Deep-Sea Geological Samples from RV Sonne Cruises Off Western Australia, 1979

A six-week 1979 geological cruise by the West German research vessel Sonne collected rock and sediment samples from the Exmouth and Wallaby Plateaus. The cruise successfully occupied 120 stations, sampling depths from 100 to 5200 meters and yielding pre-Quaternary rocks from 44 stations. Preliminary analysis revealed Jurassic shelf carbonates, Cretaceous sediments, volcanic sequences, and manganese nodules with nickel and copper content.

Use Cases

• Stratigraphic analysis based on described sequences of Early Jurassic shelf carbonates and Middle Jurassic coal measures.
• Geochemical assessment of manganese nodules based on preliminary nickel and copper content determinations.
• Seismic interpretation based on the 31 single-channel seismic profiles run during the cruise.
• Paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on sampled Cretaceous shelf and pelagic sediments and Cainozoic pelagic carbonates.
• Volcanic history mapping based on the described thick volcanic pile of Early Cretaceous age on the Wallaby Plateau.

Strengths

• Sampling covered a wide depth range from 100 to 5200 meters.
• Cruise successfully accomplished four stated aims, including sampling pre-Quaternary strata and obtaining Quaternary cores.
• Preliminary geochemical data is available for manganese nodules.

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 and temporal bias inherent to a single 1979 cruise.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Sampling during a six-week geological cruise of the RV Sonne research vessel.

Time Range

1979

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 04:39:48.980507; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Exmouth Plateau, Wallaby Plateau, Cuvier Abyssal Plain off Western Australia.