Cretaceous and Tertiary Strata of the James Ross Basin and the Evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula

詹姆斯罗斯盆地是南极洲唯一出露的上白垩统至下第三系海相地层。该层序沉积于与南极半岛中生代至中第三纪“安第斯”活动板块边缘发育有关的弧后盆地中。西摩岛地层为寒武纪至渐新世。这些固结较差的沉积岩包含各种各样的无脊椎动物，大部分都显示出异常完好的保存。植物微体化石也很常见，脊椎动物群包括第一个来自南极洲的有袋类化石。寒武纪-古新世层序也跨越了K/T界线。该序列提供了通过研究地层的沉积环境、古流资料、碎屑沉积物的来源和同时代火山物质的岩石学来研究南极半岛的构造演化的机会。这些实地和实验室研究的结果将与有关科迪勒拉岩浆历史的信息相结合，以模拟占据南极半岛北部地区的源地形的构造演化。

The James Ross Basin contains the only exposed sequence of Upper Cretaceous to Lower Tertiary marine strata in Antarctica. This sequence was deposited in an back-arc basin related to the development of the mid-Mesozoic to mid-Tertiary "Andean" active plate margin of the Antarctic Peninsula. Seymour Island has strata of Campanian to Oligocene age. These poorly consolidated sedimentary rocks contain a diverse invertebrate fauna that for the most part shows exceptional preservation. Plant microfossils are also common, and the vertebrate faunas include the first fossil marsupial from Antarctica. The Campanian to Paleocene sequence also spans the K/T boundary. This sequence provides the opportunity to investigate the tectonic evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula cordillera through study of the depositional settings of the strata, paleocurrent data, provenance of the detrital sediment, and petrology of the contemporaneous volcanic material. Results of these field and laboratory studies will be combined with information on the magmatic history of the cordillera to model the tectonic evolution of the source terrain which occupied the region of the northern Antarctic Peninsula.