Great Barrier Reef Coral U-Th Isotope Data for Chronology Studies

43 thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) U-Th dates from living Porites corals of known ages collected from the far northern, central, and southern inshore regions of the Great Barrier Reef. The dataset was created by researchers at the University of Queensland's Radiogenic Isotope Facility to spatially constrain initial 230Th/232Th variability. This information is used to provide accurate chronologies for pinpointing changes in coral community structure and mortality events since the 1850s.

Use Cases

• Modeling initial thorium isotope variability in modern corals based on U-Th activity ratios.
• Calibrating U-series dating methods for young coral samples using band-counting ages.
• Investigating spatial patterns of geochemical signatures across different regions of the Great Barrier Reef.
• Reconstructing the timing of coral mortality events in recent centuries based on accurate chronologies.

Strengths

• Includes 43 precisely dated sub-samples from 11 living coral colonies.
• Samples cover three distinct geographic regions of the Great Barrier Reef (far northern, central, southern).
• Data is derived from high-precision thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) analysis.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, University of Queensland Radiogenic Isotope Facility.

Collection Method

Thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) analysis of drilled coral samples from live Porites colonies.

Time Range

Samples are modern (living corals), with chronologies relevant to events since the 1850s.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 01:14:13.627711; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Inshore regions of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (far northern, central, and southern GBR).