Palynological studies in the James Ross Island basin, Antarctic ...
stranding event. The only published accounts of extensive accumulations are limited to (1) Iredale (1944) who reported observing over 100 broken shells on a beach near Cape Bedford, North Queensland; (2) Hamada (1964) in which he reported collecting 47 drifted Nautilus shells from a small beach on Phe Tra Island, off the coast of Thailand; and (3) Glaessner (in Stenzel 1957) in which he reported "large numbers (perhaps up to 1/2 dozen on a suitable day along the half-mile stretch of beach in front of our house) of empty shells arriving on the south or south-facing beaches during wind season (April to September)." These accounts indicate that the shells were broken and encrusted with epifaunal invertebrates which suggests that the drifted shells accumulated over a period of time and do not represent a single stranding event. The presence of large numbers of nautilid phragmocones in an Upper Eocene beach deposit from the La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island is the first report of beach-drifted accumulations of nautilid shells in the fossil record and may also represent the report of a mass stranding event. This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 82-13985.
Palynological studies in the James Ross Island basin, Antarctic Peninsula: A progress report R.A. ASKIN Geology Department Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado 80401
Six informal palynological zones are recognized in the uppermost Cretaceous of southern Seymour Island and surrounding region in the James Ross Island basin, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. These zones are, at present, based mainly on dinoflagellate cyst species. Zones 4 through 6 are defined primarily on an apparent evolutionary lineage of Isabelidinium species, therefore the zonal boundaries are somewhat transitional. Key angiosperm pollen species, although sometimes rare, permit additional resolution in the zonation. The diagnostic species, distribution, correlation, and age of these zones are noted briefly. • Zone 1 is the lowest zone recognized in this study, although older Cretaceous rocks occur in northwestern James Ross Island. Key species include the dinoflagellates Odontochitina operculata (0. Wetzel) Deflandre (last occurrence), 0. spinosa Wilson, 0. porifera Cookson, Cribroperidinium sp., cf.Canningiopsis sp., cf.Alterbia sp., and Palaeocystodinium spp. Represented by two samples of the Lopez de Bertodano Forma tion from The Naze, northeastern James Ross Island. • Zone 2 includes the same species as zone 1 except that 0. porifera is more frequent, 0. operculata is absent, and Isabelidinium cretaceum (Cookson) Lentin and Williams is present.
References
Hamada, T. 1964. Notes on drifted Nautilus in Thailand. University of Tokyo, College of General Education, Science Papers, 14, 255 - 277.
Iredale, T. 1944. Australian pearly Nautilus. Australian Zoologist, 10(3), 294-298.
Saunders, W.B. 1985. The role and status of Nautilus in its natural habitat: Evidence from weed-water remote camera photosequences. Paleobiology, 10(4), 469 - 486.
Stenzel, H.B. 1957. Nautilus. Treatise of marine ecology and paleoecology. Geological Society of America, (Memoir 67), Vol. 1, 1135 1142.
Woodburne, MO., and W.J. Zinsmeister. 1982. Fossil land mammal from Antarctica. Science, 218, 284 - 286. Woodburne, M.0., and W.J. Zinsmeister. 1984. The first land mammal from Antarctica and its biogeographic implications. Journal of Paleontology, 58(4), 913 - 948.
