Crustal Structure Across the Vulcan Sub-basin from Seismic Refraction and Gravity Data

The attenuated continental crust between the Kimberley Block and the Timor Trough hosts some of the major oil and gas fields in Western Australia. The crustal structure has been interpreted from wide-angle seismic data acquired by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation during 1995/96. Ten ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed along a deep seismic reflection profile aligning NW with exploration wells Fagin and Crane. Data were recorded to offsets of 300 km. A total profile 335 km long and 48 km deep has been developed, by ray-tracing and inversion modelling of the refraction data, and verified by modelling gravity data. The model differentiates 7 crustal and 2 upper mantle layers.