Distribution of phytolithes in CRP sediment cores from the Ross Sea, Antarctica ...
Phytoliths (siliceous plant microfossils) have been recovered from Cenozoic sediments (c. 34 to 17 Ma) in the CRP-2/2A and CRP-3 drillholes cored off Cape Roberts, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. The phytolith assemblages are sparse, but well-preserved and dominated by spherical forms similar to th...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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PANGAEA
2001
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.510767 https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.510767 |
| Summary: | Phytoliths (siliceous plant microfossils) have been recovered from Cenozoic sediments (c. 34 to 17 Ma) in the CRP-2/2A and CRP-3 drillholes cored off Cape Roberts, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. The phytolith assemblages are sparse, but well-preserved and dominated by spherical forms similar to those of modern trees or shrubs. Rare phytoliths comparable to modern grass forms are also present. However, due to the paucity of phytolith data, any interpretations made are necessarily tentative. The assemblages of CRP-2/2A and the upper c. 250 m of CRP-3 are interpreted as representing a predominantly woody vegetation, including Nothofagus and Libocedrus with local areas of grass in the more exposed locations. A cool climate is interpreted to have prevailed throughout both cores. However, beneath c. 250 metres below sea floor in CRP-3, the dominant woody vegetation is supplemented by pockets of Palmae, ?Proteaceae and 'warm' climate grasses. This association represents vegetation growth in sheltered, moist sites ... : Supplement to: Thorn, Vanessa C (2001): Oligocene and early Miocene phytolits from CRP-2/2A and CRP-3, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, 8(4), 407-422 ... |
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