Represented by Lopez de Bertodano Formation from Cape Lamb, southwestern Vega Island. • Zone 3 includes I. cretaceum, Alterbia acutula (Wilson) Lentin and Williams, the last rare specimens of Cribroperidinium sp., cf.Canningiopsis sp. and cf.Alterbia sp.; and among the pollen the first Tricolporites lilliei (Couper) Stover and Evans. Represented by Lopez de Bertodano Formation on the exposed northern part of Snow Hill Island and approximately the "lower 150 meters on Seymour Island at the southern point (also known as Cape Lamb). • Zone 4 is characterized by Isabelidinium n.sp.3 (cf.I. haumuriense of Wilson 1984-b), A. acutula, and various angiosperm pollen species. Represented by approximately 800 meters of Lopez de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island. • Zone 5 is characterized by the Isabelidinium n. sp. 1-n.sp.2 complex, Dinogymnium digitus (Deflandre) Evitt et al.; and, among pollen, the first Liliacidites kaitangataensis Couper. Frequent Palaeocystodiniurn spp. and Exochosphaeridium bifidum (Clarke and Verdier) Clarke et al. Represented by approximately 100 meters of Lopez de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island. • Zone 6 is a "transition zone" which spans the Cretaceous/ Tertiary boundary (Askin 1984, 1985). Characterized by the Isabelidinium druggii (Stover) Lentin and Williams-I. seelandicum (Lange) Lentin and Williams complex. Frequent Palaeocystodinium spp. and Exochosphaeridium bifidum. First occurrences of Phelodinium sp.cf.P. magnificum (Stanley) Stover and Evitt and Deflandrea sp. cf. D. med caifli Stover. Represented by approximately 40 meters of Lopez de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island (overlain by remaining 30 to 90 meters, depending on location, of uppermost Lopez de Bertodano Formation). In terms of dinoflagellate distribution these six zones may be correlated with three dinoflagellate zones described by Wilson (1984-a) from the Piripauan and Haumurian (Campanian and ANTARCTIC JOURNAL
Maastrichtian) of New Zealand. Zones I and 2 correlate with Wilson's Odontochitina porifera Zone (upper Piripauan/lower Haumurian); zones 3 to 5 correlate with the Alterbia acutula Zone; and zone 6 correlates with the Isabelidinium druggii Zone. As with zone 6, the I. druggii Zone spans the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, ranging into the basal Teurian Stage or Early Paleocene (Wilson 1984-a). Pollen and spore distribution enables correlation with the Phyllocladidites mawsonii Assemblage (PM) of the West Coast, South Island, New Zealand (Raine 1984), and the presence of various species (including Tricolporites lilliei) suggests correlation of zones 3 through 6 with Raine's Zone PM2; and with the T. lilliei and Tricolpites longus Zones from the Gippsland Basin, southeastern Australia (Stover and Partridge 1973). Ammonites, foraminifera, and calcareous nannofossils (e.g., Huber, Harwood, and Webb 1983; Macellari and Zinsmeister 1983; Macellari 1984) indicate late Campanian and Maastrichtian ages for rocks of zone 1 through most of zone 6, which appears consistent with the palynological data. Problems regarding apparent heterochroneity of first appearances of some dinoflagellate and pollen species, and more detailed integration with invertebrate fossil data, need to be resolved before precise ages of the palynologic zones and stratigraphic boundary placements are possible. During the last field season (February and March 1985), an additional 193 samples were collected for palynological study on Seymour Island under arduous conditions by Frederic C. Barbis and Charles H. Robinson. Samples were collected through the La Meseta Formation, mainly on the northern side of the island, and should provide a more comprehensive Eocene section than available to date. Previous work has concentrated on the Upper Cretaceous, Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, and Paleocene succession.
Reconnaissance geology, Robertson Island and Jason Peninsula, northern Antarctic Peninsula F. C. BARBIS
Wheatridge, Colorado 80212
During the December 1983 to January 1984 expedition to Seymour Island, J . R. Robinson and I were given the opportunity to accompany the USCGC Westwind on an unscheduled reconnaissance trip south along the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. A section was measured and sampled for palr nological study at Robertson Island (Askin 1984). Jason Peninsula, further south along the Antarctic Peninsula, as also visited, and several samples of hydrothermally altered volcanic rock were collected. Due to the brevity of the stay and the extensive snow cover, it was not possible to determine the extent of the alteration, but the scattered exposures seemed to 1985 REVIEW
This research was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 85-13859.
