Northern Australia hosts biomarker data from a 1.64-billion-year-old marine basin. The dataset likely contains molecular fossils indicating the presence of purple and green sulphur bacteria, revealing the ecological structure of mid-Proterozoic marine communities. The data was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network.
Use Cases
- Model ancient marine oxygen and sulphate concentrations based on biomarker evidence
- Study the co-existence of phototrophic sulphur bacteria communities in stratified seas
- Investigate the transition from anoxic to oxygenated oceans in the Proterozoic period
- Analyze the relationship between continental weathering and marine sulphate levels
Strengths
- Focuses on a specific 1.64-billion-year-old geological sample
- Provides evidence for the ecological structure of mid-Proterozoic marine communities
- Includes biomarker data for both purple and green sulphur bacteria
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/temporal bias inherent to data_gov_au
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Time Range
- 1.64 billion years ago (mid-Proterozoic)
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-16 15:32:22.110043; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- Northern Australia