Three sediment cores from Nara Inlet reveal a mixed clastic/carbonate system over the last 3000 years. Radiocarbon dating shows the top 3 meters accumulated within this period, with a slowing rate towards present-day. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts this dataset, which indicates a previously unrecognized terrigenous sediment source for the Great Barrier Reef platform.
Use Cases
- Modeling sediment accumulation rates over time based on radiocarbon ages from benthic foraminifera.
- Analyzing the changing ratio of terrigenous clay to marine carbonate components described in the cores.
- Investigating the impact of reef growth on sediment deposition patterns based on the described impedance of terrigenous input.
- Reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions from the described sediment composition and distribution.
Strengths
- Data is derived from three physical sediment cores, providing direct geological evidence.
- Includes radiocarbon ages from benthic foraminifera, establishing a temporal framework for the top 3 meters of sediment.
- Quantifies sediment composition, reporting a carbonate component of 25.80% by weight.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Freshness should be verified; the last updated date is 2026-05-05.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Analysis of three sediment cores collected from Nara Inlet.
- Time Range
- Late Holocene, specifically the last 3000 years.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-05 05:09:39.354315
- Geography
- Nara Inlet, Whitsunday Islands, central Great Barrier Reef platform, Australia.