(Table 1) Detrital modes for sand grains in sediment core CRP-3

Detrital modes determined on 68 sandstone samples from CRP-3 drillcore indicate a continuation of the dynamic history of uplift-related erosion and unroofing previously documented in CRP-1 and CRP-2/2A. The source area is identified very strongly with the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) Dry Valleys block in southern Victoria Land. Initial unroofing of the TAM comprised removal of much of a former capping sequence of Jurassic Kirkpatrick basalts, which preceded the formation of the Victoria Land Basin. Erosion of Beacon Supergroup outcrops took place during progressive uplift of the TAM in the Oligocene. Earliest CRP-3 Oligocene samples above 788 metres below the sea floor (mbsf) were sourced overwhelmingly in Beacon Supergroup strata, including a recognisable contribution from Triassic volcanogenic Lashly Formation sandstones (uppermost Victoria Group). Moving up-section, by 500 mbsf, the CRP-3 samples are depauperate quartz arenites dominantly derived from the quartzose Devonian Taylor Group. Between c. 500 and 450 mbsf, the modal parameters show a distinctive change indicating that small outcrops of basement granitoids and metamorphic rocks were also being eroded along with the remaining Beacon (mainly Taylor Group) sequence. Apart from enigmatic fluctuations in modal indices above 450 mbsf, similar to those displayed by samples in CRP-2/2A, the CRP-3 modes are essentially constant (within a broad data scatter) to the top of CRP-3. The proportion of exposed basement outcrop remained at < 20 %, indicating negligible uplift (i.e. relative stability) throughout that period.

Petrological parameters of sands and sandstones from DSDP and ODP holes in arc-related areas

Detrital modes for 524 deep-marine sand and sandstone samples recovered on circum-Pacific, Caribbean, and Mediterranean legs of the Deep Sea Drilling Project and the Ocean Drilling Program form the basis for an actualistic model for arc-related provenance. This model refines the Dickinson and Suczek (1979) and Dickinson and others (1983) models and can be used to interpret the provenance/tectonic history of ancient arc-related sedimentary sequences. Four provenance groups are defined using QFL, QmKP, LmLvLs, and LvfLvmiLvl ternary plots of site means: (1) intraoceanic arc and remnant arc, (2) continental arc, (3) triple junction, and (4) strike-slip-continental arc. Intraoceanic- and remnant-arc sands are poor in quartz (mean QFL%Q < 5) and rich in lithics (QFL%L > 75); they are predominantly composed of plagioclase feldspar and volcanic lithic fragments. Continental-arc sand can be more quartzofeldspathic than the intraoceanic- and remnant-arc sand (mean QFL%Q values as much as 10, mean QFL%F values as much as 65, and mean QmKP%Qm as much as 20) and has more variable lithic populations, with minor metamorphic and sedimentary components. The triple-junction and strike-slip-continental groups compositionally overlap; both are more quartzofeldspathic than the other groups and show highly variable lithic proportions, but the strike-slip-continental group is more quartzose. Modal compositions of the triple junction group roughly correlate with the QFL transitional-arc field of Dickinson and others (1983), whereas the strike-slip-continental group approximately correlates with their dissected-arc field.

Bulk sediment parameters and coarse-fraction analysis of ODP Leg 178 holes

The area west of the Antarctic Peninsula is a key region for studying and understanding the history of glaciation in the southern high latitudes during the Neogene with respect to variations of the western Antarctic continental ice sheet, variable sea-ice cover, induced eustatic sea level change, as well as consequences for the global climatic system (Barker, Camerlenghi, Acton, et al., 1999). Sites 1095, 1096, and 1101 were drilled on sediment drifts forming the continental rise to examine the nature and composition of sediments deposited under the influence of the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet, which has repeatedly advanced to the shelf edge and subsequently released glacially eroded material on the continental shelf and slope (Barker et al., 1999). Mass gravity processes on the slope are responsible for downslope sediment transport by turbidity currents within a channel system between the drifts. Furthermore, bottom currents redistribute the sediments, which leads to final build up of drift bodies (Rebesco et al., 1998). The high-resolution sedimentary sequences on the continental rise can be used to document the variability of continental glaciation and, therefore, allow us to assess the main factors that control the sediment transport and the depositional processes during glaciation periods and their relationship to glacio-eustatic sea level changes. Site 1095 lies in 3840 m of water in a distal position on the northwestern lower flank of Drift 7, whereas Site 1096 lies in 3152 m of water in a more proximal position within Drift 7. Site 1101 is located at 3509 m water depth on the northwestern flank of Drift 4. All three sites have high sedimentation rates. The oldest sediments were recovered at Site 1095 (late Miocene; 9.7 Ma), whereas sediments of Pliocene age were recovered at Site 1096 (4.7 Ma) and at Site 1101 (3.5 Ma). The purpose of this work is to provide a data set of bulk sediment parameters such as CaCO3, total organic carbon (TOC), and coarse-fraction mass percentage (>63 µm) measured on the sediments collected from the continental rise of the western Antarctic Peninsula (Holes 1095A, 1095B, 1096A, 1096B, 1096C, and 1101A). This information can be used to understand the complex depositional processes and their implication for variations in the climatic system of the western Pacific Antarctic margin since 9.7 Ma (late Miocene). Coarse-fraction particles (125-500 µm) from the late Pliocene and Pleistocene (4.0 Ma to recent) sediments recovered from Hole 1095A were microscopically analyzed to gather more detailed information about their variability and composition through time. These data can yield information about changes in potential source regions of the glacially eroded material that has been transported during repeated periods of ice-sheet movements on the shelf.