High Resolution Biostratigraphic Analysis of Molluscan Fauna Across the K/T Boundary on Seymour Island, Antarctica

该奖项支持对南极洲半岛西摩岛白垩纪-第三纪边界的软体动物化石的研究。西摩岛拥有丰富且保存完好的动物和植物组合，在厚厚的地层剖面中，包括白垩纪-第三纪边界，这是世界其他地区有充分记录的灭绝时期。先前的工作已经发现了丰富的软体动物群，但还需要进一步的工作来了解白垩纪-第三纪过渡前后的生物地层学和沉积学，并将它们联系起来。此次工作将从5米以下到5米以上，以厘米为尺度进行化石回收和沉积学研究。这些化石与测量剖面的沉积学分析相结合，可以确定边界剖面的连续性，也可以尝试对软体动物区系变化进行高分辨率分析。这项研究将有助于我们更好地了解南纬高纬度地区白垩纪-第三纪过渡时期软体动物的变化，以及这些变化与其他地区白垩纪-第三纪灭绝的关系。

This award supports a study of molluscan fossils across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary on Seymour Island in the Antarctica Peninsula. Seymour Island contains rich and well preserved faunal and floral assemblages in a thick stratigraphic section that encompasses the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, a time of well documented extinction in other parts of the world. Previous work has yielded a rich molluscan fauna but additional work is needed to understand and correlate the biostratigraphy and sedimentology immediately above and below the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition. This work will attempt to recover fossils and examine the sedimentology on a centimeter sampling scale from 5 meters below to 5 meters above the boundary. These fossils, in conjunction with sedimentologic analysis of the measured section, will allow a determination of the continuity of the boundary section and will also allow an attempt at high resolution analysis of the molluscan faunal changes. This study will lead to an improved understanding of molluscan changes at the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition in high southern latitudes and the relation of these changes to Cretaceous- Tertiary extinction elsewhere.