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

詹姆斯·罗斯盆地包含了唯一一个 南极洲的白垩纪至下第三纪海相地层。 这 层序沉积于与之相关的弧后盆地， 中生代中期至第三纪中期“安第斯”活动的发展 南极半岛的板块边缘。 西摩岛有坎帕尼亚至渐新世的地层。 这些 固结不良的沉积岩含有多种 无脊椎动物群，在大多数情况下， 保存。 植物微体化石也很常见， 脊椎动物群包括第一个化石有袋动物从 南极洲 坎帕尼亚至古新世的层序也跨越了 K/T边界。 这个序列提供了研究构造的机会 南极半岛科迪勒拉的演变 地层的沉积背景，古水流数据， 碎屑沉积物的物源， 同生火山物质 这些领域的成果和 实验室研究将结合有关信息， 科迪勒拉山脉的岩浆历史，以模拟构造演化 占据了北方地区的源地形 南极半岛。

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.