Naturaliste Plateau
Entity ID: 22297 Compiled by: Borissova, I. Year: 2002 Status: Defined
Last Revised: 2013
Rank: Province Type: sedimentary Subtype: polyhistory Location: WA Off-shore
Synonyms: NA Symbol: NA
Minimum age: Recent Age method: inferred, biostratigraphic correlation
Maximum age: Late Jurassic Age method: inferred, seismic interpretation
Summary: The Naturaliste Plateau is a large submarine plateau lying off the southwestern tip of mainland Australia to the west of Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste.
Attributes:
Area (square kilometres): 77000 State: WA Minimum present water depth (m): 1700 Maximum present water depth (m): 5000 Main rock types: siliciclastic sediments and sedimentary rocks Main rock types: carbonate sediments and sedimentary rocks foram and nannofossil ooze, chalk Main depositional environment: marine and non-marine Maximum sediment thickness (m): 2500 Present crustal setting: continental Country: AUS
Parent: No data
Child Provinces: No data
Relationships:
Adjoins - Mentelle Basin, western Mentelle Basin
Constituent units:
Events: No data
Mineral Deposits: No data
Key Reference: Borissova, I. 2002, Geological framework of the Naturaliste Plateau, Geoscience Australia. Record, 2002/20, 44 (Refid:13489)
Comments: No data
Overview: The Naturaliste Plateau is a large submarine plateau lying off the southwestern tip of mainland Australia to the west of Capes Leeuwin and Naturaliste. The eastern half of the plateau lies within Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone (AEEZ). A large number of small rift basins on the Naturaliste Plateau were formed prior to the breakup in the Perth Abyssal Plain, which borders the plateau to the north. Recovery of continental rocks on the southern margin of the plateau, and the presence of sedimentary sequences similar to those in the Perth Basin suggest that the plateau is underlain mostly by continental crust. The plateau is surrounded by a wide continent-ocean transition (COT) zone. The northern COT formed as part of the volcanic rifted margin associated with the Valanginian breakup in the Perth Abyssal Plain. The southern COT probably formed in Barremian to Cenomanian during continental extension between the Naturaliste Plateau and its conjugate feature off Antarctica, the Bruce Rise. Small rift basins mapped on the plateau contain up to 2.5 km of possibly Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous sediments. Insufficient sediment thickness in these basins indicates poor petroleum prospectivity. However, if the Naturaliste Plateau basement beneath these basins is composed of Late Palaeozoic rocks, the whole plateau, including rift basins may have some petroleum potential.
Images: Naturaliste Plateau and Mentelle Basin structural elements map (118 KB), Naturaliste Plateau sequence stratigraphy and tectonic events (84 KB), Naturaliste Plateau regional cross-section Profile A-A' (82 KB), Naturaliste Plateau and Mentelle Basin regional cross-section Profile B-B' (59 KB)
Other media: No data
Source Information:
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Beslier, M-O., Le Bihan, T., Feraud, G., Girardeau, J., 2001, Cretaceous ultra-slow spreading in the ocean -continent transition along the southwest Australian passive margin: constrains form 40Ar/39Ar dating, Abstracts of the EUG XI meeting (8-12 April 2001), . (Refid: 12746)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Chatin, F., Robert, U., Montigny, R., Whitechurch, H., 1998, La Zone Diamantine (ocean Indien oriental) temoin se la separation entre 1"Australie and 1Antarctique: arguments petrologique et geochimique, C.R, Acad. Sci. Paris, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 326, 839-845. (Refid: 12747)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Mahoney, J., Jones, W., Frey, F.A., Salters, V., Pyle, D., Davies, H., 1995, Geochemical characteristics of lavas from Broken Ridge, the Naturaliste Plateau and Southern Most Kerguelen Plateau: Early volcanism of the Kerguelen hotspot, Chemical Geology, 120, 315-345. (Refid: 12748)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Munschy, M., 1998, The Diamantina Zone as the result of rifting between Australia and Antarctica: Geophysical constraints,: La zone de Diamantine, temoin de la separation de l'Australie et de l'Antarctique: Arguments Geophysiques, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 327(8), 533-540. (Refid: 12749)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Munschy, M., Dyment, J., Boulanger, M-O., Tissot, J.D., Schlish, R., Rotstein, Y., Coffin, M.F., 1992, Breakup and seafloor spreading between the Keruelen Plateau-Labuan Basin and the Broken Ridge-Diamantina Zone, In: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Leg 120, Part 2, 120(2), 931-944. (Refid: 12750)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Borissova, I., 2002, Geological framework of the Naturaliste Plateau, Geoscience Australia. Record, 2002/20, 44. (Refid: 13489)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Tikku, A.A., Cande, S.C., 2000, On the fit of Broken Ridge and Kerguelen Plateau, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 180(1-2), 117-132. (Refid: 12752)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Jongsma, D., Petkovic, P., 1977, The structure of the Naturaliste Plateau and Trough., APEA Journal, 17(1), p3-12. (Refid: 31576)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Nicholls, I.A., Ferguson, J., Jones, H., Marks, G.P., Mutter, J.C., 1981, Ultramafic blocks from the ocean floor southwest of Australia., Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 56(1981), p362-374. (Refid: 37698)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Coleman, P.J., Michael, P.J., Mutter, J.C., 1982, The origin of the Naturaliste Plateau, SE Indian Ocean: implications from dredged basalts., Geological Society of Australia. Journal, 29(3/4), p457-468. (Refid: 38231)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Colwell, J.B., Symonds, P.A., Crawford, A.J., 1994, The nature of the Wallaby (Cuvier) Plateau and other igneous provinces of the west Australian margin, AGSO Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics, 15(1), 137-156. (Refid: 43789)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Royer, J.-Y., Beslier, M-O., 1998, Rapport de campagne MD110/MARGAU, 1998, Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, IUEM, . (Refid: 12751)
