Characterization of the Fauna of the Middle Cambrian Nelson Limestone

9909302 lieberman该奖项由极地项目办公室南极地质与地球物理项目提供，用于支持对南极寒武纪无脊椎动物化石的研究。寒武纪是南极大陆主要的构造活动时期。目前对南极洲构造活动的性质的了解，以及寒武纪南极地质学的总体认识，已经通过几条地质研究路线取得了相当大的进展。然而，谜团仍然存在，这在一定程度上与这样一个事实有关：南极洲是由一些微大陆块体和断层边界区域组成的，这些区域在寒武纪的位置以及它们与南极洲碰撞的时间并没有得到精确的限制。本研究的直接目的是基于彭萨科拉山脉最近收集的标本，对尼尔森石灰岩中寒武纪三叶虫动物群进行全面的描述和分析（专著）。这将是解决寒武纪南极地质之谜的重要的第一步，因为它将使三个目标得以实现。首先，动物群的元素将被放置到尼尔森石灰岩的预先存在的层序地层格架中。其次，这些动物的元素将被用来帮助扩展南极洲的中寒武纪生物地层学。第三，动物群元素将用于确定彭萨科拉山脉与中寒武纪各南极微大陆和地体之间的动物群相似性模式。目标1和目标2将增加我们对南极洲事件发生时间的理解，这些目标与第三个目标一起，将帮助我们增加对中寒武纪南极洲不同地区相对位置的理解。这些目标中的每一个都将增加我们对寒武纪南极地质的总体理解。将被专论的动物群收藏在堪萨斯大学，并附有精确的地点数据。这项工作将受益于与堪萨斯大学其他科学家的合作，他们在寒武纪生物地层学方面具有重要的专业知识。

9909302LiebermanThis award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, provides support for a study of Cambrian invertebrate fossils from Antarctica. The Cambrian period was a time of major tectonic activity within the Antarctic continent. Current understanding of the nature of this tectonic activity in Antarctica, and Cambrian Antarctic geology in general, has advanced considerably through several lines of geological research. However, enigmas still remain, and these are partly related to the fact that Antarctica is comprised of some micro-continental blocks and fault bounded regions whose position during the Cambrian, and the time when they collided with Antarctica, is not precisely constrained. The immediate objective of this research is to thoroughly describe and analyze (monograph) the Middle Cambrian trilobite fauna from the Nelson Limestone based on recent collections made in the Pensacola Mountains. This will be an important first step in addressing some of the enigmas of Cambrian Antarctic geology because it will allow three objectives to be attained. First, the elements of the fauna will be placed into a pre-existing sequence-stratigraphic framework for the Nelson Limestone. Second, the elements of this fauna will be used to help expand a Middle Cambrian biostratigraphy for Antarctica. Third, the elements of the fauna will be used to determine patterns of faunal similarity between the Pensacola Mountains and the Middle Cambrian of various Antarctic microcontinents and terranes. Objectives 1 and 2 will increase our understanding of the timing of events in Antarctica, and these, along with the third objective, will help increase our understanding of the relative position of the different parts of Antarctica in the Middle Cambrian. Each of these objectives will also increase our general understanding of Cambrian Antarctic geology. The fauna that will be monographed is in collections housed at the University of Kansas, and they are accompanied by precise locality data. The work will benefit from collaborations with other scientists at the University of Kansas who have significant expertise related to Cambrian biostratigraphy.