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Timing of Changes in Sea-Level and Currents along Miocene Platforms on the

Marion Plateau, Australia

Article · January 2011

DOI: 10.2110/sepmsp.095.219

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 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE
PLATFORMS ON THE MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA

GREGOR P. EBERLI
Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, U.S.A.
e-mail: geberli@rsmas.miami.edu

FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI
Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology, Department of Surface Waters; Sedimentology
Group, Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
e-mail: flavio.anselmetti@eawag.ch

ALEXANDRA R. ISERN
Program Director for Antarctic Earth Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington,
Virginia 22230, U.S.A.
e-mail: aisern@nsf.gov
AND
HEIKE DELIUS
Task Geoscience Ltd. Exploration House, Aberdeen Science & Energy Park, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, AB23 8GX, U.K.
e-mail: heike.delius@taskgeoscience.com

ABSTRACT: The question of global synchroneity of sea-level changes and their role in the formation of coeval unconformities on continental margins in
different ocean basins remain major research topics in sequence stratigraphy. The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) has addressed questions surrounding
sea level in several drilling legs. One of these drilling efforts was ODP Leg 194, which drilled two platform-to-slope transects of the Miocene carbonate
platforms on the Marion Plateau, situated just seaward from the Great Barrier Reef, NE Australia. The seismic and core information of this leg are used
for an assessment of eustasy by determining the ages of seismic sequence boundaries on the Plateau and comparing them to sequence boundaries in the
Atlantic. In addition, we evaluate the influence of current changes on the current-swept Plateau and its effect on the sequence architecture and the
drowning of these cool, subtropical carbonate sequences.
The two platforms, Northern and Southern Marion Platforms, are built by cool, subtropical faunal assemblages and have an asymmetric geometry.
Four previously defined megasequences (A-D) are subdivided into 14 unconformity-bounded sequences. The early to middle Miocene sequences are
prograding and aggrading sequences that responded mostly to the fluctuating sea level. From the late middle Miocene onward, the sea-level changes are
coupled with increased activity of the southwardflowing East Australian Current. As a result, the sequences developed a characteristic mounded
geometry in the basinal area where large drift deposits accumulated. Changes of current strength and position produced unconformities within the drift
successions that are identified by downlap, onlap terminations and, locally, erosional truncation. These drift unconformities are observed along
reflections that in the proximal position are onlap unconformities and sequence boundaries. The coeval nature of the two types of unconformities
indicates that changes in sea level and currents occurred in concert. The interplay between sea level and currents also produced hardgrounds that record
long hiatuses at sequence boundaries. The two most prominent sequences boundaries are drowning unconformities. An older one covers the top and
flanks of the Northern Marion Platform, which drowned during the sea-level rise at 11.1 Ma. The Southern Marion Platform survived this event only to
drown at the end of the late Miocene at approximately 7 Ma. A thin and varied drowning succession documents that the platform was intermittently active
in the Pliocene. The top of the drowning succession is still a hardground surface on the modern seafloor, whereas Pliocene to Recent drift deposits overlie
the hardgrounds on the slopes. It is likely that the combined effect of sea-level rise and subsequent sweeping of the platform by strong currents prevented
the re-establishment of carbonate production on the bank and aided in the demise of the platforms.
The timing of the sea-level changes is assessed by determining the ages of the sequence boundaries based on revised age models relying on
biostratigraphy and Sr-isotope dates from cores at ODP Leg 194 drill sites. The age of each sequence boundary is remarkably similar at each site along
the drilled transects. The age consistency along the seismic reflections corroborates the hypothesis that seismic reflections follow depositional surfaces
and have chronostratigraphic significance. Furthermore, the timing of many Neogene sequence boundaries on the Marion Plateau (ODP Leg 194)
coincides with the timing of sequence boundaries on the Queensland Plateau (ODP Leg 133) and along the Bahamas Transect (ODP Leg 166). The
similar ages of the sequence boundaries and associated sea-level changes on the Pacific northeast Australian margin and the Atlantic Bahamian margin
indicate a global synchroneity of third-order sea-level changes in the Neogene.

INTRODUCTION the timing, amplitude, and sedimentary records of Neogene sea-level

Recognizing the importance of sea-level change in shaping
depositional environments, the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) devoted
numerous legs to the study of eustatic sea level and to how these
changes are recorded in sediments from various depositional settings.
Three ODP legs (133, 166, 194) utilized a series of holes to examine
variations from carbonate platform-to-basin transects. ODP legs 133
and 194 drilled transects in the Pacific, and Leg 166 drilled the
Bahamas Transect in the Atlantic. Drilling and comparing timing of
sequence boundaries in both oceans allows testing global eustasy. At
the same time the amplitudes of the sea-level changes were addressed
during these legs. For example, documenting the magnitude of the

Cenozoic Carbonate Systems of Australasia

SEPM Special Publication No. 95 Copyright Ó 2010
SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), ISBN 978-1-56576-302-9, p. 219–242.
220 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN,
major late middle Miocene (12.5–11.4 Ma) sea-level fall, one of the
largest in the Cenozoic, was the major objective of ODP Leg 194 on the
Marion Plateau. This goal was accomplished using the relationship
between a low-sea-level carbonate-ramp complex and the exposed
surface of an adjacent Northern Marion Platform (NMP). The results
have been reported in Isern et al. (2002) who calculated it to be 86 m
(6 30 m) using a backstripping methodology. This magnitude is much
less than pre-drilling estimates of 185 m (Pigram et al, 1992) but more
than the 56.5 m (6 11.5 m) proposed by John et al. (2004), who
combined backstripping and stable-isotope methodologies for the
estimate.
This paper concentrates on the timing of the sea-level changes. In
particular it examines the question whether the Neogene seismic
sequence boundaries in the Marion platform system are of the same age
as the sequence boundaries along the Queensland Plateau and in the
Atlantic (Bahamas). If the sequence boundaries were synchronous, it
would give strong evidence that eustatic sea-level changes produce the
sequence boundaries. As such, this study is an evaluation of the major
assumption in sequence stratigraphy that global sea-level falls are
synchronous and produce unconformities that can be correlated
worldwide. The Leg 194 dataset is ideal for this test, because it was
assembled in the same manner as the two data sets from the
Queensland Plateau (Leg 133) and the Bahamas (Leg 166). All three
data sets rely on a sequence stratigraphic interpretation of high-quality
seismic data, multiple core borings on all drill sites, and the same
biostratigraphic dating methodology developed by the Ocean Drilling
Program.
The examined Neogene time interval is characterized by a multitude
of high-frequency sea-level fluctuations that are related to the
differences in insolation differences due to orbital cycles (Zachos et
al., 2001). In addition, ocean circulation experienced major changes
during the Miocene (Miller et al., 1987, Miller et al., 2005; Shevenell et
al., 2004). In the middle Miocene, a sudden remarkable warm period at
ca 15.7 Ma (Warny et al., 2009) was followed by three short (, 1 My)
but pronounced cooling events, causing the rapid expansion of the East
Antarctic Ice sheet. At the same time, ocean circulation increased on
the Marion Plateau because the northward-migrating Australian plate
started to divert the equatorial current southward. This middle Miocene
onset of the current is recorded in the sediment composition and
geometry of the Marion platforms (Isern et al., 2002, 2004; John and
Mutti, 2005; Kindler et al., 2006). The southward-flowing East
Australian Current controls the lateral platform growth and locations of
winnowing and deposition of fine-grained sediment in the basinal
areas. This allows the examination of the interaction between sea-level
changes and ocean circulation, which is the second focus of this paper.
In particular, a case will be made that downlap and onlap
unconformities in the deep-water drift deposits correlate to the
sequence boundaries produced by sea-level lowering along the
platform margins. The sea-level-modulated current changes produce
unconformities within the mounded drift deposits and nondepositional
surfaces on the slopes that become long-lasting onlap surfaces.
Although this paper primarily examines the possible synchroneity
between the sea-level fluctuations in the Pacific and the Atlantic and
the current history in both oceans, a short synopsis of the evolution of
the Marion platforms is provided first. This synopsis is based on the
facies and stratigraphic analyses during Leg 194 (Isern et al., 2002) and
subsequent post-cruise studies by Isern et al. (2004), John and Mutti
(2005), Kindler et al. (2006), and Ehrenberg et al. (2006b).
THE MARION PLATFORM SYSTEM
The Marion Plateau, situated just seaward of the Great Barrier Reef,
NE Australia, contains several drowned platforms (Pigram et al.,
1993). A topographically irregular volcanic and volcaniclastic
basement is overlain by greenish gray, glauconite-rich, quartz
AND HEIKE DELIUS
sandstones to siltstones with variable amounts of oysters, pectenids,
and large, massive celleporiform bryozoans commonly within a matrix
of larger benthic foraminifers, echinoderms, and coralline algae (Isern
et al., 2002; Ehrenberg et al., 2006b). The age of the first sediments
above the basement is Oligocene (Rupelian) (Isern et al., 2002; Wei,
2004; Ehrenberg et al., 2006b).
What is here called the Marion platform system is the Miocene
platforms and adjacent basinal facies that overlie the siliciclastic strata.
The carbonate platforms are . 95% carbonate, but in the distal slope
and basinal sections the fine-grained noncarbonate portion varies
between 10% and 53% (Isern et al., 2002; John et al., 2006). During
ODP Leg 194 two platform-to-slope transects were drilled (Figs. 1, 2)
across the Northern Marion Platform (NMP) and Southern Marion
Platform (SMP) (Isern et al., 2002). Both platforms drowned in the
Miocene but at different times: the NMP drowned in the latest middle
Miocene, but the SMP continued to grow until the late Miocene and
stayed intermittently active in the early Pliocene (Kindler et al., 2006).
The platforms are composed almost entirely of coarse-grained
bioclastic debris of cool, subtropical organisms, such as red algae,
bryozoans, and larger benthic foraminifers (Fig. 3A, B). The platform
cores are partly leached, heavily cemented, and/or dolomitized. The
heterogeneous dolomitization is both fabric-destructive and fabric-
preserving (Fig. 3C, D). The variable diagenesis results in extreme
heterogeneity in porosity and permeability, with very high values in
some platform intervals (Fig. 3); e.g., several samples have over 5 D
permeability (Ehrenberg et al., 2006a). In contrast, the slope
successions consist of largely uncemented, calcite-dominated organic
remains and generally have lower permeability (Fig. 3 E, F; Ehrenberg
et al., 2004; Ehrenberg et al., 2006a). Drift facies consist of greenish-
gray, clay-rich planktonic foraminiferal mudstone-wackestone facies
(Isern et al., 2004).
The Southern Marion Platform (SMP)
Throughout its growth, the isolated Southern Marion Platform
developed an asymmetric architecture with an escarpment-like margin
on the northwestern, upcurrent side and high-angle prograding
clinoforms on the southeastern, downcurrent margin (Fig. 2; Isern et
al., 2004). The platform started growing in the early Miocene on top of
phosphatic sands mixed with siliciclastic material of latest Oligocene
age. The initial platform core is an accumulation of a thick series of
aggrading rhodalgal carbonates whereas in the off-platform areas both
coarse skeletal grainstone containing benthic foraminifers and
rhodalagal-foraminiferal floatstone were deposited (Isern et al.,
2002). In the early middle Miocene (16.4 Ma), some reefs developed
but subsequently the facies became dominated by fine grainstone,
enriched in coralline algae, miliolid foraminifers, and occasional sea-
grass remains. In the middle Miocene, the platform developed an
asymmetry with a flat-topped, rimmed western margin and a sloping
eastern margin dominated by a widespread rhodalgal floatstone facies
(Isern et al., 2002). During the late Miocene (11.2–5.3 Ma) a phase of
reef construction was followed by a shallowing-upward succession of
rhodalgal floatstones. Intertidal beachrock indicates extremely reduced
accommodation space near the end of this depositional episode, but no
subaerial exposure is recognized. The SMP drowned during the latest
Miocene but had some intermittent growth during the early Pliocene
(Kindler et al, 2006). In the adjacent deep-water areas, extensive hemi-
pelagic drift deposits accumulated throughout the Pliocene-Recent.
The Northern Marion Platform (NMP)
The Northern Marion Platform is located ; 65 km to the northwest
of SMP (Figs. 1, 2). The NMP is a 194-m-thick package of coarse
bioclastic limestone and subordinate dolostone that was deposited on a
302-m-thick succession of fine-grained packstone with a 20 m
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 221

