Regional Plate Tectonics and the Evolution of Australia's Passive Continental Margins

A geological text dataset from the Australian Ocean Data Network details the evolution of Australia's passive continental margins through five seafloor-spreading episodes. The description covers processes from rifting to postbreakup subsidence, spanning events from 155 million years ago to the present. It was last updated on 2026-04-10.

Use Cases

• Modeling lithospheric thermal contraction and subsidence based on described postbreakup mechanisms.
• Analyzing rift-phase subsidence drivers based on the discussion of metamorphic, stretching, and pull-apart processes.
• Correlating sedimentary basin subsidence timelines with the described 40-100 million year pre-breakup periods.
• Studying the structural evolution of passive margins based on the described non-conformity of rift, breakup, and basement patterns.

Strengths

• Detailed geological description covering a 155-million-year timeline.
• Specific model predictions for crustal structure, heat flow, and sedimentation are discussed.
• Source is the authoritative Australian Ocean Data Network.

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 solely on Australia.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely compiled from geological research and surveys.

Time Range

Covers geological events from 155 million years ago to the present.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 21:38:00.667643; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Focuses on the passive continental margins around Australia.