A Note on Relationship between Geochemical Investigation and Some Problems for Earth Sciences in the Antarctic

Abstract

On the occasion of the Symposium on Antarctic Geochemistry, the following comment is made on geochemical research, as a suggestion from neighboring fields of earth sciences. The arrangement of phenomena related to the evolution and fluctuation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, on the basis of time-scale, is proposed as a kind of framework for geochemical investigation in Antarctica. The classification of time-scale may fall into five ranks, i.e. 10^～10^1 (year), 10^1～10^3, 10^3～10^5, 10^5～10^6, 10^6～10^7. Brief discussion is given on the relationship between phenomena concerning the fluctuation of the ice sheet and the geochemical investigation or method. In this connexion, a speculative chronological correlation of glacial events in Antarctica is tabulated based on several sources including the author's own data.