FIGURE 1.—Location map displaying the multi-channel seismic lines and the Leg 194 drill sites (black dots). Gray areas show the estimated extents
of the platforms on the Marion Plateau. NMP ¼ Northern Marion Platform (early to middle Miocene); SMP ¼ Southern Marion Platform (early
to late Miocene). Inset: locations of drill sites of ODP Leg 133 and 194 on the Queensland Plateau and Marion Plateau.

argillaceous mudstone cap. This 302 m succession is interpreted as the
distal slope strata of a platform situated farther to the east (Isern et al.,
2002). The initiation of NMP over distal slope deposits is indicative of
a major sea-level fall at that time (16 Ma). During the subsequent
growth, the platform was dominantly aggradational, producing a well-
developed margin. A major sea-level drop exposed the platform in the
late middle Miocene (; 13.4–11.4 Ma), forming a karst surface on the
platform top that is imaged as an irregular high-amplitude-reflection
horizon (Fig. 2). A core drilled in a proximal slope position (Site 1194)
retrieved, below a marine hardground surface, an upper Miocene facies
succession consisting of bryozoan-dominated packstones and float-
stones (lithologic unit IIIA) that was interpreted as deposited on a
carbonate ramp in a water depth of 30–50 m (Isern et al., 2002). This
lowstand carbonate ramp is the record of the late middle Miocene sea-
222 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 2.—Seismic lines and schematic cross section of the two transects across the Northern Marion Platform (NMP) and the Southern Marion
Platform (SMP) with the ODP Leg 194 sites and the megasequences (MS) A-D (modified from Isern et al., 2002, and Ehrenberg et al., 2006b).
LST-ramp ¼ lowstand ramp consisting of an interval of bryozoan-dominated packstones and floatstones interpreted as a neritic carbonates
(Isern et al., 2004). Brick pattern on lower panel represents neritic carbonate platforms.

level fall. The elevation difference between the base of the lowstand
ramp and the exposure horizon on the platform (145 m) and the
estimates of paleo-water depth from benthic foraminifera were used to
reconstruct an 86 m (6 30 m) magnitude of the this sea-level fall,
taking subsidence and decompaction into account (Isern et al., 2002,
2004). By overlapping the sea-level range of both the deep-sea isotopes
and the results from the backstripping analysis, John et al. (2004)
revised the amplitude of this late middle Miocene sea-level fall to 56.5
(6 11.5) m. During the subsequent sea-level rise, the platform did
establish itself only intermittently before completely drowning
(Ehrenberg et al., 2006b). The drowning succession on top of the
NMP (Site 1193) consists of a thin, mud-rich layer (recovered only as a
few core pieces) of tightly cemented, phosphatic, foraminiferal
wackestone-packstone that has a 9.6 Ma Sr-isotope date (Ehrenberg
et al., 2006). The layer itself is overlain by hemipelagic ooze starting at
5.5 Ma, indicating a 4 Ma hiatus between the two marine deposits. The
lowstand platform at Site 1194 was never exposed. Here a
ferromanganese hardground dated with 10Be as 8.65 6 0.50 Ma
separates the neritic platform deposits (11.4 Ma) from fine-grained
drift deposits with an age of 7.5 Ma (Heck et al., 2004a). Hemipelagic
drift deposits finally bury the current-swept submarine plateau (Fig. 2).
DATASETS AND METHODS
Seismic Data
More than 1,700 km of high-resolution seismic data were collected
over the Marion Plateau from the RV Franklin, using two 45/105 cubic-
inch GI airguns with a shot spacing of 25 m. A detailed description of
all the acquisition parameters is given in Isern and Anselmetti (1999),
Heck et al. (1999), and Isern et al. (2004). A standard multichannel
processing suite was applied to the data, including bandpass filtering
between 20–25 and 400–450 Hz, but the six-fold stack is not migrated
(Isern et al., 2004). The seismic data images the stratal architecture of
the two drowned carbonate platforms and their adjacent basinal areas
(Fig. 2). Isern and Anselmetti (1999) made the first interpretation of the
seismic lines and subdivided the strata into four megasequences. This
megasequence stratigraphy provided the geometric framework to
locate the drill sites for the two platform-to-slope transects that were
drilled during ODP Leg 194 (Figs. 1, 2). The seismic stratigraphy,
including the correlation between the lithologies and the megasequen-
ces, is described in detail in the Initial Reports of ODP Leg 194 (Isern
et al., 2002). For this study, the sequence stratigraphic analysis was
refined by subdividing the megasequences into sequences, and the ages
of these new seismic sequence boundaries were determined with the
methodology outlined below.
Core Data
Leg 194 drilled a series of eight sites through Oligocene-Recent
mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediments of the Marion Plateau
(Figs. 1, 2). Recovery from a total cored interval of 5 km was
approximately 40%, translating into 2 km of sediment recovered. A
detailed log of the recovery is given in Isern et al. (2002).
Sedimentologists described the cores onboard, and their detailed facies
analysis, in conjunction with the seismic and biostratigraphic data, was
used to reconstruct the depositional history of the Marion Plateau
(Isern et al., 2002). These core descriptions and facies interpretations
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 223

FIGURE 3.—Thin-section photomicrographs of characteristic facies in the Marion platform system with their porosity (/) and permeability (K)
values. All thin sections are impregnated with blue epoxy; mbsf ¼ meters below sea surface; K ¼ permeability; mD ¼ Millidarcies; / ¼
porosity. A) Middle Miocene bryozoan packstone with intraparticle and microporosity from the NMP (Sample 194-1193B-12–1, 7–9). B)
Middle Miocene skeletal grainstone to packstone in which interparticle porosity is partly enhanced by late leaching (Sample 194-1193B-7–1,
125–128). C) Dolomitized floatstone with large fragments of red algae and a fine-crystalline matrix that is extensively leached, resulting in
15 D of permeability, SMP (Sample 194-1196A-18–3, 49–52). D) Dolomitized skeletal grainstone to packstone from SMP that exhibits
partial leaching of the matrix. Dolomitization is pervasive and fabric preserving (Sample 194-1199A-4–6, 16–18). E) Glauconite-bearing,
mud-lean packstone from the slope of SMP with abundant platform-derived grains (Sample 1197B-35–3, 60–62). F) Foraminiferal
grainstone from the lower slope of the SMP, containing both planktonic and benthic foraminifers and larger neritic skeletal fragments
(Sample 1194B-31–1, 77–79).
224 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 4.—Crossplots of density (g/cm3) versus photoelectric factor (PEF) for the sites A) 1194 and B) 1195 that are used for classifying the log-
derived lithologies. Lines represent the estimated porosity for quartz, dolomite and limestone. 35% salinity has been assumed for the formation
water. The arrows indicate an increase in clay content.

