Biogeochemical Baseline Data from Australia's Continental Margin Sediments, 2007-2014

Surficial seabed sediment samples from over 350 locations across Australia's western, northern, and eastern continental margins. The dataset includes parameters for organic matter source, concentration, and bioavailability, collected during federal government surveys between 2007 and 2014. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network to establish biogeochemical baselines and link sediment properties to water column characteristics.

Use Cases

• Modeling benthic-pelagic coupling based on organic matter concentration and bioavailability parameters.
• Assessing regional productivity differences based on organic carbon and chlorin indices across continental margins.
• Investigating nitrogen fixation's role in marine food webs based on δ15N isotope values.
• Classifying sediment organic richness (organic-poor vs. organic-rich) based on total organic carbon and surface area normalised TOC.

Strengths

• Samples from over 350 spatially distributed locations across multiple Australian continental margins.
• Includes multiple analyzed parameters for organic matter source (δ13C, δ15N, C:N), concentration (%TOC, OC:SA), and bioavailability (chlorin indices, SOD, TSM).
• Data collection spans a 7-year period from 2007 to 2014, providing a temporal baseline.
• Contextual linkage to water column productivity (MODIS) is described in the source material.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to the specific government survey voyages.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Seabed samples collected during federal government marine surveys.

Time Range

2007-2014

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 17:50:24.019081; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia's western, northern, and eastern continental margins