Syn-depositional deformation in a Cretaceous succession, James Ross Island, Antarctica. Evidence from vitrinite reflectivity

• Published in: Geological Magazine
• Main Authors: Whitham, A.G., Marshall, J.E.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Cambridge University Press 1988
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Ross Island; Antarc*; Antarctica; James Ross Island
• Online Access: http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/522179/; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756800023402

A detailed vitrinite reflectivity study has been made through the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of northwest James Ross Island, Antarctica. The results show that a progressive increase in reflectivity does not occur with depth and that values (0.45 %) from the base of the succession are lower than expected for the sequence as described by previous authors. Using a synthesis of sedimentological and stratigraphic information, the sequence is reinterpreted as an apparent monoclinal syncline, strongly influenced by syndepositional tectonics, with a thickness appreciably less than previously described.