U-Th Dated Coral Samples from Mazie Bay, Great Barrier Reef, 6900 Years to Modern

Mazie Bay on North Keppel Island in the Southern Great Barrier Reef provides the location for this dataset of 117 coral samples dated using Uranium-Thorium methods. The data, collected in 2012 and 2013 from reef matrix cores and death assemblages, spans an age range from 6900 years before present to modern. It was aggregated by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing reef growth history based on U-Th dates from core samples.
• Modeling past coral community dynamics based on the dominance of Acropora spp. over 7000 years.
• Assessing geomorphological constraints on future reef growth potential based on mid-Holocene filling of accommodation space.
• Studying coral recovery rates from disturbances based on described ~15-year recovery periods.

Strengths

• 117 dated coral samples provide a substantial chronological series.
• Covers a long temporal range from 6900 years before present to modern.
• Sample collection is described in detail, including methods for calculating core compaction.

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 bias inherent to a single bay in the Keppel Islands.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (via data.gov.au).

Collection Method

U-Th dating of coral fragments from manually percussed reef matrix cores and death assemblages collected via SCUBA.

Time Range

Samples range from 6900 years before present to modern; physical collection occurred in February 2012 and June 2013.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 14:04:27.592388; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mazie Bay, North Keppel Island, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia.