Trace elements and Sr isotopic composition of waters from the Great Artesian Basin of Australia: Implications for the formation of ore deposits and hydrocarbon resources

Abstract

The Great Artesian Basin of eastern Australia (hereafter GAB), one of the largest artesian basins in the world, extends from Queensland to northern New South Wales, and into the Northern Territory and South Australia, covering an area of approximately 1.7 × 10⁸ km² (Habermehl, 1980). The geometry of the GAB, which has a NE—SW axis plunging to SW, probably reflects the Tertiary uplift of the eastern margin of Australia together with subsidence of its central and southwestern parts. The major recharge area is along its eastern flank: the water flows in southwesterly direction, and is discharged in the south and southwest (Figure 1). The GAB itself can be subdivided into a multilayered aquifer system, of which the Lower Cretaceous—Jurassic aquifer (hereafter J-aquifer) is the most important, composed of Triassic to Cretaceous epicontinental sandstones confined by Mesozoic clay-rich sediments of shallow marine or continental origin.