Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks dredged from the northern Exmouth Plateau: petrography and microfacies

The deeply incised northern margin of the Exmouth Plateau has been dredged extensively along seismic reflection profiles, in water 2000- 5600 m deep, by R. V. Sonne (Cruise SO-8) and R. V. Rig Seismic (BMR Cruise 56). Geological samples obtained have greatly increased our understanding of the Late Triassic- Recent history of the margin. Detailed petrography and microfacies analysis have enabled us to define seven major lithofacies associations. Three Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic associations were laid down roughly coevally on this southeastern margin of Tethys: (1) a Late Triassic- early Liassic volcanic and volcaniclastic association of early rift volcanics, (2) a Late Triassic- Middle Jurassic shallow water carbonate association, and (3) a ?Late Triassic- Middle Jurassic coal measure association. The coal measures were uplifted and weathered to form a ?Jurassic ferruginous sediment and ironstone association. We distinguish 14 Late Triassic- Callovian microfacies types of shallow water carbonates, which can be correlated with the facies of coeval platform carbonates in the Alps and Mediterranean area of the Tethys ocean. During Late Triassic times intertidal to shallow-subtidal carbonates were deposited in the Swan Canyon area close to the palaeo-coastline in the east, and deeper subtidal and shelf lithologies in the Wombat Plateau area in the west. During the latest Triassic and earliest Jurassic, the carbonate platform subsided and was structured into shoals with red biomicrites, and basinal areas with hemipelagic autochthonous micrites and redeposited calcarenitic turbidites. Locally, uplifted blocks, such as the Wombat Plateau horst, were subaerially eroded during Jurassic or earliest Cretaceous times. Carbonate platform deposition continued in places until Middle Jurassic time. Following breakup to form the Argo Abyssal Plain in the earliest Cretaceous, the margin started to subside and a Lower Cretaceous marginal-marine claystone association was deposited, followed by a hemipelagic late Lower Cretaceous radiolarian claystone. As subsidence continued, from Turonian times onwards, there was increasingly pelagic deposition of a Late Cretaceous to Cainozoic association of hemipelagic to eupelagic variably silicified marls and chalks. Complex diagenetic transformations involve silica, silicates, carbonates, and phosphates.

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Date (Publication)
1990-01-01T00:00:00
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/81271

Cited responsible party
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Publisher

Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics

 Canberra
Author

von Rad, U.

 1
Author

Schott, M.

 2
Author

Exon, N.F.

 3
Author

Mutterlose, J.

 4
Author

Quilty, P.J.

 5
Author

Thurow, J.W.

 6
Name

BMR Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics

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11:4:449-472

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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  • Geoscientific information

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W


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Product data repository: Various Formats

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Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

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  • GA Publication

  • Journal

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  • marine

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  • WA

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

  • Earth Sciences

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  • Published_External

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

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CC-BY

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4.0

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

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License

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
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https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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Unclassified
Language
English
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UTF8

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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OnLine resource

Journal article (pdf)

Journal article (pdf)

Distribution format

  • pdf

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Unknown

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Non geographic dataset
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GA Publication

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Metadata constraints

Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified

Metadata

Metadata identifier
urn:uuid/fae9173a-70d4-71e4-e044-00144fdd4fa6

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GeoNetwork UUID

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
Contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

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Type of resource

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Document
Name

AGSO BMR Journal

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Title

Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

Citation identifier
eCatId/81271

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https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/fae9173a-70d4-71e4-e044-00144fdd4fa6

Date info (Revision)
2018-04-20T06:08:11
Date info (Creation)
2014-06-03T00:00:00

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

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Keywords

marine

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