PESA WA: Expression of Interest Alice Springs Fieldtrip

PESA WA are planning a field trip to Alice Springs in September 2026.  PESA WA are currently seeking expressions of interest from those who would like to join to see if this is a viable trip. This is a fantastic opportunity to explore the region, engage directly with field activities, and deepen your understanding of the area’s geological context.  Attendance will be open only to PESA members, including interstate and international members.  Non-members are encouraged to join PESA to attend.

Description:

This fieldtrip is designed for geoscientists and reservoir engineers who primarily focus on deltaic and shallow marine successions, especially those involved in building or updating geomodels. Whether your task involves a simple facies analysis and well correlation across shallow marine and marginal marine systems, or input of fluvial channel dimensions into a geomodel, this fieldtrip will benefit you in several ways.

The Ordovician Larapinta Group, Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory consists of a succession of mostly shallow marine, mixed clastic and carbonate strata deposited in the epeiric Larapintine Sea of northern peri-Gondwana. The Pacoota Sandstone is a thick (up to 850 m) deposit of siliciclastic rocks straddling the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary in the Amadeus Basin of central Australia. It is a significant hydrocarbon reservoir (e.g. Meernie Field, Palm Valley, Tent Hill-1). It contains four stratigraphic sequences separated by datable events, described by P Haines. These sequences can be recognised and correlated widely in the subsurface.

The Stairway Sandstone is a succession of Middle Ordovician siliciclastic sedimentary rocks, composed of shallow marine sandstones and mudstones, with calcareous units also common. The thickness of the formation is highly variable, ranging from 30 m on the shallower southern margin of the basin to 560 m on the northern margin.

We will also have the opportunity to hunt for fossils, including trilobites, within the Horn Valley Siltstone.

Fieldtrip Leader: Peter Haines.

Contributors: Fiona Burns, Simon Lang, Charlie Verdel.

Proposed Itinerary:

Day 1: Fly to Alice Springs. Core Store (0.5 day): Tent Hill-1 Pacoota & Stairway Sst. cores by Fiona Burns.

Day 2: Ellery Creek, Pacoota Sst. section (Shallow marine/deltaic) by P. Haines.

Day 3: Ellery Creek section (revisited) & other outcrops (stromatolites, Dalmatian Rock) (by P. Haines and Charlie Verdel.

Day 4: Meernie Field core (0.5 day) by S Lang. Fly to Perth.

Anticipated approximate costs:

• $1000.00 per person (includes accommodation, transport to field areas, breakfast, lunch and field guide).
• Costs without accommodation and breakfast are anticipated to be approximately $300.00 per person.

Please note that flights are not included in the above.