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Immediate report of Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition 1988-89: VUWAE 33

Sedimentology of Miers Valley

Sedimentology of Miers Valley

During reconnaissance mapping of the Koetlitz-Blue Glacier region Blank et al (1963) noted glacial sediments of varying ages in the Miers Valley. In a more recent hydrological study, the Water Resources section of the Ministry of Works noted fluvial transport of sediment, and Hendy (1987, 1988) and others have examined lacustrine sediments and evaporite deposits in the valley. It was also assumed that aeolian sediments existed in the valley because wind transport and page 17 deposition of sediment has been reported in the Wright and Taylor valleys to the north. Mr Wilson mapped in detail the glacial, fluvial, lacustrine, and aeolian sediments, and the local basement (for sediment source) of the valley.

Further characterisation of these deposits by laboratory analysis; using grain properties, stable isotope data, and recreating certain environments in the flume; in conjunction with observations of contemporary sediment movement, are expected to provide more detailed knowledge of their mode of deposition and inter-relationships. Aeolian and fluvial sediment traps, designed to measure the full range of moving sediment, were operated within the valley throughout the field study period.

Petrographic studies, and a study of the processes and paleoclimatic history, should link the deposits and allow a reconstruction of the Quaternary history.