earth science

Snow Hill Island Formation

Snow Hill Island Formation is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Snow Hill Island Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The Snow Hill Island Formation is an Early Maastrichtian geologic formation found on James Ross Island, James Ross Island group, Antarctica. Remains of a paravian theropod Imperobator antarcticus have been recovered from it, as well as the elasmarian ornithopods Trinisaura santamartaensis, "Biscoveosaurus" and Morrosaurus antarcticus, the ankylosaurian Antarctopelta oliveroi, and the shark Notidanodon sp.

Key takeaways

Snow Hill Island Formation belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Snow Hill Island Formation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Snow Hill Island Formation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Snow Hill Island Formation is an Early Maastrichtian geologic formation found on James Ross Island, James Ross Island group, Antarctica. Remains of a paravian theropod Imperobator antarcticus have been recovered from it, as well as the elasmarian ornithopods Trinisaura santamartaensis, "Biscoveosaurus" and Morrosaurus antarcticus, the ankylosaurian Antarctopelta oliveroi, and the shark Notidanodon sp. Alongside these described genera are also the remains of indeterminate elasmosaurids, lithostrotian titanosaurs and an indeterminate pterosaur. In the Herbert Sound Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation, bivalves, ammonites, and fish were found.

Paleofauna

Invertebrates

Corals

Arthropoda

Mollusks

Vertebrates

Fish

Pterosaurs

Dinosaurs

Plesiosaurs

Mosasaurs

Plants

During the Campanian–Maastrichtian, the Antarctic Peninsula supported temperate, humid forests dominated by podocarps, araucarian conifers, and a diversifying group of angiosperms. Key angiosperm families included Nothofagaceae, Monimiaceae, Cunoniaceae, Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, Atherospermataceae, Winteraceae, and extinct Sassafras-like forms. Another important group is Asteraceae, with Dasyphyllum-like pollen, the oldest fossils ever found for the family. At The Naze area, Podocarpaceae-Nothofagus rainforests thriving in lowland areas under cool-temperate, frost-free, and high-rainfall conditions, with understories rich in other angiosperms and ferns. Smaller components, likely endemic, included lycophytes, bryophytes, Proteaceae, Liliaceae, Palmae or Microthyriaceae, and various herbaceous or shrubby dicotyledons. Forests were structurally similar to modern Valdivian temperate forests. These plants were primarily found in riparian floodplains, with bryophyte-lycophyte rich swamps and Chlorophyta-rich lake margins, while influence of marine waters can be seen by Dinoflagellates. The climate was highly humid and seasonal, as evidenced by distinct growth rings in Agathoxylon fossil wood from Lachman Crags and The Naze, indicating a temperate but variable environment. The flora reflects a transition from gymnosperm-dominated to mixed angiosperm-conifer ecosystems under polar greenhouse conditions.

Pteridophytes, lycophytes, and bryophytes

Gymnosperms (conifers)

Angiosperms

See also Chorrillo Formation Dorotea Formation List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Antarctica List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations López de Bertodano Formation Sobral Formation South Polar region of the Cretaceous

References

Bibliography Ely, Ricardo C.; Case, Judd A. (2019), "Phylogeny of a new gigantic paravian (Theropoda; Coelurosauria; Maniraptora) from the Upper Cretaceous of James Ross Island, Antarctica", Cretaceous Research, 101: 1–16, Bibcode:2019CrRes.101....1E, doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.04.003 O'Gorman, J.P (2012), "The oldest elasmosaurs (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from Antarctica, Santa Marta Formation (upper Coniacian? Santonian-?upper Campanian) and Snow Hill Island Formation (upper Campanian-?lower Maastrichtian), James Ross Island", Polar Research, 31: 1–10, doi:10.3402/polar.v31i0.11090, retrieved 2019-04-13 Pirrie, D.; Crame, J.A.; Lomas, S.A.; Riding, J.B. (1997), "Late Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Admiralty Sound region, James Ross Basin, Antarctica", Cretaceous Research, 18 (1): 109–137, Bibcode:1997CrRes..18..109P, doi:10.1006/cres.1996.0052

Further reading D. Néraudeau, A. Crame, and M. Kooser. 2000. Upper Cretaceous echinoids from James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Géobios 33(4):455–466 doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(00)80079-0 R. A. Otero, S. Soto-Acuna, A. O. Vargas, D. Rubilar Rogers, R. E. Yury Yanez and C. S. Gutstein. 2013. Additions to the diversity of elasmosaurid plesiosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica. Gondwana Research doi:10.1016/j.gr.2013.07.016

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Snow Hill Island Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Snow Hill Island Formation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Snow Hill Island Formation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Snow Hill Island Formation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Snow Hill Island Formation

In research: Snow Hill Island Formation appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Snow Hill Island Formation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Snow Hill Island Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Campanian Stage, Cretaceous System of Antarctica, Geologic formations of Antarctica, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Snow Hill Island Formation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Snow Hill Island Formation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Snow Hill Island Formation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Snow Hill Island Formation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Snow Hill Island Formation in simple terms?

Why does Snow Hill Island Formation matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Snow Hill Island Formation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Snow Hill Island Formation.