Mesozoic Rock Samples from the Northern Exmouth Plateau: Petrography and Microfacies

Petrographic and microfacies analysis of dredged rock samples from the northern Exmouth Plateau. The data includes seven major lithofacies associations defined from samples collected by R.V. Sonne and R.V. Rig Seismic in water depths of 2000-5600 meters. The analysis covers the Late Triassic to Cainozoic geological history of the margin.

Use Cases

• Classifying Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic shallow water carbonate microfacies based on the 14 defined types.
• Correlating carbonate facies with coeval platforms in the Alps and Mediterranean Tethys area.
• Modeling the depositional history of rift volcanics, coal measures, and ironstone associations.
• Analyzing diagenetic transformations involving silica, silicates, carbonates, and phosphates.
• Reconstructing paleoenvironments from intertidal to pelagic depositional settings described.

Strengths

• Analysis defines seven major lithofacies associations.
• Distinguishes 14 Late Triassic-Callovian microfacies types of shallow water carbonates.
• Samples collected from a significant depth range of 2000 to 5600 meters.
• Covers a broad temporal range from Late Triassic to Cainozoic.

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 dredge locations.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Dredging along seismic reflection profiles by research vessels R.V. Sonne (Cruise SO-8) and R.V. Rig Seismic (BMR Cruise 56).

Time Range

Late Triassic to Cainozoic (with focus on Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic associations).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 21:54:30.856765; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern margin of the Exmouth Plateau, southeastern margin of the Tethys Ocean.