Indurated Sand Layers in Late Quaternary Coastal Deposits of Northern Moreton Bay

Indurated sand layers in coastal deposits can record past soil development phases and influence local hydrology. Samples from sand mine pits at Beachmere and Bells Creek in southeast Queensland were analyzed for cement composition and age. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Thermoluminescence (TL) dating indicates induration processes occurred over periods up to approximately 100,000 years.

Use Cases

• Modeling long-term soil and sediment induration processes based on OSL and TL age data.
• Analyzing the relationship between sediment texture and degree of induration mentioned in the description.
• Studying the geochemical composition of cements (kaolinite, organic complexes) for environmental baselines.
• Investigating the role of indurated layers in creating perched water tables in coastal aquifers.

Strengths

• Includes geochronological data from OSL and TL methods, with specific age ranges provided (e.g., 76,700 ±6,500 years).
• Analysis covers specific, named field sites (Beachmere and Bells Creek) in southeast Queensland.
• Description details the mineralogical composition of cements, including kaolinite and amorphous organic-rich complexes.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for statistical modeling.
• Data freshness should be verified; last metadata update was 2026-04-30 15:15:28.968112.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Samples analyzed from exposures in sand mine pits and an estuarine channel bank.

Time Range

Late Quaternary, with specific OSL/TL ages up to approximately 100,000 years.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 15:15:28.968112; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia (specific sites: Beachmere and Bells Creek).