Glacial Unconformities on the Antarctic Continental Margin, an Example from the Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

The Antarctic Peninsula margin extends from Bransfield Basin to Adelaide Island. The Peninsula is one of the most tectonically complex regions of the Antarctic continental margin. Development of the margin has been influenced by a series of ridge-trench collisions between the Pacific and Antarctic plates. Major fracture zones segment the deep sea floor. The continental shelf break averages 400 m. Foredeepened topography and a series of deeply scoured troughs dominate the bathymetry. On the inner shelf, bathymetry is extremely rugged. The Peninsula region has undergone several episodes of glacial expansion [Bart and Anderson, 1995].