Revised stratigraphy of the Permian Bainmedart Coal Measures, northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica

The Bainmedart Coal Measures constitute the middle portion of the Permian–Triassic Amery Group, which represents the only substantial Palaeozoic–Mesozoic sedimentary succession exposed in eastern Antarctica outside the Transantarctic Mountains. The coal measures disconformably or unconformably overl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geological Magazine
Main Authors: MCLOUGHLIN, STEPHEN, DRINNAN, ANDREW N.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1997
Subjects:
Geology
East Antarctica
Transantarctic Mountains
Amery
Prince Charles Mountains
Glossopteris
Flagstone Bench
Glossopteris Gully
Dragons Teeth
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756897006870
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0016756897006870
Description
Summary:The Bainmedart Coal Measures constitute the middle portion of the Permian–Triassic Amery Group, which represents the only substantial Palaeozoic–Mesozoic sedimentary succession exposed in eastern Antarctica outside the Transantarctic Mountains. The coal measures disconformably or unconformably overlie alluvial fan deposits of the Radok Conglomerate and are conformably overlain by the dominantly fluviatile Flagstone Bench Formation. The coal measures were deposited within alluvial settings dominated by north to northeasterly flowing, low-sinuosity rivers chiefly confined to broad, fault-bounded, valleys of the Lambert Graben, a major late Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic failed rift system. Both climatic and local tectonic factors are considered to have been the major influences on the pattern of coal measure sedimentation. Recent mapping has identified a much greater thickness of sediments within the coal measures than had been inferred previously. The Bainmedart Coal Measures are formally subdivided into six members. In ascending stratigraphic order these are: Dart Fields Conglomerate Member (<3 m thick), Toploje Member ( c . 300 m thick), Dragons Teeth Member (15–25 m thick), Glossopteris Gully Member ( c . 670 m thick), Grainger Member ( c . 350 m thick) and McKinnon Member ( c . 530 m thick).

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