Sediment grain size and quartz grain morphology from Cape Roberts 1 core samples (Ross Sea): Proxies for transport and deposizional processes

• Main Authors: PROTOPSALTI, IOANNA, FANZUTTI, GIOVANNI PAOLO, Francesco Immordino, Laura De Santis
• Other Authors: John Alan Gamble, David N. B. Skinner, Stuart Henrys, Royal Society of New Zealand, Protopsalti, Ioanna, Francesco, Immordino, Laura De, Santi, Fanzutti, GIOVANNI PAOLO
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: John Alan Gamble, David N. B. Skinner, Stuart Henrys 2002
• Subjects: image analysi; quartz grain; morphometry; morphoscopy; Ross Sea; Antarctica; Cape Roberts; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11368/2767738

The shape and the surface textures of quartz sand grains of four samples from the Cape Roberts 1 drill core (CRP-1, Western Ross Sea), were investigated by using image processing, statistic techniques, and SEM analyses. The results of this work, combined with previously published grain-size analyses, sediment structure and palaeontological information, provide additional data on sediment transport and deposition. The sample CRP1-1 from the Quaternary unit 2.1 shows characters typical of a marine ice-proximal environment, while the sample CRP-23 from the Miocene unit 6.3 was probably derived from floating ice in a marine distal setting. The sample CRP1-11 from the Miocene sandstones unit 5.4 preserves typical beach-derived features, while the sample CRP-1-16 from the sandstone unit 6.3 has characters of a gravity flow deposit.