East Antarctic Sediment Grainsize, Biogenic Silica, and Carbonate Data, 1950s-2012

East Antarctic surface sediments from 30-150°E south of 60°S provide insight into seabed habitats. This compilation includes 472 grainsize samples, 192 Folk classifications, 255 calcium carbonate samples, and 304 biogenic silica samples collected from the 1950s to 2012. Data from Geoscience Australia is overlaid on bathymetry and geomorphic maps to illustrate habitat variations.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic habitat suitability based on sediment grainsize and composition data.
• Analyzing seabed sediment depocenters and erosion patterns based on grainsize distributions.
• Correlating high carbonate content with known hydrocoral occurrence at the shelf break.
• Assessing habitat variability within proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) based on sedimentary properties.

Strengths

• 472 quantitative grainsize samples and 192 Folk classifications provide a basis for sediment type analysis.
• Composition data includes 255 calcium carbonate and 304 biogenic silica samples.
• Data collection spans over six decades, from the 1950s to 2012.
• Spatial coverage is defined for the East Antarctic region (30-150°E, south of 60°S).

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Compilation of data collected and analyzed from various sources.

Time Range

1950s to 2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:32:16.269452; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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