Devonian depositional environments in the Darwin Mountains: Marine or non-marine?

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Author: Woolfe, Ken J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1993
• Subjects: Darwin Glacier; Darwin Mountains; Antarctic Science
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102093000276; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102093000276

The depositional environment of the Devonian Taylor Group has been subject to considerable debate for over 30 years. The debate stems largely from a belief that the abundant and diverse trace fossils represent a marine ichnofauna, whereas sedimentary features, including palaeosols, desiccation polygons and red beds, are more typical of a non-marine setting. The debate is reconciled by a reinterpretation of the trace fossil assemblage which shows that the trace fossils comprise a typical fresh water ( Scoyenia ichnofacies) assemblage, and their occurrence in the Taylor Group in the Darwin Glacier area is entirely consistent with deposition in a mixed fluvial-lacustrine-subaerial environment.