Abstract:

Glaciogene sedimentary rocks have been found in modem tills of the Grove Mountains, east Antarctica during the 1998-1999 Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHNARE). Based on the lithilogic and sedimentary features, these sedimentary rocks are correlated with Cenozoic sedimentary strata of the Pagodroma Group in the neighboring Prince Charles Mountains and the Sorsdal Formation in VestFold Hills. Sedimentary clasts contain sparsely Late Tertiary spores and pollens, including: Toroisporis (Lygodiaceae), Osmunda, Granulatisporites (Pteridaceae?), Polypodiaceae, Podocarpus, Araucariaceae, Artemisia, Rhus, Nothofagidites, Proteacidites (Proteaceae), Quercus, Fraxinoipollenites (Oleaceae), Oleoidearumpollenites (Oleaceae), Operculumpollis, and Tricolpopollenites. Most of the pollen and spores contained in these samples originate from local sources according to the conditions of their preservations as well as correlations with the microfossil assemblages found in the neighboring areas. The majority of the pollen assemblages, as represented by Podocarpus and Nothofagus, belong to the Weddellian biogeocenose, however some exotic components from the old sedimentary basement rocks may have been included during erosion of the proximal ice-sheet. If the source areas of glaciogenic sedimentary rocks that bear the pollen and spores are assumed to be local, or in the up glacier areas, the pollen assemblages in these samples might represent an inland flora during a warmer period of the ice-sheet evolutionary history. The finding of the Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae in the pollen assemblages implies that they may belong to late Tertiary (most probably Pliocene). The absence of diatoms in the samples analyzed may indicate that there are no Cenozoic marine strata in the interior of the east Antarctica beyond the Grove Mountains.The significances of the finding of the Nothofagus in these pollen assemblages are discussed on the basis of current knowledge about the age, distribution and ecological conditions of this kind of fossils found in Sirius Group or other strata outcropped in Antarctica. As a preliminary conclusion, we think that the existence of the Cenozoic glaciogenenic rocks and their pollen assemblages present new evidence for a large scale glacial retreat history in Grove Mountains of east Antarctica, and thus support a dynamic East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). This is consistent with the interpretations of Webb et al. (1984).

Key words: East Antarctica, Grove Moutains, Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, spore-pollen, Nothofagus, Artemisia, Pliocene