Ferrar Sill Distribution and Composition

This set of data describes the geologic occurrence, petrologic nature, and
chemical composition of a series of sheet-like basaltic intrusions, known as
Sills, which occur in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of the Trans-Antarctic
Mountains of Victoria Land. A geologic map traces the physical occurrence of
theses sills, which are known as the Ferrar Dolerites, over an area of about
5,000 km2. A collection of samples has been made at specific location
throughout the Dry Valleys in order to characterize the petrology of each sill.
Of the four prominent sills in the area (Basement Sill, Peneplain Sill, Asgard
Sill, Mt. Fleming Sill), the majority of sampling involved the Basement and
Peneplain Sills. Data from this collection describe the general petrologic
appearance of the samples and the basic major element concentrations of a
selected subset of the full collection of samples. Some trace element
determinations are in the process of being finalized for these same samples.
This analytical work was performed at Franklin and Marshall University and
Michigan State University and some was done under contract to a commercial
laboratory (SGS Geochemical Laboratories, Ontario, Canada). Additional work is
planned concerning the isotopic (Rb-Sr, Nd-Sm, O-16/18) nature of these
samples. Microprobe chemical analyses of pyroxene and plagioclase crystals in
individual rocks are also a part of this data set.