Antarctic Continental Shelf Sediment Drift Data from the Holocene

A sediment drift deposit over 30 metres thick, discovered on the East Antarctic continental shelf in an 850-metre deep glacial trough. Radiocarbon dating indicates a period of rapid deposition occurred between about 3,000 and -5,000 years before present. The dataset is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling past Antarctic bottom water production rates based on sediment deposition patterns.
• Analyzing mid-Holocene climate variability based on the dated period of rapid sediment deposition.
• Studying glacial trough morphology and sediment transport based on the described location and drift thickness.

Strengths

• Describes a specific, dated geological feature over 30 metres in thickness.
• Provides a temporal anchor with radiocarbon dating indicating deposition between about 3,000 and 5,000 years BP.
• Includes precise geographic context: an 850-metre deep glacial trough off George Vth Land, East Antarctica.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely contains geological survey and radiocarbon dating results from a discovered sediment drift.

Time Range

Mid-Holocene, between about 3,000 and 5,000 years before present.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 16:51:10.426560; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Continental shelf of East Antarctica, off George Vth Land.