Extent and Termination of the Antarctic Early Cambrian Carbonate Platform

这项研究的重点是横贯北极山脉的冈瓦那早古生代古太平洋边缘的沉积和构造地层学历史。阿根廷南部山脉的寒武纪演替几乎是未知的，但该山脉在该山脉的韦德尔海末端占据了关键位置，该地区在冈瓦那分裂期间似乎已经支离破碎和流离失所。这一层序的沉积学和动物学历史将被记录下来，并与邻近地区的已知情况相关联。现有证据表明，大位移断层将阿根廷山脉与沙克尔顿山脉隔开，使得深水相寒武纪岩石位于克拉通之上，而浅水环境中的岩石则位于克拉通之上。可以想象，存在一个或多个可疑地体。在第二个地区，伯德冰川以南复杂的早古生代变形历史表明，目前对斯凯尔顿群在其类型区的看法是错误的。这些地层可能是下古生界层序，而不是变形的上元古界单元。详细的动物群、沉积学和放射性年龄测定将有助于加深对其真实年龄和意义的理解。

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.