Abstract:
This dataset comprises U-Pb zircon geochronology and Lu-Hf isotope geochemistry on a suite of rock samples from the Drygalski Fjord region of south eastern South Georgia. Six samples were analysed: all sandstone lithologies that were examined to understand their geological provenance and how they compare to similar units from southern South America. The data were collected in the interval November 2023 to March 2024 across a number of laboratories: Stockholm Museum of Natural History and University College London (U-Pb zircon geochronology); British Geological Survey (Lu-Hf isotopes). The analyses were conducted by Ian Millar (British Geological Survey) Teal Riley (Stockholm) and Andrew Carter (University College London). The analyses were conducted to examine the provenance and depositional history of the sedimentary successions of South Georgia.
This project was funded by NERC National Capability funding to the British Antarctic Survey's Paleo Environments, Ice Sheets and Climate Change team.
Keywords:
Geochemistry, Geochronology, Provenance, Zircon
Riley, T. (2025). Geochemical and geochronological data from the Drygalski Fjord region of South Georgia (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/270714e6-f141-4c01-8a13-2bdfaca80ced
| Access Constraints: | Data is under embargo until the publication of an associated manuscript |
|---|---|
| Use Constraints: | This data is governed by the NERC data policy (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/) and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). Riley, T. (2025). Geochemical and geochronological data from the Drygalski Fjord region of South Georgia (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/270714e6-f141-4c01-8a13-2bdfaca80ced |
| Creation Date: | 2025-09-30 |
|---|---|
| Dataset Progress: | Planned |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
|
| Parameters: |
|
| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK Polar Data Centre |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Teal R Riley |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
| Reference: | Bouvier, A., Vervoort, J. D., & Patchett, P. J. (2008). The Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd isotopic composition of CHUR: constraints from unequilibrated chondrites and implications for the bulk composition of terrestrial planets: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 273 (1), 8-57. Jeon, H., & Whitehouse, M. J. (2015). A critical evaluation of U-Pb calibration schemes used in SIMS zircon geochronology. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 39, 443-452. Ludwig, K. R. (2012). User manual for Isoplot 3.75-4.15: a geochronological toolkit for Microsoft Excel. Berkeley Geochronology Centre Special Publications 5. Nowell, G.M. & Parrish, R.R. (2001). Simultaneous acquisition of isotope compositions and parent/daughter ratios by non-isotope dilution-mode plasma ionisation multi-collector mass spectrometry (PIMMS). In Plasma Source Mass Spectrometry: The New Millenium (Holland, G. & Tanner, S.D. eds) Royal Soc. Chem.,Spec. Publ. 267, 298-310. Paces, J. B., & Miller, J. D. (1993). Precise U-Pb ages of Duluth Complex and related mafic intrusions, northeastern Minnesota: Geochronological insights to physical, petrogenetic, paleomagnetic, and tectonomagmatic process associated with the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift System. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, 98B, 13,997-14,013. Slama, J., Kosler, J., Condon, D. J., Crowley, J. L., Gerdes, A., Hanchar, J. M., Horstwood, M. S. A., Morris, G. A., Nasdala, L., Norberg, N., Schaltegger, U., Schoene, B., Tubrett, M. N., & Whitehouse, M. J. (2008). Plesovice zircon - a new natural reference material for U-Pb and Hf isotopic microanalysis. Chemical Geology, 249 (1-2), 1-35. Soderlund, U., Patchett, P. J., Vervoort, J. D., & Isachsen, C. E., (2004). The 176Lu decay constant determined by Lu-Hf and U-Pb isotope systematics of Precambrian mafic intrusions: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 219 (3), 311-324. Stacey, J. S., & Kramers, J. D. (1975). Approximation of terrestrial lead evolution by a two-stage model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 26, 207-221. Vermeesch, P. (2018). IsoplotR: a free and open toolbox for geochronology. Geoscience Frontiers, 9, 1479-1493. https://doi.10.1016/j.gsf.2018.04.001. Whitehouse, M. J., & Kamber, B. S. (2005). Assigning dates to thin gneissic veins in high-grade metamorphic terranes: A cautionary tale from Akilia, southwest Greenland. Journal of Petrology, 46, 291-318. Wiedenbeck, M., Alle, P., Corfu, F., Griffin, W. L., Meirer, M., Oberli, F., Von Quadt, A., Roddick, J. C., & Spiegel, W. (1995). Three natural zircon standards for U-Th-Pb, Lu-Hf, trace element and REE analyses. Geostandards Newsletter, 19, 1-23. Woodhead, J. D., & Hergt, J. M. (2005). A preliminary appraisal of seven natural zircon reference materials for in situ Hf isotope determination: Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 29 (2), 183-195. |
|
|---|---|---|
| Quality: | U-Pb ages were calculated using the 206Pb/238U ratios for samples dated as <1.1 Ga, and the 207Pb/206Pb ratios was used for older grains. Discordance was determined using (207Pb/235U - 206Pb/238U) / 206Pb/238U) and similar for 207Pb/206Pb ages. Lu_Hf analytical uncertainties for unknowns were propagated by quadratic addition to include the standard error of the mean of the analysis and the reproducibility of the 91500 reference material. epsilonHf values were calculated using a 176Lu decay constant of 1.867 x 10-11y-1 (Söderlund et al., 2004), the present-day chondritic 176Lu/177Hf value of 0.0336 and 176Hf/177Hf ratio of 0.282785 (Bouvier et al., 2008). |
|
