Kinematic reconstruction of the Jurassic intraplate rift deformation in the Northern Carnarvon Basin, Australia

Patrick Makuluni, Juerg Hauser, Laurent Langhi, Stuart Clark

Intraplate rift basins, like the inboard sub-basins of the Northern Carnarvon Basin (NCB), host rich energy resources, but their complex geological histories complicate exploration efforts. The paleo-deformation that formed these intraplate rifts also controlled their resource systems distribution. Hence, understanding their complex kinematic and tectonostratigraphic histories can optimise exploration and targeting. However, without forming oceanic seafloor, these regions lack adjacent magnetic seafloor isochrons to constrain paleo-positions of rift margins, rendering kinematic reconstruction nearly impossible.

Our study published in Tectonophysics (Makuluni et al., 2024) presents a method that constrains the spatiotemporal paleo-distribution of intraplate rift-related deformation and precisely locates paleo-positions of rift margins using time-dependent backstripped subsidence rasters. This method correlates areas with high subsidence rates with rifted regions within extension settings, and we applied it to reconstruct the kinematic evolution of the NCB sub-basin rift.