The Antarctic Paleoenvironment: A Perspective on Global Change: Part Two

280 Pages·2003·15.72 MB·English

The Antarctic Paleoenvironment:
A Perspective on Global Change
Part Two
ANTARCTIC
American Geophysical Union RESEARCH
SERIES
Physical Sciences CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTARCTIC RESEARCH I
David H. Elliot, Editor
ANTARCTIC OCEANOLOGY CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTARCTIC RESEARCH II
Joseph L. Reid, Editor David H. Elliot, Editor
ANTARCTIC OCEANOLOGY II: THE AUSTRALIAN- CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTARCTIC RESEARCH III
NEW ZEALAND SECTOR David H. Elliot, Editor
Dennis E. Hayes, Editor PHYSICAL AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
IN ANTARCTIC LAKES
William J. Green and E. Imre Friedmann, Editors
ANTARCTIC SNOW AND ICE STUDIES
Malcolm Mellor, Editor
ANTARCTIC SNOW AND ICE STUDIES II
A. P. Crary, Editor
ANTARCTIC SOILS AND SOIL FORMING PROCESSES
J. C. F. Tedrow, Editor
DRY VALLEY DRILLING PROJECT
L. D. McGinnis, Editor
GEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTHERN
VICTORIA LAND
Edmund Stump, Editor
GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC
Jarvis B. Hadley, Editor
GEOLOGY OF THE CENTRAL TRANSANTARCTIC
MOUNTAINS
Mort D. Turner and John F. Splettstoesser,
Editors
GEOMAGNETISM AND AERONOMY
A. H. Waynick, Editor
METEOROLOGICAL STUDIES AT PLATEAU STATION,
ANTARCTICA
Joost A. Businger, Editor
OCEANOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC CONTINENTAL SHELF
Stanley S. Jacobs, Editor
STUDIES IN ANTARCTIC METEOROLOGY
Morton J. Rubin, Editor
UPPER ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH IN ANTARCTICA
L. J. Lanzerotti and C. G. Park, Editors
THE ROSS ICE SHELF: GLACIOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS
C. R. Bentley and D. E. Hayes, Editors
VOLCANOES OF THE ANTARCTIC PLATE AND SOUTHERN
OCEANS
W. E. LeMasurier and J. T. Thomson, Editors
MINERAL RESOURCES POTENTIAL OF ANTARCTICA
John F. Splettstoesser and Gisela A. M. Dreschhoff,
Editors
MARINE GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL ATLAS
OF THE CIRCUM-ANTARCTIC TO 30°S
Dennis E. Hayes, Editor
MOLLUSCAN SYSTEMATICS AND BlOSTRATIGRAPHY
Jeffrey D. Stilwell and William J. Zinsmeister
THE ANTARCTIC PALEOENVIRONMENT: A PERSPECTIVE
ON GLOBAL CHANGE
James P. Kennett and Detlef A. Warnke, Editors
ANTARCTIC
RESEARCH
American Geophysical Union
SERIES
Biological and Life Sciences ANTARCTIC TERRESTRIAL BIOLOGY
George A. Llano, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS TERRESTRIAL BIOLOGY II
Milton O. Lee, Editor Bruce Parker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS II TERRESTRIAL BIOLOGY III
George A. Llano, Editor Bruce Parker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS III
George A. Llano and Waldo L. Schmitt, Editors
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS IV ANTARCTIC ASCIDIACEA
George A. Llano and I. Eugene Wallen, Editors Patricia Kott
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS V ANTARCTIC BIRD STUDIES
David L. Pawson, Editor Oliver L. Austin, Jr., Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS VI ANTARCTIC PINNIPEDIA
David L. Pawson, Editor William Henry Burt, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS VII ANTARCTIC ClRRIPEDIA
David L. Pawson, Editor William A. Newman and Arnold Ross
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS VIII BIRDS OF THE ANTARCTIC AND SUB-ANTARCTIC
David L. Pawson and Louis S. Kornicker, Editors George E. Watson
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS IX ENTOMOLOGY OF ANTARCTICA
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor J. Linsley Gressitt, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS X HUMAN ADAPTABILITY TO ANTARCTIC CONDITIONS
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor E. K. Eric Gunderson, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XI POLYCHAETA ERRANTIA OF ANTARCTICA
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor Olga Hartman
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XII POLYCHAETA MYZOSTOMIDAE AND SEDENTIARIA OF
David L. Pawson, Editor ANTARCTICA
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XIII Olga Hartman
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor RECENT ANTARCTIC AND SUBANTARCTIC BRACHIOPODS
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XIV Merrill W. Foster
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XV
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XVI
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XVII
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XVIII
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XIX
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XX
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XXI
Louis S. Kornicker, Editor
BIOLOGY OF THE ANTARCTIC SEAS XXII
Stephen D. Cairns, Editor
ANTARCTIC
Volume 60 RESEARCH
SERIES
The Antarctic Paleoenvironment:
A Perspective on Global Change
Part Two
James P. Kennett
Detlef A. Warnke
Editors
American Geophysical Union
Washington, D.C.
