fold-thrust belt that accommodated a higher amount of strain. This change in the pattern of deformation along the eastern part of the Bowen Basin could possibly be explained by along-strike variations in the rates of trench advance.

The evolution of a Late Cretaceous???Cenozoic intraplate basin (Duaringa Basin), eastern Australia: evidence for the negative inversion of a pre-existing fold???thrust belt

The Duaringa Basin in eastern Australia is a Late Cretaceous?–early Cenozoic sedimentary basin that developed simultaneously with the opening of the Tasman and Coral Seas. The basin occurs on the top of an earlier (Permian–Triassic) fold–thrust belt, but the negative inversion of this fold–thrust belt, and its contribution to the development of the Duaringa Basin, are not well understood. Here, we present geophysical datasets, including recently surveyed 2D seismic reflection lines, aeromagnetic and Bouguer gravity data. These data provide new insights into the structural style in the Duaringa Basin, showing that the NNW-striking, NE-dipping, deep-seated Duaringa Fault is the main boundary fault that controlled sedimentation in the Duaringa Basin. The major activity of the Duaringa Fault is observed in the southern part of the basin, where it has undergone the highest amount of displacement, resulting in the deepest and oldest depocentre. The results reveal that the Duaringa Basin developed in response to the partial negative inversion of the pre-existing Permian–Triassic fold–thrust belt, which has similar orientation to the extensional faults. The Duaringa Fault is the negative inverted part of a single Triassic thrust, known as the Banana Thrust. Furthermore, small syn-depositional normal faults at the base of the basin likely developed due to the reactivation of pre-existing foliations, accommodation faults, and joints associated with Permian–Triassic folds. In contrast to equivalent offshore basins, the Duaringa Basin lacks a complex structural style and thick syn-rift sediments, possibly because of the weakening of extensional stresses away from the developing Tasman Sea.

Style and intensity of Late Cenozoic deformation in the Nagoorin Basin (eastern Queensland, Australia) and implications for the pattern of strain in an intraplate setting

Eastern Australia was affected by late Cenozoic intraplate deformation in response to far-field stress transmitted from the plate boundaries, but little is known about the intensity and pattern of this deformation. We used recently surveyed two-dimensional seismic reflection lines and aeromagnetic data, and data from the recently released Australian Stress Map, to investigate the structure of the Nagoorin Basin in eastern Queensland. The western margin of the Nagoorin beds was displaced by the Boynedale Fault, which is a NNW-striking SW-dipping oblique strike-slip reverse fault with a vertical throw of c. 900 m and c. 16 km sinistral displacement. A significant part of this large sinistral displacement is interpreted to have occurred prior to late Cenozoic time. Several low-angle (<30°) thin-skinned thrusts with a flat-ramp geometry also displaced the Nagoorin beds, which are interpreted to have developed along detachment surfaces in oil shales and claystone. The Boynedale Fault is a segment within longer NNW-striking faults that include the North Pine and West Ipswich fault systems in eastern Queensland. These NNW-striking faults are potentially active, and may accommodate neotectonic thrust movement in response to the present-day NE–SW orientation of S. Results of this study, in conjunction with previous information on sedimentary basins in eastern Australia, indicate that Cenozoic contractional deformation is stronger at the continental margins, possibly due to the presence of pre-existing rift-related structures.