Holocene Reef Growth Rates and Facies in the Great Barrier Reef

Over five years, scientists drilled 61 holes into 24 reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Province between 15°30S and 25°50S, recording nearly 250 radiocarbon dates. Analysis delineated five major biosedimentologic facies and quantified their depositional and framework growth rates in meters per thousand years. The data was published by Geoscience Australia Data and last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling reef accretion rates based on reported framework growth rates of 1-16 m/1000 yr.
• Analyzing regional sedimentological variation based on described latitudinal uniformity in framework facies versus detrital facies.
• Studying sea-level rise impacts on reef initiation based on the reported 8-9000 year B.P. start and growth lag data.
• Comparing depositional environments using the reported rates for sand flat progradation, storm sedimentation, and high-energy events.

Strengths

• Data is derived from 61 drill holes across 24 reefs, providing spatial coverage.
• Includes nearly 250 radiocarbon dates for temporal calibration.
• Quantifies growth rates for specific facies and environments (e.g., 7-8 m/1000 yr for patch reefs).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data format is HTML/PDF, which may require extraction for analysis.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Mineral Resources and James Cook University of North Queensland, via Geoscience Australia Data.

Collection Method

Scientific drilling and core analysis with radiocarbon dating.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 15:27:37.348734; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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