Lower tertiary pollen and microplankton from deeply buried coal measures, Taranaki, New Zealand

1966 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. McIntyre ◽  
G. Norris
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Lower Tertiary ◽  
Coal Measures

scholarly journals I.—A Retrospect of Palaeontology in the Last Forty Years

1904 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-157
Author(s):  
H. W.
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Air Breathing ◽  
The Past ◽  
Coal Measures

Reptilia et Aves.—Our two greatest Anatomists of the past century, Owen and Huxley, both contributed to this section of our palaelig;ozoological record. Owen (in 1865) described some remains of a small air-breathing vertebrate, Anthrakerpeton crassosteum, from the Coal-shales of Glamorganshire, corresponding with those described by Dawson from the Coal-measures of Nova Scotia; and in 1870 he noticed some remains of Plesiosaurus Hoodii (Owen) from New Zealand, possibly of Triaasic age.

THE INITIAL MARINE TRANSGRESSION IN THE GIPPSLAND BASIN, VICTORIA

1964 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Barry Hocking ◽  
David J. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Tertiary Structures ◽  
Marine Transgression ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Lower Tertiary ◽  
Tasman Sea ◽  
Gippsland Basin ◽  
Coal Measures

The Gippsland Basin of south-eastern Victoria is considered as the depositional area of Tertiary sediments lying beneath the Gippsland Plains and extending southwards beneath the Tasman Sea. This area is bounded by Mesozoic and Palaeozoic rocks.The initial marine transgression across the landward extent of the basin appears to have commenced in uppermost Eocene to lowermost Oligocene times. The nature of the initial marine Tertiary sedimentation is controlled by:four regional lower Tertiary structures—the Woodside-Seaspray Deep, the Baragwanath Anticline, the Lake Wellington Trough, and the Lakes Entrance Platform; andthe nature of the rocks upon which these sediments were deposited.Because of the progressive onlap in some areas, particularly on the Baragwanath Anticline, the initial marine transgression is diachronous.The initial marine Tertiary sediments—constituting the Lakes Entrance Formation (as redefined in this paper)—can be divided into two broad lithological units, a lower sandy one and an upper marly one. Oil traces have been recorded in the basal sands throughout the basin, particularly in the Lakes Entrance area where minor production was undertaken during the 1930s.The offshore areas of the basin appear to have the greatest oil potential. The prospective reservoir beds would be the offshore extensions of the hasal marine Tertiary sands, or else offshore marine equivalents of the Latrobe Valley Coal Measures (which underlie the marine sediments in all but the Lakes Entrance Platform area)—provided that these beds have not been flushed by artesian waters.

II.—The Unconformable Relationship of the Lower Tertiaries and Upper Cretaceous of New Zealand

1911 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 539-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Park
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Lower Tertiary ◽  
Great Economic Importance ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Academic Discussion ◽  
Relationship Of

With the question of conformity or unconformity between the Lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous, there is associated a problem of great economic importance to New Zealand. The subject involves something more than a mere academic discussion. If conformity exists, then we have only one coal-bearing formation; but if unconformity, then we have two. I believe that both the stratigraphical and palæontological evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of the latter.

The ultramafic—mafic complex at North Cape, northernmost New Zealand

1976 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Quartz Diorite ◽  
Dyke Swarm ◽  
Lower Tertiary ◽  
Mafic Complex ◽  
Tectonic Belt

SummaryThe ultramafic—mafic complex at North Cape lies in a Mesozoic—Lower Tertiary tectonic belt linking New Zealand with New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea. The complex is faulted against Cretaceous submarine tholeiites and contains (1) serpentinized harzburgite and lherzolite of probable cumulus origin (and intruded by more Fe-rich wehrlitic veins and dykes), overlain by (2) layered olivine- and orthopyroxene-gabbro subvolcanic cumulates which are themselves host for (3) a sheeted dyke swarm of mainly quartz-diorite composition. It is suggested that the complex was emplaced with the Cretaceous volcanics by obduction of Mesozoic oceanic crust during the Lower Tertiary.

