LATE CRETACEOUS CENOZOIC CLIMATIC VARIATIONS OF THE NORTHERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA - NEW GEOCHEMICAL EVIDENCE AND REVIEW

Aptian to Pliocene time-series of X-ray fluorescence data from the Ant arctic Peninsula are used to assess the degree of chemical weathering and maturity of sediments deposited prior, and subsequent to the estab lishment of glaciation in West Antarctica. A continuous palaeoclimatic signal is inferred from comparing the results with previously publish ed palaeotemperature and palaeobotanical data. Aptian-Cenomanian (warm /cool), and Santonian-Early Paleocene (warm/cold) cycles were followed by the global Late Paleocene-Early Eocene climatic optimum. Subsequen t steady decline in temperatures resulted in glacial conditions in the northern Antarctic Peninsula by Early Oligocene time. Under alternati ng Cenozoic frigid/cold climates and in sedimentary regimes dominated by physical weathering, geochemical signatures were primarily indicati ve of provenance. The development of Cretaceous arboreal vegetation in the northern Antarctic Peninsula can be correlated with the major cli matic cycles. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.