References Askin, R. A. 1984. Palynological investigations of the James Ross Island basin and Robertson Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 19(5), 6– 7. Askin, R.A. 1985. Gradual palynological change at the Cretaceous! Tertiary boundary in Antarctica. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineraologists Annual Midyear Meeting Abstracts, 2, 7.
Huber, B.T., D.M. Harwood, and P.N. Webb. 1983. Upper Cretaceous microfossil biostratigraphy of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 18(5), 72 - 74. Macellari, C. E. 1984. Paleobiogeografia y edad de la fauna de Maorites Gunnarites (Ammonoidea) del Cretacico Superior de la Antartida y Patagonia. Ameghiniana, 21(2), Buenos Aires, 131 - 150. (In Spanish.) Macellari, G.E., and W.J. Zinsmeister. 1983. Sedimentology and macropaleontology of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene sequence of Seymour Island. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 18(5), 69 - 71. Raine, J.I. 1984. Outline of a palynological zonation of Cretaceous to Paleogene terrestrial sediments in West Coast region, South Island, New Zealand. Report, New Zealand Geological Survey, 109, 1 - 82. Stover, L.E., and A.D. Partridge. 1973. Tertiary and Late Cretaceous spores and pollen from the Gippsland Basin, southeastern Australia. Royal Society of Victoria Proceedings, 85(2), 237 - 286. Wilson, G.J. 1984-a. New Zealand Late Jurassic to Eocene dinoflagellate biostratigraphy—A summary. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 13, 104 117. Wilson, G.J. 1984-b. Some new dinoflagellate species from the New Zealand Haumurian and Piripauan Stages (Santonian-Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous). New Zealand Journal of Botany, 22, 549 - 556.
extend for at least 1.6 kilometers. The hydrothermal alteration consists of extensive fine-grained secondary quartz, up to 1.3 centimeters thick, in fractures; and quartz crystals, up to 4 millimeters, lining vugs* in the rock. Iron staining was also obvious. Due to the similarity of this alteration to gold and silver occurrences in the western United States, a geochemical analysis (atomic absorption) for gold and silver was performed on one of these samples at Skyline Labs, Inc. in Denver, Colorado. No gold or silver was detected. (The lower limits of detection were 0.02 parts per million gold and 0.2 parts per million silver.) This field work was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 80-20095 to R.A. Askin, Colorado School of Mines. Reference Askin, R. A. 1984. Palynological investigations of the James Ross Island basin and Robertson Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 19(5), 6 - 7.
* "Vugs" are small cavities in a vein or rock usually lined with minerals differing in composition from those of the enclosing rock.
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Palynological studies in the James Ross Island basin, Antarctic Peninsula: A progress report R.A. ASKIN Geology Department Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado 80401
Six informal palynological zones are recognized in the uppermost Cretaceous of southern Seymour Island and surrounding region in the James Ross Island basin, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. These zones are, at present, based mainly on dinoflagellate cyst species. Zones 4 through 6 are defined primarily on an apparent evolutionary lineage of Isabelidinium species, therefore the zonal boundaries are somewhat transitional. Key angiosperm pollen species, although sometimes rare, permit additional resolution in the zonation. The diagnostic species, distribution, correlation, and age of these zones are noted briefly. • Zone 1 is the lowest zone recognized in this study, although older Cretaceous rocks occur in northwestern James Ross Island. Key species include the dinoflagellates Odontochitina operculata (0. Wetzel) Deflandre (last occurrence), 0. spinosa Wilson, 0. porifera Cookson, Cribroperidinium sp., cf.Canningiopsis sp., cf.Alterbia sp., and Palaeocystodinium spp. Represented by two samples of the Lopez de Bertodano Forma tion from The Naze, northeastern James Ross Island. • Zone 2 includes the same species as zone 1 except that 0. porifera is more frequent, 0. operculata is absent, and Isabelidinium cretaceum (Cookson) Lentin and Williams is present.
References
Hamada, T. 1964. Notes on drifted Nautilus in Thailand. University of Tokyo, College of General Education, Science Papers, 14, 255 - 277.
