East Antarctic Surface Sediment Grain Size and Composition Data

East Antarctic region (30-150°E) south of 60°S sediment data provides insight into benthic habitats. This compilation incorporates grainsize, biogenic silica, and carbonate data collected and analyzed from the 1950s to 2012. The Australian Ocean Data Network presents the data overlain on maps of bathymetry and geomorphic features.

Use Cases

• Map seabed habitat types based on sediment grainsize and composition data.
• Analyze correlations between sediment properties and geomorphic features like troughs and banks.
• Identify areas of high carbonate content for potential hydrocoral occurrence studies.
• Assess habitat variability within proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in East Antarctica.
• Model sediment depocenters and erosion patterns on the Antarctic shelf and slope.

Strengths

• 472 samples of quantitative grainsize analysis.
• 192 additional samples classified using Folk method.
• 255 samples analyzed for calcium carbonate content.
• 304 samples analyzed for biogenic silica content.
• Data spans a long temporal range from the 1950s to 2012.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the East Antarctic region.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Compilation of data collected and analyzed from various sources.

Time Range

1950s to 2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 10:10:12.900229; freshness should be verified.

Geography

East Antarctic region (30-150°E) south of 60°S