• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.442-453
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• 2002

A total of 64 species belonging to 23 genera of diatom fossils are identified from the Core GC 98-06 in the southern Drake Passage, Antarctica. The diatom assemblages are dominated by Actinocyclus actinochilus, Coscinodiscus asteromphalus, Eucampia antarctica, Fragilariopsis kerguelensis, Thalassiosira lentiginosa, T. ritscheri and T. anguste-lineata, which are about 73% of the assemblage. Open water species are more abundant than sea ice species in the diatom assemblages of the core. Fragilariopsis. kerguelensis and Thalassiosira lentiginosa are valuable indicators of the habitats. Especially, F. kerguelensis represent the influence of waters from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Sea ice taxa represents the influence of cold waters from Bransfield Strait Water and melt water from the sea-ice at during warm periods. The reworked diatoms such as Denticulopsis dimopha (Miocene) and D. hustedtii (Pliocene) are occurred with Quaternary species (Actinocyclus actinochilus, Fragilariopsis kerguelensis, Thalassiosira lentiginosa, and T. glacilis). The presence of reworked diatoms indicates the transportation of the older diatoms into the Drake passage from the circumference sediments, due to strong bottom current activity of Antarctic circumpolar deep water.