Geochemical analysis of rock samples acquired by dredging activities in the Scotia Sea between Feb and Mar 2004 aboard James Clark Ross (cruise no JR77). The initial aim of this project was to carry out a higher resolution geochemical study of mantle flow using existing samples. This confirmed flow from the Bouvet domain into the East Scotia Sea and placed constraints on flow pathways. The second stage was to sample further within the West Scotia Sea and to use elemental and isotope (Sr, Nd, Pb, Hf) analyses to fingerprint mantle provenance. The results were used to locate and investigate the nature of the Pacific-South Atlantic mantle domain boundary and thus to contribute to the understanding and quantification of global upper mantle fluxes.

Despite the important tectonic and stratigraphic setting, rocks from the English Coast area remain largely unstudied, as the paucity of exposure has hindered detailed structural and sedimentological analysis. Samples were collected for zircon analysis following a traverse starting at the English Coast and ending at Sky-Blu. A total of around 250kg of rock were collected and rocks at Fitzgerald Bluffs were revisited and sampled for the first time in 25 years. Highlights included the recognition of a previously undiscovered granitoid body and the discovery of fossils that tentatively indicate that Permian rocks are more widespread in the region.

Sample inventory data related to a field campaign of approximately 10 weeks, carried out during 2007-2008. The primary focus was sample collection, with the rest of the time being used for mapping. All of the samples taken were of rocks that were found cropping out as nunataks. The investigation took place entirely within the the Dronning-Maud Land area of East Antarctica (Norwegian Sector).

The collection consists of over 1 tonne of rock samples from the Theron Mountains, with an emphasis on the mainline of the enscarpment, which was reached by climbing the scree slopes at the base of the cliffs or by traversing the skyline, during the 2004/2005 field season.

Field observations made during the 2004-2005 field season, using such features as sill steps, sill bridges, orientated phenocrysts and asymmetric structures to determine regional magma flow directions in the Theron Mountains. A full photographic record of the cliffs was made at a transit of 1km out from the cliffs.

Geological analyses were conducted on rock samples collected in Dronning-Maud Land during the 2007-2008 field season. Analyses included grain-size determination, dating, whole rock and inclusion mineralogy, and geochemical analyses. All of the samples taken were of rocks that were found cropping out as nunataks. The investigation took place entirely within the the Dronning-Maud Land area of East Antarctica (Norwegian Sector).

Cosmogenic isotope exposure-age dating (Aluminium-26, Beryllium-10 and Chlorine-36) of granite erratic boulders and locally derived glacially transported basalt boulders from ice-free land on James Ross Island, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. These data are used to define the evolution of Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice in the adjacent Prince Gustav region and the timing and duration of deglacial ice-streaming events.

Dredging for rock samples was conducted in the West Scotia Sea during James Clark Ross cruise no JR77 between Feb and Mar 2004. The aim was to acquire rock samples to constrain the history of the mantle beneath the Scotia Sea, from which the oceanic crust was derived by melting. Twenty days of rock dredging were conducted at fourteen sites in five main areas. Thirteen dredges were successful in recovering oceanic rocks of mixed sizes, up to and including very large boulders and dredge paths of up to 1 km were followed. The cruise also (remarkably) recovered fresh mantle peridotite nodules from the West Scotia Ridge, the first of its type - to our knowledge - from the world''s ocean ridge system.

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) measurements of cosmogenic isotopes were made from erratic and bedrock samples collected in the Ellsworth Mountains, 2005-2006. Pressed AMS targets were analysed at SUERC (Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre) to yield exposure ages.

200+ erratic and bedrock samples were collected for cosmogenic isotope analysis, as well as several depth profiles of tills. Samples were collected from 11 sites along a 350km transect stretching from Pirrit Hills in the south to the ridge between Mt Bentley and Mt Hubley in the north. Most sites were on the western (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) side of the range but includes Flowers Hills on the east side of the range, adjacent to the Rutford Ice Stream. Throughout, the emphasis was on taking samples to allow dating of any changes in ice altitude/extent.