are used in this study but are complemented with log-derived
lithologies in low-recovery sites (see below).
Log Data
Five of the eight sites were logged (Isern et al., 2002). The recovered
log data are generally of high quality and allow the construction of log-
derived lithologies by calibrating the suite of log responses with
available core lithologies. For this study, log lithologies are constructed
for the two slope sites 1194 and 1195. At Site 1194, logging was
achieved with three different tool combinations and four separate runs,
whereas at Site 1195 only one run with the triple combo and three
check shots with the well seismic tool were completed. The logging
tools are provided and managed by Schlumberger, and the acronyms
used here are Schlumberger Trademark. The so-called triple combo run
includes HNGS (Hostile Environment Natural Gamma Ray Sonde;
total gamma ray, potassium, thorium, uranium), APS (Accelerator
Porosity Sonde; neutron porosity and neutron capture cross section R),
HLDS (Hostile Environment Lithodensity Sonde; density and
photoelectric factor), DIT (Dual Induction Tool; shallow to deep
resistivity). The second combination includes the NGT (Natural
Gamma Ray Tool; total gamma ray, potassium, thorium, uranium), LSS
(Long-Spaced Sonic Tool; compressional velocity) and FMS (Forma-
tion MicroScanner; high-resolution borehole images). The HNGS
measures the natural radioactivity of the formation. The APS is a
pulsed neutron device that generates fast neutrons (14.4 MeV).
For this study the R-log was corrected for the effect of the porosity to
eliminate the strong overprint of saltwater on these measurements.
Based on interstitial water samples (Isern et al., 2002) and assumptions
in sections with no analysis, we commonly used shipboard measured
salinity (34,500 to 35,500 ppm) for the main pore fluid. Any change in
fluid salinity might be subject to a lithology change and therefore
useful for the log interpretation. The porosity log used here is called
apparent limestone corrected porosity (APLC). All data were checked
for depth mismatch, and if necessary local depth matches were applied.
In general, logs from the first run were shifted with respect to the
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA
spectral gamma-ray log of the processed FMS image from the second
run. For identifying mismatches within a run, the density log was
chosen to be the reference and the others were shifted with respect to it.
Construction of Log-Derived Lithologies
For the classification of lithologies, value ranges, and correlations
between logs are used to define variation and mixtures of lithologies.
The most useful logs for constructing a log-derived lithology are
density, PEF, R, and the natural gamma-ray logs, in as much as they
respond to variation in the composition of the rock. Various cross-plots
define fields for the classification of sediment types; pure quartz
sandstone, limestone, or dolomite were calculated on a density-PEF
crossplot (Fig. 4A). The cross plots also distinguish between clean
formations or shaly formations, and also between calcareous and
dolomitic rocks. At Sites 1194 and 1195, only one interval displays a
transition between the two groups and is classified as dolo-limestone
(Fig. 4A). The computed gamma-ray (HCGR, only the Th and K
contribution) is used for the classification of clay-rich layers because
increased thorium and potassium contents usually reflect an increase in
clay content (Fig. 4B). We define a shaly limestone with HCGR values
. 10 API. The contribution of uranium is excluded because it is fairly
mobile as a uranyl ion and accumulates in glauconitic sediments,
hardgrounds, or phosphatic crusts. In these lithologies, uranium
contents . 5 API are found to be elevated.
Core to Log to Seismic Correlation
By integrating velocity data from sonic logs and check-shot surveys,
Isern et al. (2002) constructed a time-depth curve for each site to
correlate core and log information accurately with the seismic data.
These time-depth curves are used here to determine the core depth of
the seismic sequence boundaries. For the depth conversion, the two-
way travel time is measured from the center of the sea-floor reflection
to the center of the reflection defining the seismic sequence boundary.
This time is then translated to depth using the time-depth curve for the
specific site (Appendix 1).
Age Model
The revised age models rely on the shipboard age models for each
site and two follow-up studies by Wei (2004) and Ehrenberg et al.
(2006b). The shipboard age models are based primarily on calcareous
nannofossil and planktonic foraminifer datums and ranges, but the
larger benthic foraminiferal associations and ranges in northern
Australia relative to Neogene planktonic foraminiferal zones, as
determined by Chaproniere (1981, 1984) and modified by Chaproniere
and Betzler (1993), were also taken into account (Isern et al., 2002).
Wei (2004) refined the age model of Site 1193 by analyzing additional
samples in regards to their nannofossil content. Ehrenberg et al.
(2006b) provided new age information using Sr-isotope dating in the
platform carbonates of ODP Sites 1193, 1196, and 1199.
SEISMIC SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY
The four megasequences defined within the Marion Platform system
by Isern et al. (2002, 2004) are in this study further subdivided into
depositional sequences. First, unconformities were identified in the
seismic data based on the following criteria: (1) rugged topography of
reflections (interpreted as karst), (2) erosional truncations, (3) onlap
geometries that can consist of nearly horizontal reflections or slightly
inclined reflections or more steeply inclined reflections, and (4)
reflections with erosional truncation below and both onlap and
downlap above. The unconformities can be classified into three main
groups. Within the prograding portions of the platforms the
225
unconformities are characterized by onlap reflection terminations
(Fig. 5A). The sequence boundary is placed at the onlap surface, and
the onlapping strata are, in some cases, identified as the lowstand
systems tract (LST) that onlaps onto the underlying HST (Fig. 5A).
More inclined reflections could also be highstand wedges onlapping
onto cemented upper slope deposits that formed during the LST and
TST (Grammer et al., 1993; Malone et al., 2001). In some cases the
prograding clinoforms of the HST downlap onto the onlapping
package (Fig. 5A). Because of the chaotic to transparent seismic facies
of the platform, TSTs have not been recognized in this data set.
Very pronounced unconformities are observed between inclined
high-amplitude reflections and thick packages of basinal sediments that
onlap these reflections (Fig. 5B). The top reflections of both platforms
form such unconformities (Fig. 2). Drilling revealed that the high-
amplitude reflections are submarine hardgrounds with hiatuses of
several millions of years. These unconformities are drowning
unconformities and type-3 sequence boundaries sensu Schlager
(1989, 1999).
In addition, unconformities are recognized within the basinal drift
deposits. The current-generated drift deposits form large-scale
mounded sedimentary bodies with internally continuous seismic
reflections (Fig. 5C). The concave-upward reflections commonly form
downlap surfaces or onlap the underlying drift mound (Fig. 5C, D).
Locally the drifts are slightly eroded or show toplap terminations.
Basinal unconformities, like these drift unconformities, are not used to
identify sequence boundaries in the classic sequence stratigraphy
model. However, Mitchum et al. (1977) defined an unconformity as ‘‘a
surface of erosion or nondeposition that separates older from younger
strata and represents a significant hiatus,’’ and Vail et al. (1977)
described the sequence boundary as an ‘‘observable discordance. . .that
show[s] evidence of erosion or nondeposition with obvious stratal
terminations. . .’’. This older and broader geometry-based definition,
which does not include evidence of subaerial exposure as required in
the sequence boundary definition of Van Wagoner et al. (1988), is used
here so that the drowning unconformities and unconformities within
the drift deposits can be recognized as sequence boundaries. Evidence
is given below that the unconformities separating the drift successions
largely coincide with the sequence boundaries defined in the
prograding sections, indicating that climate changes that produce the
sea-level changes also change current patterns to produce distinct drift
sequences.
Based on these criteria, the megasequences are subdivided into
sequences. Megasequence A is not further subdivided and constitutes
one sequence, but six sequences are identified within megasequence B,
two sequences within megasequence C, and five sequences within
megasequence D.
Megasequence A: The thin siliciclastics-dominated megasequence
A overlies and infills basement irregularities and is not further
subdivided because of its limited thickness and its scattered, restricted
occurrence on the eastern part of the plateau (Isern et al., 2002, 2004).
Sr-isotope dates of oysters in the basal transgressive beds yield ages of
29–31 Ma, whereas the overlying beds in Site 1193 yields ages of 29–
27 Ma, indicating a Rupelian through early Chattian age (Ehrenberg et
al., 2006b). The top of the megasequence A was not recovered in the
cores, but the overlying sediments are of early Miocene age.
Megasequence B: Megasequence B is mostly late early Miocene to
middle Miocene, but the top sequence boundary is dated as earliest
Tortonian (11.1 Ma; Isern et al., 2004). At the NPM location,
megasequence B consists of two seimic facies that coincide with two
distinct lithologies. The first three sequences are formed by prograding
clinoforms dipping to the east and correspond to fine-grained, mixed
carbonate-siliciclastic distal slope deposits. They are overlain by a
transparent to chaotic seismic package with a high-amplitude, irregular
226 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 5.—Schematic display of the various unconformities that mark sequence boundaries (SB) in the seismic data on the Marion Plateau. A)
The onlap unconformity is defined by onlap terminations of a lowstand package onto the underlying strata. LST ¼ lowstand systems tract, TST
¼ transgressive systems tract, HST ¼ highstand systems tract. B) The drowning unconformity is a prolonged onlap surface. The onlapping
strata do not display systems tracts. C) Seismic section displaying the mounded-geometry drift deposits and the reflection terminations. The
internal reflections are of medium to high amplitude and continuous. They terminate with downlap against the underlying mounds. Toplaps are
rare. D) The drift unconformity is clearly identified by downlap and onlap terminations. It separates thick sequences of drift deposits.

