Crustal Structure of the Gulf of Papua and Northwest Coral Sea from Seismic Data

Interpretation of seismic refraction data reveals sediment thickness up to 10 km and Moho depths from 19 to 29 km in the Gulf of Papua and northwest Coral Sea. The dataset, from Geoscience Australia, models the crust as continental under the Papuan Peninsula and Eastern Plateau and oceanic under the Moresby Trough. It supports tectonic models for the region's formation under tensional stress.

Use Cases

• Modeling crustal thickness and composition based on P-wave velocity layers.
• Analyzing sediment distribution patterns across the Papuan Plateau, Moresby Trough, and Eastern Plateau.
• Testing tectonic models for the opening of the Coral Sea Basin based on inferred stress patterns.
• Mapping the transition between continental and oceanic crust in the region.

Strengths

• Includes specific measurements like sediment thickness (1-10 km) and Moho depth (19-29 km).
• Results are derived from multiple seismic refraction data inversion techniques.
• Provides a spatial model covering distinct geological features like the Papuan Plateau and Moresby Trough.

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

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Interpretation of seismic refraction data using several inversion techniques.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:23:34.276794; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gulf of Papua and northwest Coral Sea, including the Papuan Peninsula, Papuan Plateau, Moresby Trough, Aure Trough, and Eastern Plateau.