New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics abstracts

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Correlation of Byrd and Selborne Groups, with implications for the Byrd Glacier discontinuity, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica 

E.Stump
B. F. Gootee

Department of Geological Sciences
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287-1404, USA

F. Talarico

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università di Siena
53100 Siena, Italy

W. R. Van Schmus
P. K. Brand*

Department of Geology
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA

K. A. Foland

Department of Geological Sciences
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

C. M. Fanning

Research School of Earth Sciences
Australian National University
Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

*Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1404, USA.

Abstract  South of Byrd Glacier, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica, Lower Cambrian Shackleton Limestone (Byrd Group) is divided into four informal members. The transition from Shackleton carbonates to clastics of Starshot Formation is conformable, with alternating units of limestone and argillite, and a thick succession of pillow basalt. Douglas Conglomerate is interbedded with and overlies Starshot Formation, and overlies folded Shackleton Limestone unconformably. Lower amphibolite-grade Selborne Group is composed of Madison Marble and Contortion Schist. The contact between the two formations is interbedded marble and schist, and includes metabasalt. We correlate Byrd Group with Selborne Group, Shackleton Limestone with Madison Marble, and Starshot Formation and Douglas Conglomerate with Contortion Schist. These correlations and the lack of equivalent lithologies to the north of Byrd Glacier imply that Byrd Glacier is the northern boundary of the Byrd depositional basin, and reinforces the notion that it marks a major tectonic discontinuity crossing the Ross Orogen.

Keywords  Byrd Group; Selborne Group; Shackleton Limestone; Ross Orogen; Cambrian; stratigraphy; Transantarctic Mountains

G03010; Received 12 May 2003; accepted 24 November 2003; Online publication date 20 May 2004
New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics, 2004, Vol. 47: 157–171
0028–8306/04/4702–0157 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004

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