Carpentaria Reefs Survey Findings from 2003 and 2005

Geoscience Australia surveys in 2003 and 2005 discovered submerged coral reefs in the Gulf of Carpentaria using new multibeam sonar technology. Drill-core samples were analyzed via Uranium/Thorium dating at the Australian National University to determine reef age. This discovery established a new coral reef province for Australia's marine zone.

Use Cases

• Mapping submerged reef structures based on multibeam sonar survey data
• Analyzing coral reef age and formation history based on Uranium/Thorium dating results
• Studying the distribution of a newly discovered coral reef province in the Gulf of Carpentaria

Strengths

• Describes findings from two specific Geoscience Australia surveys (238 in 2003 and 276 in 2005)
• Includes analysis from a specific institution (Australian National University) using a named method (Uranium/Thorium dating)
• Identifies 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

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Multibeam sonar surveys and drill-core sampling with Uranium/Thorium dating

Time Range

Survey years 2003 and 2005

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 01:15:13.560217; freshness should be verified

Geography

Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia