HVC_144686
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Magnetotelluric survey data acquired in association with the L189 Gawler-Curnamona-Arrowie Deep Crustal Seismic Survey over the Curnamona Province. This survey was funded through the Onshore Energy Security Program. Data was acquired by Quantec Geoscience. Analysis and modelling was undertaken by Geoscience Australia . The aim of the survey was to produce a two-dimensional image of electrical conductivity structure of the crust and upper mantle over the Curnamona Province. This information is complementary to the reflection seismic and gravity data acquired along the 08GA-C1 traverse. Data are supplied as EDI files with support information.
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<p>The East Tennant Magnetotelluric (MT) Survey is funded under Geoscience Australia’s (GA) Exploring for the Future program. The survey is aimed to assist in regional stratigraphic drilling program to understand basement architecture and mineral potential in the east of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia. The survey covers an area of approximate 90 km x 100 km. Geoscience Australia contracted Zonge Engineering and Research Organisation (Australia) to undertake the survey from 22nd July to 19th Aug 2019. Broadband Magnetotelluric and Audio Magnetotelluric data were acquired at 131 stations with site spacing of ~2 km to ~15 km. <p>This data package includes MT data originally processed by the contractor and edited MT data by GA for modelling purpose. All the data were industry-standard EDI files. <p>Time series data are available on request from clientservices@ga.gov.au
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The magnetotelluric (MT) data were acquired along a total of 690 km of the Youanmi deep seismic reflection traverses 10GA-YU1, 10GA-YU2 and 10GA-YU3-in Western Australia. This was a collaborative project between Geoscience Australia (GA) and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), which provided the funding. The aim of the MT survey was to produce information of the electrical conductivity structure of the crust and upper mantle. This information is complementary to that obtained from deep seismic reflection, gravity, magnetic and geological data, which together provide new knowledge of the crustal architecture, rock properties and geodynamics of the region, important for helping to determine the potential for both mineral and energy resources. Data are supplied as EDI files with support information.
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Magnetotellurics (MT) is a passive geophysical method which uses natural time variations of the Earth's magnetic and electric fields to measure the electrical resistivity of the sub-surface. Electrical resistivity is a bulk property of a volume of Earth material and is associated with factors such as rock composition, porosity and permeability as well as temperature and pressure. The Magnetotelurics (MT) Data Collection includes datasets from The Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) and regional-scale MT surveys across the Australian continent. These data were collected by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the State and Territory Geological Surveys and other partners. <b>Value: </b>Magnetotelluric data to expand the geoscientific understanding of the earth's lithospheric structure and provide new insights into Australia's onshore energy and mineral potential. <b>Scope: </b>AusLAMP is being conducted over multiple years to create a national MT dataset and map lithospheric structure of the Australian continent. MT data have also been acquired for mapping crustal structure and resource potential at regional scale. These data provide valuable information for multi-disciplinary interpretations. To view the magnetotellurics data via the Geoscience Australia internet page click on the following URL: <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/regional-mt-program">https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/regional-mt-program</a> For further information about the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) click on the following URL: <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/auslamp">https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/auslamp</a>
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The Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) aims to collect long period magnetotelluric data on a half degree grid across the Australian continent. Data were collected in northern Australia under Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program from 2016 to 2019. This survey covers the area in south parts of Northern Territory and north western region of Queensland. The project aims to improve understanding of the lithospheric structure in northern Australia. It also provide pre-competitive data and knowledge for selecting mineral prospective areas in the under-explored and covered regions. This data package contains the preferred resistivity model and associated information for the project. The report provides details for data acquisition, data process and data inversion. The results provide new insights on the lithospheric architecture and mineral potential in the region.
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The geology and mineral prospectivity of the southern Thomson Orogen is poorly understood because the vast majority of its extent is buried beneath younger regolith and/or sedimentary rocks. To address this issue a collaborative program to drill 16 stratigraphic boreholes was proposed to collect samples of the basement geology that can be comprehensively analysed to improve the understanding of the geological evolution of this region. To reduce the uncertainty associated with intersecting the target stratigraphy at each of the borehole sites, estimates of the cover thickness were obtained by applying the geophysical techniques of refraction seismic, audio-magnetotellurics (AMT) and targeted magnetic inversion modelling (TMIM) prior to drilling. Refraction seismic was acquired at all 16 proposed borehole sites using a system with 48 single-component geophones and a propelled weight drop primary-wave source. At 14 of the sites clear basement refractors were observed in the data. At the two other sites, Nantilla 1 and Barrygowan 1, loss of signal due to seismic attenuation at far offsets meant that a clear basement refractor was not observed. With the exception of these two sites, three distinct refractors are generally observed in the data. Those with velocities ranging from 0.4 km/s to 1.5 km/s are interpreted as regolith, those ranging from 1.8 km/s to 2.4 km/s are interpreted as Eromanga Basin sediments, and those ranging from 3.9 km/s to 5.7 km/s are interpreted as metamorphic/igneous basement. Two-dimensional velocity models of the subsurface geology were then generated using the time-term inversion method, which allowed