Geoscience Australia Data provides a nannofossil study of samples dredged during BMR Survey 66 in the Great Australian Bight Basin. The dataset compares offshore Maastrichtian, Eocene, and Oligocene assemblages with onshore sequences to interpret the geological history of Australia's southern margin. It provides evidence for marine ingressions, sea-level changes, and the influence of a proto-Leeuwin Current.
Use Cases
- Reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions based on nannofossil assemblage comparisons between offshore and onshore sequences.
- Modeling the history of marine transgressions and sea-level changes in the Great Australian Bight Basin during the Maastrichtian and Tertiary.
- Investigating the development and impact of the proto-Leeuwin Current on southern Australian surface water temperatures during the Eocene and Oligocene.
- Analyzing basin subsidence rates since the Late Cretaceous using nannofossil evidence supported by palynological and lithological data.
Strengths
- Provides the first reported Maastrichtian nannofossil assemblages found in southern Australia.
- Includes Eocene assemblages older than any known from onshore sequences or the Naturaliste Plateau.
- Integrates nannofossil evidence with palynological and lithological data for a multi-proxy analysis.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical modeling.
- Data is presented in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction and structuring for computational analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Samples were dredged during BMR Survey 66 by KV, Rig Seismic and examined for calcareous nannofossils.
- Time Range
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Oligocene.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-20 03:00:53.113828; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Central Great Australian Bight Basin and onshore equivalents on the southern margin of Australia.