Investigations of the moraines and raised marine deposits and fossils at Black Island and Brown Peninsula, McMurdo Sound

In the 1963-64 field season, a helicopter reconnaissance was conducted at White Island, Black Island and Brown Peninsula. The reconnaissance showed that there was scope for a comprehensive survey of the bedrock and superficial geology of Black Island and Brown Peninsula. In the following season these areas were visited for investigations of the moraines and raised marine deposits. Almost nothing was previously known about the moraines of the region. Six distinct groups of moraines were mapped. Three groups represent thick ice sheets, while the other three represent relatively minor and probably fairly recent phases of ice movement. Marine deposits named Scallop Hill Formation were investigated with fossils (Zygochlamys, barnacles and others) described and studied. The volcanic of this area was also investigated with an aim to map and collect rocks of the McMurdo Volcanic Series and to compare their age with the surrounding moraine. Samples were collected and made into thin sections for examination and classification and comprehensive mapping with the establishment of a series of different volcanic eruptions on Black Island and Peninsula was completed.