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A re-evaluation of the Hart Ash, an important stratigraphic marker: Wright Valley, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2019

M. Schiller ,
W.W. Dickinson ,
N.A. Iverson  and
J.A. Baker
M. Schiller
Affiliation:
Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK-1350, Denmark
W.W. Dickinson*
Affiliation:
Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand
N.A. Iverson
Affiliation:
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
J.A. Baker
Affiliation:
School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author: Warren.Dickinson@vuw.ac.nz
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Abstract

Reliably dated surficial deposits for reconstructing palaeoclimate are rare in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. While many tephra have been found and dated, none is well characterized. In the Wright Valley, the Hart Ash is poorly dated and described. This paper reports profiles through tephra, the chemical signature of the glass shards and new high-precision multi-crystal laser fusion of 40Ar/39Ar ages. Major and trace element analyses of glass shards indicate the tephra are phonolitic and most probably sourced from Mount Discovery in the Erebus volcanic province. Two chemically distinct and stratigraphically separate tephra layers within the Hart Ash were found in three closely spaced soil profiles. The complex stratigraphy between these profiles could not be delineated without the geochemistry of the tephra. Importantly, our data suggest that only one tephra may be an in situ fall-out deposit, which gave a robust age of 2.97 ± 0.02 Ma. This new age for the Hart Ash tephra, which is 10 cm thick and is preserved at the current surface, provides a maximum age for surface deposits in the lower Wright Valley. This study highlights that well-characterized tephra enhance stratigraphic correlations in the Dry Valleys and improve the accuracy of palaeoenvironmental interpretations.

Keywords

McMurdo Dry ValleyspalaeoenvironmentalPliocenestratigraphytephra
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , June 2019 , pp. 139 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2019 

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