Diatom biostratigraphy and age of the Pliocene Sørsdal Formation, Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica

Fossil marine diatom assemblages from the Sørsdal Formation, a deposit of diatomaceous sand from Marine Plain in the Vestfold Hills, provide age and palaeoenvironmental information from a Pliocene coastal setting in East Antarctica. Benthic and meroplanktic diatom taxa suggest deposition in a shallo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Harwood, David M., McMinn, Andrew, Quilty, Patrick G.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2000
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Southern Ocean
East Antarctica
Ross Sea
Vestfold Hills
Vestfold
Marine Plain
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Sea ice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102000000535
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102000000535
Description
Summary:Fossil marine diatom assemblages from the Sørsdal Formation, a deposit of diatomaceous sand from Marine Plain in the Vestfold Hills, provide age and palaeoenvironmental information from a Pliocene coastal setting in East Antarctica. Benthic and meroplanktic diatom taxa suggest deposition in a shallow coastal embayment with water depths of 20–25 m. Diatom biostratigraphy indicates that the Sørsdal Formation belongs to the Fragilariopsis barronii Zone (4.5 to 4.1 Ma), through correlation to reference sections in the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean. Features of the other biota suggest higher sea-surface temperatures and reduced sea-ice cover, consistent with global records of higher sea level.

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