Iredale, T. 1944. Australian pearly Nautilus. Australian Zoologist, 10(3), 294-298.
Saunders, W.B. 1985. The role and status of Nautilus in its natural habitat: Evidence from weed-water remote camera photosequences. Paleobiology, 10(4), 469 - 486.
Stenzel, H.B. 1957. Nautilus. Treatise of marine ecology and paleoecology. Geological Society of America, (Memoir 67), Vol. 1, 1135 1142.
Woodburne, MO., and W.J. Zinsmeister. 1982. Fossil land mammal from Antarctica. Science, 218, 284 - 286. Woodburne, M.0., and W.J. Zinsmeister. 1984. The first land mammal from Antarctica and its biogeographic implications. Journal of Paleontology, 58(4), 913 - 948.
Represented by Lopez de Bertodano Formation from Cape Lamb, southwestern Vega Island. • Zone 3 includes I. cretaceum, Alterbia acutula (Wilson) Lentin and Williams, the last rare specimens of Cribroperidinium sp., cf.Canningiopsis sp. and cf.Alterbia sp.; and among the pollen the first Tricolporites lilliei (Couper) Stover and Evans. Represented by Lopez de Bertodano Formation on the exposed northern part of Snow Hill Island and approximately the "lower 150 meters on Seymour Island at the southern point (also known as Cape Lamb). • Zone 4 is characterized by Isabelidinium n.sp.3 (cf.I. haumuriense of Wilson 1984-b), A. acutula, and various angiosperm pollen species. Represented by approximately 800 meters of Lopez de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island. • Zone 5 is characterized by the Isabelidinium n. sp. 1-n.sp.2 complex, Dinogymnium digitus (Deflandre) Evitt et al.; and, among pollen, the first Liliacidites kaitangataensis Couper. Frequent Palaeocystodiniurn spp. and Exochosphaeridium bifidum (Clarke and Verdier) Clarke et al. Represented by approximately 100 meters of Lopez de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island. • Zone 6 is a "transition zone" which spans the Cretaceous/ Tertiary boundary (Askin 1984, 1985). Characterized by the Isabelidinium druggii (Stover) Lentin and Williams-I. seelandicum (Lange) Lentin and Williams complex. Frequent Palaeocystodinium spp. and Exochosphaeridium bifidum. First occurrences of Phelodinium sp.cf.P. magnificum (Stanley) Stover and Evitt and Deflandrea sp. cf. D. med caifli Stover. Represented by approximately 40 meters of Lopez de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island (overlain by remaining 30 to 90 meters, depending on location, of uppermost Lopez de Bertodano Formation). In terms of dinoflagellate distribution these six zones may be correlated with three dinoflagellate zones described by Wilson (1984-a) from the Piripauan and Haumurian (Campanian and ANTARCTIC JOURNAL
Maastrichtian) of New Zealand. Zones I and 2 correlate with Wilson's Odontochitina porifera Zone (upper Piripauan/lower Haumurian); zones 3 to 5 correlate with the Alterbia acutula Zone; and zone 6 correlates with the Isabelidinium druggii Zone. As with zone 6, the I. druggii Zone spans the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, ranging into the basal Teurian Stage or Early Paleocene (Wilson 1984-a). Pollen and spore distribution enables correlation with the Phyllocladidites mawsonii Assemblage (PM) of the West Coast, South Island, New Zealand (Raine 1984), and the presence of various species (including Tricolporites lilliei) suggests correlation of zones 3 through 6 with Raine's Zone PM2; and with the T. lilliei and Tricolpites longus Zones from the Gippsland Basin, southeastern Australia (Stover and Partridge 1973). Ammonites, foraminifera, and calcareous nannofossils (e.g., Huber, Harwood, and Webb 1983; Macellari and Zinsmeister 1983; Macellari 1984) indicate late Campanian and Maastrichtian ages for rocks of zone 1 through most of zone 6, which appears consistent with the palynological data. Problems regarding apparent heterochroneity of first appearances of some dinoflagellate and pollen species, and more detailed integration with invertebrate fossil data, need to be resolved before precise ages of the palynologic zones and stratigraphic boundary placements are possible. During the last field season (February and March 1985), an additional 193 samples were collected for palynological study on Seymour Island under arduous conditions by Frederic C. Barbis and Charles H. Robinson. Samples were collected through the La Meseta Formation, mainly on the northern side of the island, and should provide a more comprehensive Eocene section than available to date. Previous work has concentrated on the Upper Cretaceous, Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, and Paleocene succession.
