P-wave velocity features of the lithosphere under the Eromanga Basin, Eastern Australia, including a prominent MID-crustal (Conrad?) discontinuity

Abstract

The crustal structure of the central Eromanga Basin in the northern part of the Australian Tasman Geosyncline, revealed by coincident seismic reflection and refraction shooting, contrasts with some neighbouring regions of the continent. The depth to the crust-mantle boundary (Moho) of 36–41 km is much less than that under the North Australian Craton to the northwest (50–55 km) and the Lachlan Fold Belt to the southeast (43–51 km) but is similar to that under the Drummond and Bowen Basins to the east. The seismic velocity boundaries within the crust are sharp compared with the transitional nature of the boundaries under the North Australian and Lachlan provinces. In particular, there is a sharp velocity increase at mid-crustal depths (21–24 km) which has not been observed with such clarity elsewhere in Australia (the Conrad discontinuity?). In the lower crust, the many discontinuous sub-horizontal reflections are in marked contrast to lack of reflecting horizons in the upper crust, further emphasising the differences between the upper and lower crust. The crust-mantle boundary (Moho) is characterised by an increase in velocity from 7.1–7.7 km/s to a value of 8.15 + 0.04 km/s . The depth to the Moho under the Canaway Ridge, a prominent basement high, is shallower by about 5 km than the regional Moho depth; there is also no mid-crustal horizon under the Canaway Ridge but there is a very sharp velocity increase at the Moho depth of 34 km. The Ridge could be interpreted as a horst structure extending to at least Moho depths but it could also have a different intra-crustal structure from the surrounding area. The sub-crustal lithosphere has features which have been interpreted, from limited data, as being caused by a velocity gradient at 56–57 km depth with a low velocity zone above it. Because of the contrasting crustal thicknesses and velocity gradients, the lithosphere of the central Eromanga Basin cannot be considered as an extension of the exposed Lachlan Fold Belt or the North Australian Craton. The lack of seismic reflections from the upper crust indicates no coherent accoustic impedance pattern at wavelengths greater than 100 m, consistent with an upper crustal basement of tightly folded meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanic rocks. The crustal structure is consistent with a pericratonic or arc/back-arc basin being cratonised in an episode of convergent tectonics in the Early Palaeozoic. The seismic reflections from the lower crust indicate that it could have developed in a different tectonic environment.