Orme and Salama, 1988:

"Twenty-six percent of the total shelf area in the Northern Region of the Great Barrier Reef Province between latitudes 14o27'S and 15o27'S is occupied by algal (Halimeda) lithofacies. Sea-bed relief over this bank forming algal lithofacies, which dominates the outer shelf, is generally complex and variable over relatively short distances, but lateral continuity of morphological features near Petricola and Stewart shoals has been demonstrated by parallel profiling. The most prominent subbottom reflector is a pre-Holocene erosion surface, regarded as the Holocene/Pleistocene unconformity. In this area, the maximum thickness of Holocene Halimeda banks above the main subbottom reflector is 19 m. Seismic response suggests three main sequences in the Halimeda bank deposits, which probably relate to changes in environmental conditions, and the recognition of similar seismic characteristics in the deposits beneath the Holocene/Pleistocene unconformity indicates that Halimeda banks may have been a feature of the outer shelf of the Great Barrier Reef in Pleistocene times."

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Citation and/or URL

Orme, G.R. & Salama, M.S. 1988, Form and seismic stratigraphy of Halimeda banks in part of the northern Great Barrier Reef Province, Coral Reefs, 6: (3-4) 131-137 

Spatial Coverage

Northern Great Barrier Reef

Temporal Coverage

1988

Update Frequency

Not applicable 

Other Information

None