Australian Continental Margin Sediment Geochemistry and Magnetic Susceptibility

Eleven gravity cores from the west, south, and east Australian continental margin provide down-core measurements of magnetic susceptibility, percent calcium carbonate, and major/trace element geochemistry. Oxygen isotope data from planktonic foraminifera in western margin cores provide chronological control for the Late Quaternary, identifying stages like the Last Glacial Maximum and Last Interglacial. The dataset documents regional variations in sediment composition and magnetic properties across key geological terraces including the Exmouth Plateau and offshore Evans Head.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental conditions based on down-core geochemical and magnetic susceptibility profiles.
• Comparing sediment accumulation rates and diagenetic processes between the western, eastern, and southern Australian margins.
• Calibrating regional magnetic susceptibility patterns as a proxy for glacial-interglacial cycles where isotopic data is available.
• Analyzing the relationship between calcium carbonate content and other elemental oxides (Fe2O3, Al2O3, SiO2) in marine sediments.

Strengths

• Includes data from 11 distinct sediment cores across three major regions of the Australian margin.
• Provides isotopic chronological control (δ18O) for western margin cores, enabling identification of specific Late Quaternary stages.
• Contains multiple, directly comparable geochemical measurements (magnetic susceptibility, CaCO3 %, major oxides) for each core.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, license, and author are not provided in the source descriptions.
• Chronological control via isotope data is explicitly stated as unavailable for the southern and eastern margin cores, limiting temporal analysis there.
• The dataset's freshness is unclear as the 'last updated' metadata appears to be a future date (2026-05-05), indicating a potential system error.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Laboratory analysis of sediment samples collected via gravity coring from marine survey vessels.

Time Range

Late Quaternary, including the Last Glacial Maximum and Last Interglacial.

Freshness

2026-05-05 01:23:17.281348

Geography

Australian continental margin, specifically the Exmouth Plateau, Carnarvon Terrace (west), west Ceduna Terrace, Eyre Terrace (south), and offshore Evans Head (east).