This memoir is the first to review all of Antarctica’s volcanism between 200 million years ago and the Present. The region is still volcanically active. The volume is an amalgamation of in-depth syntheses, which are presented within distinctly different tectonic settings. Each is described in terms of (1) the volcanology and eruptive palaeoenvironments; (2) petrology and origin of magma; and (3) active volcanism, including tephrochronology. Important volcanic episodes include: astonishingly voluminous mafic and felsic volcanic deposits associated with the Jurassic break-up of Gondwana; the construction and progressive demise of a major Jurassic to Present continental arc, including back-arc alkaline basalts and volcanism in a young ensialic marginal basin; Miocene to Pleistocene mafic volcanism associated with post-subduction slab-window formation; numerous Neogene alkaline volcanoes, including the massive Erebus volcano and its persistent phonolitic lava lake, that are widely distributed within and adjacent to one of the world’s major zones of lithospheric extension (the West Antarctic Rift System); and very young ultrapotassic volcanism erupted subglacially and forming a world-wide type example (Gaussberg).

This book presents a summary of the geology of the Transantarctic Mountains for Earth scientists who may want to work there or who need an overview of the geologic history of this region. In addition, the properties of the East Antarctic ice sheet and of the meteorites that accumulate on its surface are treated in separate chapters. The presentation ends with the Cenozoic glaciation of the Transantarctic Mountains including the limnology and geochemical evolution of the saline lakes in the ice-free valleys. • The subject matter in this book is presented in chronological order starting about 750 million years ago and continuing to the present time. • The chapters can be read selectively because the introduction to each chapter identifies the context that gives relevance to the subject matter to be discussed. • The text is richly illustrated with 330 original line drawings as well as with 182 color maps and photographs. • The book contains indexes of both subject matter and of authors’ names that allow it to be used as an encyclopedia of the Transantarctic Mountains and of the East Antarctic ice sheet. • Most of the chapters are supplemented by Appendices containing data tables, additional explanations of certain phenomena (e.g., the formation and seasonal destruction of stratospheric ozone), and illustrative calculations (e.g., 38Cl dates of meteorites). • The authors have spent a combined total of fourteen field seasons between 1964 and 1995 doing geological research in the Transantarctic Mountains with logistical support by the US Antarctic Program. • Although Antarctica is remote and inaccessible, tens of thousands of scientists of many nationalities and their assistants have worked there and even larger numbers of investigators will work there in the future.

Presents the distinctive processes and characteristics of glaciovolcanic eruptions, with reference to terrestrial and Mars occurrences.

This volume presents a unique compendium of papers assessing theeffects of volcanism on lakes, as recorded by the volcaniclasticsediments deposited within them. The unifying theme is that theeffects of volcanism on lacustrine sedimentation are diverse anddistinctive, and that volcaniclastic lacustrine sediments hold thekey to understanding a range of processes and events that cannot bereadily addressed by the study of any non-volcanic lakes. Thirteen papers, with authors from nine countries, examine bothmodern and ancient eruption-affected lacustrine deposits. Volcaniceruptions affect lakes and their deposits in many ways, and thesepapers evaluate processes and products of volcanic eruptions withinlakes, of tectonically impounded lakes strongly influenced byvolcanism, of eruption-impounded lakes and of general factorscontrolling sedimentation of vitric ash and pumice.Tephrastratigraphic studies also take advantage of the exceptionalpreservation of thin laminae in quiet lakes to precisely dateepisodes in the evolution of long-lived lakes and their catchmentareas, and to understand how volcanism affects normal lacustrineprocesses. The volume as a whole is an unparalleled source of informationon all aspects of the physical sedimentary results of volcanism inlacustrine settings, and serves as a complement to other studiesconcerned primarily with thermal and geochemical characteristics oflakes within volcanic craters. If you are a member of the International Association ofSedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see:http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP30

Surveys the tectonic evolution of the Antarctic crust and the palaeoenvironmental evolution of Antarctica since the Late Mesozoic.