Leonor Sorrentino-Mariconda

PhD candidate

Project Title
SW Pacific evidence for a Paleogene thermal maximum: Palaeoecological and Palaeoenvironmental assessment of The Red Bluff Tuff Formation, Chatham Islands.

Project Summary
The main aim of Leonor’s PhD project is to investigate evidence of a “Latest Paleocene Thermal Maximum” (LPTM) by means of sedimentological, palaeontological, chemical and possibly isotopic analysis. Attempts will then be made to understand palaeoclimatic, palaeoenvironment and paleoceanographic regimes that operated during the LPTM in the Chatham Rise region.

The Chatham Islands lie at the eastern end of the Chatham Rise at about 850km east of mainland New Zealand, as an emergent area of the crest of the Chatham Rise. During the Paleocene-Eocene epochs, the magmatic activity in New Zealand was relatively calm; however, widespread and discontinuous volcaniclastic successions of fossiliferous tuff breccia-tuff and minor basalt flows are common on the Chatham Islands (i.e. Kekerione Group, Red Bluff Tuff Formation). The Red Bluff Tuff Formation is a fossiliferous calcareous palagonite tuff of basaltic composition; distributed in both Chatham and Pitt islands (approximately 100 metres thick). It is interesting that the stratigraphy, cross-bedding and texture indicate shallow marine conditions (within wave zone), but fossils, indicate an outer shelf to upper bathyal environment.

Supervisor/s
Prof. Ray Cas, Dr. Jeff Stilwell