Geochemical and radiometric age data on core samples from the Cape Roberts Project, Western Ross Sea, Antarctica.

1. 40Ar/39Ar dates of minerals separated from pumiceous tephra layers
in the core from Cape Roberts Project cores 1 and 2.

2. Major and trace element analyses of fine grain sediment samples
from the Cape Roberts Project cores 1, 2 and 3.

Background:

The Cape Roberts Project is an international drilling project to obtain a
series of cores from the sedimentary strata beneath the sea floor off Cape
Roberts in the Ross Sea. The project is a joint venture by scientists from the
national Antarctic programs of Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom., Australia, and the United States. Drilling will continuously core a
composite section of sediments over 1500 m thick which is expected to represent
parts of the time period between 30 and more than 100 million years ago. The
principle objectives of this component of the project will be to examine the
record of igneous material in the drill core and provide high precision
40Ar/39Ar dates from tephra (volcanic ash) layers, disseminated ash, feldspars
and epiclastic volcanic detrital grains to constrain depositional age and
provenance of the sediments in the cores.