Deepsea Core Sediment Analyses from Southwest Victoria and Tasmania

Sedimentological data from three research cruises conducted between 1985 and 1988 off southwest Victoria and Tasmania. The dataset includes grain size, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and total organic carbon (TOC) analyses performed on samples taken from 135 cores. The work was documented by the Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR), now part of Geoscience Australia.

Use Cases

• Modeling sedimentation history on the continental margin based on grain size and CaCO3 variations.
• Reconstructing past depositional environments based on complementary physical, smear slide, and paleontological data.
• Interpreting older seismic sequences by correlating them with the core-based sedimentation model.
• Analyzing regional changes in sediment composition (e.g., TOC, CaCO3) over time.

Strengths

• Data originates from three dedicated research cruises (SO-36C, BMR 67, BMR 78) over four years.
• Analyses include multiple sediment properties: grain size, CaCO3, and total organic carbon (TOC).
• Samples were taken at standardized 20cm intervals for consistent temporal resolution.
• Core lengths are documented, ranging from 0.02 meters to 7.78 meters.

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 the specific coring locations and period (1985-1988).

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR), now Geoscience Australia.

Collection Method

Laboratory analysis of sediment cores collected during three marine research voyages.

Time Range

Coring cruises conducted in 1985, 1987, and 1988.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 17:43:33.711194; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Off southwest Victoria, and western and southern Tasmania, including the South Tasman Rise.