XVII International Congress on the Carboniferous and Permian
GSWA PUBLICATIONS
The Geological Survey of Western Australia is a division of the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/ . GSWA has been gathering, synthesizing, and publishing information on the State's geology, and mineral and petroleum resources since 1880. Much of this information is available to download free of charge, and includes mineral and petroleum exploration reports and data, as well as Departmental reports.
GSWA offers a wide range of geoscience products as well as maintaining many online systems for the benefit of the Western Australian community including:
GeoVIEW.WA, an interactive mapping system (http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/7113.aspx ),
Mineral Exploration Reports (WAMEX http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/5136.aspx ),
Petroleum and Geothermal data (WAPIMS https://wapims.doir.wa.gov.au/dp ),
Data and Software Centre (http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/4895.aspx ), and
Other online systems (http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/4895.aspx )
Direct links to GSWA reports on the Permian and Carboniferous of the State are provided below. To save pdfs click on 
at the top of the main screen. Other geoscience reports can be accessed via the following link: http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/document/documentSearchCriteria.do?from=topNav&cabinetId=1101
Also of possible interest is the Petroleum Division http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/374.aspx , which administers petroleum exploration and production in accordance with the various Petroleum Acts, as well as encouraging and facilitating exploration, development and production of petroleum resources and other energy sources including those in the adjacent offshore areas. Maps and publications from the Petroleum Division include compilations of production and reserves.
Geology of the Perth Basin, Western Australia
1974, Playford, PE, Cockbain, AE, and Low, GH
GSWA Bulletin 124 (121 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=NAB124
Summary (part)
The Perth Basin is a deep linear trough filled with up to 15 000 m of Permian and younger sedimentary rocks, and extending north-south for some 1000 km along the southwest margin of Western Australia. The basin covers an area of 45 000 km2 onshore and 55 000 km2 offshore.
Exposures are poor, and most knowledge of the geology is based on petroleum exploration data. The best outcrops of older rocks are in the northern Perth Basin.
In the north, the Lower Permian succession commences with glacigene rocks (Nangetty Formation) followed by shale, limestone, sandstone, coal measures, and siltstone (Holmwood Shale, High Cliff Sandstone, Irwin River Coal Measures, and Carynginia Formation). The succession, apart from the coal measures, is marine, and is overlain with slight angular unconformity by Upper Permian deposits (Wagina Sandstone). In the south the whole Permian section is continental and consists of a thick coal measures unit (Sue Coal Measures) conformably overlain by an Upper Permian to Lower Triassic sandstone (Sabina Sandstone). The total thickness of Permian rocks in the basin probably exceeds 2 600 m.
The most important elements of the economic geology of the Perth Basin are natural gas, heavy-mineral sands, and groundwater. Two gas fields, Dongara and Mondarra, [are virtually depleted, but several other smaller fields are now in production]. Dongara was the largest field, with original reserves of about 12 x 109mJ. Production is largely from Permian sands.
Geology of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia
1987, Hocking, RM, Moors, HT, Van De Graaff, WJE
GSWA Bulletin 133 (78 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=NAB133
Summary (part)
The Carnarvon Basin is an epicratonic, faulted and gently folded, Phanerozoic basin which spans 1000 km along the west and northwest coast of Western Australia, and covers an area of 650 000 km2, extending to the continental/oceanic crust boundary. Onshore the basin contain up to 7 km of Palaeozoic sediments, with a Mesozoic veneer which thickens northwards and westwards, whereas in the northern (largely offshore) portion the succession is up to 15 km thick as it contains thick Mesozoic sequences.
In the Paleozoic, deposition occurred in a broad, north-opening trough, the eastern half of which is preserved as the onshore portion of the Carnarvon Basin. The basin was initially an interior fracture basin in the Silurian, and developed into an interior sag basin in the Devonian. The major phases of deposition, and the sequences produced by them, are outlined below.
1. Silurian to Early Devonian — continental sandstone to shallow-marine carbonate with evaporates up to 5 km thick.
2. Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous — shallow-marine carbonate, with fault-related continental and shallow-marine sandstone and conglomerate near the basin margin. A possible hiatus at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary divides the sequence into a Devonian portion, about 1500 m thick, and a Lower Carboniferous portion about 600 m thick.
