Madura Shelf
Entity ID: 27361 Compiled by: Bradshaw, B.E. and Pepper, M.R. Year: 2003 Status: Defined
Last Revised: 2013
Rank: Subprovince Type: sedimentary Subtype: polyhistory Location: WA, SA On-shore and off-shore
Synonyms: NA Symbol: NA
Minimum age: Campanian Age method: inferred, biostratigraphic correlation
Maximum age: Balmeiopsis limbata Zone Age method: biozone
Summary: The Early to Late Cretaceous Madura Shelf is a newly defined component of the Bight Basin that contains up to 2200 m of predominantly siliciclastic marine and non-marine sedimentary rocks.
Attributes:
Area (square kilometres): 265600 State: SA State: WA Minimum present water depth (m): 0 Maximum present water depth (m): 2500 Main rock types: siliciclastic sediments and sedimentary rocks Main depositional environment: marine and non-marine Minimum sediment thickness (m): 0 Maximum sediment thickness (m): 2200 overlain by up to 400 m of Cainozoic strata Present crustal setting: continental Country: AUS
Parent: Bight Basin
Child Provinces: No data
Relationships:
Adjoins - Ceduna Sub-basin, Eyre Sub-basin, Recherche Sub-basin
Overlies - Polda Basin
Underlies - Eucla Basin
Constituent units: Hammerhead Supersequence, Tiger Supersequence, White Pointer Supersequence, Blue Whale Supersequence, Bronze Whaler Supersequence
Events: No data
Mineral Deposits: No data
Key Reference: Totterdell, J.M., Krassay, A.A. 2003, Sequence Stratigraphic correlation of onshore and offshore Bight Basin successions, Geoscience Australia. Record, 2003/02, 29 plus figures (Refid:24337)
Comments: No data
Overview: The Early to Late Cretaceous Madura Shelf is a newly defined component of the Bight Basin, incorporating a 265,500 sq. km platform north of the main rift system. The Madura Shelf has a broad onshore component, and extends offshore to water depths of up to 2500 m. Mesozoic sedimentary rocks on the Madura Shelf were deposited in areally restricted non-marine environments in the Early Cretaceous, through to increasingly marine environments followed by a small delta complex in the Late Cretaceous. The Madura Shelf is relatively unstructured, consisting of a basinward-thickening platform succession with some angular truncation beneath the Cainozoic Eucla Basin. Small half-graben structures may occur in western areas. It attains a maximum thickness of 2200 m beneath about 400 m of Cainozoic strata in the eastern offshore area. Cretaceous strata of the eastern Madura Shelf extend over older Neproterozoic, Permian and Jurassic strata of the Polda Basin, and a thin erosional remnant of Permian glacial deposits previously mapped as the Denman Basin. The offshore western extent of the Madura Shelf is characterised by a variable, but generally thin veneer (up to 600 m) of Mesozoic and possibly Permian strata. No hydrocarbons have been detected in the ten wells drilled on the Madura Shelf (Jan 2004). Potential source rocks include organic-rich lacustrine facies in the Lower Cretaceous Bronze Whaler supersequnce, and organic-rich marine shales in the Lower to Upper Cretaceous Blue Whale and White Pointer supersequences. Potential traps could form where strata onlap basement. However, long-range migration of hydrocarbons from adjacent depocentres is required for traps to be charged, as the depth of burial for Mesozoic strata on the Madura Shelf is insufficient for significant hydrocarbon generation. Potential reservoirs include the glauconitic sandstones of the Blue Whale and White Pointer supersequences, while marine shales of the Blue Whale and Tiger supersequences form potential seals.
Images: Eastern Bight Basin structural elements and cross-section location map (82 KB), Eastern Bight Basin regional cross-section Profile 1 (59 KB), Eastern Bight Basin regional cross-section Profile 3 (80 KB), Eastern Bight Basin regional cross-section Profile 4 (76 KB), Eastern Bight Basin regional cross-section Profile 6 (41 KB), Eastern Bight Basin regional cross-section Profile 5 (50 KB)
Other media: No data
Source Information:
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Benbow, M.C., Lindsay, J.M., Alley, N.F., 1995, Eucla Basin and Palaeodrainage, In: Drexel, J.F. and Preiss, W.V. (Eds), The Geology of South Australia, Vol.2, The Phanerozoic, Bulletin 54, 2(54), 178-186. (Refid: 12831)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Cockbain, A.E., Hocking, R.M., 1989, Revised stratigraphic nomenclature in Western Australian Phanerozoic basins., Geological Survey of Western Australia. Record, 1989/15, . (Refid: 41751)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Totterdell, J.M., Bradshaw, B.E., Willcox, J.B., In press, Structural and tectonic setting, Chapter 4 in Petroleum Geology of South Australia., In Petroleum Geology of South Australia, O'Brien, G. W., and Hibburt, J. E. (eds.), Vol.5: Great Australian Bight. Primary Industry and Resources of South Australia., Vol.5, . (Refid: 14233)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Hocking, R.M., 1990, Eucla Basin. IN Geology and Mineral Resources of Western Australia., Geological Survey of Western Australia. Memoir, 3, p548-561. (Refid: 44145)
- FOR PROVINCE-GENERAL: Totterdell, J.M., Krassay, A.A., 2003, Sequence Stratigraphic correlation of onshore and offshore Bight Basin successions, Geoscience Australia. Record, 2003/02, 29 plus figures. (Refid: 24337)
