Ancient submarine volcanic systems preserved within sedimentary basins provide opportunities to investigate the time and spatial distributions of intrusive and extrusive rocks, though existing work has largely focused on the geometrical features of submarine volcanic products, with limited interrogation of their interactions with sedimentary processes. This study investigates a buried submarine volcanic system within the Browse Basin, Australian North West Shelf. Through the integration of three-dimensional seismic reflection survey with borehole data, our study reveals intricate geometric features of a submarine volcano and lava channels, and their relationship to an associated intrusive network of Early Cretaceous age that has been preserved beneath ∼3.5 km of sedimentary overburden. In planform, the volcano has a diameter >4.5 km with a preserved height reaching 650 m. Meandering lava-flow channels extend ∼20 km southward of the volcanic edifice, forming lava lobes with pressure ridges at the flow termini. Abundant sheet intrusions, identified within underlying Jurassic and older strata, indicate a magma transport from the north. The localized accumulation of sills led to variations in palaeo-seafloor topography, influencing the direction of lava flows and post-volcanic sedimentation patterns. Our findings have a broad range of implications encompassing submarine volcanism and their impacts on basin dynamics.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
January 30, 2025
Emplacement and landscape controls on ancient submarine volcanism: 3D seismic geomorphological analysis of Cretaceous volcanic activity in the Browse Basin, Australian North West Shelf
K. Tsutsui;
K. Tsutsui
*
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
2
INPEX Corporation
, Tokyo, Japan
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
S. Holford;
S. Holford
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
Search for other works by this author on:
N. Schofield;
N. Schofield
3
Department of Geology and Geophysics
, University of Aberdeen
, Aberdeen, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
M. Bunch;
M. Bunch
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
Search for other works by this author on:
K. McClay;
K. McClay
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
Search for other works by this author on:
R. King
R. King
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
Search for other works by this author on:
K. Tsutsui
*
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
2
INPEX Corporation
, Tokyo, Japan
S. Holford
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
N. Schofield
3
Department of Geology and Geophysics
, University of Aberdeen
, Aberdeen, UK
M. Bunch
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
K. McClay
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
R. King
1
School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
, University of Adelaide
, South Australia, Australia
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Received:
28 Apr 2024
Revision Received:
01 Nov 2024
Accepted:
05 Nov 2024
First Online:
13 Nov 2024
Online ISSN: 2041-479X
Print ISSN: 0016-7649
Funding
- Funder(s):INPEX Corporation
- Funder(s):Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists Research Foundation
- Award Id(s): RF22P01
- Award Id(s):
- Funder(s):Department of Energy and Mining, South Australia
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), artificial intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved. For permissions: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/permissions-policy. Publishing disclaimer: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/publishing-ethics
© 2025 The Author(s)
Journal of the Geological Society (2025) 182 (2): jgs2024-084.
Article history
Received:
28 Apr 2024
Revision Received:
01 Nov 2024
Accepted:
05 Nov 2024
First Online:
13 Nov 2024
Citation
K. Tsutsui, S. Holford, N. Schofield, M. Bunch, K. McClay, R. King; Emplacement and landscape controls on ancient submarine volcanism: 3D seismic geomorphological analysis of Cretaceous volcanic activity in the Browse Basin, Australian North West Shelf. Journal of the Geological Society 2025;; 182 (2): jgs2024–084. doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2024-084
Download citation file:
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Index Terms/Descriptors
- Australasia
- Australia
- basins
- body waves
- boreholes
- bottom features
- Browse Basin
- buried features
- Cretaceous
- dikes
- elastic waves
- emplacement
- geophysical methods
- geophysical surveys
- igneous rocks
- intrusions
- Jurassic
- lava channels
- lava flows
- Lower Cretaceous
- magma transport
- Mesozoic
- North West Shelf
- ocean floors
- overburden
- P-waves
- paleobathymetry
- plutonic rocks
- reflection methods
- sedimentary basins
- seismic methods
- seismic waves
- sheeted dikes
- sills
- spatial distribution
- submarine volcanoes
- surveys
- temporal distribution
- three-dimensional models
- transport
- velocity structure
- volcanic features
- volcanic rocks
- volcanism
- volcanoes
Latitude & Longitude
Citing articles via
Related Articles
3D seismic imaging of the shallow plumbing system beneath the Ben Nevis Monogenetic Volcanic Field: Faroe–Shetland Basin
Journal of the Geological Society
Transport of mafic magma through the crust and sedimentary basins: Jameson Land, East Greenland
Journal of the Geological Society
Related Book Content
Dyke emplacement and crustal structure within a continental large igneous province, northern Barents Sea
Circum-Arctic Lithosphere Evolution
Gondwana Large Igneous Provinces: plate reconstructions, volcanic basins and sill volumes
Large Igneous Provinces from Gondwana and Adjacent Regions
The Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau structure from two-dimensional multichannel seismic reflection profiles and implications for oceanic plateau formation
The Origin, Evolution, and Environmental Impact of Oceanic Large Igneous Provinces
Geologically driven 3D modelling of physical rock properties in support of interpreting the seismic response of the Lalor volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, Snow Lake, Manitoba, Canada
Characterization of Ore-Forming Systems from Geological, Geochemical and Geophysical Studies