3. Late Carboniferous to early Late Permian — fluvial to marine-shelf sandstone, siltstone and shale with lesser carbonate. About 3 km of glacial and postglacial siliciclastics with lesser carbonate, below, are separated from about 2.5 km of deltaic to marine-shelf sandstone and shale, above, by an early Artinskian erosional hiatus. This was the last significant deposition in the onshore Carnarvon Basin.
The northern Carnarvon Basin contains the Barrow Island and Harriet oil fields, North Rankin gas field, and several other significant gas and oil accumulations, most of which are offshore. The main sources and reservoirs are Triassic or Lower Cretaceous, with Lower Cretaceous seals.
Coal exploration has centred on the Permian Wooramel Group. Despite extensive exploration, only thin seams have been found, generally at depths too great for exploitation.
Palaeontology of the Permian of Western Australia
1993, Skwarko, SK (ed.)
GSWA Bulletin 136 (262 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N91A
Summary
This work summarizes the knowledge of Permian fossils in this State including their geographical distribution and stratigraphic range, their use in correlating and dating strata, and reconstructing paleoclimates and paleogeography.
Nine monographs, as well as numerous papers, have systematically described many species of ammonoids, bivalves, brachiopods, bryozoans, foraminifers, and gastropods. These studies were by no means exhaustive: some groups, such as the abundant trace fossils and worm trails, were completely neglected, while few crinoids and ostracods were described. On the other hand, active interest has been maintained other groups, such as brachiopods, ammonoids and palynomorphs.
In Western Australia, sedimentary rocks of Permian age occur in the Collie, Perth, Carnarvon, Canning, Browse, Bonaparte, Officer, and Eucla Basins. In most of these basins, sedimentation followed a similar pattern in which widespread accumulation of glacial deposits in Asselian–Sakmarian times was followed by the deposition of shallow-water marine sandstone and limestone alternating with terrestrial or brackish-water deposits. Sedimentation persisted possibly until the end of the Permian in the Perth Basin, into the mid-Changsingian in the Canning and Bonaparte Basins, and ceased in the Roadian or even earlier in the other basins.
Geology of the offshore Bonaparte Basin northwestern Australia
1974, Mory, AJ
GSWA Report 29 (12 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N91G
Summary (part)
The oldest rocks that can be positively identified in the basin are Upper Devonian, although Cambrian volcanic and sedimentary rocks are present in the onshore part of the basin. Devonian to Carboniferous rocks (Bonaparte Formation, Weaber Group) in the Petrel Sub-basin belong to a phase of mid-Phanerozoic northwest oriented rifting. The succeeding Permo-Carboniferous sequence (Kulshill and Kinmore Groups) formed during a phase of reactivated rifting and sag in which the Petrel Sub-basin continued to be the principal depocentre. In the Triassic, new depocentres developed along the northwest margin of the basin prior to northeast-oriented rifting and breakup in the Late Jurassic.
Geology and Permian coal resources of the Collie Basin, Western Australia
1994, Le Blanc-Smith, G
GSWA Report 38 (121 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N91AH
Summary (part)
The fault-bounded Collie Basin covers 226 km2 and contains about 1200 m of Permian siliciclastics. The coal-bearing section reaches a maximum thickness of 900 m, of which up to 74 m consist of coal in 60 principal seams between 0.5 and 13 m thick.
Permian stratigraphy is revised: Collie Coal Measures and Stockton Formations are raised to group status; Cardiff, Collieburn and Chicken Creek Members are discarded; new formations include Muja Coal Measures, Allanson Sandstone, Westralia Sandstone, Moorhead and Shotts Formations; the Premier and Ewington Members are raised to the rank of coal measures. Palynomorph zones indicate ages from Permo-Carboniferous to Early Kazanian.
The Ewington Coal Measures and underlying sediments constitute a broadly upwardcoarsening glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine deltaic succession, whereas fluvial to upper delta-plain alluvial coal deposition make up the balance of the succession.
Coal is mined in four opencut and three underground mines by The Griffin Coal Mining Company Proprietary Limited and Western Collieries Limited. In the past 100 years over 100 Mt has been produced. Collie coal resources total 2400 Mt. Approximately 37% of the coal lies in the current open cut mining window.
Geology and Permian coal resources of the Irwin Terrace, Perth Basin, Western Australia
1995, Le Blanc-Smith, G, and Mory, AJ
GSWA Report 44 (13 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N93AR
Summary (part)
The Irwin Terrace on the east flank of the north Perth Basin -This sub-basin contains about 1700 m of Upper Carboniferous to Upper Permian (Early Tatarian) siliciclastic rocks.
