Middle Ordovician Geochemical and Palynological Data for Early Land Plant Evidence

Biomarker and palynological data from the Middle Ordovician upper Goldwyer Formation in Australia, providing evidence for the earliest land plant microfossils. The dataset includes molecular proxies like long-chain n-alkane distributions and their isotopic compositions, as well as the biomarker retene. It was published via the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated on 2026-04-10.

Use Cases

• Correlating biomarker signals with palynological evidence to track early terrestrial life where fossils are scarce.
• Analyzing long-chain n-alkane distributions and isotopic compositions to infer contributions from non-vascular plants.
• Investigating the presence of the retene biomarker in pre-gymnosperm rocks to reassign its biological sources.
• Reconstructing paleoclimate conditions in Middle Ordovician shallow marine environments based on terrestrial organic matter inputs.

Strengths

• Combines two distinct proxy types—biomarkers and palynology—for a more complete assessment.
• Focuses on a critical period (Middle Ordovician) for understanding the earliest land plants.
• Data is sourced from a specific geological formation (upper Goldwyer Formation) providing a clear context.

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

Collection Method

Likely contains laboratory measurements of rock extracts for geochemical and microscopic palynological analysis.

Time Range

Middle Ordovician period

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 17:03:12.864268; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia (specific formation: upper Goldwyer Formation)