Australian Seabed Sediment Properties from 1905 to 2017

Over a century of marine sediment samples collected within Australian waters and adjacent regions from 1905 to 2017. This point dataset from Geoscience Australia's MARS database describes sediment properties like grain size percentages and texture. Samples were sourced from various organizations, with attributes including survey details, location, water depth, and sampling method.

Use Cases

• Map seabed sediment texture classifications based on the Folk (1954) nomenclature mentioned in the description.
• Analyze the distribution of mud, sand, and gravel percentages across the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone.
• Correlate sediment properties with water depth and sampling location data for habitat or geological studies.
• Investigate historical changes in sediment composition using samples spanning more than 110 years.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range from 1905 to 2017.
• Includes samples from a broad geographic area, encompassing Australian EEZ, Antarctic Territory, and surrounding waters.
• Contains multiple physical sediment properties such as %mud, %sand, %gravel, and mean grain size.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Samples acquired by marine surveys from various organizations, held within the Geoscience Australia Marine Sediment database (MARS).

Time Range

1905 to 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:41:34.747873; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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