Publications

Chemostratigraphy uses geochemical data to characterise and correlate sedimentary strata. The value of the technique has been recognised as long ago as the 1930s, but its application was limited up until relatively recently due to the lack of accurate, precise and rapid turnaround analytical instruments. With the development of modern instrumentation and data processing technology it is now possible to rapidly quantify over 40 elements in a range of different sample types including cores and cuttings. These posters illustrate the techniques involved in producing elemental data and the capabilities of the technology. Two case studies are then utilised to show how the concept of chemostratigraphy is applied in real geological settings.The first case study is a series of clastic sediments of Permian age from the Birds Head region of West Papua. As a result of sparse biotratigraphic data and difficulties in obtaining a good seismic response it has been difficult to gain a detailed stratigraphic structure for this area. Using a geochemical approach it was possible to provide a detailed correlation across the region. Further to this it was also possible to ascertain a number of paleoenvironmental factors including flooding surfaces and weathering profiles.The second case study is a series of carbonate sediments of Devonian age from the Canning Basin of Australia. Making stratigraphic correlations in reef system can be problematic, particularly when trying to recognize correlative chronostratigraphic surfaces from back reef through into fore reef settings. A multidisciplinary study was undertaken to compare the validity of the different analytical approaches and ascertain if chemostratigraphy does indeed provide the most effective way of correlating in carbonate systems. The conclusion was that whole rock chemostratigraphy provides both broad and high resolution correlations, however, it was also concluded that chemostratigraphic correlations can be ambiguous if several known datums are not defined to guide the more high resolution correlations.