Mesozoic Palynology Data from Dredge Samples on Australia's North West Shelf

Palynological examination results from 34 sedimentary rock samples dredged from offshore areas of the Canning and Carnarvon Basins. The samples represent Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous sequences, with most yielding varied dinocyst and spore-pollen floras. The data was collected by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in June 2026.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing paleoenvironments based on described sequences of paludal, restricted-marine, shallow-marine, and open-marine character.
• Analyzing long-term changes in depositional environments suggested to be of eustatic origin.
• Dating sedimentary rock sequences using the rich dinocyst and spore-pollen floras mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• 34 distinct sedimentary rock samples from multiple offshore terraces and plateaus.
• Samples cover three distinct geological sequences spanning from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Cretaceous.
• Most samples yielded rich to very rich and varied dinocyst and spore-pollen floras and were dated with reasonable confidence.

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 the specific dredge locations.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Palynological examination of dredged sedimentary rock samples.

Time Range

Upper Triassic (Rhaetian) to Lower Cretaceous (Aptian)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:30:34.432706; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Offshore Rowley Terrace (Canning Basin), Scott and Exmouth Plateaux, and northern Carnarvon Terrace (Carnarvon Basin), Australia.