AGSO Cruise 186: Antarctic Marine Geoscience Survey and Sediment Cores, 1996/97

A post-cruise report summarizes the preliminary results of the 1996/97 Antarctic marine geoscience program. The Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) and Antarctic Co-operative Research Centre conducted a geophysical survey and sediment sampling program in Vincennes Bay, Prydz Bay, and the Mac.Robertson Shelf. The voyage collected seismic data, sidescan sonar records, and sediment cores to study ice sheet retreat timing and Holocene paleoenvironmental records.

Use Cases

• Modeling ice sheet retreat timing following the Last Glacial Maximum based on core and seismic data from shelf basins.
• Analyzing Holocene paleoenvironmental records by correlating diatom and organic carbon data from sediment cores with ice core records.
• Interpreting sedimentary facies models and successions by quantifying modern sedimentary processes described in the report.
• Supporting site survey planning for Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) proposals using collected seismic data from Prydz Bay.

Strengths

• Report includes specific quantitative results, such as eight cores from six stations in Vincennes Bay and 19 gravity cores in Prydz Bay.
• Describes collection of approximately 200 km of seismic data in Vincennes Bay and 900 km in Prydz Bay.
• Identifies a traceable 'interstadial' sediment unit across more than 15,000 km² of the Prydz Channel.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is presented in PDF/HTML report formats, requiring extraction for quantitative analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Marine geophysical survey and sediment coring conducted during AGSO Cruise 186 / ANARE Voyage 5.

Time Range

1996/97 season

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-04 23:28:31.654622; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Vincennes Bay, Prydz Bay, Mac.Robertson Shelf, and Heard Island in the Australian Antarctic Territory and Kerguelen Plateau.