Hydrocarbon biomarkers from a 1.64-billion-year-old basin in northern Australia reveal the ecological structure of mid-Proterozoic marine communities. The data, from Geoscience Australia, includes evidence for phototrophic purple and green sulphur bacteria. It supports models of a long-lasting Proterozoic world with ocean oxygen levels well below modern standards.
Use Cases
- Modeling ancient marine redox conditions based on biomarker evidence for anoxic, sulphidic, and sulphate-poor waters.
- Studying the co-existence of microbial communities based on evidence for Chromatiaceae and Chlorobiaceae bacteria.
- Calibrating models of Proterozoic atmospheric oxygen levels based on biomarker data from a 1.64-Gyr-old sample.
- Investigating the timeline for the disappearance of iron formations based on evidence from the mid-Proterozoic interval.
Strengths
- Data originates from a specific 1.64-billion-year-old geological basin in northern Australia.
- Provides direct biomarker evidence for multiple bacterial families (Chromatiaceae and Chlorobiaceae).
- Supports analysis of a key transitional period in Earth's history, the mid-Proterozoic (1.8-0.8 Gyr ago).
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Analysis of hydrocarbon biomarkers (molecular fossils) extracted from geological samples.
- Time Range
- Sample is from 1.64 billion years ago, relating to the mid-Proterozoic interval (1.8-0.8 Gyr ago).
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-14 03:03:58.879273; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Northern Australia.