Ajay Kumar: Creating a new article

2023-09-02T18:51:19Z

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[[File:Great Artesian Basin.png|thumb|The [[Great Artesian Basin]] is a remnant of the [[inland sea|inland]] Eromanga Sea]]
The '''Eromanga Sea''' was an [[inland sea]] across what would be [[Australia]] that formed in the [[Early Cretaceous]]. The sea reached the [[Eromanga Basin]] from the north via the [[Gulf of Carpentaria|Carpentarian Basin]]. The southern end of the sea comprised lagoons and rivers, and to the east in [[Surat Basin]] a bay.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=M. E.|last1=Dettmann|first2=R. E.|last2=Molnar|first3=J. G.|last3=Douglas|year=1992|title=Australian cretaceous terrestrial faunas and floras: biostratigraphic and biogeographic implications|journal=Cretaceous Research|volume=13|issue=3|pages=207–262|doi=10.1016/0195-6671(92)90001-7}}</ref><ref>[https://www.australianenvironmentaleducation.com.au/education-resources/eromanga-sea/ EROMANGA SEA]</ref>

It covered large parts of Queensland and [[Central Australia]] at least four times during the early [[Cretaceous]].{{cn|date=September 2023}} The [[Winton Formation]] represent remnants of the river plains that filled the basin left by the Eromanga Sea. The formation is a major source of dinosaur fossils.

==Opals==
The [[Great Artesian Basin]] (GAB) was flooded by the Eromanga Sea and filled with [[volcaniclastic]] sediments eroded from the [[Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province|Cordillera's volcanic arc]]. A theory was proposed explaining the abundance of [[opal]]s in GAB. It was suggested that the Eromanga Sea was shallow, cold, muddy, and stagnant, which have led to little amount of [[carbonate]]s in sediments in the Eromanga Basin. However the abundance of iron-rich and organic sediments have led to an anoxic sub-seafloor well-suited for anaerobic, pyrite-producing bacteria. It was suggested that during the periods of uplift, erosion, and denudation opals were formed due to acidic oxidative weathering during 97 to 60 Ma.<ref>P.F. Rey, [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08120099.2013.784219?journalCode=taje20 Opalisation of the Great Artesian Basin (central Australia): an Australian story with a Martian twist], ''Australian Journal of Earth Sciences'', May 22, 2013{{doi|10.1080/08120099.2013.784219}}</ref><ref>[https://calvin.edu/publication/article/2020/05/11/mineral-treasures-opal MINERAL TREASURES - OPAL]</ref><ref>Tao Hsu, Andrew Lucas, and Vincent Pardieu https://www.gia.edu/doc/GG-WN15-Hsu.pdf SPLENDOR IN THE OUTBACK: A VISIT TO AUSTRALIA’S OPAL FIELDS]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Geology of Australia]]
[[Category:Former lakes of Oceania]]

Eromanga Sea - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Creating a new article