Penguins and Granodiorites: How Not to Look for Fossils in Antarctica

Professor Peter Doyle of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Greenwich

Professor Peter Doyle gave a lively account of his trip to the Antarctic. The frustration and difficulties of travelling he encountered, made our daily routine of waiting an extra ten minutes for a bus seem somewhat absurd. Peter was trapped on a granodiorite landscape and surrounded by penguins for three months before transport to one of his intended destinations.

In this period of hell, (for a paleontologist camping on igneous rocks), Peter helped with some research studies of the penguins. Curiously, these lovable little creatures pinch small rocks from one another to build their nests. Daily life in the research hut seemed to orientate around Primus stoves. Peter said that the early explorers used them so they must be OK today. (I us a Primus stove and Tilley lamps which appeared in the pictures and have done so, it seems, for ever. If it aint broke don't fix it!)

However, Peter was camping outside in a tent and said it was surprisingly warm. He didn't say how he fixed his tent pegs into granodiorite! Food was from 20 to 40 year old ration packs and the outside toilet looked like an igloo with the top off! Eventually, Peter was air lifted by military helicopter to somewhere near to the Longing Gap, named by Swedish explorers at the turn of the twentieth century (1901), because it was somewhere they were longing to get! The journey's end was reached by skidoos!

The rocks at this point were black shale sediments interspersed with volcanic ash layers. The whole succession of rocks was called the Longing Member. His studies showed that the bottom shales showed no signs of live except for the odd fish. There was no evidence of any bottom dwellers. The conclusion was that this was an anoxic environment unable to support life.

As he progressed up the series of layers, there started to be small areas populated by shells attached to dead ammonites. These were defined as being Benthonic Islands. (Benthonic Zone; life on the bottom of the sea). There was still no evidence of any trace fossils, or disturbance of sediments at this stage. Peter, said that this was the beginning of the change from an anoxic environment to one with fresher water.

The top of the series showed a more diverse population living on the bottom and evidence of bioturbation of sediments (the action of worms and other burrowing sea life). These were indicators of a change to a healthy oxic environment. (No one asked about the effects the volcanic ash layers may have had on this marine environment?).

Peter had intended to visit a series of sediments, named by Argentineans, and somewhat later in deposition than the Longing Member. However, the Navy helicopter personnel had no instructions other than to, pick them up and take them to the ship. Once on board, other problems plagued them. The Captain parked too close to an iceberg for fresh ice for his gin and tonic and left a hole in the ship. Two of the crew, armed with hammers, were dangled over the side to knock the metal back to shape.

We were also reminded of the astonishing exploits of Shackelton and the rescue of his team in this very hostile environment. The endurance and hardship is beyond modern comprehension with all our radio and satellite communication systems etc.

(An interesting talk and well presented. Peter does intend to revisit the Antarctic for further studies when the opportunity arises. The latest issue of Down to Earth was available at the meeting. There are some interesting articles in this edition so, pick up your free copy at the next meeting. RC 16/07/01).

For those people that may be interested there follows a few pictures. Each page takes about 20 seconds to download. These are the first attempts at taking pictures at the meeting, and I'm still on a learning curve with what can be achieved! Pictures

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