reflection horizon at the top (Figs. 2, 6). This seismic facies represents
the vertically aggrading carbonate platform (NMP) that has an irregular
karstic horizon at the top that is the upper megasequence boundary and
corresponds to a prominent onlap surface in slope settings (Fig. 6; Isern
et al., 2002, 2004).
Across the NMP margin, five seismic sequence boundaries,
identified by the onlap patterns towards the underlying sequence,
separate six sequences within megasequence B (labeled B1-B6 in
Figure 6). An additional seismic sequence is identified in the
prograding slope section west of SMP and is labeled B6’ in Figure
7. Sequences B1-B4 thin towards the east, whereas the younger
sequences B4 and B6 maintain their lateral thickness. Although the
transparent seismic character of the NMP prevents the tracing of the
sequence boundaries to the west, a general steepening of the platform
margin in sequences B4-B6 is discernible. At sequence boundary B5/4,
the upper slope is onlapped by sediments of sequence B5 (Fig. 6).
Sequence B5 contains both a chaotic seismic facies of the vertically
aggrading platform and eastward-dipping continuous slope reflections.
The overlying sequence B6 seems to onlap the chaotic seismic facies of
the NMP. In a proximal position, the thin sequence B6 has slightly
dipping to chaotic reflections of a few kilometers width from which
basinward-dipping reflections downlap onto the underlying sequence
boundary (Fig. 6). Truncated toplap reflections form the sequence
boundary and also megasequence boundary C/B (Fig. 6). The chaotic
seismic facies was cored at Site 1194 and correlates to a 40-m-thick
interval of skeletal packstone-floatstone dominated by bryozoans that
was interpreted as a lowstand ramp by the Leg 194 shipboard party
(Isern et al., 2002) (Figs. 2, 9).
Ehrenberg et al. (2006b) subdivided megasequence B into four
depositional sequences based on facies relations in the core of Site
1193, whereas six sequences are identified on seismic data. Their core-
based sequence boundaries, however, correlate well with the respective
seismic sequence boundaries when the seismic resolution and
uncertainty stemming from core recovery are taken into account
(Fig. 8). The seismic resolution is about 10–15 m (using an interval
velocity of 2 km/s and a frequency of 80 Hz). In cores with low
recovery, up to 10 m of uncertainty is added because by convention the
recovered core is placed at the top of a drilled interval. Thus, up to 20 m
of mismatch can occur. Ehrenberg et al. (2006b) placed the base of
Sequence B1 at the same stratigraphic level and placed the upper
sequence boundary at 385 mbsf (meters below sea floor), whereas a
depth of 405 mbsf is calculated for the seismic sequence boundary
(Fig. 8). Seismic sequence boundary B3/B2 at 300 mbsf is identified
by onlap geometries but is not recognized by Ehrenberg et al. (2006b)
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 227

FIGURE 6.—Seismic line MAR12 displays a WSW-ENE cross section across the Northern Marion Platform (NMP) with the seismic sequences
identified in the study area. The three megasequences MSB, MSC, and MSD from Isern et al. (2002, 2004) are subdivided into 12 depositional
sequences. Megasequence B consists of prograding and aggrading sequences of NMP that drowned at the C/B boundary. The drowned
platform system is onlapped and buried by mounded drift deposits that form the sequences of megasequences MSC and MSD.

because at Site 1193 the facies above and below the sequence boundary
consist of packstone with a small amount of siliciclastics. Seismic
sequence boundary B4/B3 (placed at 238 mbsf) correlates well to
Ehrenberg et al.’s (2006) B2 sequence boundary at 229 mbsf (Fig. 8).
Across this sequence boundary the facies change up-section from
greenish gray, clay-rich mudstone (lithologic unit IV) to bryozoan-rich
limestone to dolostone (lithologic unit IIIB) that mark the base of the
NMP (Isern et al., 2002). Seismic sequence boundary B5/B4 at 183
mbsf (Ehrenberg’s sequence B3) is at the base of an argillaceous
interval that overlies an interval of bioclastic rudstone to grainstone.
The important seismic sequence boundary B6/B5 is placed on top of
a high-amplitude reflection at 674 ms (twt) at Site 1194 that translates
into 160 mbsf (Appendix 1). At this depth, a facies succession
interpreted as a lowstand ramp (Isern et al., 2002) abruptly overlies
upper-slope and hemipelagic sediments, providing the sedimentologic
record of a major sea-level lowering in the latest middle Miocene. The
base of the platform is biostratigraphically dated as 13.4 Ma and the top
as 11.4 Ma (Isern et al., 2002). Seismically, the sequence seems to
onlap the NMP where the sequence boundary merges with mega-
sequence boundary C/B (Fig. 6). Ehrenberg et al. (2006b), however,
provide Sr-isotope ages of 10.8–12.8 Ma for a limestone package (35–
100mbsf) at Site 1193 within NMP that would be age-correlative to
sequence B6 at Site 1194 (Fig. 8).
A core and log transect records the lithologies of megasequence B
from the platform (Site 1193) to the proximal (Site 1194) and distal
(Site 1195) slope. Cores were retrieved at each site, but in Figure 8 the
core lithology of Site 1193 is displayed, whereas at slope Sites 1194
and 1195, the more complete log-derived lithologies are given. During
the growth phase of the NMP in Sequence B4-B6 (grey shade in Figure
8), platform sediments were transported from the platform Site 1193 to
the surrounding areas. At the proximal slope Site 1194, the lowstand
platform of Sequence B6, consisting of 30 m of dark gray packstone
overlain by a 10-m-thick interval of skeletal floatstone (lithologic unit
IIIA) is an in situ carbonate unit. The underlying sequences B5 and B4
consist of periplatform sediments with a mixture of pelagic and benthic
foraminifers, nannofossils, small amounts of bioclast fragments, and
variable amounts of clay minerals, quartz, and glauconite (John et al.,
2006). At both slope sites 1194 and 1195 the natural gamma radiation
without the contribution of uranium (HCGR) records the variations in
clay content (Fig. 8). At the more distal location Site 1195, reduced
platform-derived neritic material together with clay produces a shaly
limestone facies. A lateral trend is also seen in the basal sequence B1,
where the calcareous material decreases from proximal to distal.
In addition, vertical lithologic changes related to the sequence
stratigraphic framework occur in the slope sections. In several
sequences, the basal portion is shalier and displays an increased
gamma signal whereas the upper portion is more calcareous. This
vertical trend is best developed in sequences B3-B5. In the older
sequences, cyclic fluctuations of the clay content are observed
throughout the sequence (Fig. 8). Similar fluctuations are seen in
Pleistocene gravity cores and interpreted as glacial-interglacial
variations in sediment composition (Heck et al., 2004b). In addition,
submarine hardgrounds cored at the proximal slope (Site 1194)
developed during sea-level lowstands because of increased currents
along the platform (Heck et al., 2004a), but at the distal slope Site 1195
pelagic deposition is not interrupted by hardgrounds.
Megasequence C: Megasequence C is Tortonian with a duration of
roughly 4 My (11.1–7 Ma). On the NMP, the entire megasequence is
condensed section recording a hiatus (Fig. 6). Within SMP,
228 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 7.—Part of seismic line MAR7 across the prograding SMP shows the transparent to chaotic platform and the inclined slope reflections that
abruptly turn into more horizontal basinal reflections. Four sequences (B4, B5, B6, and B6’) are identified within the prograding slope strata.
Sequence B’ is identified only in this expanded record. In all other seismic lines, it is not recognized. The progradation pulse of sequence B6
occurred at about 1.5 Ma. An erosional unconformity along the platform margin separates sequences C1 from C2.

megasequence C is seismically opaque but correlates to the youngest
platform section (lithologic unit 1; Isern et al., 2002; Ehrenberg et al.,
2006b). In the off-platform areas, megasequence C is separated into
two sequences by an erosional unconformity along the margin and a
downlap unconformity in the middle and lower slope (Fig. 7). The
separating unconformity becomes a correlative conformity in a
basinward direction, but within the 200-m-thick drift deposit develops
into a downlap unconformity (Figs. 2, 6). This downlap unconformity
persistently separates two drift lobes across the seismic data set.
Megasequence D: Megasequence D consists of Plio-Pleistocene
hemipelagic drift deposits that infill and level much of paleo-
topography between the Miocene platforms. The megasequence
boundary D/C coincides with the drowning of the southern platform
and the end of platform-derived shedding of neritic material from the
SMP. On top and close to the platform (sites 1193, 1197, and 1198),
the megasequence boundary D/C is a submarine hardground with a
hiatus, whereas in the off-platform Site 1195, the boundary correlates
to a 15-m-thick interval of glauconite-rich layers with low P-wave
velocity (Isern et al., 2002). The seismic facies within the entire
megasequence are characterized by laterally continuous, low- to
moderate-amplitude reflections showing large-scale convex-upward
geometries that are typical of drift deposition (Mountain and
Tucholke, 1989; Anselmetti et al., 2000). The drift origin of the
megasequence is best documented by an upcurrent moat that lies
immediately adjacent to the exposed platform escarpment of SMP
(Fig. 9; Isern et al., 2004). Lithologically, megasequence D drift
deposits typically consist of skeletal, foraminifera-rich silt- to very
fine sand-size wackestone to packstone with rare grainstone horizons
enriched in glauconite. Five sequences within the drift deposits are
assigned based on seismic unconformities between individual drift
lobes. Erosional unconformities are the exceptions; more common
are downlap and onlap unconformities between individual drift
packages (Figs. 6, 9). However, no obvious lithologic change is
observed across most sequence boundaries. The exception is at Site
1195, where the transition from sequence D4 to sequence D3 is a
lithologic change from skeletal grainstone with planktonic foramin-
ifers and subordinate mollusks to a 20-cm-thick rudstone with
phosphatized lithoclasts.
Age Assignment to Seismic Sequence Boundaries
The ages of the seismic sequence boundaries at each site are
determined with the revised age model based on the shipboard age
models and two follow-up studies by Wei (2004) and Ehrenberg et al.
(2006b). The time-depth curves from the check-shot surveys (Isern et
al., 2002) convert the two-way travel time of the seismic data to core
depth in meters below sea surface (mbsf) (Appendix 1). These depths
are then translated into ages using the revised age models (age-depth
curves) for each site. Two of these age models are presented in Figures
10 and 11, respectively. The ages of the sequence boundaries carry the
uncertainty of both the core recovery and the seismic resolution, 10 m
at best, which translates into 0.1–0.3 Ma of difference in calculated
age, depending on the sedimentation rate. Appendix 1 gives the time-
to-depth conversion for the sequence boundary reflection at each drill
site and the calculated age. Table 1 lists the ages of the sequence
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 229

