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Dronning Maud Land contains a fragment of an Archaean craton covered by sedimentary and magmatic rocks of Mesoproterozoic age, surrounded by a Late Mesoproterozoic metamorphic belt. Tectonothermal events at the end of the Mesoproterozoic and in Late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian times (Pan-African) have been proved within the metamorphic belt. In western Dronning Maud Land a juvenile Mesoproterozoic basement was accreted to the craton at c. 1.1 Ga. Mesoproterozoic rocks were also detected by zircon SHRIMP dating of gneisses in central Dronning Maud Land, followed by a long hiatus for which geochronological data are lacking, an amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism and syntectonic granitoid emplacement of Pan-African age have been dated. During this orogeny older structures were completely overprinted in a sinistral tranpressive deformation regime, leading to the mainly coast-parallel tectonic structures of the East Antarctic Orogen. Putting Antarctica back in its Gondwana position, the East Antarctic Orogen continues northward in East Africa as the East African Orogen, whereas a connection to the marginal Ross Orogen at the Pacific margin of East Antarctica is suggested along the Shackleton Range. The East Antarctic-East African Orogen resulted from closure of the Mozambique Ocean and collision of West and East Gondwana, i.e. western Dronning Maud Land was part of West Gondwana. During this collision the lithospheric mantle probably delaminated, allowing the asthenosphere to underplate the continental crust and producing heat for the voluminous, typically anhydrous, Pan-African granitoids of central Dronning Maud Land.

How animals change their movement patterns in relation to the environment is a central topic in a wide area of ecology, including foraging ecology, habitat selection, and spatial population ecology. To understand the underlying behavioral mechanisms involved, there is a need for methods to measure changes in movement patterns along a pathway through the landscape. We used simulated pathways and satellite tracking of a long-ranging seabird to explore the properties of first-passage time as a measure of search effort along a path. The first-passage time is defined as the time required for an animal to cross a circle with a given radius. It is a measure of how much time an animal uses within a given area. First-passage time is scale dependent, and a plot of variance in first-passage time vs. spatial scale reveals the spatial scale at which the animal concentrates its search effort. By averaging the first-passage time on a geographical grid, it is possible to relate first-passage time to environmental variables and the search pattern of other individuals.

A 12.5 m long core was retrieved from the continental margin off Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Magnetostratigraphy, stable isotopes, 14C accelerator mass spectrometer and amino acid analyses indicate a continuous sediment record going back 1.3 Myr. Comparison of CaCO3 results with those from ODP Site 1089 and an index of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) influence in surface waters indicate that NADW upwelled along the Antarctic continental margin during the whole of this period. The mid-Pleistocene transition (1.0–0.6 Ma) was accompanied by an apparent decline in the NADW influence, and was followed by extended carbonate dissolution during the interglacials of marine isotope stages (MIS) 13 and 11. Less extensive periods of dissolution occur at the end of the interglacials younger than MIS 11. While interglacial dissolution is characteristic of the Pacific and Indian oceans, the carbon isotopes return to pre-transition values indicative of renewed NADW upwelling. The concentration of ice-rafted debris may reflect changes in the relative rate of interglacial sedimentation. It is speculated that the high ice rafted debris (IRD) concentrations during interglacials younger than 400 kyr may be due to a reduced relative sedimentation rate of other interglacial components whereas the low concentrations during interglacials before the mid-Pleistocene transition may be due to a higher relative sedimentation rate of these.

During the Neoproterozoic, a supercontinent commonly referred to as Rodinia, supposedly formed at ca. 1100 Ma and broke apart at around 800–700 Ma. However, continental fits (e.g., Laurentia vs. Australia–Antarctica, Greater India vs. Australia–Antarctica, Amazonian craton [AC] vs. Laurentia, etc.) and the timing of break-up as postulated in a number of influential papers in the early–mid-1990s are at odds with palaeomagnetic data. The new data necessitate an entirely different fit of East Gondwana elements and western Gondwana and call into question the validity of SWEAT, AUSWUS models and other variants. At the same time, the geologic record indicates that Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic rift margins surrounded Laurentia, while similar-aged collisional belts dissected Gondwana. Collectively, these geologic observations indicate the breakup of one supercontinent followed rapidly by the assembly of another smaller supercontinent (Gondwana). At issue, and what we outline in this paper, is the difficulty in determining the exact geometry of the earlier supercontinent. We discuss the various models that have been proposed and highlight key areas of contention. These include the relationships between the various ‘external’ Rodinian cratons to Laurentia (e.g., Baltica, Siberia and Amazonia), the notion of true polar wander (TPW), the lack of reliable paleomagnetic data and the enigmatic interpretations of the geologic data. Thus, we acknowledge the existence of a Rodinia supercontinent, but we can place only loose constraints on its exact disposition at any point in time.

The Jutulsessen nunataks (72°00′S; 2°30′E), Gjelsvikfjella, Dronning Maud Land (DML), consist mainly of migmatites of two types. A heterogeneous banded amphibolite facies gneisses and a more homogeneous part. In the more homogeneous part, partial melts form along axial planes to tight folds. Numerous pegmatitic dykes occur in both migmatites. The homogeneous part of the migmatite has a granodiorite composition. It displays the depletion of Nb–Ta typical for rocks from destructive plate margins and a strongly fractionated REE pattern, specially in LREE (La/Lu ratios varying between 500 and 800). SIMS dating of zircon from the homogeneous migmatite and two pegmatite dykes resulted in two age groups. A concordant age of 1163±6 Ma is calculated from zircon crystals with no rim/core structure and from cores from structurally complex crystals. This age represents the age of the protolith of the migmatite. A Cambrian age of 504±6 Ma is obtained from zircon rims and from sector-zoned zircons. This age represent the time of migmatisation. Sm–Nd depleted mantle model ages range from 1390 to 1770 Ma and suggest that the protolith to the migmatites contained components of older crust (pre-1163 Ma). An igneous complex consisting of a syenite plug (Stabben syenite), gabbroic rocks and aplitic dykes intrudes the metamorphic complex. The syenite and the aplitic dykes are neither deformed nor migmatised or penetrated by pegmatitic dykes. These rocks have elevated LREE and LILE concentrations with an La/Lu ratio of 450 and an Nb–Ta trough. The gabbroic rocks range in composition from melagabbro to monzogabbro and host numerous pegmatitic dykes. SIMS zircon U–Pb data from the Stabben syenite give an age of 500±8 Ma. This age is regarded as the intrusive age of the Stabben syenite. By the single zircon–Pb evaporation method an age of 495±14 Ma is obtained from the aplitic dykes. Sm–Nd depleted mantle model ages between 1800 and 2220 Ma indicate that the dykes formed from a Paleoproterozoic source. A Mesoproterozoic volcanic arc setting of DML and a correlation with the Natal Province, as suggested by several authors, is supported by data in this study. The studied area has consequently been a part of the Kaapvaal/Kalahari craton since Mesoproterozoic time. The Cambrian migmatisation and the intrusions are interpreted as a result of post-collision activity related to the collision between the Kalahari craton and the combined block of Antarctica and Australia during the final assembly of Gondwana. This collision is suggested to be included in the Kuunga Orogeny introduced by Meerat and Van der Voo [J. Geodynam. 23 (1997) 223].