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Abstract
The Werner deconvolution technique for automatic analysis of magnetic data is a powerful tool for the interpretation of magnetic profiles. In particular, the technique is a valuable aid to the interpretation of deep crustal structures beneath the continental margin which frequently lie below the penetration of all but the most high-powered seismic reflection tools. Inverse modelling of selected simple geological structures (buried scarp, graben, half-graben) confirms that the interface model is valuable in delineating the tops of magnetic bodies, while the thin sheet model gives an indication of the depth extent of the bodies. In the case of horizontal sheets in contact (simulating oceanic spreading anomalies), the thin sheet model delineates the boundary, while the interface model gives estimates which are too shallow.
As an illustration of the value of the Werner deconvolution method in regional marine studies, the magnetic basement in the Great Australian Bight (GAB) has been mapped using a set of magnetic profiles; seismic data in the GAB is of limited use in this mapping. Interpretation of the profiles confirms earlier assessments that there is a minimum of 10 km of sediment beneath the Ceduna Terrace (Great Australian Bight Basin), 3 km beneath the Eyre Terrace (Eyre Sub-basin), 6 km in the Duntroon Embayment, 3 km in the Polda Trough, and 4 km beneath the continental rise. The most prominent basement structure in the GAB is the east-west-trending scarp which delineates the northern flank of the Eyre Sub-basin, GAB Basin, and Polda Trough. The gross linearity of this escarpment for 1000 km and the fact that it appears to mark a northern boundary to the extensional basins of the margin suggests that continental extension in the pre-Middle Jurassic took place preferentially south of an old (Precambrian) lineament in the Gawler Block. Polda Trough sediments are probably included in fault-blocks underlying the northern part of the GAB Basin. The interpretation supports the concept of northwest-southeast extension prior to Late Cretaceous breakup.