1993
ANTARCTIC
Volume 60 RESEARCH
SERIES
Published under the aegis of the
Board of Associate Editors, Antarctic Research Series
David H. Elliot, Chairman
John B. Anderson, Robert Bindschadler,
Stephen D. Cairns, Rodney M. Feldmann, Stanley Jacobs,
John Priscu, Charles R. Stearns
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
(Revised for vol. 2)
The Antarctic paleoenvironment.
(Antarctic research series, 0066-4634 ; v. 56, 60)
Papers from a conference held at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Aug.
28-31, 1991.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Paleogeography—Antarctic regions—Congresses. 2. Paleocology—Antarctic
regions—Congresses.
I. Kennett, James P. II. Warnke, Detlef A.
QE501.4.P3A64 1992 560'.45'09989 92-37312
ISBN 0-87590-823-3 (pt. 1)
ISBN 0-87590-838-1 (pt. 2)
ISSN 0066-4634
Copyright 1993 by the American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
Figures, tables, and short excerpts may be reprinted in scientific books and journals if the
source is properly cited.
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This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for creating new
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the use of extracts, including figures and tables, for commercial purposes requires permission
from AGU.
Published by
American Geophysical Union
Printed in the United States of America.
viii
CONTENTS
The Antarctic Research Series: Statement of Objectives
Board of Associate Editors
Preface
James P. Kennett and Detlef A. Warnke
Acknowledgments
James P. Kennett and Detlef A. Warnke
Southern Ocean Influences on Late Eocene to Miocene Deepwater Circulation
James D. Wright and Kenneth G. Miller
Late Eocene to Oligocene Vertical Oxygen Isotopic Gradients in the South
Atlantic: Implications for Warm Saline Deep Water
Gregory A. Mead, David A. Hodell, and Paul F. Ciesielski
Eocene to Oligocene Oceanography and Temperatures in the Antarctic Indian
Ocean
Enriqueta Barrera and Brian T. Huber
Nothofagus Fossils in the Sirius Group, Transantarctic Mountains: Leaves and
Pollen and Their Climatic Implications
Robert S. Hill and Elizabeth M. Tr us well
Cenozoic Glacial Sequences of the Antarctic Continental Margin as Recorders
of Antarctic Ice Sheet Fluctuations
Alan K. Cooper, Stephen Eittreim, Uri ten Brink, and Igor Zayatz
Cenozoic Sedimentary and Climatic Record, Ross Sea Region, Antarctica
Michael J. Hambrey and Peter J. Barrett
Cenozoic Southern Mid- and High-Latitude Biostratigraphy and
Chronostratigraphy Based on Planktonic Foraminifera
D. Graham Jenkins
Cenozoic Southern Ocean Reconstructions From Sedimentologic, Radiolarian,
and Other Microfossil Data
Dave Lazarus and Jean Pierre Caulet
The Evolution of the Cenozoic Southern High- and Mid-Latitude Planktonic
Foraminiferal Faunas
D. Graham Jenkins
Unusual Silicoflagellate Skeletal Morphologies From the Upper
Miocene-Lower Pliocene: Possible Ecophenotypic Variations From the High-
Latitude Southern Oceans
Kevin McCartney and Sherwood W. Wise, Jr. 195
Late Neogene Antarctic Glacial History: Evidence From Central Wright Valley
M. L. Prentice, J. G. Bockheim, S. C. Wilson, L. H. Burckle,
D. A. Hodell, C. Schluchter, and D. E. Kellogg 207
Coastal East Antarctic Neogene Sections and Their Contribution to the Ice
Sheet Evolution Debate
Patrick G. Quilty 251
300-Year Cyclicity in Organic Matter Preservation in Antarctic Fjord Sediments
Eugene W. Domack, Tracy A. Mashiotta, Lewis A. Burkley,
and Scott E. Ishman 265
List of Co-chief Scientists on DSDP and ODP Legs 273
The Antarctic Research Series:
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
The Antarctic Research Series provides for the presentation of detailed scientific research
results from Antarctica, particularly the results of the United States Antarctic Research Program,
including monographs and long manuscripts.
The series is designed to make the results of Antarctic fieldwork available. The Antarctic
Research Series encourages the collection of papers on specific geographic areas within Antarc­
tica. In addition, many volumes focus on particular disciplines, including marine biology,
oceanology, meteorology, upper atmosphere physics, terrestrial biology, geology, glaciology,
human adaptability, engineering, and environmental protection.
Topical volumes in the series normally are devoted to papers in one or two disciplines.