FIGURE 8.—Platform-to-basin transect of megasequence B from the NMP to Site 1195. Core lithology is displayed for Site 1193, whereas the log-
derived lithology is given in Sites 1194 and 1195 to complement the low-recovery intervals in cores at these sites. The gray shaded portion
contains the lithologies during the growth phase of NMP. Sequence B6 contains the lowstand platform that became established during the late
middle Miocene sea-level lowstand. At Site 1193, the sequences determined from vertical facies successions by Ehrenberg et al. (2006b) are
correlated to the seismic sequences. The depths of the seismic sequence boundaries are calculated from the seismic data using the time-depth
curves from Isern et al. (2002). For location of sites, see Figure 1.

boundary in all sites and gives the average age of the sequence
boundary along the drilled transects.
In the northern transect (Site 1193 to the off-platform sites
1194,1192, and 1195), the most complete and reliable ages for the
sequence boundaries exist in the conformable portion of the sequences
at Site 1195, where pelagic fauna and flora are abundant and
continuous sedimentation provides an uninterrupted record (Fig. 11).
At the other sites, not all ages of all sequence boundaries can be
assessed and the reasons for an incomplete record vary. At Site 1192,
the core does not reach the base of megasequence B. At Sites 1194 and
1193, some sequences pinch out towards a hardground, and in the
platform Site 1193, the seismic sequence boundary B5/B6 is not
discernible in the acoustically transparent facies. In addition, some
intervals in the recovered cores did not yield enough age-diagnostic
microfossils for a reliable age determination. In particular, in the
deeper portions of some cores, poor core recovery coupled with
cementation, which prevents the separation of the microfossils, reduces
the number of adequate samples. For example, in Site 1194, the last
reliable nannofossil age (LO Sphenolithus heteromorphus at 13.6 Ma)
occurs at 158 mbsf. Farther downcore, the samples yield only rare
nannofossils and the planktonic foraminifers have ‘‘pervasive crystal
overgrowth, and species contamination,’’ (Isern et al., 2002). Thus,
230 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 9.—Seismic line MAR20 displays a NE-SW cross section across the Northern and Southern Marion Platforms. The two platforms are
seismically chaotic (NMP) to transparent (SMP). Both platform tops are drowning unconformities with a significant hiatus. The irregular
unconformity across NMP is a major hiatus along which the entire megasequence C plus sequence D1 are condensed. Similarly, on top of SMP
the entire megasequence D is condensed into a 0–30-m-thick succession (Kindler et al., 2006) that is seismically imaged by high-amplitude
reflections. Above the basal megasequence A, 13 seismic sequences are identified in the prograding portion of the platform and the basinal
strata within the three megasequences B-D. ODP Sites 1192 and 1199 are situated at shotpoints 4126 and 2690, respectively, of the seismic
line. ODP Sites 1194 and 1197 are projected onto the seismic line as they are situated nearby on crossing lines.

only the top 160 mbsf are reliable for the age determination of the
sequence boundaries at Site 1194 (Appendix 1). At Site 1192, the first
170 mbsf have good biostratigraphic resolution, but below this depth
only three samples have enough nannofossils and one sample enough
foraminifers for an age determination. In addition, the foraminifer
sample contains the difficult and variable Globigerina ciperoensis
group (Rögl, 1994), producing a much younger age then the
surrounding calcareous nannoplankton (Isern et al., 2002). Thus, our
age model is based on the calcareous nannofossils for this portion of
Site 1192.
At Site 1193, the biostratigraphic ages are robust for megasequence
D, which overlies the karst of NMP (Fig. 10; Appendix 1) whereas Sr-
isotope stratigraphy provides good ages within the platform carbonates
of NMP (Fig. 8; Ehrenberg et al., 2006b). In the prograding clinoforms
below the NMP, biostratigraphy provides a low-resolution age model
for megasequence B that is, however, corroborated by Sr-isotope
stratigraphy (Figs. 8, 10). Below 440 mbsf, the nannofossil stratigraphy
conflicts with the Sr-isotope stratigraphy of Ehrenberg et al. (2006b),
producing an 18.4 Ma age of megasequence boundary B/A when using
the nannofossil stratigraphy versus 22.5 Ma using Sr-isotope
stratigraphy (Fig. 10). At Site 1195, the age megasequence boundary
B/A is biostratigraphically determined as 19.9 Ma (Fig. 11).
The sequence-boundary ages at the SMP are determined at Sites
1196, 1197, 1198, and 1199. At the off-platform Site 1198, 13
calcareous nannofossil and 8 planktonic foraminifera datums in 523 m
of drift and slope deposits yielded a reliable age model with good
resolution for megasequence D and a somewhat lower resolution for
the older sequences (Isern et al., 2004). The onlap unconformity
between megasequences C and D is a major hiatus that lasted from 7.2
to 3.8 Ma (Tables 1, 2). Within the platform, only megasequence
boundary C/B is seismically visible and dated with Sr isotopes as 11
Ma (Ehrenberg et al., 2006b). At site 1197, in the prograding slope
section to the west of SMP, age-depth relationships are poorly
constrained for both megasequences C and B because core recovery
was extremely low. In addition, microfossils in the few samples are rare
and moderately to poorly preserved, and index fossils were difficult to
identify (Isern et al., 2002). Megasequence C is bounded at the top and
bottom by hardgrounds at 59 and 175 mbsf, respectively. An
assemblage of planktonic foraminifers dates the entire megasequence
somewhere between 11 and 4.8 Ma (Fig. 7). In other sites, the top
megasequence boundary C is dated as 7 Ma, whereas the overlying
drift deposits of megasequence D are dated as 2–0 Ma. Thus, the hiatus
at 59 mbsf probably lasted ; 5 million years (7–2 Ma). The duration of
the hiatus at 175 mbsf is unknown. Within the underlying
megasequence B, a low-resolution age model, based on four
biostratigraphic datums, provides ages for sequences B4 though B6’
as 15.4, 13.5, and 12 Ma, respectively (Appendix 1).
Age Consistency of Seismic Sequence Boundaries
One basic assumption of seismic sequence stratigraphy is that
seismic reflections are time lines and carry chronostratigraphic
significance (Vail et al., 1977). The following analysis tests if the
seismic sequence boundaries (SSBs) have a consistent age within the
studied seismic data set. Table 1 displays the age of each at each site,
the maximum difference of the SSB age between sites, and the
estimated age of the SSB, which is calculated from the average of ages
at each site. SSBs that have an age range because they represent a
hiatus are not used for calculating the average. The respective ages of
the SSBs are basically the same at each drill site, when the resolution of
both seismic data and the biostratigraphy is considered. Age variations
of 0.1–0.3 Ma are within the seismic resolution of approximately 10 m.
Biostratigraphy also has a 10 m resolution because samples are taken at
10 m intervals from the core catcher. In addition, the age model
interpolates between well-dated horizons assuming constant sedimen-
tation rates between datums, which adds to the uncertainty (Figs. 10,
11). As a result, variations of up to 0.5 Ma are within the precision of
the dating technique. Nine of the 13 SSBs are within this range,
showing an average variation of 0.33 Ma; one SSB is dated only once;
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 231

FIGURE 10.—Age model for Site 1193. The model takes into account the shipboard biostratigraphic dates (Isern et al., 2002), the revised
nannofossil dates of Wei (2004), and the Sr-isotope ages of Ehrenberg et al. (2006b). The conflicting ages in megasequence A from
nannofossils and Sr-isotopes are not resolved, causing a large age bracket at the megasequence boundary B/A.

