Gemma Spaak et al. integrated palynological, petrographic, molecular, and stable isotopic analyses of cores from four boreholes intersecting the Goldwyer Formation in the Canning Basin, Western Australia. The study provides data on lateral and temporal variations in lipid biomarker assemblages and microbial diversity within a Middle Ordovician epicontinental sea. It includes the oldest record of cryptospores from bryophyte-like plants in Australian Middle Ordovician strata and evidence for an ecological relationship between methanotrophs and the organism Gloeocapsomorpha prisca.
Use Cases
- Modeling ancient marine redox conditions based on biomarker assemblage variations.
- Studying the early evolution of land plants based on cryptospore and terrestrial biomarker records.
- Investigating microbial community ecology based on correlations between Gloeocapsomorpha prisca biosignatures and methanotroph indicators.
- Correlating depositional environments across geological units using integrated palynological and geochemical data.
Strengths
- Integrates multi-disciplinary analyses including palynology, petrography, molecular, and stable isotopic data.
- Includes the oldest record of cryptospores (land plants) in Australian Middle Ordovician strata.
- Data is derived from cores from four distinct boreholes, allowing for spatial analysis.
Limitations
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Multi-disciplinary analysis of rock cores from four boreholes in the Canning Basin.
- Time Range
- Middle Ordovician period
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-04 06:02:04.864945; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Canning Basin, Western Australia