Stable carbon and oxygen isotope record in the Paleogene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica

Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic relations have been analysed in brachiopod, gastropod, and bivalve fossils from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene-?early Oligocene), Seymour (Marambio) Island, West Antarctica. The results indicate a shift in δ 13 C by 6 permil beginning in the middle part of the Unit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Gaździcki, Andrzej, Gruszczyński, Michał, Hoffman, Antoni, Małkowski, Krzysztof, Marenssi, Sergio A., Hałas, Stanislaw, Tatur, Andrzej
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1992
Subjects:
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Seymour Island
Weddell Sea
West Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102092000671
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102092000671
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Summary:Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic relations have been analysed in brachiopod, gastropod, and bivalve fossils from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene-?early Oligocene), Seymour (Marambio) Island, West Antarctica. The results indicate a shift in δ 13 C by 6 permil beginning in the middle part of the Unit II of the formation. This shift may imply a change from a largely stratified to a vigorously mixed ocean. Such an interpretation is corroborated by changes in the elemental proportions in the shell material. Alternatively, the carbon isotopic shift may be regarded as reflecting a change in the local depositional enviornment. Such an interpretation agrees with isotopic data from the Weddell Sea, which do not confirm the pattern observed in the La Meseta Formation. In any event, the oxygen isotopic curve does not decline parallel to the carbon curve and may thus imply a considerable climatic cooling event. This effect is so profound that it might be interpreted as evidence for glaciation, especially when taking into account the fact that this phenomenon coincides with the well-known cooling trend throughout the Eocene. If this interpretation is correct, the hypothesized Glaciation may possibly be correlated with the Polonez Glaciation, the largest Cenozoic glaciation known in the Antarctic Peninsula sector. Alternatively, it may be regarded as a local phenomenon, predating development of the icesheet.

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