Geochemical Composition of Australian Continental Margin Sediments

Geochemical data from gravity cores collected from the west, south, and east Australian continental margin. The dataset includes measurements of magnetic susceptibility, percent calcium carbonate, Fe2O3, Al2O3, SiO2, and trace elements, with chronological control from δ¹⁸O isotope and ¹⁴C data for some cores. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental conditions based on magnetic susceptibility and calcium carbonate profiles.
• Analyzing sediment accumulation rates based on δ¹⁸O isotope and ¹⁴C data mentioned in the description.
• Investigating the relationship between terrigenous material and magnetic susceptibility based on correlations with Al2O3, SiO2, and Fe2O3 concentrations.
• Comparing sediment geochemistry across different Australian continental margins (west, south, east).

Strengths

• Includes data from 11 gravity cores (3 west, 3 south, 5 east) across multiple Australian continental margins.
• Provides chronological control for some cores using δ¹⁸O isotope data on planktonic foraminifera.
• Contains multiple geochemical measurements per sample, including magnetic susceptibility, calcium carbonate, and major oxides.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Chronological data (δ¹⁸O) is not available for all surveyed areas, as noted in the description.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Analysis of sediment samples from gravity cores.

Time Range

Late Quaternary, including the last glacial maximum (LGM) and last interglacial (LIG).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 05:46:49.895268; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian continental margin (west: Exmouth Plateau, Carnarvon Terrace; south: west Ceduna Terrace, Eyre Terrace; east: offshore Evans Head).