The Aktastinian Irwin River Coal Measures and underlying sedimentary rocks constitute a broadly upward coarsening glaciomarine alluvial deltaic succession. A break between the Wagina Sandstone and the underlying Carynginia Formation spans the Kungurian and Ufimian Stages.
The Lockier deposit in the central area of the coalfield has the best prospect for development. The coal-bearing section reaches a thickness of 76 m, and contains up to 14 m of coal in 8 seams varying between 0.1 and 8 m in width. Estimated coal resources are 1000 Mt inferred.
Stratigraphy and structure of the onshore northern Perth Basin, Western Australia
1997, Mory, AJ, and Iasky, RP
GSWA Report 46 (14 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N93AF
Summary (part)
The onshore northern Perth Basin is interpreted as an extensional basin on the western edge of the Australian Craton. The main sedimentary succession of Permian to Early Cretaceous age is up to 12 000 m thick, and consists of:
(a) Lower Permian, largely argillaceous, glaciomarine to deltaic rocks,
(b) Upper Permian nonmarine and shoreline siliciclastics to shelf carbonates, and
(c) Triassic to Lower Cretaceous nonmarine to shallow marine siliciclastics deposited in a predominantly regressive phase.
Analysis of structural trends indicates the basin has a complex tectonic history. Pre-existing basement fabric largely determined the pattern of faulting during the Phanerozoic phases of tectonism. Two major phases are recognized:
1. Permian extension in a southwesterly direction, and
2. Early Cretaceous transtension to the northwest during the break-up of Greater India from Australia.
The onshore northern Perth Basin contains six commercial hydrocarbon fields of which Dongara is by far the largest. Total proven reserves discovered to date are ~ 17 × 109 m3 of gas, 500 000 kL of oil and 100 000 kL of condensate.
Geohistory modelling of wells shows that the Triassic and Permian are now within the oil-maturation window. Maturation increases towards the southeast and in the southern Dandaragan Trough these units lie within the gas-maturation window. Modelling also suggests that source rocks within the northern Perth Basin reached the oil-maturation window during the period of rapid subsidence immediately before breakup in the earliest Cretaceous. All the known fields and smaller hydrocarbon accumulations are within wrench anticlines that formed in the Early Neocomian at a time that coincided with the peak period of hydrocarbon expulsion.
Permian stratigraphy and palynology of the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia
1997, Mory, AJ, and Backhouse, J
GSWA Report 51 (4 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N95CV
Summary (part)
Marine to nearshore siliciclastics up to 5000 m thick in the Merlinleigh Sub-basin dominate the Permian succession of the Carnarvon Basin. The basin contains a virtually uninterupted sequence of Permian palynological zones from Stage 2 (Late Carboniferous–Asselian) to the Dulhuntyispora parvithola Zone (Kazanian–Tatarian), but no single well contains all zones. On the basis of these zones, the stratigraphy and age of the Carnarvon Basin Permian succession is revised from earlier work that depended on macrofossil control.
A major mid-Permian break in deposition, spanning the Microbaculispora trisina to M. villosa Zones is evident in wells on the Peedamullah Shelf. During this period over 1500 m of sediment was deposited in the Merlinleigh Sub-basin (Wooramel and Byro Groups).
The Chinty Formation, which is restricted to the Peedamullah Shelf, conformably overlies siliciclastics similar to, and coeval with, the Kennedy Group in the Merlinleigh Sub-basin and, therefore, is now included as the highest unit in the Kennedy Group. On the Peedamullah Shelf deposition of the Kennedy Group was continuous from the Dulhuntyispora granulata Zone into the D. parvithola Zone, whereas in the Merlinleigh Sub-basin there is no record of zones younger than D. granulata.
Geology and petroleum exploration of the central and southern Perth Basin,
Western Australia, 2000, Crostella, A, and Backhouse, J
GSWA Report 57 (9 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N97AQ
Summary (part)
Post-mortems of exploration wells and an overview of hydrocarbon potential are provided for the central and southern Perth Basin. No commercial fields have been discovered even though shows of gas and minor oil have been encountered in the wells drilled to date.
