Barnicarndy 1 Core: Ordovician Microfossils and Biomarkers

Forty-two drill core samples from the Barnicarndy 1 well yielded acid-resistant, organic-walled microfossils, with seven samples analyzed for molecular biomarkers and stable isotopes. The data originates from the early Ordovician Nambeet Formation in Western Australia's Canning Basin, part of the Exploring for the Future program. It provides insights into the type of preserved organic matter and the redox conditions of an open marine depositional environment.

Use Cases

• [Analyzing early terrestrial plant evolution] based on [the presence of early plant spores (cryptospores)]
• [Reconstructing paleo-depositional environments] based on [stable isotopic composition and biomarker fossils]
• [Assessing hydrocarbon source rock characteristics] based on [total organic carbon content and organic matter type]
• [Correlating stratigraphic units] based on [acritarch and microfossil assemblages]

Strengths

• Sample count is explicitly defined: analysis of 42 drill core samples for microfossils and 7 samples for biomarkers.
• Provides specific geochemical context: average total organic carbon content is 0.17 wt%.
• Linked to a specific, documented scientific presentation at the 2022 Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference.

Limitations

• Key structural metadata is missing: column names, row counts, and file sizes are listed as unknown or 'None' across all sources.
• The dataset's license and author information are not provided.
• The 'last updated' metadata field shows a future date (2026-04-30), indicating potential platform ingestion errors.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, as part of the Exploring for the Future program.

Collection Method

Scientific analysis of drill core samples from the Barnicarndy 1 well.

Time Range

Early Ordovician period.

Freshness

Last updated metadata shows 2026-04-30, but this appears to be a platform artifact; the underlying data was presented in November 2022.

Geography

Onshore Canning Basin (Kidson Sub-basin), Western Australia.