Microfossils and molecular fossils in Barnicarndy 1 core record the evolution of terrestrial and marine organisms in the early Ordovician Nambeet Formation, Canning Basin, Western Australia

Created 23/01/2026

Updated 23/01/2026

Scientific studies undertaken on core from the Barnicarndy 1 well drilled in 2019 in the onshore Canning Basin in Western Australia as part of the Exploring for the Future program have shown that the well penetrated a thick section of the early Ordovician Nambeet Formation which contains abundant fossils reflective of deposition in an open marine environment. Although the calcareous shales are organically poor (average total organic carbon content 0.17 wt%) processing of 42 drill core samples recovered a plethora of acid-resistant, organic-walled microfossils. Seven core samples with the highest organic content were analysed for their molecular (biomarker) fossils and stable isotopic composition to provide insights into the type of organic matter preserved, and the redox conditions of the sediments during deposition.

This Abstract was submitted/presented to the 2022 Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference 27-29 November (https://events.csiro.au/Events/2022/October/5/Australian-Organic-Geochemistry-Conference)

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Title Microfossils and molecular fossils in Barnicarndy 1 core record the evolution of terrestrial and marine organisms in the early Ordovician Nambeet Formation, Canning Basin, Western Australia
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/57211750-bd78-45f8-aba0-525bfcff1580
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 01/11/2020 - 01/11/2022
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Microfossils and molecular fossils in Barnicarndy 1 core record the evolution of terrestrial and marine organisms in the early Ordovician Nambeet Formation, Canning Basin, Western Australia". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/microfossils-and-molecular-fossils-in-barnicarndy-1-core-record-the-evolution-of-terrestrial-an5