Rare phytoliths are described from Late Cretaceous to Quaternary deep-sea sediments from Sites 1165 and 1166, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. The phytoliths are comparable to modern tree/shrub, grass, and fern forms, although some may be modern contaminants. Spherical tree/shrub phytoliths are the most common, occurring particularly in the lower middle to middle Miocene core sections at Site 1165. All phytolith forms observed (except irregular and folded sphericals) have been previously described in other Antarctic sediments. The low phytolith abundances in the cores probably result from a combination of factors including the substantial distance offshore of the drill sites, taphonomic influences (low source production, soil dissolution, and dilution of terrigenous material during transport and deposition), and silica diagenesis downhole.
1Thorn, V.C., 2004. Data report: Phytoliths in drill core sediments from Sites 1165 and 1166, Leg 188, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. In Cooper, A.K., O'Brien, P.E., and Richter, C. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 188 [Online]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/188_SR/002/002.htm>. [Cited YYYY-MM-DD].
2Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington NZ. vanessa.thorn@vuw.ac.nz
Initial receipt: 9 April 2002
Acceptance: 15 August 2003
Web publication:
28 January 2004
Ms 188SR-002