Abstract: Ice-rafted sediment is deposited into the deep sea through abrasive and crushing processes causing the micromorphology of embedded quartz grains to alter. As quartz are high in silica and not easily eroded, their features could be paramount for accurate rebuilding of past ice-cap levels. Paleoclimate reconstructions require a quantitative analysis of ice-rafted debris (IRD)for heightened intervals. To gain further insight for paleoclimate estimations at Pleistocene sediment layers, the surface textures of quartz grains from the International Ocean Drilling Site U1537D were analyzed by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). These samples originate from the Dove Basin, where countorite currents were influenced by Weddell Sea Deep Water flowing (WSDW), making this a unique reference site for examination. The goal of this study was to analyze shifts in glacial ice-caps through a dissection of quartz samples from Pleistocene intervals. This study’s primary hypothesis claims that younger quartz grains at high IRD intervals display microstructures reflective of glacial fractures.
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