Geological History of the Kenn Plateau Continental Fragment Off Northeast Australia

140,000 km² of submarine plateau east of Queensland, a thinned continental fragment that rotated away from Australia. The dataset, hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network, describes its Cretaceous to present geological evolution, including fault blocks, sediment basins, volcanic chains, and reef formation. It was last updated on 2026-04-28.

Use Cases

• Modeling tectonic plate rotation and continental breakup based on described 45-degree clockwise rotation and drift.
• Analyzing sedimentary basin infill and unconformities based on sequences of siliciclastic and biosiliceous sediments.
• Studying hotspot volcanism and seamount formation based on the described Tasmantid and Lord Howe volcanic chains.
• Investigating subsidence and reef development based on the described 2000 m of subsidence and guyot formation.

Strengths

• Description provides a detailed geological narrative covering multiple epochs from the Cretaceous to the present.
• Specific spatial and quantitative facts are given, such as an area of 140,000 km² and subsidence of 2000 m.
• Hosted by the authoritative Australian Ocean Data Network, suggesting institutional provenance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary file format is HTML, which may not be structured for direct analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely compiled from seismic profiles, geological surveys, and scientific literature.

Time Range

Cretaceous to present.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 13:45:48.783605; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Kenn Plateau, 500 km east of central Queensland, Southwest Pacific.