Western Australia's Canning Basin provides core samples from five boreholes intersecting the Goldwyer Formation. The dataset integrates palynological, petrographic, molecular, and stable isotopic analyses to determine depositional environments and microbial diversity during the Middle Ordovician. It includes biomarker indices, microfossil identifications, and records the oldest cryptospores in Australia.
Use Cases
- Analyze depositional environments based on biomarker ratios like Pristane/Phytane and dibenzothiophene indices
- Study microbial community structure based on the presence of methanotrophic bacteria indicated by 3-methylhopane indices
- Investigate the evolution of early land plants based on the identification of cryptospores and terrestrial biomarkers like retene
- Correlate paleoenvironmental conditions with the presence of Ordovician marine organisms like acritarchs, chitinozoans, and graptolites
Strengths
- Integrates multi-disciplinary analyses including palynological, petrographic, molecular, and stable isotopic data
- Focuses on a specific geological formation (Goldwyer Formation) across five boreholes
- Contains specific biomarker indices (e.g., Pristane/Phytane, dibenzothiophene, gammacerane, 3-methylhopane) for environmental interpretation
- Identifies the oldest cryptospores in Australian Middle Ordovician strata
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 bias inherent to the Canning Basin, Western Australia
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Analyses of cores from five boreholes intersecting the Goldwyer Formation
- Time Range
- Middle Ordovician period
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-16 14:45:58.807362; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- Canning Basin, Western Australia