Biomarker Evidence for Ancient Sulphur Bacteria in a 1.64-Billion-Year-Old Sea

Hydrocarbon biomarkers from a 1.64-billion-year-old marine basin in northern Australia reveal the ecological structure of mid-Proterozoic ocean communities. The data includes evidence for phototrophic purple and green sulphur bacteria, indicating anoxic, sulphidic, and stratified deep waters. This research was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and the dataset entry was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the okenane biomarker to detect and quantify the presence of purple sulphur bacteria (Chromatiaceae) in ancient sediments.
• Correlating biomarker profiles for green sulphur bacteria (Chlorobiaceae) with geochemical proxies for sulphidic and anoxic water conditions.
• Reconstructing the ecological community structure of a stratified Proterozoic sea using the relative abundance of different molecular fossils.
• Testing models of global ocean anoxia during the mid-Proterozoic (1.8-0.8 Gyr ago) against specific biomarker evidence from a 1.64-Gyr-old basin.

Strengths

• Data provides direct molecular fossil evidence from a specific 1.64-billion-year-old geological timeframe.
• Biomarkers identify two distinct microbial communities (purple and green sulphur bacteria) co-existing in the same basin.
• Findings contribute to a specific debate on marine oxygen and sulphate levels in the mid-Proterozoic interval.

Limitations

• The dataset is derived from a single basin in northern Australia, limiting geographic generalizability.
• Sample size and specific row/column counts for the underlying analytical data are not provided.
• The primary data is presented within a scientific publication, which may limit direct machine-readability.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, linked to a scientific journal publication.

Collection Method

Analysis of hydrocarbon biomarkers (molecular fossils) extracted from geological rock samples.

Time Range

Samples are from approximately 1.64 billion years ago (mid-Proterozoic).

Freshness

null

Geography

Northern Australia (specific basin not named in provided description).