Holocene Sea-Level Records from Beach-Ridge Strandplains in Northeastern Australia

A dataset from Cowley Beach in tropical northeastern Australia, comprising 36 prominent beach ridges formed over approximately 7,000 years. The data, published in Marine Geology in 2019, includes a fine-scale digital elevation model used to analyze ridge morphology and compare it to regional sea-level history. The results indicate the sensitivity of coastal landforms to subtle changes in relative sea level.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing regional Holocene sea-level history based on the elevation patterns of beach ridges.
• Modeling coastal progradation and strandplain development under different sea-level scenarios.
• Calibrating geological sea-level indicators using the elevation of berm facies preserved in beach ridges.
• Studying the impact of tropical cyclone events on coastal deposition, as suggested by the presence of storm-surge deposits.

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific coastal landform with 36 prominent beach ridges, providing a detailed morphological record.
• Covers a long temporal span of approximately 7,000 years, capturing mid-to-late Holocene changes.
• Data is directly compared to published, robust coral sea-level indicator data for validation.
• The methodology includes modeling of topographic patterns under stable and rising sea-level scenarios.

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 a single study site at Cowley Beach.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au, associated with a 2019 Marine Geology publication.

Collection Method

Likely derived from field surveys and analysis of a fine-scale digital elevation model of the strandplain.

Time Range

Holocene, covering approximately the past 7,000 years.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 20:07:36.851390; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Cowley Beach, tropical northeastern Australia (Queensland).