Paleocene-Eocene Biostratigraphy and Palaeoenvironment of East Antarctica

East Antarctica's Mac. Robertson Shelf and western Prydz Bay contain sediment cores and seismic data collected in 1993, 1995, and 1997. The dataset includes Paleocene and Eocene foraminifera, pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and other fossils recovered from weakly lithified coastal plain sediments. It was published by Geoscience Australia Data.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions based on described foraminiferid faunas and palynology.
• Analyzing sediment depositional cycles based on seismic and core data from the continental shelf.
• Studying fossil reworking and mixing based on evidence of recycled Permian to Cretaceous material.
• Modeling coastal plain sedimentation based on described lithologies like carbonaceous mudstone and red muddy sandstone.

Strengths

• Data collection spans multiple field campaigns in 1993, 1995, and 1997.
• Description details multiple fossil groups including foraminifera, pollen, spores, and dinoflagellates.
• Seismic data indicates a prograding sequence about 200 meters thick.

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 bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing on specific Antarctic shelves.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Seismic/coring programs and opportunistic sampling.

Time Range

Samples target Paleocene to Eocene sediments, with evidence of recycling from Permian to Cretaceous sequences.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 04:23:10.558702; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mac. Robertson Shelf and western Prydz Bay, East Antarctica.