Pattern of Slow Seafloor Spreading Off Southern Australia, 96-44.5 Ma

From 96 million years ago to 44.5 million years ago, seafloor spreading rates were less than 4.4 mm/year off southern Australia. The dataset is a compilation of seafloor spreading magnetic data for the entire southern margin, including critical data from the 1986 R/V Rig Seismic cruise, confirming and refining previous interpretations. It documents ridge jumps and variable spreading azimuths, interpreted as a response to confinement between obliquely oriented continental margins.

Use Cases

• Modeling plate tectonic reconstructions based on documented seafloor spreading rates and azimuths.
• Analyzing the response of slow spreading systems to oblique continental boundaries based on described ridge geometry.
• Calibrating geophysical models with magnetic anomaly data compiled for the southern Australian margin.
• Studying the tectonic evolution of the Tasmanian region based on described ridge jumps to accommodate offset.

Strengths

• Includes critical data from a specific 1986 research cruise (R/V Rig Seismic).
• Covers the entire southern margin of Australia.
• Confirms and refines previous interpretations of magnetic anomalies.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2026-06-16 20:31:06.815021; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Compilation of seafloor spreading magnetic data, including ship-collected data.

Time Range

96 million years ago to 44.5 million years ago (Cretaceous to Eocene).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-16 20:31:06.815021

Geography

Southern margin of Australia, between 129°E and Tasmania.