Provenance analysis of Cambrian conglomerates, Northern Victoria Land

The Carryer Glacier which has well exposed Cambrian conglomerates was visited during the first season of the investigation. In the second season, the compositionally similar conglomerate on Reilly Ridge, the north-eastern margin of the Lanterman Range where it is interbedded with fossiliferous Middle to Late Cambrian rocks was investigated together with the Husky conglomerate. The latter conglomerate is probably older.The sedimentology of the conglomerates was studied, samples of boulders were taken for integrated petrological geochemical and geochronological analysis and the ages and tectonic settings of the conglomerates components was determined.

Detailed measuring of seven sections, statistical counts, structural mapping and collecting material was all accomplished. Dating of zircons within the rocks was by the U-Pb method. The data was used to accept or reject one or both of the hypotheses and the results were compared with New Zealand and Australia.