Badania paleontologiczne na Wyspie Króla Jerzego podczas III Polskiej Wyprawy Antarktycznej Polskiej Akademii Nauk (1978-1979)
Abstract
PALEONTOLOGICAL STUDIES IN THE KING GEORGE ISLAND DURING THE IIIRD POLISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION OF THE POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (1978-1979)
Summary
Paleontological studies carried out in summer (austral summer) season 1978-1979 covered 7 localities in the King George Island and one in the Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, namely: Keller Peninsula, Petrified Forest Creek, Zamek Moraine by Sphinx Hill, Point Hennequin, Low Head - Lions Rump, Green Creek and Fildes Peninsula. A special attention should be paid to the results obtained at the Zamek Moraine locality by Sphinx Hill, where there were gathered numerous well-preserved leaf remains, mainly of the genus Nothofagus, and a collection of sedimentary and biosedimentary structures, e.g. flow marks, mud-eater channels, mud cracks and still unidentified trace fossils.
The other important locality is that from the Low Head - Lions Rump region. It displays marine deposits assigned to the Pliocene (see Adie 1964, Barton 1965). The sequence of marine deposits; almost 50 m thick, comprises calcareous conglomerates with rich fauna of bivalves and - shaly and sandstone intercalations, differentiated as the Polonez Cove Formation by K. Birkenmajer (1979). Here were gathered numerous bivalves, mainly of the genus Pecten. The mass occurrence of bivalve shells seems to suggest sedimentation during heavy storms. There were also found bryozoans, gastropods and worms of the genera Serpula and Spirorbis. Paleontological materials gathered during the IIIrd Polish Antarctic Expedition will be studied in the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.
Summary
Paleontological studies carried out in summer (austral summer) season 1978-1979 covered 7 localities in the King George Island and one in the Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, namely: Keller Peninsula, Petrified Forest Creek, Zamek Moraine by Sphinx Hill, Point Hennequin, Low Head - Lions Rump, Green Creek and Fildes Peninsula. A special attention should be paid to the results obtained at the Zamek Moraine locality by Sphinx Hill, where there were gathered numerous well-preserved leaf remains, mainly of the genus Nothofagus, and a collection of sedimentary and biosedimentary structures, e.g. flow marks, mud-eater channels, mud cracks and still unidentified trace fossils.
The other important locality is that from the Low Head - Lions Rump region. It displays marine deposits assigned to the Pliocene (see Adie 1964, Barton 1965). The sequence of marine deposits; almost 50 m thick, comprises calcareous conglomerates with rich fauna of bivalves and - shaly and sandstone intercalations, differentiated as the Polonez Cove Formation by K. Birkenmajer (1979). Here were gathered numerous bivalves, mainly of the genus Pecten. The mass occurrence of bivalve shells seems to suggest sedimentation during heavy storms. There were also found bryozoans, gastropods and worms of the genera Serpula and Spirorbis. Paleontological materials gathered during the IIIrd Polish Antarctic Expedition will be studied in the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.