Holocene Sea-Level and Storm Records from the Great Barrier Reef

45 radiocarbon dates from 11 sites spanning 360 to 5855 years before present document Holocene environmental changes in the central to northern Great Barrier Reef inner zone. The dataset, published by the Australian Ocean Data Network, includes sea-level indicators from coral microatolls and storm-ridge sequences from 5 locations. Analysis shows sea level fell smoothly from +1 meter at 6000 years BP to present, with no evidence found for secondary sea-level oscillations or climatic changes over the last 6000 years.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct Holocene sea-level curves using the 45 radiocarbon age/height data points from coral microatolls.
• Analyze storm recurrence intervals, such as the 80-year average for major ridge-building storms in Princess Charlotte Bay.
• Investigate temporal stability in storm frequency using the series of 8 traverses of storm-ridge ages spanning up to 6000 years.
• Calibrate isostatic adjustment models for the Great Barrier Reef using the documented +1 meter sea level at 5500 years BP.

Strengths

• 45 radiocarbon results provide a quantified basis for sea-level reconstruction.
• Data spans a 5495-year temporal range from 360 to 5855 years BP.
• Spatial coverage includes 11 sites across a 6-degree latitudinal range (14° to 20° S).
• Sea-level trend has defined confidence limits of ±0.2 meters.

Limitations

• Sample size for storm-ridge analysis is limited to 5 places with 8 traverses.
• No evidence for climatic or sea-level oscillations in the last 6000 years may reflect data limitations rather than absence of signal.
• Primary data formats (HTML, PDF) are not machine-readable structured tables.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Radiocarbon dating of coral microatolls and surveyed/dated storm-ridge sequences.

Time Range

Holocene, with specific data from 360 to 5855 years before present.

Freshness

Metadata last updated in 2026, but underlying study covers the Holocene epoch.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef inner zone, between 14° and 20° S latitude.