Southern Great Barrier Reef Reef Growth Survey Data from 1976

A Bureau of Mineral Resources survey conducted in September-October 1976 focused on seven reefs in the Capricorn-Bunker Group of the southern Great Barrier Reef. The expedition collected field data and observations relating to reef morphology, using methods including shallow seismic refraction, echo profiling, SCUBA investigations, underwater coring, and sediment sampling. The data is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Modeling reef morphologic growth based on seismic refraction and echo profiling data.
• Analyzing the effects of hydrologic regimes on reef growth using current, wave, and water monitoring studies.
• Investigating the potential for metal accumulation in reef sediments based on sediment sampling data.

Strengths

• Data collection involved 88 shallow seismic refraction traverses, each 120 meters in length.
• Field operations covered multiple reef features including windward and leeward algal ridges, cays, and lagoons.
• The survey had specific, well-documented objectives relating to reef structure and growth processes.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description states no attempt is made to present evidence on lithification or metal accumulation processes.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field survey using seismic refraction, echo profiling, SCUBA, coring, and sediment sampling from the M.V. Escape.

Time Range

September-October 1976

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 07:29:00.547316; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Capricorn-Bunker Group, southern Great Barrier Reef