West Antarctica: Problem child of Gondwanaland

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Abstract
The evolution of West (Lesser) Antarctica and its relation to East (Greater) Antarctica have major implications for global plate interactions, paleoclimate, and paleobiogeography, as well as Gondwanaland reconstruction. Analyses of marine geophysical data still lead to seemingly unacceptable overlap between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South American continent or else to geologically questionable relationships. A review of the relevant geological and geophysical data indicates that the problem lies in microplate movement and crustal thinning within West Antarctica during Gondwanaland breakup in the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The available data allow a range of possible reconstructions with West Antarctica subdivided into several discrete or semidiscrete microplates. Final solution of this problem requires additional geological and, particularly, geophysical data from West Antarctica as a whole, and the Weddell Sea‐Ross Sea embayment in particular. Meantime, it seems inadvisable to use the present continental outline of Antarctica on the Pacific side of the Transantarctic Mountains in reconstructing Gondwanaland.