Paleomagnetic studies of the vide necessary information on the ages of magnetization of the sampled units. northern Antarctic Peninsula Certain conclusions may be drawn on the basis of available information (Watts, Bramall, and Watts 1981). The Early Ter- tiary Ezcurra Inlet Group lavas are especially good recorders DOYLE R. WAUS of the paleomagnetic field. The poles derived from these rocks are very similar to Early Tertiary poles predicted for the east Department of Earth Sciences antarctic craton by rotation of well-documented poles from the University, Leeds global data set. This confirms an earlier conclusion (Watts United Kingdom 1981) that either the Antarctic Peninsula has not moved with and respect to the east antarctic craton since the Early Tertiary, or Earth Sciences and Resources Institute that any movement has been a rotation about a pole of spread- University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 29208 ing located approximately at the present geographical pole. Those hypotheses that require a large-scale translation of the Antarctic Peninsula with respect to East Antarctica during the Tertiary may be rejected on the basis of these data. Laboratory studies of oriented core samples collected from the northern Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands When the age determinations are completed, the northern Antarctic Peninsula polar wander track from the period 120 to during the 1977-78 and 1979-80 field seasons were completed recently at the paleomagnetic laboratory at the University of 40 million years ago will be documented. These data, com- Leeds. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the bined with recent results from the Ellsworth Mountains (Watts direction of the paleomagnetic field with respect to the pen- and Bramall 1981, in press), will reveal aspects of the move- insula for the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. These data are poten- ments of the microcontinents that comprise West Antarctica. This work was supported by National Science Foundation tially useful for determining the motion of this region with DPP DPP 79-21102. respect to other parts of Gondwanaland and testing various grants 77-23427 and hypotheses concerning the interaction of the Antarctic, Pacific, and Indian plates. Measurements of magnetic remanence were made using a References Digico complete results spinner magnetometer and the pro- totype United Kingdom cryogenic magnetometer. Demagne- Watts, D. R. 1981. Potassium-argon and paleomagnetic results from tization experiments were carried out with a tumbler alternat- King George Island, South Shetland Islands. In C. Craddock (Ed.), ing field device and thermal demagnetization apparatus. Antarctic geoscience. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. A large body of data is now available as characteristic mag- Watts, D. R., and Bramall, A. M. 1981. Palaeomagnetic evidence from netizations have been identified in the Tertiary Ezcurra Inlet the Ellsworth Mountains support microplate nature of western Ant- Group lavas, the Point Hennequin Group lavas, the possibly arctica. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 64(4), Mesozoic intrusive rocks from the Danger Islands, Wideopen 271. Watts, D. R., and Bramall, A. M. In press. Upper Cambrian palaeo- Islands, Etna Island, and the igneous rocks from Hope Bay, magnetism of the Ellsworth Mountains: Evidence for a displaced Byers Peninsula, Greenwich Island, and Snow Island. A partial terrain in western Antarctica. Nature. synthesis of these results was read before the Geological Soci- Watts, D. R., Bramall, A. M., and Watts, G. C. 1981. Cainozoic and ety of London in October 1981. The final interpretation awaits Mesozoic(?) palaeomagnetic results from the northern Antarctic the completion of a potassium-argon (K-Ar) age determination Peninsula. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, program now in progress at the Ohio State University to pro- 64(4), 271. Jurassic-Cretaceous palynology of mian). Apart from recycled specimens, they are the first Tithonian-Barremian palynomorphs reported from Antarctica. Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Forty-eight samples collected during the February 1980 Antarctica expedition (P./v Hero cruise 80-2; Elliot and Askin 1980) to Byers Peninsula were examined for palynomorphs. Outcrops of fine- grained sedimentary rocks suitable for palynological study were scarce, and in many cases the sediments were too baked ROSEMARY A. ASKIN by adjacent igneous rocks for preservation of palynomorphs. Ten main localities were sampled, of which localities 2, 4, 6, Department of Geology Colorado School of Mines 9, and 10 (figure) include productive samples. Samples from Golden, Colorado 80401 the other localities are barren of palynomorphs or contain skeletal grains too poorly preserved to identify. The productive samples contain often abundant but poorly Samples from 5 of 10 localities on Byers Peninsula, Livings- preserved spores and pollen (land-plant-derived microfossils) ton Island (figure), contain stratigraphically useful palyno- and dinoflagellates (marine phytoplankton). Among the morph species. The assemblages range in age from possible spores occurring in most samples and identifiable to species uppermost Jurassic (Tithonian) to Lower Cretaceous (Barre- level are the long-ranging species Cyathidites australis Couper, 1981 REVIEW 11 2W 6OW3-: 62°S Two samples from locality 6, Point Smellie, contain amber to brown, though torn and mineral-scarred, palynomorphs. The species Murospora florida (Balme) Pocock (Middle Jurassic- 0\^ Livingston Albian), and long-ranging Classopollis chateaunovi Reyre, Tsu- Island gaepollenites dampen (Balme) Dettmann and T. trilobatus Antarctic 630S (Balme) Dettmann were observed, together with dinoflagel- PeninsuIa ,_.,- lates Fusiformacysta salasii Morgan (early-late Neocomian), A Pareodinia ceratophora Deflandre (?Toarcian-Albian), Batiola- dinium spp., and Canningia spp. The Neocomian age suggested Ocoa Pt by the palynomorphs is in keeping with the Berriasian age derived from ammonites from this locality (figure). Chester Laager Cone Byers Locality 9, approximately 2 kilometers south of Chester Cone ) t J® A Peninsula and between 200 meters and 1 kilometer west of False Cerro Negro, includes a wide area of several small outcrops. The Pt Smeilie outcrops are probably stratigraphically above the beds con- False Cerro 6 B Cerro Negro A taining Covacevichs (1976) Valanginian fauna, 1 to 0.5 kilo- Negro meter to the southwest. Preservation of palynomorphs :® 0 throughout this area is extremely poor. Only 3 samples of 11 e7 El^ contain very corroded spores, pollen, and dinoflagellates. The rest are effectively barren. The productive samples contain Is Pt Cicatnicosisporites australiensis, C. ludbrookii, Appendicisporites sp., and dinoflagellates Batioladinium sp. cf. B. micro podum, Palaeoperidin ium cretaceum Pocock (Hauterivian-Cenoman- Map of Byers Peninsula showing palynology sample localities ian), and Pareodinia ceratophora. From the assemblage com- (numbered circles). The letters show location of fossil invertebrate position it appears that these samples are of late Neocomian faunas data as Tithonian (A), Berriaslan (B), and Valanginian (C) (Hautenvian-Barremian) age. by Gonzalez-Ferran, Katsul, and Tavera (1970), Tavera (1970), Co y -acevich (1976), and Smeille, Davies, and Thomson (1980). Locality 10 includes a nonmanne, mostly volcaniclastic rock section on a ridge southwest of Cerro Negro. Plant megafossils from near the top (eastern part) of this ridge were assigned a C. minor Couper, Stereisporites antiquasporites (Wilson and "Wealden" age by Fuenzalida (1965) and Araya and Hervé Webster) Dettmann, Osmundacidites wellmanii Couper, Bacu- (1966). Hernández and Azcárate (1971) later compared the flora latisporites comaumensis (Cookson) Potonié, and Gleicheniidites to that of the Barremian Baqueró Formation of Santa Cruz circinidites (Cookson) Dettmann. Distribution of a few strati- Province, Argentina. Seven samples from this section contain graphically useful species of palynomorphs is discussed brown spores and pollen grains. The assemblages are domi- below. nated by the distinctive spore Cyatheacidites tectifera Archan- gelsky and Gamerro, which was described from the basal part Locality 2, an approximately 5-meter-thick marine section of the Baqueró Formation (Archangelsky and Gamerro 1965) in a small high valley northeast of Laager Point, includes three of Barremian age (Archangeisky 1967). Preliminary study productive samples. These contain dark brown to black and indicates that this is its only previously reported occurrence. corroded, abundant spores and dinoflagellates, plus uncom- The palynomorph assemblages substantiate the previous mon bisaccate pollen. The assemblages include the spores assignment of a Barremian age to the volcaniclastic beds west Cicatricosisp o rites australiensis (Cookson) Potonié (?Oxfordian- of Cerro Negro. Upper Cretaceous), C. ludbrookii Dettmann (Berriasian- Albian — ranges of spores are for southern continents), and The lack of palynomorph species diagnostic of Aptian or the dinoflagellate cf. Broomea simplex Cookson and Eisenack. younger rocks, together with the absence of any tricolpate The range of Broomea simplex is mid-Kimmeridgian-Tithonian; angiospermous pollen, supports a pre-Aptian age for all these the diagnostic intercalary archeopyle is not visible in the Byers samples. specimens, hence the cf. designation. A tentative Tithonian or Berriasiari age is suggested for this outcrop. This research