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Evidence against a young volcanic origin of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, Antarctica
Author(s) -
van de Flierdt Tina,
Hemming Sidney R.,
Goldstein Steven L.,
Gehrels George E.,
Cox Stephen E.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2008gl035564
Subject(s) - geology , volcano , bay , glacial period , paleontology , population , physical geography , sea level , ice sheet , quaternary , oceanography , earth science , geography , demography , sociology
The Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains of East Antarctica are among Earth's most enigmatic mountain ranges. They are situated in the middle of Antarctica, buried under hundreds of meters of ice, and reach an elevation of more than 3000 m. These characteristics have given rise to speculation about their origin and composition, in particular whether they are a hotspot or remnants of ancient orogenic events. We studied fluvio‐deltaic sands from ODP Site 1166 in Prydz Bay which were deposited prior to the onset of East Antarctic glaciation to address the question of their origin. Results for U‐Pb dating of detrital zircons reveal an important age population of ∼530 Ma, which is accompanied by a dominant 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age population of ∼519 Ma for detrital hornblendes. The data show no sign of young volcanic contributions, suggesting an old continental origin of the mountains, leaving as enigmatic the cause of their great height and size.