Paleobiology and Paleoenvironments of Pre-glacial (?) Eocene Coasts in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9317901 Harwood This award supports a study of fossiliferous glacial erratics from the McMurdo Sound region. This work will help to establish the record of Eocene, and possibly Cretaceous, marine and terrestrial biota on the margin of the Victoria Land basin. The Eocene is poorly known from Antarctica, represented only by outcrops in the Antarctic Peninsula and by glacial sediments recovered near Prydz Bay. Fossils known to be present in the erratics include leaves, wood, organic mats, and marine invertebrates. The goal is to study the included fossils to determine paleontological ages of the sedimentary rocks and to find clues to the paleoenvironmental conditions. Specifically, documentation of the fauna and flora in these erratics will allow better understanding of marine and terrestrial biological and ecological systems during the early Cenozoic and will provide a basis for comparison of the Ross Ice Shelf region with lower latitude sites in the Southern Ocean. This work will also help form a framework for interpretation of early Cenozoic paleoenvironments in drill core from the Cape Roberts region that is anticipated in the near future. ***