Antarctic subglacial carbonates as archives of subglacial volcanism and Life in extreme conditions - Samples

Full description

This dataset lists samples of carbonate crusts formed under the ice of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. These crusts mostly consist of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3), and have ages spanning from older than 400,000 years to circa 17,000 years.
The dataset "samples" provides the name for each specimen, where it was collected (Geographic Coordinates), its mineralogical composition and where the samples are archived.
The list of samples is:
PRR13055 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR13074 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR13290 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR13081 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR16794 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite
PRR23247 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR23258 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR23259 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
PRR39222 Elephant Moraine Geographic Coord: -76.313 157.244 Composition: Calcite plus SiO2
VH-V2 Vestfold Hills Geographic Coord: -68.570 78.364 Composition: Calcite, Aragonite, silicates SiO2
BH1 Bunger Hill Geographic Coord: -66.264 100.860 Composition: Calcite, Aragonite (?), silicates
BV8 Boggs Valley Geographic Coord: -71.912 161.525 Composition: Calcite
BV9b Boggs Valley Geographic Coord: -71.912 161.525 Composition: Calcite

All the Elephant Hill Moraine samples were obtained from the Polar Rock Repository, Ohio Uni (US), which lends samples for scientific research upon request (visit https://bit.ly/3kfHtgi). Samples from Vestfold Hills, Bunger Hill, Boggs Valley were sourced from the collection of Paul Augustinus, University of Auckland, New Zealand. All Boggs Valley samples were collected during the K15A event supported by Antarctica New Zealand.

Lineage

Progress Code: completed

Statement: No problems in data collection or analysis. The dates provided in temporal coverage correspond to the approximate dates of sample analysis.

Notes

Purpose
Samples from diverse areas in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet are needed to test the hypothesis that subglacial volcanism favored the existence of diverse Life form under thousands of meters of ice. The Elephant Moraine and Boggs Valley samples are our archives of volcanism and hydrothermalism, because they are located in the Trans Antarctic Mountains region. This is one of the largest known volcanic provinces in the World, but most volcanoes are still under the ice. The Elephant Moraine and Boggs Valley calcite crusts have unique features that point to a role for microbes and warm waters in their formation. The Bunger Hill and Vestfold Hill specimens are still "unknowns" in terms of their formation. But their different mineral composition points to a diverse environment of formation. These specimens will tell us at least 400,000 years of sub-glacial processes in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. This will be achieved through the following analyses: 1) Carbonate C and O stable isotope ratios. 2) H and O isotope ratios in trapped fluid inclusions. 3) U/Th radiometric dating (for Boggs VAlley the U/Th ages are presented in Frisia et al., 2017; for Elephant Moraine ages are in Blackburn et al., 2020); 4) Nano-scale crystallographic investigation (crystallization pathways) through Transmission Electron Microscopy. 5) Micrometre scale, two-dimensional chemical microstratigraphy through Micro-XRF technique. 6) Ancient DNA and other organic compounds investigation.