Heavy mineral composition of surface sediments around the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Abstract

In this paper are shown the results of the heavy mineral analysis of ice-rafted sand fractions of undisturbed surface sediments collected from several gravity cores in and around the Ross Sea shelf area during the TH91 and TH92 Antarctic research cruises by Technology Research Center, Japan National Oil Corporation, using R/V Hakurei-maru. The areal distribution pattern of the frequency of each heavy mineral suggests the existence of at least two petrographic provinces, i. e. western and central-eastern areas. Especially, olivine and clinopyroxene with titanaugite, which were probably supplied from the late Quaternary McMurdo alkaline basaltic rocks fringing the eastern margin of the Victoria Land, are exclusively or dominantly distributed in the western area of the Ross Sea. This results support the northward movement of icebergs nearly parallel to the east coast of the Victoria Land at least in the western part of the Ross Sea shelf area.