What we know (and what we don't) about the petroleum prospectivity of the Northland Basin, North Island, New Zealand

2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Uruski
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
The West ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
Gondwana Margin ◽  
Jurassic Coal ◽  
Coal Measures

The offshore Northland Basin is a major sedimentary accumulation lying to the west of the Northland Peninsula of New Zealand. It merges with the Taranaki Basin in the south and its deeper units are separated from Deepwater Taranaki by a buried extension of the West Norfolk Ridge. Sedimentary thicknesses increase to the northwest and the Northland Basin may extend into Reinga. Its total area is at least 65,000 km2 and if the Reinga Basin is included, it may be up to 100,000 km2. As in Taranaki, petroleum systems of the Northland Basin were thought to include Cretaceous to Recent sedimentary rocks. Waka Nui–1 was drilled in 1999 and penetrated no Cretaceous sediments, but instead drilled unmetamorphosed Middle Jurassic coal measures. Economic basement may be older meta-sediments of the Murihiku Supergroup. Thick successions onlap the dipping Jurassic unit and a representative Cretaceous succession is likely to be present in the basin. Potential source rocks known to be present include the Middle Jurassic coal measures of Waka Nui–1 and the Waipawa Formation black shale. Inferred source rocks include Late Jurassic coaly rocks of the Huriwai Beds, the Early Cretaceous Taniwha Formation coaly sediments, possible Late Cretaceous coaly units and lean but thick Late Cretaceous and Paleogene marine shales. Below the voluminous Miocene volcanoes of the Northland arc, the eastern margin of the basin is dominated by a sedimentary wedge that thickens to more than two seconds two-way travel time (TWT), or at least 3,000 m, at its eastern margin and appears to have been thrust to the southwest. This is interpreted to be a Mesozoic equivalent of the Taranaki Fault, a back-thrust to subduction along the Gondwana Margin. The ages of sedimentary units in the wedge are unknown but are thought to include a basal Jurassic succession, which dips generally to the east and is truncated by an erosional unconformity. A southwestwards-prograding succession overlies the unconformity and its top surface forms a paleoslope onlapped by sediments of Late Cretaceous to Neogene ages. The upper succession in the wedge may be of Early Cretaceous age—perhaps the equivalent of the Taniwha Formation or the basal succession in Waimamaku–2. The main part of the basin was rifted to form a series of horst and graben features. The age of initial rifting is poorly constrained, but the structural trend is northwest–southeast or parallel to the Early Cretaceous rifting of Deepwater Taranaki and with the Mesozoic Gondwana margin. Thick successions overlie source units which are likely to be buried deeply enough to expel oil and gas, and more than 70 slicks have been identified on satellite SAR data suggesting an active petroleum system. Numerous structural and stratigraphic traps are present and the potential of the Northland Basin is thought to be high.

PETROLEUM PROSPECTS OF TASMAN AND GOLDEN BAY AREAS, SOUTHERN COOK STRAIT, NEW ZEALAND

1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
R. C. Sprigg ◽  
W. F. Stockier ◽  
J. C. Braithwalte
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Structural Breaks ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
The West ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Lower Tertiary ◽  
Cook Strait ◽  
West Basin

Petroliferous sediments of Lower Tertiary age are preserved in a number of sub-basins, basin synclines and graben along the western portions of both islands of New Zealand.These form part of the extensively disrupted lineal and platform-like Cretaceous-Tertiary "West Basin" or geosyncline which is separated from a comparable "East Geosyncline" by the geanticlinal backbone of the New Zealand island-chain.Sedimentation in the West Basin was thick (10,000 to 20,000 feet or more) and continuous throughout much of the Cretaceo- Tertiary interval. Unconformities, where present, tend to be local features, but may still represent marked erosional and/or structural breaks. Lithologic and facies changes are not infrequent on a small scale, but these are superimposed on regional sequences that are traceable over the full longitudinal extent of the overall basin.Cretaceous to Lower Tertiary sequences tend to be freshwater and coal-bearing, but may be "paralic" locally. More marine facies are predicted beneath Cook Strait. Later Tertiary sediments are more predominantly marine, and include big thicknesses of mudstone and limestone.Oil seepages occur in a number of situations in the West Basin, and are associated with Lower Tertiary coal measures. In the Taranaki sub-basin the small oil field at New Plymouth has produced a total of 200,000 barrels of oil and 65 million cubic feet of gas, while the more recently discovered (1959) Kapuni condensate-gas field is capable of producing 60 million cubic feet of gas per day, of which 40 per cent is CO, accompanied initially by 4,500 million barrels per day of condensate.The Nelson and Farewell Spit sub-basins of present interest respectively plunge north beneath Tasman and Golden Bays on either side of the Pikikirunl Range "horst". They then coalesce beyond Separation Point and link with the Kapuni sub-basin beneath Cook Strait as part of the modern continental shelf. These graben-like developments are characterised by strong north plunge.Geophysical surveys leading to the better understanding of basin sub-structure about southern Cook Strait are discussed, followed by consideration of possible petroleum potential. Gravity anomalies in both the Tasman and Golden Bay areas, supported by seismic surveys, have confirmed anticlinal structure. Structural and stratigraphic traps for petroleum are predicted in relation particularly to these developments.

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