Australian Ocean Data Network hosts data confirming a new coral reef province in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Multibeam sonar mapping, drill cores, and underwater video data identified seven reefs with living corals, with growth commencing around 10.5 kyr BP and ceasing by ~8.0 kyr BP. The dataset includes measurements of reef growth rates and core samples from depths of 27 and 30 meters.
Use Cases
- Modeling reef growth rates (0.95 to 4 m kyr-1) against rapid sea-level rise (>10 m kyr-1)
- Analyzing the timing of reef colonization and submergence during the Early Holocene
- Mapping Pleistocene limestone exposure based on core samples from 27-30 m depths
- Identifying 'give up' reef growth histories from multibeam sonar and video data
Strengths
- Includes multiple data types: multibeam sonar mapping, drill cores, and underwater video
- Provides specific temporal bounds for reef growth (from ~10.5 kyr BP to ~8.0 kyr BP)
- Contains quantified reef growth rates ranging from 0.95 to 4 meters per thousand years
Limitations
- Row count and column-level documentation are unknown; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the Gulf of Carpentaria region
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Multibeam sonar mapping, drill cores, underwater video data
- Time Range
- Early Holocene (~10.5 kyr BP to ~8.0 kyr BP)
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-16 14:11:17.976292; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia