Extent and Termination of the Antarctic Early Cambrian Carbonate Platform

本次调查的重点是沉积和 早古生代古太平洋构造地层史 冈瓦纳大陆的边缘，如在横贯南极山脉中所见。 的 阿根廷山脉南部的寒武纪继承几乎是未知的， 但这片山脉在威德尔海的终点占据了一个关键位置 在一个似乎已经支离破碎的地区， 在冈瓦纳大陆解体时流离失所 沉积学和 这个序列的动物群历史将被记录下来，并与什么有关。 在相邻范围内是已知的。 现有证据表明， 阿根廷山脉与 沙克尔顿山脉，使寒武纪岩石的深水相位于 在较浅的环境中铺设的管道。 可以想象， 存在一个或多个可疑目标。 在第二个领域， 伯德南部复杂的早古生代变形史 冰川，表明目前的观点，在其类型的克莱顿集团 地区是错误的。 这些地层可能为下古生界层序 而不是变形的上元古界 详细的动物群， 沉积学和放射性年龄测定将改善 了解它的真实年龄和意义。

The focus of this investigation is the depositional and tectonostratigraphic history of the Early Paleozoic paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana as seen in the Transantarctic Mountain Chain. The Cambrian succession of the southern Argentina Range is almost unknown, but the range occupies a critical position at the Weddell Sea terminus of the chain, in a region that seems to have been fragmented and displaced during the breakup of Gondwana. The sedimentological and faunal history of this sequence will be documented and related to what is known in adjacent ranges. Available evidence suggests that a fault with major displacement separates the Argentina Range from the Shackleton Range such that Cambrian rocks of deep-water facies lie cratonwards of those laid down in shallower settings. Conceivably, one or more suspect terranes are present. In a second area, the complex Early Paleozoic deformational history south of the Byrd Glacier, suggests that current views of the Skelton Group in its type area are in error. These strata may be a Lower Paleozoic sequence rather than a deformed Upper Proterozoic unit. Detailed faunal, sedimentological, and radiometric age dating will improve understanding of its true age and significance.