Quaternary Sediment Cores from the Southern Fairway Basin (Tasman Sea)

13 piston cores from the Southern Fairway Basin, taken at depths between 1250 and 2753 meters below sea level, document sediment, pore water, and gas composition. The cores, collected by the RV L'Atalante in 1999, contain nannofossil ooze with color variations linked to magnetic susceptibility and pore water sulfate levels. Trace methane and higher hydrocarbons suggest a thermogenic gas component, potentially linked to underlying gas hydrate deposits.

Use Cases

• Modeling gas hydrate stability and distribution based on sediment core properties and methane presence.
• Analyzing redox front processes and iron remobilization based on color, magnetic susceptibility, and sulfate profiles.
• Assessing thermogenic hydrocarbon potential based on the presence of ethane, propane, and higher hydrocarbons in sediment gases.
• Studying paleo-environmental conditions and sedimentation rates using core stratigraphy and composition.

Strengths

• Contains 13 distinct sediment cores with documented recovery depths and lengths.
• Cores include multi-parameter data: sediment color, magnetic susceptibility, pore water sulfate, and hydrocarbon gas composition.
• Provides a specific geological context focused on the gas hydrate system of the Southern Fairway Basin.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description notes longer cores with less-oxidised sediment are needed for full understanding, indicating sample limitations.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

13 piston cores collected by the RV L'Atalante during the ZoNiCo 5 survey in 1999.

Time Range

Cores likely represent sediment deposited over the last 800,000 years based on inferred sedimentation rates.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 12:44:33.506083; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Fairway Basin on the Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea.