Rv. Dingle et M. Lavelle, LATE CRETACEOUS CENOZOIC CLIMATIC VARIATIONS OF THE NORTHERN ANTARCTIC PENINSULA - NEW GEOCHEMICAL EVIDENCE AND REVIEW, Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 141(3-4), 1998, pp. 215-232
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.