Middle Ordovician Geochemical and Palynological Data for Early Land Plant Evidence

Australian data from the Middle Ordovician upper Goldwyer Formation presents biomarker and palynological evidence for the earliest land plants. The dataset combines molecular fossil data, such as n-alkane distributions and isotopic compositions, with microfossil (cryptospore) records. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Correlating biomarker signals with microfossil presence based on combined palynological and geochemical data.
• Modeling early terrestrial contributions to marine sediments based on long-chain n-alkane distributions.
• Investigating the source of retene biomarkers in pre-gymnosperm rocks based on compound identification.
• Tracking the geographical distribution of early non-vascular plants based on molecular and isotopic proxies.

Strengths

• Data combines two complementary evidence types: palynology (microfossils) and geochemistry (biomarkers).
• Focuses on a significant geological period (Middle Ordovician) for early land plant evolution.
• Includes isotopic composition data for molecular proxies, which can help distinguish organic matter sources.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in PDF format, which may complicate direct computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Analysis of sedimentary rock samples from the upper Goldwyer Formation.

Time Range

Middle Ordovician period

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 09:31:09.337650; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia (specific formation: upper Goldwyer Formation)