The Antarctic field notebooks contain the geological observations recorded by Bureau of Mineral Resources geologists during their trips to Antarctica between 1948 – 1980s. Files include a scanned copy of the original handwritten field notebook, transcription of the notebook’s contents transcribed by volunteers and validated by an experienced geologist, and a csv file of the transcription with Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) tags. The original Antarctic field notebooks are held at the N.H. (Doc) Fisher Geoscience Library at Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

The Cenozoic glacial history of East Antarctica is recorded in part by the stratigraphy of the Prydz Bay-Lambert Graben region. The glacigene strata and associated erosion surfaces record at least 10 intervals of glacial advance (with accompanying erosion and sediment compaction), and more than 17 intervals of glacial retreat (enabling open marine deposition in Prydz Bay and the Lambert Graben). The number of glacial advances and retreats is considerably less than would be expected from Milankovitch frequencies due to the incomplete stratigraphic record. Large advances of the Lambert Glacier caused progradation of the continental shelf edge. At times of extreme glacial retreat, marine conditions reached > 450 km inland from the modern ice shelf edge. This review presents a partial reconstruction of Cenozoic glacial extent within Prydz Bay and the Lambert Graben that can be compared to eustatic sea-level records from the southern Australian continental margin.

A late Quaternay, current-lain sediment drift deposit over 30 metres in thickness has been discovered on the continental shelf of East Antarctica in an 850 metre deep glacial trough off George Vth Land. Radiocarbon dating indicates that a period of rapid deposition on the drift occurred in the mid-Holocene, between about 3 000 and 5 000 years before present.

Measurements of water turbidity, currents, seafloor sediment samples and geophysical data document the sedimentary processes and the Late Quaternary sedimentary history of a continental shelf valley system on the East Antarctic continental margin.

In 2007-08 scientists from Australia, Japan and France set out to survey the marine life and habitats in the region adjacent to Terre Adelie and George V Land in East Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Magazine 14: 2-13, 2008). The Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC) - part of Australia's contribution to the International Polar Year - aimed to understand the processes that have lead to the evolution and survival of marine life existing in the region today, so that scientists can predict how these organisms may respond to future climate-related changes in their environment. Scientists involved in the census are now finalising the collation and analysis of data and the following pages (13-18) provide an insight into some of the results. The team aims to publish its findings as a series of papers in a special volume of a scientific journal in late 2010.

Climatically controlled glaciological and oceanogrphic environmental changes off the George V Coast during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene have been recontructed from changes in sedimentation processes. The evolution of a sediment drift deposit located deep in the deep trough on the shelf has been assessed using a sedimentological approach.

This study presents compelling evidence for a diverse and abundant seabed community which has developed over the course of the Holocene beneath the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. Fossil analysis of a 47 cm long sediment core reveals a rich modern fauna, dominated by filter feeders (sponges and bryozoans), with an abundant infauna predominantly of polychaetes. The down-core assemblage reveals a succession in the colonisation of this site. The lower portion of the core (prior to ~9600 yr BP) is completely devoid of preserved fauna. The first colonisers of the site after this time were the mobile benthic organisms. Their occurrence in the core is matched by the first appearance of planktonic taxa, indicating a retreat of the ice shelf following the last glaciation to within sufficient distance to advect planktonic particles via bottom currents. The benthic infauna and filter feeders emerged during the peak abundance of the planktonic organisms, indicating their dependence on this advected food supply which is brought via bottom currents flowing from the open shelf waters of Prydz Bay. Understanding patterns of species succession in this environment has important implications for determining the potential significance of future global change. The collapse of Antarctic ice shelves, as has happened in recent times, would significantly change the organic supply regime, and therefore the nature of these sub-ice shelf benthic communities.

The Antarctic field notebooks contain the geological observations recorded by Bureau of Mineral Resources geologists during their trips to Antarctica between 1948 – 1980s. Files include a scanned copy of the original handwritten field notebook, transcription of the notebook’s contents transcribed by volunteers and validated by an experienced geologist, and a csv file of the transcription with Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) tags. The original Antarctic field notebooks are held at the N.H. (Doc) Fisher Geoscience Library at Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

The Antarctic field notebooks contain the geological observations recorded by Bureau of Mineral Resources geologists during their trips to Antarctica between 1948 – 1980s. Files include a scanned copy of the original handwritten field notebook, transcription of the notebook’s contents transcribed by volunteers and validated by an experienced geologist, and a csv file of the transcription with Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) tags. The original Antarctic field notebooks are held at the N.H. (Doc) Fisher Geoscience Library at Geoscience Australia, Canberra.

The Antarctic field notebooks contain the geological observations recorded by Bureau of Mineral Resources geologists during their trips to Antarctica between 1948 – 1980s. Files include a scanned copy of the original handwritten field notebook, transcription of the notebook’s contents transcribed by volunteers and validated by an experienced geologist, and a csv file of the transcription with Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) tags. The original Antarctic field notebooks are held at the N.H. (Doc) Fisher Geoscience Library at Geoscience Australia, Canberra.