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A (tidal-marine) boulder pavement in the late Cenozoic of Seymour Island, West Antarctica: contribution to the palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatic evolution of West Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2017

Antonio C. Rocha-Campos
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Matheus Kuchenbecker*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Estudos Tectônicos, Centro de Geociências, Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Brazil Centro de Pesquisa Professor Manoel Teixeira da Costa, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil
Wania Duleba
Affiliation:
Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Paulo Roberto Dos Santos
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Fernanda M. Canile
Affiliation:
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

We report here the discovery of a boulder pavement cropping out at the base of the Hobbs Glacier Formation (Miocene), on the northern sector of Seymour Island (Isla Marambio), West Antarctica, along the contact with the underlying La Meseta Formation (Eocene). The feature described has many points in common with boulder pavements developed in tidal-marine environments. The clasts of the pavement are mostly boulders and bear up to three sets of glacial striae on their bevelled truncated surfaces, but are not elongate parallel to them or bullet shaped. No diamictite body was identified associated with the boulder pavement. These features differ from those of boulder pavements described from terrestrially glaciated Cenozoic deposits and may indicate a shallow glaciomarine environment for the late Cenozoic of Seymour Island.

Type
Earth Sciences
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2017 

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