Middle Ordovician Geochemical and Palynological Data for Early Land Plant Evidence

Biomarker and palynological data from the Middle Ordovician upper Goldwyer Formation in Australia, which records the earliest occurrence of land plant microfossils (cryptospores) in the region. The dataset includes higher-molecular-weight n-alkane distributions and their isotopic compositions, as well as the presence of the biomarker retene. It was published by Geoscience Australia Data and last updated on 2026-03-25.

Use Cases

• Identify terrestrial contributions to organic matter based on long-chain n-alkane distributions.
• Distinguish between organic matter sources using the isotopic composition of molecular proxies.
• Track the geographical distribution of early land plants by linking biomarker and palynological evidence.
• Assess the presence of early non-vascular plants (bryophytes) in ancient shallow marine environments.

Strengths

• Data combines palynological evidence with geochemical proxies, an approach described as useful where fossil records are sparse.
• Focuses on the Middle Ordovician period, a significant time for the appearance of life on land.
• Includes isotopic data for molecular proxies, which can help distinguish between sources.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Analysis of sedimentary rock extracts from the upper Goldwyer Formation.

Time Range

Middle Ordovician

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-25 15:32:31.693359; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia (specific location of the Goldwyer Formation)