Mark Bunch

Dr Mark Bunch

Senior Lecturer

School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Mark is a Senior Lecturer in Petroleum Geoscience at the Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide. His present research activities are concerned with formation evaluation and seismic geomorphology. Prior to his present role, he spent seven years with the CO2CRC as a Research Associate in reservoir characterisation, during which he worked on geological carbon storage site selection, capacity estimation and geological modelling projects in the onshore Canterbury Basin (NZ), the Gippsland and Otway basins of Victoria, the Surat Basin of Queensland, and the Darling Basin of NSW. Mark spent a period of time as acting head of geomodelling for the CO2CRC Otway Basin Pilot Project and led CO2CRC storage research projects for five years. Mark has also worked for the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Project and as a developer of shallow groundwater flow models to guide gravel excavation planning.

Past research themes:

  • Demonstration of complex resistivity signatures for deformation band material hosted within mature reservoir sandstone
  • Characterization of palaeolandscape processes via forward stratigraphic simulation of the redistribution of terrestrial sediments by water and wind currents over geological timescales
  • Characterization and modelling of subsurface CO2 storage systems

Current research themes:

  • Seismic geomorphology - digital rendering of past landscapes and landscape features preserved within the subsurface by use of seismic attribute analysis to elucidate controls on the development of stratigraphy
  • Detecting cemented zones within siliciclastic stratigraphy - using subtle expressions within legacy exploration datasets, namely wireline log and 3D seismic survey data, to automatically delineate the occurrence of discrete cemented zones within sandstone reservoir units
  • Discriminating sources for natural accumulations of CO2 - using spatial analysis of stable isotope distributions to determine the contributions made by biological processes and mantle degassing to subsurface natural gas accumulations containing CO2

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2015 - ongoing Senior Lecturer in Petroleum Geoscience University of Adelaide
    2008 - 2014 Senior Research Associate in CCS (CO2CRC) University of Adelaide
    2006 - 2007 Postdoctoral Research Associate University of Birmingham
    2003 - 2004 Research Assistant University of Birmingham

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2001 - 2006 University of Birmingham United Kingdom PhD
    2000 - 2001 University of Birmingham United Kingdom MSc
    1997 - 2000 Durham University United Kingdom BSc (Hons)

  • Postgraduate Training
    Date Title Institution Country
    Graduate Certificate in Higher Education University of Adelaide Australia

I teach the following courses or technical themes as part of both Petroleum Geoscience and Petroleum Engineering curricula within the Australian School of Petroleum:

  • Wireline logging: principles, acquisition, and interpretation
  • Image log analysis
  • Reservoir characterization
  • Geostatistics
  • Fundamentals of seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation
  • Standard seismic interpretation
  • Advanced seismic interpretation
  • Subsurface mapping

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 Principal Supervisor Cross-borehole seismic interferometry to interpolate rock mass and geometallurgical variables Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Amirreza Shakib
    2023 Co-Supervisor Geophysical-geomechanical constraints on the operating limits for basin-scale CO2 storage Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Iain Alexander Campbell
    2022 Co-Supervisor Tectonics and Magmatic Evolution of the Browse Basin, North West Shelf of Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Kosuke Tsutsui
    2020 Principal Supervisor Application of different angle stacks and seismic attribute analysis to enhance the understanding of the reservoir geology within the Shipwreck Through, Offshore Otway Basin Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Marat Valiyev

  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Multi-scale, Multi-dimensional Reservoir Characterization Using Advanced Analytics and Machine Learning Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Roozbeh Koochak
    2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Post-breakup Evolution of the Ceduna Sub-basin and understanding of processes that occur on Rifted Continental Margins Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Monica Jimenez Lloreda
    2018 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Neotectonic faults of the Paralana Escarpment and their influence on uranium-bearing fluid flow Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Jonathan David Donauer Berthiaume
    2018 - 2024 Co-Supervisor The Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Magmatic Record of the Northern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia: Implications for Petroleum Exploration and Development. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Michael Shaun Curtis
    2017 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Analysing Ancient Focused Fluid Flow Systems in Offshore Sedimentary Basins of Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Tayallen Velayatham
    2015 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Structural Evolution of Deformation Bands Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Drew Christopher Lubiniecki
    2015 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Sequence stratigraphy, facies architecture and petroleum potential of the Roseneath, Epsilon, and Murteree Formations in the Cooper Basin, Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Fengtao Guo

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2013 - ongoing Treasurer Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia - South Australia Branch Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia Australia
  • Position: Senior Lecturer
  • Phone: 83134292
  • Email: mark.bunch@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 83138026
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Santos Petroleum Engineering, floor 2
  • Org Unit: Earth Sciences
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