Although the Permian to Cretaceous stratigraphic and structural evolution of the southern Perth Basin is similar to that of the northern Perth Basin, marine intervals that break the continuity of the prevailing coarse-grained terrigenous deposits in the northern region are not present in the south, where the environment of deposition was entirely continental up until the late Neocomian. Consequently, thick regional shales are absent and the area has poor sealing potential. On the other hand, potential reservoirs, source rocks for both gas and oil, and anticlinal traps are all well documented.
Structure and petroleum potential of the southern Merlinleigh Sub-basin,
Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia
1998, Iasky, RP, Mory, AJ, Ghori, KAR, Shevchenko, SI
GSWA Report 61 (10 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N98AH
Summary (part)
The southern Merlinleigh Sub-basin is a northwesterly oriented ?Late Carboniferous – Permian depocentre on the eastern margin of the onshore Carnarvon Basin. Deposition began in the Silurian as part of a larger intracratonic basin and continued into the Permian. Hiatuses separate five main sedimentary cycles of ?Ordovician–Silurian, Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous, Late Carboniferous to Permian, Cretaceous, and Tertiary age.
Three main regional tectonic events that affected most of the western margin of Western Australia are also recognized in the Merlinleigh Sub-basin:
1. west-southwesterly extension during Late Carboniferous – Early Permian rifting;
2. northwesterly extension during the breakup of Australia from Greater India in the Early Cretaceous;
3. northerly compression during the Miocene.
Rift faults that formed on the western margin of the southern Merlinleigh Sub-basin during Late Carboniferous – Early Permian rifting were reactivated with normal and strike-slip components during subsequent tectonic events.
Stratigraphy and petroleum exploration objectives of the Permo-Carboniferous
succession on the Barbwire Terrace and adjacent areas, northeast Canning Basin,
Western Australia
1999, Apak, SN, and Backhouse, J
GSWA Report 68 (6 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N96CQ
Summary (part)
The Lower Carboniferous (Upper Visean) to Lower Permian siliciclastic succession on the Barbwire Terrace of the Canning Basin and in the deeper basinal areas to the north is reinterpreted on the basis of seismic data, well logs, and palynostratigraphy. The Grant Group is restricted to the interval that can be placed in the Pseudoreticulatispora confluens Zone of Asselian to Tastubian (Early Permian) age. The Reeves Formation, which includes intervals previously referred as the Lower Grant Group, is the dominantly sandstone interval that underlies the Grant Group in the Fitzroy Trough, Gregory Sub-basin, and, as thin intervals, in tectonically higher areas. Four palynostratigraphic units, in ascending order, the Grandispora maculosa, Spelaeotriletes ybertii, Diatomozonotriletes birkheadensis, and Deusilites tenuistriatus Assemblages, are recognized in the Reeves Formation.
The sequence boundary at the base of the Reeves Formation or, in high areas, the Grant Group, is a regional erosional surface with large valleys, fault-controlled lows, and channels. Following the Meda Transpressional Movement, the troughs were infilled largely by a succession of debris flows, possibly derived from glacial beds, deposited in a cold water environment. The Reeves Formation infilled the troughs and extended towards the flank areas. A mild uplift took place, probably restricted to the intrabasin highs and basin flank areas, between deposition of the Reeves Formation and the Grant Group. Base-level changes, differential subsidence, and glaciation strongly influenced deposition of the Grant Group, and as the transgression progressed, broad valleys and other structural lows were infilled. Four parasequences are recognized within the Grant Group on the Barbwire Terrace. The three highest parasequences correspond to the Hoya, Calytrix, and Clianthus Formations.
Petroleum geology of the Peedamullah Shelf and Onslow Terrace,
Northern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia
2000, Crostella, A, Iasky, RP, Blundell, KA, Yasin, AR, and Ghori, KAR
GSWA Report 73 (21 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N96DW
Summary (part)
The Peedamullah Shelf and Onslow Terrace formed during Carboniferous to Jurassic rifting episodes.
Oil was sourced from the pre-Jurassic section whereas the gas, which is of biogenic origin, was from the Cretaceous section. Biogenic gas could also be present in other areas, such as the eastern part of the Exmouth Sub-basin where dry mature gas is present in basal Cretaceous reservoirs and also within Upper Cretaceous levels. Hydrocarbons on the Peedamullah Shelf and Onslow Terrace did not migrate into the area from the Barrow Sub-basin, as previously believed, because the oil from this latter area was sourced from Upper Jurassic rocks.