| Lineage/Methodology: | Analytical methods Zircon U-Pb geochronology was conducted at five separate laboratories. University College London Zircon U-Pb geochronology used laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) facilities (Agilent 7700 coupled to a New Wave Research 193 nm excimer laser) at the London Geochronology Centre based in University College London. Heavy minerals were separated from bulk sediment samples using standard density liquid and magnetic separation procedures. Zircon-enriched extracts were mounted in hard epoxy resin on glass slides and polished for analysis. Typical laser spot sizes of 25 mircometers were used with a 7-10 Hz repetition rate and a fluence of 2.5 J/cm2. Background measurement before ablation lasted 15 seconds and laser ablation dwell time was 25 seconds.The external zircon standard was Plesovice,which has a TIMS reference age 337.13 +/- 0.37 Ma (Slama et al., 2008). Standard errors on isotope ratios and ages include the standard deviation of 206Pb/238U ages of the Plesovice standard zircon. Time-resolved signals that record isotopic ratios with depth in each crystal were processed using GLITTER 4.5, data reduction software, developed by the ARC National Key Centre for Geochemical Evolution and Metallogeny of Continents (GEMOC) at Macquarie University and CSIRO Exploration and Mining. Processing enabled filtering to remove spurious signals owing to overgrowth boundaries, weathering, inclusions, or fractures. NordSIMS analytical facility (Stockholm) Zircons were separated and concentrated from rock samples at the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge. From the zircon concentrate, hand-picked grains were mounted in epoxy resin along with the Geostandards zircon 91500 (207Pb/206Pb age of 1065.4 +/- 0.3 Ma), which has reported U and Pb concentrations of 80 ppm and 15 ppm respectively (Wiedenbeck et al., 1995). The mount was polished to expose the centres of the grains and imaged by SEM using a cathodoluminescence (CL) detector in order to reveal their internal structure and guide analysis location. U-Pb ion-microprobe zircon geochronology was carried out using a CAMECA 1280 ion microprobe at the NordSIMS facility housed at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. The analytical method closely followed Whitehouse and Kamber (2005) but differs insomuch that the oxygen ion primary beam was generated using a high-brightness, radiofrequency (RF) plasma ion source (Oregon Physics, Hyperion II, rather than a duoplasmatron) and a focused beam instead of illuminated aperture. The 10 nA O2- beam was rastered over 5x5 micrometers to homogenize beam density, the final analytical spot size being ca. 15 micrometers in diameter. Sputtered secondary ions introduced into the mass spectrometer were analyzed using a single ion counting electron multiplier over 10 cycles of data. Data were reduced using in-house developed software. The power law relationship between 206Pb/238U16O and 238U16O2/238U16O measured from the 91500 standard was used to calibrate U/Pb ratios following the recommendations of Jeon and Whitehouse (2015). Common-Pb corrections were applied to analyses where statistically significant 204Pb was detected, using the present-day terrestrial common Pb estimate of Stacey & Kramers (1975). Terra-Wasserburg U-Pb concordia diagrams were drawn using Isoplot v. 4.15 (Ludwig, 2012). 207Pb corrected ages were calculated assuming non-radiogenic Pb was from surface contamination and had an isotopic composition of modern-day average terrestrial common Pb (207Pb/206Pb = 0.836; Stacey & Kramers 1975). Lu-Hf isotope analysis Isotope analyses were carried out at NIGL using a Thermo Scientific Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS coupled to a New Wave Research UP193UC Excimer laser ablation system. Helium was used as the carrier gas through the ablation cell with Ar make-up gas being connected via a T-piece and sourced from a Cetac Aridus II desolvating nebulizer. 0.01 l/min of nitrogen were introduced via the nebulizer in addition to Ar in order to minimize oxide formation. Lutetium (175Lu), Ytterbium (172Yb, 173Yb), and Hafnium (176Hf, 178Hf, 179Hf and 180Hf) isotopes were measured simultaneously during static 30 second ablation analyses. The spot size used was 25 micrometers; fluence = 8 J/cm2. Hf reference solution JMC475 was analyzed during the analytical session and sample 176Hf/177Hf ratios are reported relative to a value of 0.282160 for this standard. Correction for 176Yb on the 176Hf peak was made using reverse-mass-bias correction of the 176Yb/173Yb ratio empirically derived using Hf mass bias corrected Yb-doped JMC475 solutions (Nowell & Parrish, 2001). 176Lu interference on the 176Hf peak was corrected by using the measured 175Lu and assuming 176Lu/175Lu = 0.02653. Hf-isotope data was processed using the Iolite data reduction package (Paton et al., 2011). Three zircon reference materials (91500, Mud Tank, GJ1) were analyzed throughout the analytical session. The 91500 zircon reference material was used as the primary standard in Iolite, and was used to normalize the 176Lu/177Hf ratio assuming a value of 0.000311 (Woodhead & Hergt, 2005). Data was processed using software by Ludwig (2012) and Vermeesch (2018) |
|
| Temporal Coverage: | |
|---|---|
| Start Date | 2023-11-01 |
| End Date | 2024-03-31 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -54.80569 |
| Northernmost | -54.80569 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -35.77369 |
| Easternmost | -35.77369 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -54.7547 |
| Northernmost | -54.7547 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -35.90452 |
| Easternmost | -35.90452 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -54.77816 |
| Northernmost | -54.77816 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -36.02333 |
| Easternmost | -36.02333 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -54.78651 |
| Northernmost | -54.78651 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -36.02287 |
| Easternmost | -36.02287 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -54.80946 |
| Northernmost | -54.80946 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -35.91921 |
| Easternmost | -35.91921 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -54.78991 |
| Northernmost | -54.78991 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -35.96936 |
| Easternmost | -35.96936 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | South Georgia Island |
| Detailed Location | Drygalski Fjord |
| Location | South Georgia Island |
| Detailed Location | Cooper Island |
| Location | South Georgia Island |
| Detailed Location | Salomon Glacier |
| Data Storage: | 7x .csv files |
|---|