Evidence for temperate conditions along the Antarctic peninsula during the Early Tertiary
Several investigators based on deep sea glacial marine sediments from the southern oceans and volcanic sequences in West Antarctica have suggested extreme glacial conditions existed around Antarctica during the early Tertiary. Their data suggest ice sheets with ice shelves greater than those today were present on Antarctica by the late Eocene. If these data are correct, conditions during the Eocene along the Peninsula were similar to those that exist today. Late Eocene faunas and floras from Seymour Island indicate that conditions along the Peninsula were temperature. No paleontologic or geologic evidence have been obtained from Seymour Island (64/degree/18'S) to support the existence of glacial conditions along the northern part of the Peninsula during the early Tertiary. The presence of large quantities of fossil wood and plant debris in the upper Eocene sediments on Seymour Island indicates the presence of dense forests on the Peninsula during the Eocene. The discovery of marsupial and land birds remains on Seymour Island also indicate the presence of abundant terrestrial life on the Peninsula. The occurrence of an abundant marine life on Seymour Island supports the existence of temperate conditions along the Peninsula. Similarities of the Eocene faunas and floras with present day biotas from Tasmania, New Zealand and southern South America indicate that conditions along the Antarctic Peninsula during the late Eocene were comparable to present day mid latitudes of the southern hemisphere.
- Research Organization:
- Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5811558
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8510489-
- Journal Information:
- Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States), Vol. 17; Conference: 98. annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Orlando, FL, USA, 28-31 Oct 1985
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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