ODP Leg 188: Cenozoic Glacial Transitions in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica

Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, provides evidence for Cenozoic paleoenvironmental changes from Ocean Drilling Program Legs 119 (1988) and 188 (2000). The dataset synthesizes core and seismic data revealing a shift from a Late Cretaceous alluvial plain to a glaciated marine shelf by the Oligocene. It is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in June 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling the timing of Antarctic glaciation based on sediment core evidence from the late Eocene.
• Reconstructing paleoenvironments based on described transitions from conifer woodland to Nothofagus scrub.
• Analyzing continental shelf progradation patterns based on seismic data inferences for the early Oligocene to early Miocene.
• Studying marine flooding surfaces and glacial sediment sequences marking the first ice sheet advance onto the shelf.

Strengths

• Direct evidence from two Ocean Drilling Program legs conducted in 1988 and 2000.
• Spatial coverage across the Prydz Bay continental margin at Sites 1165-1167.
• Temporal coverage spans from the Late Cretaceous through the Cenozoic era.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Cores are missing for the early Oligocene to early Miocene period, requiring reliance on seismic inferences.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Ocean drilling cores and seismic data from the Ocean Drilling Program.

Time Range

Late Cretaceous to Cenozoic (with a gap from early Oligocene to early Miocene).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:03:18.778358; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Prydz Bay region, East Antarctica.