Australian Seabed Sediment Properties from 1905 to 2017

Over a century of marine sediment samples collected between 1905 and 2017 within Australian waters and adjacent regions. Geoscience Australia's Marine Sediment database (MARS) holds point data describing sediment texture, grain size, and composition. Samples were sourced from multiple organizations, with attributes including survey details, location, depth, and sediment properties like percentages of mud, sand, and gravel.

Use Cases

• Model seabed habitat suitability based on sediment texture classifications.
• Analyze historical changes in sediment composition based on the century-long time span.
• Map sediment distribution patterns across the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone and other regions.
• Correlate water depth with sediment grain size characteristics.

Strengths

• Data spans over 112 years (1905-2017), providing a long-term historical record.
• Samples cover multiple regions including the Australian EEZ, Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Timor Sea, and Papua New Guinea waters.
• Attributes include specific sediment properties like %mud, %sand, %gravel, mean grain size, and Folk (1954) texture classification.

Limitations

• There is no consistent datum and projection due to the long time span and differing collecting organizations.
• Sampling technique, spatial accuracy, and sample preservation vary between surveys.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Samples acquired by marine surveys from a range of organizations.

Time Range

1905 to 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 05:06:00.796647; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian Exclusive Economic Zone, Australian Antarctic Territory, waters around Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), Timor Sea, and waters around Papua New Guinea.