Research project A3/02/002 (Research action A3)
THEME
Marine geophysical study (high-resolution multi-channel seismic reflection) of the palaeoenvironment along the Antarctic continental margins, with particular attention to analysing the potential climatic influence on its stratigraphic genesis and its evolution.
OBJECTIVES
- Spatial analysis of the sequence-stratigraphic genesis of the Antarctic continental margins, taking account of all the geological and tectonic processes which can control this genesis.
- Identification and inventory of the various "signals" (discordances, erosion surfaces and discontinuities, deposits/migrations, etc.) contained in the stratigraphy of these continental margins, which can be linked up to palaeoclimatic phenomena (extension of the ice cap, variations in sea level).
- Determination of the volumes and structures of dispersion of the sedimentary bodies of the continental margins, in order to quantify sedimentary fluxes over their geological history. The basic data for this study have been taken from the networks of high-resolution multi-channel seismic reflection profiles already available to the RCMG (Weddell Sea, Antarctic Peninsula) or still to be acquired. Preferably, these should be acquired close to deep drilling sites (cf. ODP) or from the oceanic crust dated with sufficient accuracy through magnetic anomalies, so as to be able to deduce an approximate age "window" through stratigraphic correlation.
- Development of a qualitative model for the stratigraphic and structural evolution of these continental margins, with particular attention to its influence on long-term climatic changes (> 1 My).
