Lithology and Diagenesis of Carbonate Reef Foundations in the Southern Great Barrier Reef

A dataset from the Australian Ocean Data Network describes the subsurface foundations of modern reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef, extending to depths of up to 420 meters. The data likely contains petrographic analysis of late Pleistocene to middle Miocene reef limestones, detailing subaerial diagenesis processes. It was last updated on 2026-06-16.

Use Cases

• Model reef development history based on described lithological successions and unconformities.
• Analyze diagenetic processes based on described transformations of aragonite to calcite in vadose and phreatic zones.
• Compare Holocene and late Pleistocene reef environments based on described differences in Halimeda limestone abundance.
• Study paleo-sea-level changes based on the described solution unconformity and soil development.

Strengths

• Depth of subsurface coverage extends to 420 meters.
• Describes a specific geological boundary marked by a solution unconformity with soil and calcrete development.
• Compares lithologies across two distinct growth periods (Holocene and late Pleistocene).

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Petrographic analysis of drill core samples, as suggested by the description.

Time Range

Ranges from middle Miocene to Holocene.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 21:42:15.349059; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Great Barrier Reef.