Holocene Reef Growth Rates and Facies in the Great Barrier Reef

Over the past five years, scientists drilled 61 holes into 24 reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Province. The dataset likely contains analysis of drill-hole cores, delineating five major biosedimentologic facies and quantifying their depositional and framework growth rates in meters per thousand years.

Use Cases

• Modeling reef growth rates based on the quantified framework and detrital facies rates.
• Analyzing latitudinal and regional variations in reef facies composition.
• Studying the relationship between sea-level rise and initial reef colonization lag.
• Comparing depositional environments based on rates for sand flats, storm sedimentation, and high-energy events.

Strengths

• Based on 61 drill holes into 24 reefs, providing a substantial physical sample set.
• Includes nearly 250 radiocarbon dates for temporal calibration.
• Quantifies specific growth rates for different facies and environments (e.g., 1-16 m/1000 yr for frameworks).

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 Great Barrier Reef study area.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Mineral Resources and James Cook University of North Queensland, via Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Drill-hole core analysis and radiocarbon dating.

Time Range

Holocene, with reef initiation around 8-9000 years B.P.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 22:06:39.755423; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef Province between 15°30S and 25°50S.