Carpentaria Reefs: Submerged Coral Reef Survey Data from Australia

Two Geoscience Australia surveys in 2003 and 2005 discovered submerged coral reefs in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The reefs were identified using new multibeam sonar technology, and their age was determined via Uranium/Thorium analysis of drill-core samples. This discovery established a new coral reef province within Australia's marine zone.

Use Cases

• Map submerged coral reef locations based on multibeam sonar survey data
• Analyze reef age and formation history based on Uranium/Thorium dating results
• Study marine habitat distribution based on newly discovered reef province boundaries

Strengths

• Data originates from two dedicated Geoscience Australia surveys (2003 and 2005)
• Reef age determined via Uranium/Thorium method at Australian National University
• Discovery of a previously unknown coral reef province

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Multibeam sonar surveys and drill-core sample analysis

Time Range

Survey years 2003 and 2005

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 15:22:42.455579; freshness should be verified

Geography

Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia