Cenozoic terrestrial palynological assemblages in the glacial erratics from the Grove Mountains, east Antarctica

Abstract

Fossiliferous glacial erratics have been found in moraines of the Grove Mountains, east Antarctica since 1998 by Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHNARE) teams. These erratics were derived from a suite of glaciogene strata hidden beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Lambert glacier drainage system, and thus provide a record of Cenozoic paleoenvironmental conditions and fossil biotas that are so far unknown from outcrops and drill cores in this region. By microfossil analysis, sparse Neogene spores and pollen grains are revealed, including: Toroisporis (Lygodiaceae), Granulatisporites (Pteridaceae?), Osmunda (Osmundaceae), Polypodiaceae, Magnastriatites (Parkeriaceae), Deltoidospora, Araucariaceae, Taxodiaceae, Podocarpus (Podocarpaceae), Dacrydium (Podocarpaceae), Pinus (Pinaceae), Keteleeria (Pinaceae), Picea (Pinaceae), Tsuga (Pinaceae), Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia (Asteraceae), Asteraceae, Gramineae, Fraxinoipollenites (Oleaceae), Oleoidearumpollenites (Oleaceae), Oleaceae, Operculumpollis, Nothofagidites ( Nothofagus), Rhus, Quercus (Fagaceae), Juglans (Juglandaceae), Pterocarya (Juglandaceae), Liquidambar (Hamamelidaceae), Ulmus (Ulmaceae), Ulmoidepites (Ulmaceae), Tilia, Proteacidites (Proteaceae) and Tricolpopollenites; but without any marine diatoms. Most of the spores and pollen grains in the erratics are considered to originate from local sources except for some older exotic components that might be recycled from the basement sedimentary rocks by the ice sheet, so they are in situ sporo-palynological assemblages. Furthermore, since the source areas of the glaciogenic sedimentary rocks are assumed to be local or in the up glacier areas, the palynological assemblages in these erratics represent an inland terrestrial flora during a warmer period of the ice-sheet evolutionary history. The ages of these erratics are also discussed based on the occurrence of some diagnostic pollens such as the Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Nothofagus, which implies Neogene (most probably Pliocene). As a preliminary conclusion, we think that the existence of the Cenozoic glaciogenic rocks and their palynological assemblages present new evidence for a large scale glacial retreat event in the Grove Mountains of east Antarctica, and thus support a dynamic East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). Furthermore, the absence of marine fossils in the samples analyzed not only provides additional evidence for a terrestrial sedimentary environment of these erratics, but also indicates that there is no transportation of Cenozoic marine fossils from the adjacent areas of the Grove Mountains.