and three SSBs have larger deviations (Table 1). Two of the large
deviations, SSB 2/1 and 5/4, are caused by a single outlier date . SSB
B5/4 has ages of 15.4, 15.2, and 15.5 Ma at three sites but a 14.5 Ma
age at Site 1192 (Table 1), where nannofossils and planktonic
foraminifers yield conflicting ages (Isern et al., 2002). SSB 2/1 is
dated as 18.3 Ma at two sites but as 17.5 Ma at Site 1195, probably
caused by decreased accuracy of dating in the lower portions of the
cores. Considering all the uncertainties, the sequence-boundary ages
are remarkably similar at the various sites (Fig. 12). Most importantly,
the ages do not overlap with ages of the adjacent SSBs and show
consistent ages along the seismic reflections (Fig. 12). This age
consistency of the seismic reflections corroborates that seismic
reflections have choronostratigraphic significance and follow deposi-
tional surfaces rather than facies boundaries (Vail et al., 1977; Eberli et
al., 2002).
DISCUSSION
Type-3 Sequence Boundaries on the Marion Plateau
Schlager (1999) made the case that in addition to the two types of
sequence boundaries commonly used in sequence stratigraphy a third
type of sequence boundary exists and called it a ‘‘type-3 sequence
boundary.’’ This sequence boundary is formed by unconformities
without demonstrable evidence of subaerial exposure or forced
regression but by a flooding surface between transgressive and
highstand systems tracts. In carbonate platform systems, a drowning
unconformity would produce the ‘‘observable discordance. . .that
show[s] evidence of erosion or nondeposition with obvious stratal
terminations. . .’’ (Vail et al., 1977) required for a sequence boundary. In
the Marion platform system, drowning unconformities cover both the
NMP and SMP. Seismically and lithologically, both are very similar, but
they have different ages: 11.1 Ma at the NMP versus 7 Ma across the
SMP. In both cases, the pronounced seismic reflection, running from the
platform top onto the adjacent slope, is identified as a (mega)sequence
boundary (Figs. 6, 9, 13). Lithologically both drowning unconformities
are characterized by a condensed, stratigraphically complicated
succession of marine deposits and hardgrounds (Heck et al., 2004a;
Kindler et al., 2006; Ehrenberg et al., 2006b).
The drowning succession on top of NMP (Site 1193) consists of a
thin, mud-rich layer recovered in a few pebbles above the formerly
232 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 11.—Age model for Site 1195 from Isern et al. (2002) with the depths and ages of the seismic sequence boundaries. This distal slope site
has the most complete seismic record and good abundance of age-diagnostic nannofossils and planktonic foraminifers.

exposed platform (Figs. 9, 13; Isern et al., 2002, 2004; Ehrenberg et al.,
2006). The thin 9.6 Ma layer apparently was deposited during the
transgression of the karstified platform top. At Site 1194, an 8.6 Ma
submarine ferromanganese hardground separates the neritic lowstand
platform deposits (11.4 Ma) from fine-grained drift deposits and has an
age of 7.5 Ma (Fig. 13A; Heck et al., 2004a). No subaerial exposure
occurred at this site. Thus, the drowning unconformity forming
megasequence boundary C/B can be regarded a composite sequence
boundary that has the characteristics of a type-3 sequence boundary
across the lowstand platform and is a merged type-1, type-3 sequence
boundary on top of the NMP.
The SMP drowned at approximately 7 Ma but intermittently
aggraded during the early Pliocene. Today, it forms a submarine plateau
at about 304 m water depth while the flanks of the drowned platform are
onlapped by drift deposits forming the unconformity of megasequence
boundary D/C (Figs. 7, 9, 13). The SMP drowning succession is even
more complicated than on the NMP. Kindler et al. (2006) documented a
60-cm-thick succession of neritic carbonates separated by thin pelagic
intervals at Site 1196, indicating that the platform was intermittently
active during the Pliocene. Subsequently, bottom currents swept the
platform, and a well-developed hardground crust formed. Figure 13B
shows the rugged crust as it is exposed today. Figure 13D is a thin
section from the surface hardground displaying a well-cemented
floatstone overlain by a ferromanganese crust (Heck et al., 2004a).
The hardground extends from the platform top (Sites 1196 and 1199)
onto the adjacent slope (Site 1197) (Fig. 13C). Petrographic and
geochemical data of the drowning succession document that the
platform was not exposed before drowning (Kindler et al., 2006). In
particular, Kindler et al. (2006) showed that fine-grained sediment
within rudstone facies contain planktonic foraminifera and thus cannot
be interpreted as vadose silt. The lack of meniscus and pendant cements
and the occurrence of fibrous syntaxial cement also indicate marine
diagenesis. Furthermore, d18O values in micritic and blocky cements in
a sample at 0.35 mbsf vary between 0.6 and 2.5ø PDB, and the cements
are interpreted as precipitated from marine waters (Kindler et al., 2006).
Results of isotope analyses for this study from both SMP platform sites
corroborate these findings (Fig. 14). In the dolomitized top of the
platform, the d18O values range from 2.2 to 4.2ø, which is consistent
with no meteoric overprint but more typical of dolomitization from
slightly altered seawater (Swart and Melim, 2000; Melim et al., 2004).
Farther down-core, intervals with negative oxygen isotope values occur,
which shows that the platform was exposed several times during the
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 233

TABLE 1.—Ages of sequence boundaries at each site, variation of age, and estimated age of sequence boundary.

D age Average age

SSB Site 1193 Site 1194 Site 1192 Site 1195 Site 1198 Site 1199 Site 1196 Site 1197 (Ma) (Ma)

D5/4 1.3 1.3 1.4 0.1 1.3

D4/3 3 0–3 3 3.1 3 0.1 3
D3/2 4.1 4.1 3.8 3.9 3.7 0.4 3.9
D2/1 5.5–11 5.3 5.7 5.2 3.8–7.2 0.5 5.4
D/C 5.5–11 7.5–11.4 7.1 7 3.8–7.2 .4.8–10.9 0.1 7
C2/1 9.5 9 8.5 .4.8–10.9 1 9
C/B 5.5–11 7.5–11.4 10.5–11.4 11 11.5 11 11 ,10.9–11.4 0.5 11.1
B6/5 13.4 13.7 13.8 13.8 0.4 13.7
B5/4 15.4 14.5 15.2 15.5 1 15.1
B4/3 16.4 16 16.1 16.5 0.5 16.2
B3/2 16.9 17.3 18* 0.4 17.1
B2/1 18.3 17.5 18.3 0.8 18
B/A 18.4–22.5* 19.9 19.9
Average D 0.48
* unreliable age at condensed section.
SSB ¼ seismic sequence boundary.
Ages are given in million years (Ma).

FIGURE 12.—Illustration of the age consistency of the seismic sequence boundaries between four of the drill sites on three different seismic lines.
The numbers indicate the ages in Ma of the seismic boundaries at each drill site. Some sequence boundaries are not dated because a) they were
not penetrated, b) condensed into hiatuses, or c) age-diagnostic nannofossils and foraminifers are not present. Most ages of the datable
sequence boundaries vary less than 0.35 Ma between the individual sites, which is within the seismic resolution.

Miocene. However, no such negative oxygen isotope excursion is
observed immediately below the drowing succession (Fig. 14).
Therefore the drowning unconformity across SMP that forms mega-
sequence Boundary D/C is a type-3 sequence boundary sensu Schlager
(1999).
Influence of Currents on Sedimentation
The strength of the southward-flowing East Australian Current on the
Marion Plateau started to increase at ; 13.4 Ma but increased
dramatically at 11.4 Ma (Figs. 6, 9; Isern et al., 2004). Increased
234 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

FIGURE 13.—Hardground surfaces along the drowning unconformities in the Marion platform system. The seismic lines at the bottom show the
locations of the samples displayed in A-D. A) Core photograph of the ferromanganese crust that forms a hardground at 117 mbsf at Site 1194
(Section 194-1194A-14X-1). Be-based age dating yields 8.65 6 0.50 Ma for this crust (Heck et al., 2004a). B) Hardground crust at Site 1196
exposed at the seafloor at 304 mbsl. C) Subsurface crust at Site 1197 consisting of indurated skeletal grainstone capped by a reddened 2- to 4-mm-
thick phosphatic crust (interval 194-1197B-2R-1, 0–20 cm). Large borings (arrows) are filled with phosphatic sand or foraminifer grainstone
(from Isern et al., 2002). D) Photomicrograph of the hardground at Site 1196 (Core 194-1196B-1R). The lower part consists of a floatstone with
abundant foraminifers and various macrofossils that is overlain by a brownish-reddish ferromanganese crust (modified from Heck et al., 2004b).
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 235

FIGURE 14.—Oxygen and carbon isotopes versus depth for Sites 1196 and 1199. The top portions of both holes, including the drowning
succession, are largely dolomitized. Most of the oxygen isotope values are positive (2.2–4.2ø), which indicates a marine origin of the
dolomitizing fluid and is consistent with the absence of meteoric overprint in the petrographic data (Kindler et al., 2006). Negative d18O farther
down core, for example at 180–207 and 305–330 mbsf (Site 1196) and 350–360 mbsf (Site 1199), give evidence for intermittent exposure of
the platform in the Middle and late Middle Miocene.