Multidisciplinary volumes, initiated in 1990 to enable more rapid publication, are open to papers
from any discipline. The series can accommodate long manuscripts and utilize special formats,
such as maps.
Priorities for publication are set by the Board of Associate Editors. Preference is given to
research manuscripts from projects funded by U.S. agencies. Because the series serves to
emphasize the U.S. Antarctic Research Program, it also performs a function similar to expedition
reports of many other countries with national Antarctic research programs.
The standards of scientific excellence expected for the series are maintained by the review
criteria established for the AGU publications program. Each paper is critically reviewed by two or
more expert referees. A member of the Board of Associate Editors may serve as editor of a
volume, or another person may be appointed. The Board works with the individual editors of each
volume and with the AGU staff to assure that the objectives of the series are met, that the best
possible papers are presented, and that publication is timely.
Proposals for volumes or papers offered should be sent to the Board of Associate Editors,
Antarctic Research Series, at 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. Publication
of the series is partially supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Board of Associate Editors
Antarctic Research Series
xi
PREFACE
The Antarctic continent and the surrounding South­ are thematic in nature; (3) to assist in formulating plans
ern Ocean represent one of the major climate engines of for future Antarctic ocean drilling; and (4) to organize
the Earth: coupled components critical in the Earth's publication of a series of summary/synthesis papers
environmental system. The contributions in this volume leading to two volumes. Although it has been the
help with the understanding of the long-term evolution intention of the scientific community to produce sum­
of Antarctica's environment and biota. The aim of this mary or synthesis volumes of thematic or regional
and the preceding companion volume is to help place nature related to ocean drilling, few have yet been
the modern system within a historical context. published. Therefore a major objective of this and the
The environment and biosphere of the Antarctic first volume is to help make the results of ocean drilling
region have undergone dynamic changes through geo­ more widely available to the scientific community.
logic time. These, in turn, have played a key role in In addition to these volumes the conference also led
long-term global paleoenvironmental evolution. The de­ to the production of a white paper, compiled by J.
velopment of the Southern Ocean itself, resulting from Kennett and J. Barron (available from JOI/USSAC,
plate tectonism, created first-order changes in the cir­ Washington, D.C), that summarizes major remaining
culation of the global ocean, in turn affecting meridional questions related to Southern Ocean paleoenvironmen­
heat transport and hence global climates. Biospheric tal evolution and outlines further ocean drilling required
changes responded to the changing oceanic climatic to assist in answering these questions. Selected material
states. Comprehension of the climatic and oceano- from the white paper was modified and incorporated in
graphic processes that have operated at various times in the introduction to the first volume.
Antarctica's history is crucial to the understanding of This volume presents 13 papers of general and syn­
the present-day global environmental system. This thetic nature on a wide variety of topics related to the
knowledge will become increasingly important in paral­ environmental and biotic evolution of the Antarctic and
lel with concerns about anthropogenically caused global southern high-latitude oceans. The contributions incor­
change. How vulnerable is the Antarctic region, espe­ porate a range of recent concepts that deal with the
cially its ice sheets, to global warming? The question is paleoclimatology, paleoceanography and paleobiogeog-
not parochial, given the potential of sea level change raphy of the Antarctic region, especially in relation to
resulting from any Antarctic cryospheric development. the evolution of the continental cryosphere. The volume
Conversely, how much of a role does the Antarctic is organized so that the papers are presented in general
region, this giant icebox, play in moderating global, order of geologic age, beginning with the Eocene and
including sea level, change? ending with the last several hundred years. As in the
This is the second of two volumes in the American first volume, this arrangement was selected to help
Geophysical Union's Antarctic Research Series to emphasize the evolution of the Antarctic environmental
present contributions that deal with the paleoenviron­ and biotic system during the late Phanerozoic. The
mental and biotic evolution of the Antarctic region. The subject is not without controversy, as shown by a
papers are based on work presented at a conference number of the papers included in this volume. The
held at the University of California, Santa Barbara, stratigraphic records from the deep sea, continental
August 28-31, 1991, entitled "The Role of the Southern margins, and land have been examined in these contri­
Ocean and Antarctica in Global Change: An Ocean butions at various stratigraphic resolutions from tens of
Drilling Perspective." This conference, jointly spon­ millions of years to as high as several decades. A wide
sored by JOI/USSAC and the Division of Polar Pro­ range of approaches have been employed, either singly
grams, National Science Foundation, was attended by or in combination, to decipher the paleoenvironmental
more than 100 scientists from around the world. The record and include oxygen and carbon isotopes, micro-
primary objectives of the meeting were successful in fossils, plant fossils, sediments, glacial morphology, and
providing a forum (1) to summarize existing paleoenvi­ seismic stratigraphy.
ronmental data from the Antarctic region; (2) to identify
and debate major remaining questions, most of which James P. Kennett and Detlef A. Warnke
xin