for the thickness of each layer to be estimated. Cover thickness estimates using refraction data vary widely from site to site, with the shallowest estimate being Overshot 1 (49 m - 55 m) and the deepest Adventure Way 1 (295 m - 317 m). These variations in cover thickness estimates from site to site are indicative of basement topography variations and are not error margins. Audio-magnetotelluric data was collected at ten sites by simultaneously deploying four porous pot electrodes, to collect the two orthogonal components of telluric data (Ex and Ey), and three magnetic induction coils, to collect the three components of magnetic data (Hx, Hy and Hz). For each dataset, a one-dimensional inversion model was produced, from which resistivity contrasts were identified and used to describe electrical conductivity discontinuities in the subsurface geology. In general, the models show a near-surface conductive layer with resistivity values ≤10 Ω·m overlying layers with continuously increasing resistivities with depth (up to 102-103 Ω·m). Those layers which were >10 Ω·m were interpreted as metamorphic/igneous basement rocks and were observed to occur at depths of ~100 m to ~300 m across the survey sites, except at Overshot 1 (38 m ±10%) and Barrygowan 1 (480 m ±10%). Targeted magnetic inversion modelling (TMIM) was applied to freely available, good quality, regional airborne magnetic survey data. Depth to magnetic source estimates were generated for 53 targets, with confidence ratings, using a dipping tabular source body to model targeted magnetic anomalies in the vicinity of the borehole sites. A combined depth estimate was generated using a distance and confidence weighted average from multiple depth estimates at all but two borehole sites. Only a single depth estimate was available at Adventure Way 1 while no depth estimates were generated at Eulo 1. These combined depth estimates provide cover thickness estimates at the sites as they are likely sourced from, or near, the top of basement. Of the ten proposed borehole sites with coincident AMT and refraction seismic data, five sites have overlapping cover thickness estimates. Cover thickness estimates from the TMIM overlap both the AMT and refraction data at four sites and at two sites where only the refraction depth estimates were available. 2 Estimating Cover Thickness in the Southern Thomson Orogen The cover thickness estimates presented in this report lower the risks associated with the proposed southern Thomson Orogen stratigraphic drilling program by reducing the uncertainty in intersecting the target stratigraphy at each of the borehole sites as well as allowing for better project and program planning. Successful completion of the stratigraphic drilling program in the southern Thomson Orogen will allow for each of these geophysical methods for estimating cover thickness to be benchmarked using actual cover thicknesses measured in the boreholes.
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The AusLAMP-Victoria magnetotelluric survey was a collaborative project between the Geological Survey of Victoria and Geoscience Australia. Long period magnetotelluric data were acquired at 100 sites on a half degree grid spacing across Victoria in the south-east of Australia between December 2013 and September 2014. Some repeated sites were acquired in December 2017. Geoscience Australia managed the project and performed data acquisition, data processing, and data QA/QC. In this record, the field acquisition, data QA/QC, and data processing methodologies are discussed. A separate report will provide information on data analysis, data modelling/inversion, and data interpretation.
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Long-period magnetotelluric (MT) data allow geoscientists to investigate the link between mineralisation and lithospheric-scale features and processes. In particular, the highly conductive structures imaged by MT data appear to map the pathways of large-scale palaeo-fluid migration, the identification of which is an important element of several mineral system models. Given the importance of these data, governments and academia have united under the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP) to collect long-period MT data across the continent on a ~55 km-spaced grid. Here, we use AusLAMP data to demonstrate the MT method as a regional-scale tool to identify and select prospective areas for mineral exploration undercover. We focus on the region between Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory and east of Mount Isa in Queensland. Our results image major conductive structures up to 150 km deep in the lithosphere, such as the Carpentaria Conductivity Anomaly east of Mount Isa. This anomaly is a significant lithospheric-scale conductivity structure that shows spatial correlations with a major suture zone and known iron oxide–copper–gold deposits. Our results also identify similar features in several under-explored areas that are now considered to be prospective for mineral discovery. These observations provide a powerful means of selecting frontier regions for mineral exploration undercover.. <b>Citation:</b> Duan, J., Kyi, D., Jiang, W. and Costelloe, M., 2020. AusLAMP: imaging the Australian lithosphere for resource potential, an example from northern Australia. In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.
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As part of the Australian Government's Onshore Energy Security Program (2006-2011) Geoscience Australia in collaboration with Geological Survey of Western Australia acquired magnetotelluric (MT) data along the deep crustal seismic reflection transect across the Yilgarn Craton, Officer Basin and Musgrave Province in Central Western Australia. The aim of the MT survey is to map the electrical resistivity distribution and improve scientific understanding of the crustal and upper mantle structure in this region. This information is complementary to that obtained from deep crustal seismic reflection, seismic refraction, potential field and geological data, which together provide new knowledge of the crustal architecture and geodynamics of the region. It is important for helping to determine the potential for both mineral and energy resources. Data are supplied as EDI files with support information.
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Magnetotelluric survey data acquired in association with the L189 Gawler-Curnamona-Arrowie Deep Crustal Seismic Survey over the Gawler Craton. This survey was a collaborative project with the University of Adelaide and was funded through the Onshore Energy Security Program. The aim of the survey was to produce a two-dimensional image of electrical conductivity structure of the crust and upper mantle over the Gawler Craton. This information is complementary to the reflection seismic and gravity data acquired along the 08GA-G1 traverse. Data are supplied as EDI files with support information.