A summary of the geological evolution and petroleum potential of the
Southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia
2003, Mory, AJ, Iasky, RP, and Ghori, KAR
GSWA Report 86 (3 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N98DQ
Summary (part)
The Southern Carnarvon Basin consists of two main regions: a western platform (Gascoyne Platform) with a ?Cambrian to Lower Carboniferous succession that has mostly flat-lying Cretaceous–Cainozoic cover; and an eastern set of half grabens (Merlinleigh and Byro Sub-basins) forming a single mid-Carboniferous – Permian depocentre, now separated by gneissic basement of the Carrandibby Inlier. The Merlinleigh Sub-basin shares a Devonian to Lower Carboniferous succession with the Gascoyne Platform, but the two regions otherwise have little in common. The low thermal maturity of the Silurian section implies little, if any, mid-Carboniferous – Permian deposition across the Gascoyne Platform, whereas up to 5000 m of strata of that age were deposited in the Merlinleigh and Byro Sub-basins. The major tectonic events in the basin, evident from seismic and outcrop data, were in the mid-Carboniferous – Early Permian, mid- to Late Permian, Early Cretaceous, and early Neogene. These periods of faulting and folding are consistent with AFTA and vitrinite reflectance data from the Gascoyne Platform, which indicate thermal cooling during the Permian, Late Jurassic, and early Neogene. No regional deformation is apparent prior to the mid-Carboniferous.
The best petroleum source beds are within the Silurian Coburn Formation, Devonian Gneudna Formation, and Lower Permian Wooramel and Byro Groups. However, Silurian and Devonian source beds are thin and probably of limited extent. By comparison, Permian source beds within the Merlinleigh and Byro Sub-basins appear to be thick and widespread. Geohistory modelling indicates that petroleum generation (and consequently migration) from Silurian and Devonian source beds peaked during the Permian, whereas generation from Permian source beds peaked during the Triassic. Therefore, on the Gascoyne Platform, mid-Carboniferous – Early Permian structures are the most prospective, even though they may have been breached by the later tectonic events, whereas hydrocarbon accumulations within the Merlinleigh and Byro Subbasins are likely only in younger structures of Early Cretaceous or Miocene age.
A review of mid-Carboniferous to Triassic stratigraphy, Canning Basin, Western Australia
2010, Mory, AJ
GSWA Report 107 (50.6 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N09DX
Summary
The reservoir character of the glacigene sandstone-dominated Reeves Formation and Grant Group is excellent, although seals in that part of the succession arerelatively thin and impersistent, as shown by three of the small fields (Boundary, Sundown, and West Terrace) on the Lennard Shelf. The potential for hydrocarbon generation within the succession is poor as only the basal portion within the Fitzroy Trough and its southeastern extension lies within the oil window; possibly influenced by late Permian igneous intrusions as well as the relatively thicker sections along these sub-basins. Nevertheless, deeper source rocks are present as indicated by numerous shows, even though the most significant are below the mid-Carboniferous. In addition, the thick mudstone-dominated Noonkanbah Formation may be capable of generating small volumes of gas, in spite of its low maturity; however, this has yet to be evaluated. Because of the low hydrocarbon generation potential of much of the mid-Carboniferous – Permian succession, the lower sandstone-dominatedunits may be best utilized for CO2 sequestration, with the Noonkanbah Formation as the top seal.
Geology and Permian coal resources of the Vasse River Coalfield, Perth Basin,
Western Australia
1998, Le Blanc-Smith, G, and Kristensen, S
GSWA Record 1998/7 (5.5 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N95BF
Summary (part)
Potentially economic coal seams of the Permian Vasse River Coalfield, lie within the Treeton Terrace (an upthrown block of the Vasse Shelf in the southern Perth Basin west of the Bunbury Trough.
In the revised Permian stratigraphy, the 1800 m thick Permian section is divided into the glacial Lower Permian Mosswood Formation (new name) below the Sue Coal Measures, which is here elevated to the Sue Group to contain the following newly recognized formations (in ascending order): the Lower Permian Woodynook Sandstone, Rosabrook Coal Measures, and Ashbrook Sandstone; and the Upper Permian Redgate Coal Measures and Willespie Formation. Palynological studies indicate that the succession spans almost the entire Permian from the Asselian to the Dzhulfian.
