Glacial-Interglacial Paleoceanography from Australian Margin Sediment Cores

Sediment core data from the Exmouth Plateau, Perth Basin, and Ceduna Terrace off Australia, collected by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation. The data provide evidence of glacial-interglacial changes in surface ocean productivity and deep water chemistry since the Last Glacial Maximum, roughly 20,000 years ago. Measurements include sediment accumulation rates, biogenic components like CaCO3 and organic carbon, benthic foraminiferal abundances, and stable isotope records.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical ocean productivity changes based on sediment accumulation rates and biogenic component data.
• Reconstructing deep water chemistry profiles based on benthic foraminiferal stable isotope records.
• Comparing glacial and interglacial environmental conditions based on authigenic uranium concentrations and foraminiferal abundances.

Strengths

• Data from 14 sediment cores across two distinct regions of the Australian continental margin.
• Quantifies specific changes: sediment accumulation rates during the Last Glacial Maximum were 1.5-2 times higher than during the Holocene.
• Includes multiple proxy measurements: CaCO3, organic carbon, benthic foraminiferal abundances, authigenic uranium, and stable isotopes.

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 data_gov_au, focusing on specific Australian margin sites.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, based on data from the Australian Geological Survey Organisation.

Collection Method

Collected from sediment cores drilled from the Exmouth Plateau, Perth Basin, and Ceduna Terrace.

Time Range

Covers periods since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), roughly 20,000 years ago, through the Holocene.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 08:19:31.757253; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southeastern Indian Ocean off Western Australia (Exmouth Plateau, Perth Basin) and the Great Australian Bight (Ceduna Terrace).