Early Holocene Coral Reef Province in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

Multibeam sonar mapping, drill cores and underwater video data confirm a previously unknown reef province in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Seven reefs comprised of coral limestone have been mapped, with U/Th ages showing reef growth commenced around 10.5 kyr BP, making them the oldest known in Australia. The dataset is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling reef growth rates based on reported measurements of 0.95 to 4 m kyr-1.
• Analyzing reef submergence patterns based on the 'give up' growth history described.
• Studying paleo-sea-level stillstands using core samples from reef platforms at depths of 27 and 30 m.

Strengths

• Includes data from seven mapped reefs, with indications of up to 50 others in the region.
• Provides U/Th ages showing reef growth commenced around 10.5 kyr BP, covering a ~2.0 kyr period.
• Contains core samples demonstrating Pleistocene limestone exposure at specific depths (27 and 30 m).

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

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Multibeam sonar mapping, drill cores, underwater video data.

Time Range

Early Holocene, approximately 10.5 to 8.0 kyr BP.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 20:44:22.229225; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia.