| Precipice Sandstone | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian ~ | |
 Mount Morgan Mine, where strata of the formation was exposed | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Bundamba Group |
| Sub-units |
|
| Underlies | Evergreen Formation |
| Overlies | |
| Thickness | 175 m (574 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Other | Siltstone, mudstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 24°18′S 150°30′E / 24.3°S 150.5°E |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 58°36′S 92°24′E / 58.6°S 92.4°E |
| Region |  Queensland New South Wales |
| Country |  Australia |
| Extent | Surat Basin |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Sandstone cliffs in the gorge of Precipice Creek, a tributary of the Dawson River |
| Named by | Whitehouse |
  Precipice Sandstone (Australia) | |
The Precipice Sandstone an Early Jurassic (Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian, with possible Hettangian levels) geologic formation of the Surat Basin in New South Wales and Queensland, eastern Australia, know due to the presence of abundant vertebrate remains & tracks.[1][2][3] This unit includes the previously described Razorback beds.[4] This unit represents a major, almost primary, source of hydrocarbons in the region, with a Potential CO2 reservoir of up to 70m.[5] It was deposited on top of older sediments, like Bowen Basin units, in an unconformable manner, resting along the eastern basin margin and the Back Creek Group in the southern Comet Platform, while in other areas it directly overlies the Triassic Moolayember Formation & Callide Coal Measures, being deposited in a comparatively stable basin.[3] Isopach maps of the Precipice Sandstone indicate two distinct areas of sediment accumulation, suggesting two separate depocentres filled from different source regions during the Sinemurian, with the Thomson orogeny and New England Orogen hinterlands as possible ones.[6] This unit represented a fluvial-palustrine-lacustrine braided channel north-flowing succession, that seem to have debouch into a shallow restricted tidal/wave influenced marine embayment, marked at areas like Woleebee Creek.[7] Paleoenvironment-wise, it represents a hinterland rich in vegetation, hinting at wet environments like swamps, where agglutinated foraminifera suggests marine flooding and drier conditions or the encroachment of seawater onto coastal areas.[8]
- ^ Vickers-Rich, Patricia (1991). Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia. Lilydale, Vic: Pioneer Design Studio in cooperation with the Monash University Publications Committee, Melbourne. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.60647. ISBN 0-909674-36-1.
- ^ "Precipice Sandstone". Australian Stratigraphic Units Database. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ a b Exon, N.F. (1976). "Geology of the Surat Basin in Queensland" (PDF). Bureau of Mineral Resources, Australia. Bulletin. 166 (2): 1–235.
- ^ Murray, C.G.; Blake, P.R.; Crouch, S.B.S.; Hayward, M.A.; Robertson, A.D.C.; Simpson, G.A. (2012). "Geology of the Yarrol Province central coastal Queensland". Queensland Geology. 13 (1): 1–675.
- ^ Farquhar, S. M.; Dawson, G. K. W.; Esterle, J. S.; Golding, S. D. (2013-02-01). "Mineralogical characterisation of a potential reservoir system for CO2 sequestration in the Surat Basin". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. 60 (1): 91–110. Bibcode:2013AuJES..60...91F. doi:10.1080/08120099.2012.752406. ISSN 0812-0099.
- ^ Sobczak, Kasia; La Croix, Andrew D.; Esterle, Joan; Hayes, Phil; Holl, Heinz-Gerd; Ciesiolka, Rachael; Crowley, James L.; Allen, Charlotte M. (2022). "Geochronology and sediment provenance of the Precipice Sandstone and Evergreen Formation in the Surat Basin, Australia: Implications for the palaeo-geography of eastern Gondwana". Gondwana Research. 111: 189–208. Bibcode:2022GondR.111..189S. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2022.08.003. ISSN 1342-937X.
- ^ Bianchi, V.; Zhou, F.; Pistellato, D.; Martin, M.; Boccardo, S.; Esterle, J. (2018-04-26). "Mapping a coastal transition in braided systems: an example from the Precipice Sandstone, Surat Basin". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. 65 (4): 483–502. Bibcode:2018AuJES..65..483B. doi:10.1080/08120099.2018.1455156. ISSN 0812-0099.
- ^ Martin, M.; Wakefield, M.; Bianchi, V.; Esterle, J.; Zhou, F. (2017-12-11). "Evidence for marine influence in the Lower Jurassic Precipice Sandstone, Surat Basin, eastern Australia". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. 65 (1): 75–91. doi:10.1080/08120099.2018.1402821. ISSN 0812-0099.