Analysis of rock and fossil samples collected from James Ross Island, Antarctica

To obtain a global view of climate change, the climatic and evolutionary history of the Southern Hemisphere needs to be integrated into the picture, and an integration of high-latitude change is particularly important. To assist this integration, we applied the methods of palynology and Sr isotope stratigraphy to confirm and refine the numerical ages of the sedimentary succession within the Antarctic Peninsula.

We were able to establish a precise chronology using strontium isotope stratigraphy. Various calcitic and aragonitic fossil shells collected from these strata proved to be exceptionally well preserved and strontium isotope ratios obtained from them have provided some of the most accurate ages yet obtained for Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the Southern Hemisphere. Revision of the age of the succession dramatically changed the accepted ages, by half a Stage, from Barremian-to-Santonian to Aptian-to-Coniacian.

Alternate title: Polar Data Centre (PDC) record GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00432

Date (Publication): 2022-03-22

Citation identifier: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/dms/metadata.php?id= / GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00432

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Antarctic Survey		pdc@bas.ac.uk	Custodian
British Antarctic Survey	Polar Data Centre	pdc@bas.ac.uk	Originator

Maintenance and update frequency: Unknown

Keywords

NDGO0001

NERC OAI Harvesting

NERC_DDC

GCMD Parameter Valids

EARTH SCIENCE > Paleoclimate > Land Records

INSPIRE themes

Geology

BAS Free-text keywords

Sr isotope stratigraphy
Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks
invertebrate macrofossils
lithological samples
palaeobotanical samples
palynology samples
palynostratigraphy

Use limitation: Data released under Open Government Licence V3.0: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Access constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: Data released under Open Government Licence V3.0: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Language: English

Topic category

Geoscientific information

Begin date: 2001-09-01

End date: 2004-08-31

Reference system identifier: OGP / urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326

Distribution format

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
Polar Data Centre - British Antarctic Survey		pdc@bas.ac.uk	Distributor

Hierarchy level: Dataset

Domain consistency

Measure identification: INSPIRE / Conformity_001

Conformance result

Title: INSPIRE Data Specification on unknown theme Guidelines

Date

Explanation: See the referenced specification

Pass: No

Statement: Various calcitic and aragonitic fossil shells collected from these strata proved to be exceptionally well preserved and strontium isotope ratios obtained from them have provided some of the most accurate ages yet obtained for Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the Southern Hemisphere.