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PetroChron Antarctica: a geological database for interdisciplinary use

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posted on 2023-05-21, 04:57 authored by Sanchez, G, Jacqueline HalpinJacqueline Halpin, Gard, M, Hasterok, D, Tobias StaalTobias Staal, Raimondo, T, Peters, S, Burton-Johnson, A
We present PetroChron Antarctica, a new relational database including petrological, geochemical and geochronological data sets along with computed rock properties from geological samples across Antarctica. The database contains whole-rock geochemistry with major/trace element and isotope analyses, geochronology from multiple isotopic systems and minerals for given samples, as well as an internally consistent rock classification based on chemical analysis and derived rock properties (i.e., chemical indices, density, p-velocity, and heat production). A broad range of meta-information such as geographic location, petrology, mineralogy, age statistics and significance are also included and can be used to filter and assess the quality of the data. Currently, the database contains 11,559 entries representing 10,056 unique samples with varying amounts of geochemical and geochronological data. The distribution of rock types is dominated by mafic (36%) and felsic (33%) compositions, followed by intermediate (22%) and ultramafic (9%) compositions. Maps of age distribution and isotopic composition highlight major episodes of tectonic and thermal activity that define well known crustal heterogeneities across the continent, with the oldest rocks preserved in East Antarctica and more juvenile lithosphere characterizing West Antarctica. PetroChron Antarctica allows spatial and temporal variations in geology to be explored at the continental scale and integrated with other Earth-cryosphere-biosphere-ocean data sets. As such, it provides a powerful resource ready for diverse applications including plate tectonic reconstructions, geological/geophysical maps, geothermal heat flow models, lithospheric and glacial isostasy, geomorphology, ice sheet reconstructions, biodiversity evolution, and oceanography.

History

Publication title

Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems

Volume

22

Issue

12

Article number

e2021GC010154

Number

e2021GC010154

Pagination

1-14

ISSN

1525-2027

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Amer Geophysical Union

Place of publication

2000 Florida Ave Nw, Washington, USA, Dc, 20009

Rights statement

© 2021 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts); Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

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