Great Barrier Reef Coral Community Changes Dated with U-Series, 2007-2010

More than 320 coral samples dated via thermal ionisation mass spectrometry uranium-series methods provide a detailed baseline on historical coral community structure. The data reveals shifts in coral communities and a loss of dominant Acropora corals in the early 20th century in the Palm Islands region. This dataset, hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network, was created by researchers at the University of Queensland's Radiogenic Isotope Facility.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing historical mortality events in coral communities based on U-series dated dead coral skeletons.
• Analyzing shifts in coral community structure over time based on dated samples from the Palm Islands, Mackay, and far northern GBR regions.
• Investigating historical patterns of storm occurrence on the offshore GBR based on dated uplifted reef blocks.
• Assessing Holocene sea level changes from the inshore GBR based on U-series dating of fossil massive corals from Magnetic Island.

Strengths

• More than 320 coral samples have been dated, providing a substantial dataset.
• Uses the highly-precise thermal ionisation mass spectrometry uranium-series dating method, with an error margin of up to 1 year.
• Focuses on inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, providing a regional baseline assessment.

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 the specific reef regions sampled.

Provenance

Source

Radiogenic Isotope Facility, University of Queensland

Collection Method

Uranium-series dating of dead coral skeletons.

Time Range

Samples cover historical periods up to 7000 years ago, with primary study period 2007-2010.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-10 19:31:48.569997; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef, specifically Palm Islands region, Mackay region, far northern GBR, One Tree Reef, Heron Reef, and Magnetic Island.