Submerged Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

The Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, contains three submerged, living patch coral reefs covering 80 km2. The reefs were discovered using multibeam swath sonar, seabed sampling, and underwater video, with their upper surfaces at a mean depth of 28.6±0.5 meters. This dataset, hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network, was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical coral reef distribution based on submerged reef locations.
• Assessing potential coral refuges from thermal stress based on depth data.
• Mapping submerged geological features using multibeam sonar bathymetry.
• Studying late Quaternary environmental conditions based on reef framework evidence.

Strengths

• Covers a specific 80 km2 area of previously unknown coral reefs.
• Includes precise mean depth measurements of 28.6±0.5 meters.
• Data was collected via multibeam swath sonar supplemented by seabed sampling and video.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and sample data are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Multibeam swath sonar survey supplemented with seabed sampling and underwater video.

Time Range

Likely reflects a late Quaternary phase of reef growth.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:26:58.278651; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia.