Estimating the amount of uplift during Canning Basin tectonic events using well logs

Summary

The on-shore Canning Basin, located in northern Western Australia, has a long and complex depositional and tectonic history spanning almost the entire Phanerozoic. The succession includes several regional unconformities and estimating the amount of uplift with which they are associated can provide important constraints on the geohistory of the basin.

Estimation of uplift based on analysis of sonic slownessand density-depth data is a well-established method but has mostly been applied to Mesozoic basins which have experienced relatively little deformation. Application of the method to the Canning Basin requires careful definition of the ‘reference curves’, with particular attention paid to the geological context of the reference well locations, and the use of a combination of density and slowness data.

Initial results, from the Permian Noonkanbah Formation have produced results which are consistent with the known history of the Canning Basin. The map apparent uplift suggests only a few hundred meters of uplift has occurred and the dominant trend is parallel to the Fitzroy Trough, the main fault controlled depo-centre in the northeast of the basin.

Key words::

• Canning Basin
• density log
• sonic log
• uplift