Miocene precursors to Great Barrier Reef
Huge reefs of Miocene age are present in the Gulf of Papua north of the present-day Great Barrier Reef and to the east on the Marion and Queensland Plateaus. In the Gulf of Papua, Miocene barrier reefs formed the northern forerunner of the Great Barrier Reef, extending for many hundreds of kilometers along the eastern and northern margin of the Australian craton within a developing foreland basin. Barrier reefs, slope pinnacle reefs, and platform reefs are seen in seismic sections and drill holes. Leeside talus deposits testify to the high energy impinging on the eastern margin of these Miocene reefs. The Queensland Plateau is a marginal plateau east of the central Great Barrier Reef and separated from it by a rift trough. Miocene reefs occupied an area of about 50,000 km/sup 2/ and grew on salt-controlled highs on the western margin of the plateau and on a regional basement high extending from the platform interior to its southern margin. Reef growth has continued to the present day, although two major contractions in the area covered by reefs occurred during the Miocene. The Marion Plateau is present directly east of the Great Barrier Reef and during the Micoene formed a 30,000-km/sup 2/ platform with barrier reefs along its northern margin and huge platform reefs and laggons on the platform interior. These reefs grew on a flat peneplained surface, the whole area forming a large shallow epicontinental sea. In all three areas, the middle Miocene formed the acme of reef expansion in the region.
- OSTI ID:
- 6634071
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-880301-
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Houston, TX, USA, 20 Mar 1988
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
03 NATURAL GAS
INDIAN OCEAN
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
REEFS
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS
EXPLORATION
QUEENSLAND
SALT DEPOSITS
TERTIARY PERIOD
AUSTRALASIA
AUSTRALIA
CENOZOIC ERA
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
MINERAL RESOURCES
RESOURCES
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
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030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
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