Date of Award
12-2010
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Geology
First Advisor
Esling, Steven
Second Advisor
Ishman, Scott
Third Advisor
Vitt, Dale
Abstract
During the Austral Spring of 2007-2008 the ANtarctic geological DRILLing program (ANDRILL) recovered a 1,138 meter long sediment core AND-2A from the western side of the Victoria Land Basin for the Southern McMurdo Sound Project. The main goal of the project is to help establish a Neogene (~24 to 1.6 Mya) ice volume and climate record of Antarctica. This study focuses on the foraminifera record of AND-2A for paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic purposes.
AND-2A is unique in that it contains a Middle Miocene record (~17 to ~11 Mya) that includes the Middle Miocene transition of warm climatic conditions favoring polythermal ice sheets to major cooling into polar conditions resulting in the quasi-permanent formation of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. This Middle Miocene transition has not been previously recovered from the Antarctic continental margin.
The foraminifer record is not abundant; however, three assemblage zones are identified throughout AND-2A. Calcareous benthic taxa dominate every assemblage, as well as displaying similarities between modern shallow shelf assemblages around Antarctica and assemblages from previous drilling projects in the Ross Sea sector. The foraminifera record displays a dynamic environmental record and is supported by both the sedimentologic and other paleontologic findings.
Appendix B
Access
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