Publication Name: PESA Journal No. 24
Authors: Reza Moussavi-Harami
Publication Volume: 24
Date Published: December 1996
Number of Pages: 21
Reference Type: Journal Article
Abstract:
The intracratonic Cooper Basin of east-central Australia wasformed during the Late Carboniferous (about 285 Ma). It
underlies the central Eromanga and Lake Eyre Basins, and
the entire succession ranges from Late Carboniferous to
Recent in age. Burial history has been interpreted from
wells drilled in principal structural elements of the basin
which relate the stratigraphic framework to the tectonic
history of the region. During the Late Carboniferous,
subsidence in the south (Tinga Tingana Trough) was higher
than elsewhere due to major fault reactivation and rapid
deposition of coarse-grained siliciclastic sediments. During
the Early Permian, subsidence was higher in the Nappamerri
Trough. A high subsidence rate in the Mettika Embayment,
during the Late Permian, was probably due to both
tectonism and sediment loading. During the Early to Late
Jurassic, subsidence in the north (Patchawarra Trough) was
higher than other parts of the Cooper Basin region. Due to
rapid deposition of fine-grained siliciclastic sediments in
marine as well as non-marine environments, the rate of
subsidence was high to very high in the Early to Late
Cretaceous. Source rocks of the Cooper Basin reached
initial maturity probably in the Middle Jurassic to Early
Cretaceous and became fully mature in Late Cretaceous
time. The Jurassic source rocks were buried deeply enough
to reach initial maturity probably in the Early to Late
Cretaceous and became fully mature in the Late Cretaceous
to probably Early Tertiary.