Albany Submarine Canyons: Geomorphology and Origin Off Southwest Australia

A 700 km long canyon complex from Cape Leeuwin to east of Esperance, extending up to 90 km offshore and cutting down 1500-2000 m in places. The dataset, hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network, includes information from seismic profiles to build an understanding of canyon history, including Jurassic and younger sequences. It was last updated on 2026-04-16.

Use Cases

• Modeling submarine canyon evolution based on described geological history and structural controls.
• Analyzing the relationship between sea-level changes and canyon initiation based on the described Middle/Late Eocene boundary event.
• Studying the impact of sediment type (carbonate vs. siliciclastic) on canyon morphology as described in the Late Middle Eocene.
• Mapping canyon geomorphology based on described features like thalweg slopes up to 15° and wall steepness variations.

Strengths

• Describes a large-scale geological feature spanning 700 km in length.
• Integrates multiple data sources like seismic profiles to infer canyon history.
• Provides specific depth ranges where canyons have cut down 1500-2000 m.
• Includes a detailed geological timeline from the Jurassic to the Middle Eocene.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing solely on southwest Australia.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Information from seismic profiles and geological analysis.

Time Range

Covers geological history from the Jurassic period to the Middle Eocene (~43 Ma).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 09:09:31.644432; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Albany Canyon complex off southwest Australia, from Cape Leeuwin to east of Esperance.