Abundance of terrestrial palynomorphs of sediment core CRP-1

Sparse pollen and spores from the lower Miocene section of CRP-1 derive from at least three sources. A low-diversity but persitent angiosperm-moss-liverwort assemblage may reflect contemporaneous herb-moss tundra and a climate with summer temperatures similar to that of islands in the vicinity of the Antarctic Convergence today. More diverse Nothofagus-podocarp-Proteaceae assemblages at c. 70 mbsf and 100- 116 mbsf may rcflect woody vegetation growing nearby in warmer sites or periods, long distance transport, or redeposition from older strata. A contemporaneous local origin is preferred: although it is not possible to determine the precise form of this vegetation from palynological data, a conservative model with low-growing shrubs would imply July mean temperatures of at least 7°C. Reworked Permian-Triassic miospores are present in low numbers throughout the sequence. Pleistocene samples contain assemblages likely to have been reworked from older strata, mostly having similar taxa to the lower Miocene section, although one sample contains a Nothofagus-dominated pollen assemblage (also interpreted as reworked) similar to that of the Sirius Group of the Transantarctic Mountains