Palaeoshorelines on the stable Australian continental shelf are relict coastal structures formed during periods of lower sea level, primarily at depths of 30–40 m and 70–90 m. Brendan P. Brooke and colleagues published this analysis in Continental Shelf Research in 2017. These submerged features record oceanographic and geological regimes from the Late Quaternary (0–128 ka) and influence modern benthic biodiversity distribution.
Use Cases
- Modeling marine species distributions based on distinctive benthic habitats formed by palaeoshorelines.
- Targeting submerged sand resources for extraction based on relict coastal area mapping.
- Identifying potential sites of human occupation during lower sea levels for archaeological investigation.
- Monitoring environmental change using the geospatial framework provided by accurately mapped features.
- Comparing shelf morphology and preservation across carbonate vs siliciclastic compositions and different oceanographic settings.
Strengths
- Analysis is based on the well-dated Late Quaternary (0–128 ka) sea-level record.
- Features are mapped for the tectonically stable Australian continental shelf, providing a consistent geological context.
- The description links morphology to specific modal sea-level depths (30–40 m and 70–90 m) and time periods (e.g., 97–116 ka).
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last updated 2026-04-16 14:46:16.175671; freshness should be verified.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- An analysis of sea-level records and shelf morphology, likely involving geospatial mapping.
- Time Range
- Late Quaternary (0–128 thousand years ago)
- Geography
- Australian continental shelf