Organic-Walled Microfossil Images and Data from Barnicarndy 1 Stratigraphic Well

Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future program produced a palynological reconnaissance study of organic-walled microfossils from 42 core samples in the Lower Ordovician Nambeet Formation. The dataset includes digital images of acritarchs, cryptospores, graptolites, and other microfossils used to assess preservation and correlation. It was published via the Australian Ocean Data Network, with a record last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Correlating Lower Ordovician rock units using identified species like Rhopaliophora pilata and Athabascaella playfordii.
• Assessing thermal maturity of organic matter by analyzing palynomorph color ranges from brown to black.
• Studying the evolution of early land plants and marine groups through cryptospore and graptolite specimens.
• Evaluating microfossil preservation states, from fragmentary to good, across 42 core samples.
• Analyzing the diversity of microfossil assemblages, including acritarchs, chitinozoans, and scolecodonts.

Strengths

• Includes digital images of all microfossil types mentioned in the study.
• Analysis covers 42 core samples from a defined interval (1354.80–2435.04 mRT).
• Identifies a diverse suite of microfossils including 8 major groups.

Limitations

• Microfossil yield per sample is described as mostly low.
• Preservation ranges from poor to good, with fragmentary and distorted specimens.
• The dataset does not date units above and below the Nambeet Formation due to lack of palynomorph recovery.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia's Exploring for the Future Energy program.

Collection Method

Acid-resistant organic-walled microfossils recovered from 42 core samples in the Barnicarndy 1 stratigraphic well.

Time Range

Lower Ordovician (Late Tremadocian to early Floian).

Freshness

Record last updated in April 2026.

Geography

Barnicarndy 1 well, Barnicarndy Graben, Canning Basin, Western Australia.