| Title | The Bertrab, Littlewood and Moltke Nunataks of Prinz-Regent-Luitpold-Land (Coats Land); enigma of East Antarctic geology |
| Author | Kleinschmidt, G.; Boger, S.D. |
| Author Affil | Kleinschmidt, G., Goethe- Universität, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany. Other: University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Source | Polarforschung, 78(3), p.95-104, . Publisher: Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung and Deutschen Gesellschaft für Polarforschung, Bremerhaven, Federal Republic of Germany. ISSN: 0032- 2490 |
| Publication Date | 2009 |
| Notes | In English with German summary. 46 refs. GeoRef Acc. No: 296934 |
| Index Terms | Antarctica--Coats Land; Antarctica-- East Antarctica; absolute age; Antarctica; Bertrab Nunataks; Coats Land; cratons; dates; deformation; East Antarctica; glacial features; granophyre; igneous rocks; Littlewood Nunataks; Luitpold Coast; Mesoproterozoic; metamorphic rocks; metasedimentary rocks; Moltke Nunataks; nunataks; Pan-African Orogeny; Precambrian; Proterozoic; Rb/Sr; rhyolites; tectonics; U/Pb; upper Precambrian; volcanic rocks |
| Abstract | Bertrab, Littlewood and Moltke nunataks (BLM) are three small groups of small nunataks in Coats Land (actually Prinz- Regent-Luitpold-Land) consisting of undeformed and unmetamorphosed rhyolites and granophyres (Bertrab, Littlewood) and deformed metasedimentary rocks (Moltke). The geotectonic significance of these rock exposures remains under debate. Mainly as the rhyolites and granophyres show ages of ~1.1 Ga, BLM have been interpreted as westward continuation of the Grenvillian Maud Belt of western Dronning Maud Land. The ages of Moltke's rocks and structures are unknown, but they should be older than 1.1 Ga according to the simplest interpretation. Thus BLM seem to represent a cratonic area. We suggest that the BLM cratonic terrain has been incorporated into Gondwana by a dual Pan- African orogeny continuing from eastern Dronning Maud Land/MacRobertson Land: Firstly BLM have been attached to West Gondwana during a Pan-African orogeny stretching from Lutzow Holm Bukta to western Dronning Maud Land, secondly BLM have been squeezed between West and East Gondwana during another Pan- African orogeny extending from the Prince Charles Mountains to the Shackleton Range. |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 87439 |