circulation was caused by the intensification of westerly winds resulting
from middle Miocene cooling (Isern et al., 1996; Shevenell et al., 2004).
Subsequently, ocean currents strongly influenced sedimentation of the
Marion platform system, for two reasons. First, the water depth across
oligotrophic subtropical carbonate platforms is approximately 30–40 m
(Pomar, 2001), which allows the southward-flowing East Australian
Current to sweep across the platform top. As a result, the current
becomes the dominant transport mechanism for moving sediments off
the carbonate platforms to the slopes and basin. The result is an
asymmetric platform geometry where the upcurrent side is relatively
sediment starved and the most sediment is deposited on the downcurrent
slope (Fig. 7). This current-controlled offbank transport is also observed
on ‘‘incipiently drowned’’ platforms, such as the Nicaraguan Rise,
where currents sweep across the platform and export sediment to the
adjacent slopes (Glaser and Droxler, 1991; Mutti et al, 2005). In
contrast, the shallow (0–7 m water depth) tropical carbonate platforms
like the modern Great Bahama Bank tend to have very steep slopes
(Grammer et al., 1993). In such a setting, friction along the slopes slows
the ocean current and prevents it from reaching the platform top
(Richardson et al., 1969). Thus, in tropical, euphotic carbonate
platforms, the off-bank transport is dominated by the wind direction
236 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN,
FIGURE 15.—Schematic display of the simultaneous formation of the
onlap unconformity and the drift unconformity as a result of the
coupled change of sea level and current. A) During a sea-level
highstand, the current flows in an off-shelf position, depositing a
drift mound basinward from the current axis. B) The lowering of
sea level shifts carbonate production basinward and produces an
onlap unconformity along the shelf. The climatic changes
producing the sea-level lowering also change the strength of the
current and its position. As a result the drift deposits shift,
producing an unconformity between the drift mounds.
whereby sediments are forced off the platform on the leeward side (Hine
et al., 1981; Eberli and Ginsburg, 1987, 1989; Schlager et al., 1994).
In addition to producing platform asymmetry, the ocean current
influences the development of submarine hardgrounds and the
geometry of the drift deposits. All submarine hardgrounds encountered
in Leg 194 cores coincide with sequence or megasequence boundaries
(Fig. 13), indicating a correlation between sea-level lowering and their
formation. Sea-level lowering with magnitudes of 30–80 m likely
exposed the platforms, thereby restricting the flow of currents between
them, which increased current strength. As a result, the sediment is
cleaned off the upper slope and transported into the distal slope and
basin to form drift deposits. Changing current strength and the shifting
of the depocenters produced variable mass accumulation rates within
the distal slope and drift deposits. The rates vary with frequencies of
409 Kyr and 1800 Kyr in the slope and basinal sections (John and
Mutti, 2005). Changes in sea level and current strength are also
coupled with changes in productivity and continental runoff. The
sedimentary records of these coupled changes are variations in the
content of clay minerals, quartz, and glauconite (John et al., 2006),
which produce cyclic variations of the gamma-ray logs (Fig. 8). On a
larger scale, the sea-level-modulated current changes produced
unconformities within the mounded drift deposits and nondepositional
surfaces on the slopes that become long-lasting onlap surfaces (Figs. 6,
7, 9). Figure 15 provides a schematic illustration of the processes that
relate onlap unconformities and drift unconformities to the change of
sea level. During a sea-level highstand, a surface ocean current
establishes itself at a certain location according to the basin
morphology and atmospheric conditions. The climate change that
produces a sea-level fall also changes the wind-driven currents. It is
generally assumed that during glacial times atmospheric wind belts are
compressed and stronger (Ganopolski et al., 1998; Mix et al., 1999);
thus, wind-driven surface circulation should be intensified, but
AND HEIKE DELIUS
depending on the basin morphology it can also decrease (Lynch-
Steiglitz et al., 1999). In either case the strength and position of the
current is different during a sea-level lowstand. Drift deposits are
generally mounded, and a shift of the depositional center primarily
produces a new, mounded succession with downlap termination, but
some erosion of the underlying drift can occur because of current
intensification during the sea-level drop. Bergman (2005) related
current strength to sedimentation rates in the drifts of the Florida
Straits, indicating that thicker drifts are related to stronger currents.
Reasons for Platform Drowning
John and Mutti (2005) argued that the strong ocean current,
sweeping the platforms, is a major contributor to the platform
drowning. In other regions, successive drowning is clearly related to
continuous loading of a plate, which increases the subsidence to
outpace the growth potential of the carbonate platforms (Bachtel et
al., 2004; Vahrenkamp et al., 2004). The Marion Plateau is,
however, a mature passive margin approximately 1000 km from the
nearest plate boundary, with a generally slow subsidence rate.
DiCaprio et al. (2010) nevertheless proposed that tectonic processes
caused the drowning of the Marion platforms. The authors use a
coupled-plate, kinematic mantle-flow model to demonstrate that the
sinking of subducted slabs from Eocene Melanesian subduction
north of Papua New Guinea increases the likelihood that relative
sea-level rises outpaced late Miocene reef growth. Their model,
however, does not explain why the two platforms drowned at
different times in the latest middle Miocene (NMP) and the late
Miocene (SMP).
In the absence of a viable tectonic cause, ocean current activity is a
likely cause of platform drowning on the Marion Plateau, as the
sweeping power of ocean currents prevents the carbonate factory from
flourishing. For example, along the NMP, the current prevented
deposition of the entire megasequence C, creating a hiatus of
approximately 4 My at Site 1194 (Figs. 6, 9). The hardground is part
of the drowning unconformity that extends upward onto the NMP. The
thin pelagic cap at Site 1193 proves that the exposed platform was re-
flooded without the heterozoan carbonate system being able to re-
establish. Likewise on the drowned SMP, thin successions of cool-
subtropical facies were deposited, probably during times of lower sea
level, but the platform never became re-established (Kindler et al.,
2006).
The prevention of carbonate production and hardground formation
because of a strong ocean current is well documented in tropical
carbonate systems. For example, on the western Florida Shelf, an
increase in the strength of the Loop Current in the middle Miocene
resulted in submarine erosion, reduced off-shelf transport, and coeval
increase of pelagic carbonate production (Mullins et al., 1988b).
Subsequently, the migration of the Loop Current in response to sea-level
fluctuations produced isobath-parallel facies belts of hardgrounds,
winnowed sand, and bioturbated pelagic ooze facies (Mullins et al.,
1988a; Mullins et al., 1988b). On the Miami Terrace, the onset of the
Florida Current in the middle Miocene caused submarine erosion, and
subsequently the tropical carbonate production never recovered. On the
drowned submarine terrace, a condensed succession of conglomeratic
phophorites and phosphatic limestones was deposited (Mullins and
Neumann, 1979).
Consequently, current-related processes are envisioned to have
contributed to the drowning of the Marion platforms. The successive
drowning of the NMP and the SMP is probably related to the
intensification of the current through time and the location of the
platforms. The south-flowing current, hugging the coastline, had an
early and stronger influence on the proximal NMP, while the SMP
continued to grow until the latest Miocene.
 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 237

TABLE 2.—Comparison of sequence-boundary ages from Marion Plateau, Queensland Plateau, and Great Bahama Bank.

Marion Plateau ODP Leg 194 Queensland Plateau ODP Leg 133 Great Bahama Bank ODP Leg 166
(this study) (Betzler et al. 2000) (Eberli et al. 2002 )

SSB Age (Ma) SSB Age (Ma) SSB Age (Ma)

A 0.1
B 0.6
D5/4 1.3 QU 12 1.7 C 1.7
QU 11 2.7
D4/3 3 QU 10 3 D 3.1
D3/2 3.9 QU 9 3.6 E 3.6
QU 8 4.5 E2 4.5
D2/1 5.4 QU 7 5.5 F 5.4
D/C 7
C2/1 9 QU 6 8.5 G 8.7
H 9.4
C/B 11.1 QU 5 10.3 - 11 I 10.7
QU 4 12.4 K 12.2
QU 3 12.6 L 12.7
B6/5 13.7
B5/4 15.1 M 15.1
B4/3 16.2 QU 2 16 - 16.7 N 15.9
B3/2 17.1
B2/1 18 QU 1 18 O 18.3
B/A 19.9 P 19.4

