CAMPANIAN TO PALEOCENE SPORE AND POLLEN ASSEMBLAGES OF SEYMOUR ISLAND, ANTARCTICA

Spore and pollen assemblages in Campanian to Paleocene nearshore marine to deltaic sediments of Seymour Island, Antarctica, are characterized by abundant podocarpaceous conifer pollen, diverse provincial angiosperm pollen and cryptogam spores of low diversity. These assemblages resemble coeval assemblages from New Zealand, southeastern Australia and southern South America. The palynoflora reflects primarily conifer-dominated rainforest growing in cool to warm temperate paleoclimates. The late Maastrichtian was a comparatively warm interval, with a humid equable paleoclimate. The Antarctic Peninsula cordillera probably supported altitudinally zoned plant associations and it is likely that climatic fluctuations during the Campanian to Paleocene resulted in altitudinal shifts of these vegetation zones. © 1990.