Cape Roberts Project
The Cape Roberts Project was a major research programme that investigated the tectonic and climatic history of the Ross Sea costal region.
The Cape Roberts Project was a major research programme for several years. It was a joint venture with other scientists from New Zealand, Australia, UK, Germany, Italy and the US that cored strata off the Ross Sea coast in order to investigate the tectonic and climatic history of the region.
The project obtained continuous core through 1500 m of strata, ranging in age from 34 to 17 million years old, and representing a period when the Victoria land coast of Antarctica changed from a cool temperate to a subpolar climate.
Research on the cores continued over three years with FRST postdoctoral fellowship support to Gavin Dunbar (to study ice margin and sea level changes) and Vanessa Thorn, who is now at the University of Leeds (to study plant microfossils as recorders of past climate).
Collaborators
- Project Operator Antarctica New Zealand
- Drillers at Webster Drilling & Exploration Ltd
- Researchers at GNS Science
- Researchers at University of Otago
- Researchers at NIWA
- Researchers at University of Canterbury
- Partners in the Germany
- Partners in Italy
- Partners in the UK
- Partners in the USA
More information
More information about the Cape Roberts Project is available from the Antarctic Research Centre.
For detailed scientific or technical information please contact Peter Barrett.