The Mosswood Formation, Woodynook Sandstone and Rosabrook Coal Measures form a glacially influenced, upward-coarsening, lacustrine, deltaic and fluvial succession. Fluvial to alluvial upper delta-plain deposits with thin coal seams make up the balance of the succession.
There are up to sixty coal seams ranging in thickness from 0.1 to 4.5 m in a section over 1000 m thick, and these seams show significant variation in extent and quality, but are too deep to be mined by open-cut methods. Coal rank increases with depth from (meta) sub-bituminous to (hypo) bituminous and the type is humic. Inferred resources of coal (Class 1) are estimated at 500 Mt.
Geology of the Southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia - a field guide
2000, Hocking, RM
GSWA Record 2000/10 (7.5 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N97BShttp://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N95BF
Summary (part)
This field guide is designed to be used in conjunction with Bulletin 133 of the Geological Survey of Western Australia and with the various maps and Explanatory Notes for the 1:250 000 Geological Series of the Carnarvon Basin.
With a few exceptions, the localities are grouped and sequenced by age, and then geographical proximity.
This guide was originally prepared in 1990 (Hocking, 1990a), and has been revised to incorporate a new cycle of work by the GSWA.
Geology of the northern Perth Basin, Western Australia — a field guide
2005, Mory, AJ, Haig, DW, McLoughlin, S, and Hocking RM
GSWA Record 2005/9 (9 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N05Chttp://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N95BF
Summary (part)
The northern Perth Basin lies between about 27° and 31°30'S adjacent to the Yilgarn Craton on the western margin of Western Australia. The basin contains up to 12 km of Ordovician and mid-Carboniferous to Cretaceous, primarily nonmarine to shallow-marine strata below extensive thin, mostly non-marine, Cenozoic cover. This guide describes 37 localities in the basin, from Kalbarri to Gingin, and emphasizes stratigraphy, sedimentology, and palaeontology. These localities constitute the key exposures of the pre-Cenozoic succession in the basin and include most of the type sections defined in outcrop.
AESC field guide: Paleozoic geology of the Canning Basin
2008, Hocking, RM, Playford, PE, Haines, P, and Mory, AJ
GSWA Record 2008/18 (19 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N08AG
Summary
The 2008 Australian Earth Science Convention field trip visited the best, and most easily accessed, exposures in the north of the basin within the Lennard Shelf and Fitzroy Trough. These include highly fossiliferous Lower Ordovician marine strata, the extremely well exposed Middle and Upper Devonian carbonate reef complexes, and Lower Permian glacial and deltaic siliciclastic rocks.
Guidebook to the geology and geomorphology of Devonian Reef Complexes of the
Canning Basin,
Western Australia
2009, Playford, PE
GSWA Record 2009/5 (40 Mb)
Summary
This guide to the Middle and Upper Devonian carbonate reef complexes also includes localities showing unconformably overlying Lower Permian glacial rocks and landsurfaces. The guide was largely extracted from GSWA Bulletin 145, Devonian reef complexes of the Canning Basin, WA, hard copies of which can be ordered online from http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/ebookshop/ for AUS$77 plus postage.
Microbialites of Lake Thetis, Cervantes, Western Australia a field guide
2005 Grey, K and Planavsky, NJ
GSWA Record 2005/11 (5.2 Mb)
http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/search.jsp?cabinetId=1101&Combined=N09C
Summary
Lake Thetis is a small, saline lake occupying a collapsed doline on the Swan Coastal Plain near Cervantes that hosts several types of microbial mat and microbialites, the lithified structures constructed by some of the mat communities. Therefore, the lake is of considerable interest to the scientific community, who often visit the site for comparative purposes on their way to the more extensive and better known microbialites of Shark Bay. Its location, close to the popular tourist destination of the Pinnacles, ensures that many members of the general public visit the lake, often as part of guided tours.
Lake Thetis is a living laboratory that provides important insights into the development of microbial communities and the formation of microbialites. It is unusual in that both stromatolites and thrombolites are present, allowing comparison of the processes that give rise to these two different forms of microbialites. The juxtaposition of fenestrate microbialites and non-lithifying microbial mats makes Lake Thetis an ideal locality for studying biological and environmental controls on lithification, providing significant insight into the role of benthic microbial communities in the construction of microbialites.
In addition, the lake presents a possible modern analogue for the formation of hydrocarbon systems in Precambrian rocks.
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has taken over management of Lake Thetis, now a part of Nambung National Park, and has expanded tourist facilities in the area.
