In order to understand the evolution of deep sedimentary basins, the spatial and temporal development of the Bonaparte Basin has been studied in detail. This basin was chosen because of the quantity and quality of data available. Over 7,500 km of seismic data, including 2,500 km of deep seismic data imaging to 14 seconds two-way-travel-time, were interpreted in an attempt to constrain the depth and structure of basement across the entire basin area. A database of over 100 exploration wells, across the Bonaparte Basin and North West Shelf, was used to determine the ages and lithologies of a total of 19 interpreted seismic horizons. Results for the Bonaparte Basin show that the current global average values of the expected subsidence and strain rate variation for sedimentary basins, are heavily skewed towards a minima since the global data sample only the areas of sedimentary basins where basement <4 km. The Bonaparte Basin data lie in the same trend as the global data, but extend the range of the expected limits of <I>β</I>. However, these data do not exceed the maximum strain rate defined by the global data, i.e. ~10<SUP>-15</SUP>s<SUP>-1</SUP>. This continuity suggests that the global estimates for subsidence and strain rate are not representative of the full range recorded in sedimentary basins worldwide. A more accurate range in this global variation is obtained if the total area covered by sedimentary basins can be quantified. This method of quantifying deep sedimentary basins is generic, provided adequate seismic data which image the entire sedimentary succession to basement and well data to constrain the interpreted seismic horizons, are available.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:596303 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Baldwin, S. |
| Publisher | University of Cambridge |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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