ODP Leg 189: Tasmanian Gateway Sediment Cores from Cretaceous to Holocene

4539 meters of marine sediment core were recovered from five sites in the Tasmanian Gateway with an 89% recovery rate. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts this synthesis of Ocean Drilling Program Leg 189, which aimed to test the link between gateway opening and Antarctic glaciation. The cores provide a largely continuous record from the upper Maastrichtian to the Holocene, containing mudstones, siltstones, and pelagic carbonates.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing the timing of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current's onset based on sedimentological changes described in the synthesis.
• Analyzing microfossil assemblages (palynomorphs, diatoms, nannofossils, foraminifers) for paleoenvironmental and paleotemperature proxies.
• Modeling the climatic effects of the Tasmanian Gateway opening near the Eocene/Oligocene boundary.
• Studying the transition from siliciclastic to carbonate sedimentation in response to changing ocean currents.

Strengths

• 4539 meters of core material provides a substantial physical record.
• An 89% recovery rate suggests the core record is largely complete.
• Covers a long temporal span from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to the Holocene.

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/temporal bias inherent to the specific drill sites.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, synthesizing Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 189.

Collection Method

Scientific ocean drilling and core analysis.

Time Range

Upper Maastrichtian to Holocene (approximately 72 million years ago to present).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:05:05.030027; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Tasmanian Gateway, submerged continental blocks at bathyal depths.