We find them frequently in sediment cores of an antarctic lake, they are fairly large (150 um) and we cannot identify them. Any idea are welcome! Thanks, Veronika
couldn't that be some kind of pollen? Where exactly did you retrieve these speciemen in Antarctica, i.e., at which location and at roughly which depth?
Very interesting, Dorian and a very nice source you provide there! Interesting to note, though, that the specimen of pollen (?) Veronika posted seem to be much larger (150 um) than the reference Nothofagus antarctica you sent (perhaps half the size in diameter). Quite amazing for an Antarctic sample! So it would be helpful to know what approximately Veronika's dating/time estimate for this pollen is? But why not Nothofagus antarctica? Best wishes, Julius
sorry to get back to you only now, I was away for couple days.
Thank you so much for your answers!
It is specifically from the Lake Monolith on James Ross Island (east of the northern tip of Antarctic Peninsula). This picture is from 2cm depth in the sediment, but those objects are found in all layers which had any organic remains, in case of Lake Monolith 0-11 cm.
I am not sure about the pollen, it seems to be too big... We were thinking about some egg of maybe a Nematode?? Or some unknown Tardigrade?
thank you very much! Yes, I agree that it's fairly big... Nematode egg seems like a good idea to be. But I'm certainly not a Nematode expert. It's interesting to note, though, that you found those organic layers (and the associated unknown objects) at such a small depth. Where precisely at Lake Monolith did you retrieve the sediment cores/samples? Around the margins/perimeter or more towards the center?
PS: Will be interesting to hear what Dorian thinks about this :-)