Geological investigations of the fault lines in the rocks of the Transantarctic Mountains in the area of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier to understand uplift of the mountain range

Specifically, the Precambrian to Holocene geology of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier area was surveyed to i) define the eastern limits and geometry of the marker horizons which could serve to identify faults, including the Kukri Erosion surface, Beacon Supergroup and Ferrar Dolerite sills, ii) establish the field extent and nature of macro- and mesoscopic structures along the east side of the Transantarctic Mountains as a test of previously proposed uplift histories, and iii) determine if previously characterised Paleozoic granitoids suites of the Dry Valleys extend east to the Ross Sea, or if different granitoid rocks are present.

The rocks investigated include pre-500 million year Koettlitz Group marbles and sandstones, 400-500 Ma granites and other crystalline rocks, 180-400 Ma Beacon Supergroup Sandstones, 170-180 Ma injected flat sheets of Ferrar Dolerite basalt, and <5Ma glacial deposits and a new outcrop of McMurdo Volcanics. Data were recorded in notebooks, and geological contacts and sample points were recorded on published USGS 1:50,000 topographic maps.