Reconnaissance geology, Robertson Island and Jason Peninsula, northern Antarctic Peninsula F. C. BARBIS
Wheatridge, Colorado 80212
During the December 1983 to January 1984 expedition to Seymour Island, J . R. Robinson and I were given the opportunity to accompany the USCGC Westwind on an unscheduled reconnaissance trip south along the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. A section was measured and sampled for palr nological study at Robertson Island (Askin 1984). Jason Peninsula, further south along the Antarctic Peninsula, as also visited, and several samples of hydrothermally altered volcanic rock were collected. Due to the brevity of the stay and the extensive snow cover, it was not possible to determine the extent of the alteration, but the scattered exposures seemed to 1985 REVIEW
This research was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 85-13859.
References Askin, R. A. 1984. Palynological investigations of the James Ross Island basin and Robertson Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 19(5), 6– 7. Askin, R.A. 1985. Gradual palynological change at the Cretaceous! Tertiary boundary in Antarctica. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineraologists Annual Midyear Meeting Abstracts, 2, 7.
Huber, B.T., D.M. Harwood, and P.N. Webb. 1983. Upper Cretaceous microfossil biostratigraphy of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 18(5), 72 - 74. Macellari, C. E. 1984. Paleobiogeografia y edad de la fauna de Maorites Gunnarites (Ammonoidea) del Cretacico Superior de la Antartida y Patagonia. Ameghiniana, 21(2), Buenos Aires, 131 - 150. (In Spanish.) Macellari, G.E., and W.J. Zinsmeister. 1983. Sedimentology and macropaleontology of the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene sequence of Seymour Island. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 18(5), 69 - 71. Raine, J.I. 1984. Outline of a palynological zonation of Cretaceous to Paleogene terrestrial sediments in West Coast region, South Island, New Zealand. Report, New Zealand Geological Survey, 109, 1 - 82. Stover, L.E., and A.D. Partridge. 1973. Tertiary and Late Cretaceous spores and pollen from the Gippsland Basin, southeastern Australia. Royal Society of Victoria Proceedings, 85(2), 237 - 286. Wilson, G.J. 1984-a. New Zealand Late Jurassic to Eocene dinoflagellate biostratigraphy—A summary. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 13, 104 117. Wilson, G.J. 1984-b. Some new dinoflagellate species from the New Zealand Haumurian and Piripauan Stages (Santonian-Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous). New Zealand Journal of Botany, 22, 549 - 556.
extend for at least 1.6 kilometers. The hydrothermal alteration consists of extensive fine-grained secondary quartz, up to 1.3 centimeters thick, in fractures; and quartz crystals, up to 4 millimeters, lining vugs* in the rock. Iron staining was also obvious. Due to the similarity of this alteration to gold and silver occurrences in the western United States, a geochemical analysis (atomic absorption) for gold and silver was performed on one of these samples at Skyline Labs, Inc. in Denver, Colorado. No gold or silver was detected. (The lower limits of detection were 0.02 parts per million gold and 0.2 parts per million silver.) This field work was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 80-20095 to R.A. Askin, Colorado School of Mines. Reference Askin, R. A. 1984. Palynological investigations of the James Ross Island basin and Robertson Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 19(5), 6 - 7.
* "Vugs" are small cavities in a vein or rock usually lined with minerals differing in composition from those of the enclosing rock.
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