Canning Basin Ordovician Biomarker and Microfossil Data for Environmental Reconstruction

A multi-disciplinary study integrates palynological, petrographic, molecular, and stable isotopic analyses of cores from five boreholes intersecting the Goldwyer Formation in the Canning Basin, Western Australia. The research focuses on the Middle Ordovician period to determine depositional environments and microbial diversity during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. Data was contributed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling ancient marine anoxic conditions based on Pristane/Phytane ratios and dibenzothiophene indices mentioned in the description
• Analyzing microbial community shifts based on biomarker indices like 3-methylhopane for methanotrophic bacteria
• Tracking early land plant evolution based on the presence of cryptospores and terrestrial biomarkers like retene
• Correlating depositional environments with fossil assemblages of acritarchs, chitinozoans, and graptolites

Strengths

• Integrates data from five distinct boreholes, providing multiple sampling points
• Combines multiple analytical methods: palynological, petrographic, molecular, and stable isotopic
• Focuses on the significant Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, a key evolutionary period

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 single Canning Basin study area

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Analyses of cores from five boreholes (Solanum-1, Santalum-1A, Theia-1, and two others) intersecting the Goldwyer Formation.

Time Range

Middle Ordovician period

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:35:02.480543; freshness should be verified

Geography

Canning Basin, Western Australia