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.