Seismic Test Survey conducted by the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology andGeophysics (BMR) (now Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO)) during the early part of 1989. The objective of the survey was to test the suitability of the seismicreflection technique for proposed regional deep reflection seismic lines in the Gunnedah Basin and Cobar Basin. The major emphasis of the test survey was to assess the feasibility of acquiring shallow and deep seismic reflections in order to examine various geologicalmodels of bounding faults and basin structure.
The survey acquired data from five sites in the Gunnedah Basin and three sites inthe Cobar Basin. The quality of data in the deeper part of the sections, i.e. 6-15 seconds (TWT), varied from very good to excellent. Seismic reflections in the sedimentary part ofthe succession were, in general, very poor, but some surprisingly good seismic reflectionevents were obtained below the Pilliga Sandstone in the Gunnedah Basin.
The test survey indicated that the deep seismic reflection technique in theGunnedah Basin and Cobar Basin would provide data that would be of assistance in developing new geological models, and an understanding of fault geometries and basinstructure, and would assist the exploration for mineral and petroleum resources in the future.