Synchroneity of Neogene Sea-Level Changes in the Pacific
and the Atlantic
One of the objectives of sea-level-related drilling by the Ocean
Drilling program is to address the question of global synchroneity of
sea-level changes. Vail et al. (1977), and later Haq et al. (1987),
constructed a global cycle chart based on the unconformities and
flooding surfaces that show an irregular distribution of the (sequence-
boundary-forming) sea-level fluctuations on the million-year scale. In
the absence of a good explanation for the timing of these eustatic sea
level-changes, scientists questioned that unconformities and the
resultant sequence architectures are largely driven by eustasy (e.g.,
Miall, 1992, 1997). Fluctuations in global sea level (eustasy) result
from changes in the volume of water in the ocean or the volume of the
ocean basins. The two dominant forces for volume changes are plate
tectonic and ice-volume changes. Miller et al. (2005) attributed the
covariance of the deep-sea benthic foraminiferal d18O record and the
sea-level curve on both the 106 and 107 yr scales to a linkage between
changes in ice-volume and sea-level changes. These authors also
provided evidence that longer-term sea-level changes are related to
plate reorganization. Although their findings prove that eustasy on
several timescales occur, the question remains whether regional
unconformities are largely driven by eustasy or by local tectonic
subsidence. A strong indication of the eustatic control on these
unconformities would be the similar timing of the sequence boundaries
in different ocean basins. This test is done here by comparing sequence
boundaries in the Pacific and the Atlantic.
Table 2 lists the ages of Neogene sequence boundaries in the Pacific
sites of the Queensland Plateau (ODP Leg 133, Betzler et al., 2000) and
the Marion Plateau (ODP Leg 194, this study), and the ages of the
sequence boundaries along the Bahamas transect in the Atlantic (Eberli
et al., 2002; ODP Leg 166). The methodology for dating the sequence
boundaries is similar in each location. In the 20 My time interval
examined here, 12 (Leg 133), 17 (Leg 166), and 13 (Leg 194)
sequences are identified at the three locations, indicating that the
prograding margin of western Great Bahama Bank has the most
complete record. The timing of many of these unconformities is
remarkably similar in both oceans (Table 2). The lower Miocene strata
(23–16 Ma) contain a total of four sequences; three of these sequence
boundaries are of similar age in the Atlantic (Leg 166) and the Pacific
(Legs 133 and 194). Similarly, three of the four middle Miocene
sequence boundaries have the same or similar ages in both oceans. In
the Seravallian section, two closely spaced sequence boundaries are
recorded on the Queensland Plateau (QU3, QU4) and on Great
Bahama Bank (K, L). For the late Miocene, there is a good correlation
for the sequence boundaries that are present on all transects. Sequence
boundary H is not identified in the Pacific, and sequence boundary D/C
is not registered on Great Bahama Bank. The Pliocene sequences are
very similar in age in both oceans, with the exception of sequence QU
11, which is identified only on the Queensland Plateau (Table 2). Only
one Pleistocene sequence is seen in the Queensland and Marion
Plateau seismic data, but three are visible in the expanded record of the
prograding margin of Great Bahama Bank.
In summary, twelve Neogene sequence boundaries have the same
ages (within the seismic and biostratigraphic resolution) in the Pacific
and Atlantic sites. Eight of them are recorded in all three locations, and
four are present in at least one of the two Pacific locations (Marion and
Queensland Plateau) and on Great Bahama Bank (Table 2). This strong
correlation documents the synchroneity of erosional unconformities
that produce seismic sequence boundaries on the margins of both
oceans. The data provide strong evidence that these sequence
boundaries were produced by eustatic sea-level falls, because of
erosional unconformities caused by sea-level lowering. Megasequence
boundary D/C, which is a drowning unconformity, is recorded only in
the Marion Platform system, because in the other locations the
carbonate production was able to keep up with the sea-level rise.
238 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN,
CONCLUSION
The record of a close relationship between sea-level change and
current patterns during the Neogene icehouse is observed in the
platform and basinal sediments on the Marion Plateau. The
sedimentary succession is subdivided by unconformities into 13
depositional sequences that were produced by sea-level changes and
modulated by changes in the strength of the East Australian Current.
The first strong current influence is seen in the development of a
hardground with a ferromanganese crust that forms the top sequence
boundary of the middle Miocene megasequence B. Subsequently, the
interplay of sea level and currents is recognized in all sequences.
Several sequence boundaries developed hardgrounds and long
hiatuses because of currents sweeping the seafloor. In addition, the
basinal portions of the sequences developed mounded lobes that
commonly unconformably overlie each other, reflecting the shifting
of depocenters as the current varied its pathway. The drift
unconformities in some cases correlate to onlap unconformities that
are identified as sequence boundaries, indicating that such uncon-
formities can be used to differentiate seismic sequences in a basinal
setting.
In addition to basinal unconformities, the seismic data across the two
drowned Marion platforms contain examples of type-3 sequence
boundaries. The drowning unconformity across NMP is a combined
type-1 and type-3 sequence boundary, whereas the unconformity
across the drowned SMP is solely a type-3 unconformity. Cores
retrieved thin, but stratigraphically and lithologically complicated,
drowning successions of pelagic and neritic carbonates that document
attempts of the platform to recover from drowning. It is speculated that
the coupled effect of sea-level rise and strong current prevented re-
establishment of prolonged carbonate production and caused the
demise of the platforms at 11.1 Ma (NMP) and 7 Ma (SMP),
respectively. The influence of the current in the drowning process is
likely related to the great water depth (30–50 m) of cool-subtropical
carbonates, which allows ocean currents to sweep across the platform
and prevents the establishment of the sediment producers.
Biostratigraphic and Sr-isotope dating from eight sites drilled during
ODP Leg 194 are used to determine the ages of the sequence
boundaries. Although some cored intervals did not yield enough age-
diagnostic microfossils, age models based on biostratigraphic and
strontium dates provide robust time constraints for dating most
sequence boundaries at each site. A comparison of ages from each site
documents consistent ages along the seismic reflections. This age
consistency supports the first assumption in seismic stratigraphy, that
most seismic reflections are time lines and have chronostratigraphic
significance.
The ages of 10 out of 13 Neogene sequence boundaries from the
Marion Plateau are similar to the ages of Neogene sequence boundaries
along the Bahamas Transect (ODP Leg 166). If the results of ODP Leg
133 on the Queensland Plateau are incorporated, 12 Neogene sequence
boundaries from northeast Australian margin are similar to the ones in
the Bahamas. The similar timing of many of the Neogene sequence
boundaries in a margin in the Pacific (northeast Australia) and in the
Atlantic (Bahamas) provides strong evidence for a eustatic control and
global synchroneity of third-order sea-level changes in the Neogene.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The sequence stratigraphic analysis was performed by the authors at
the facilities of the Borehole Logging Group at Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory of Columbia. We thank the entire team and especially
Trevor Williams for their hospitality and support during our stay. We
acknowledge the excellent work of all the biostratigraphers on the three
ODP Legs, who, with their shipboard and subsequent analyses, have
established the age models that are used to date the sequence
AND HEIKE DELIUS
boundaries and thereby helped to prove some of the basic assumptions
in sequence stratigraphy. We thank Peter Swart and his team for the
measurements of the stable isotopes. Discussions with Steve Ehrenberg
on the sequence stratigraphic subdivisions and age dating helped
improve the core seismic correlations. Careful reviews and constructive
comments by James Bishop, Steve Bachtel, Paul, M. (Mitch) Harris
and Ted Playton helped to improve the manuscript. G. Eberli
appreciates the patience and help of the editors of this special
publication. He thanks Klaas Verwer and Kelly Jackson for help with
the figures and proof-reading the manuscript. Research costs for G.
Eberli were paid from US Science Support Program (USSP) grant #
668372 and contributions of the industrial associates to the
Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory at the University of Miami.
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 TIMING OF CHANGES IN SEA-LEVEL AND CURRENTS ALONG MIOCENE PLATFORMS, MARION PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA 241

APPENDIX 1.—Time, depth, and ages of seismic reflections that mark sequence boundaries.

Transect across Northern Marion Platform sites

SSB horizon 1193twt 1193ms bsf 1193mbsf 1193age 1194twt 1194ms bsf 1194mbsf 1194age

Waterbottom 459 0 0 493 0 0

D5/4 - -
D4/3 462 3 5 3 505 12 11 0–3
D3/2 498 39 26 4.1 550 57 43 4.1
D2/1 510 51 35 5.3–11 578 85 65 5.3
D/C 510 51 35 5.3–11 632 139 115 7.5–11.4
C2/1
C/B 510 51 35 9.6–11 632 139 115 7.5–11.4
B6/5 - - 674 181 160 13.4
B5/4 636 177 183 15.4 711 218 191 -
B4/3 682 223 238 16.4 759 266 242 -
B3/2 735 276 300 16.9 830 337 312 -
B2/1 816 357 405 18.3 866 373 370 -
B/A 845 386 440 18.4–22.5 899 406 423 -
Basement 909 450 531 899 406 423

Transect across Southern Marion Platform sites

SSB horizon 1198twt 1198ms bsf 1198mbsf 1198age 1196twt 1196ms bsf 1196mbsf 1196age
Waterbottom 423 0 0 403 0 0
D5/4 533 110 86 1.4
D4/3 633 210 182 3 403 0 0
D3/2 649 226 195 3.7
D2/1 655 232 205 3.8–7.2 403 0 0
D/C 655 232 205 3.8–7.2 403 0 0
C2/1 690 267 239 8.5
C/B 762 339 320 11.5 506 103 115 11
B6’/6
B6/5 802 379 368 13.8
B5/4 830 407 401 15.5
B4/3 860 437 436 16.5
B3/2 897 474 482 18
B2/1 904 481 492 18.3
B/A
Basement 922 499 514
SSB ¼ Seismic Sequence Boundary; twt ¼ two-way travel time in ms; ms bsf ¼ millisecond below sea surface; mbsf ¼ meter below sea surface;
age is given in million years (Ma).
242 GREGOR P. EBERLI, FLAVIO S. ANSELMETTI, ALEXANDRA R. ISERN, AND HEIKE DELIUS

APPENDIX 1.—Extended.

Transect across Northern Marion Platform sites

1192twt 1192ms bsf 1192mbsf 1192age 1195twt 1195ms bsf 1195mbsf 1195age

496 0 0 555 0 0
518 22 16 1.3 576 21 15 1.3
549 53 45 3 609 54 42 3.1
569 73 59 3.8 622 67 50 3.9
598 102 85 5.7 643 88 68 5.2
646 150 120 7.1 712 157 123 7
721 225 182 9.5 757 202 165 9
789 293 240 10.5–11.4 824 269 230 11
835 339 283 13.7 877 322 286 13.8
862 366 307 14.5 922 367 333 15.2
907 411 353 16 952 397 368 16.1
937 441 384 - 984 429 409 17.3
947 451 393 - 988 433 412 17.5
1035 480 470 19.9
1062 566 1076 521 521

Transect across Southern Marion Platform sites

1199twt 1199ms bsf 1199mbsf 1199age 1197twt 1197ms bsf 1197mbsf 1197age
420 0 0 463 0 0

420 0 0

420 0 0 ,2
420 0 0 536 73 59 .4.8–,10.9
588 125 105 .4.8–,10.9
500 80 11 659 196 175 ,10.9–11.4
700 237 225 12
846 374 390 13.5
903 440 490 15.4

1022 559 667

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