Academic Staff - Gary Wilson

Professor Gary Wilson BSc BMus PhD(Well) Department of Marine Science University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin New Zealand Phone 64-3-479-4104 Fax 64-3-479-8336 Email: gary.wilson@otago.ac.nz (also affiliated with Geology)

1. Research Interests
2. Courses
3. Currently Funded Programmes
   3.1 ANDRILL (Antarctic geological Drilling).
   3.2 Unlocking Early Miocene Climate – New Zealand in a warmer world.
   3.3 Ice in the Greenhouse: a Paleocene record of Antarctic deep-water flow.
   3.4 Glaciomarine retreat on Campbell Island.
   3.5 Ross Sea Drift and the last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica.
   3.6 A national Centre for Advanced Teaching and Postgraduate Research in Marine Sciences.
   3.7 Pliocene sea level history.
   3.8 Paleoseismicity of the Alpine Fault and Hikurangi Subduction Margin.
   3.9 Climate Variability West Coast NZ.
4. Research Facilities
   4.1 Otago Paleomagnetic Research Facility
   4.2 Physical Properties
   4.3 RV Polaris II
5. Selected Publications

1. Research Interests

• Paleoceanography
• Paleoclimatology
• Marine Geology & Geophysics
• Paleomagnetism
• Physical properties of sediment cores

My research interests lie in the general area of marine geology and the marine geological record of ocean and climate change. Specific focuses of my research include Antarctica’s role in the evolving global ocean and climate system, New Zealand ocean and climate response to changing forcing agents (both internal such as atmospheric carbon dioxide and ocean current reorganisation, and external such as changes in the earth’s orbital parameters), records of change in marine sediment cores, and the application of paleomagnetic and physical properties methods to dating and correlation and as proxies for environmental change.

2.Courses

MARI 201 The Marine Environment
GEOL 273/373 Sedimentary Processes and Materials
GEOL 421 Special Topic in Sedimentary Basins: Pattern & Process
GEOL 431 Special Topic in Paleomagnetism
GEOL 261/361 Geophysics of the Earth

3. Currently Funded Programmes

3.1 ANDRILL (Antarctic geological Drilling).
A collaborative programme to recover cores from sedimentary basins beneath Antarctica’s floating ice shelves and sea ice. Drilling uses a dedicated specially adapted system to recover continuous core from deep drill holes in order to decipher past climate, sea level and ice sheet history and ultimately use the understanding developed to help predict how Antarctic might behave in a future warmer world. The programme also involves a significant programme of over ice marine geophysical surveys to define sedimentary basins, identify targets and correlate data sets. NZ partners: GNS Science, Victoria University, University of Otago and Canterbury University. International partners: Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United States. Funding: Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and International partners.

3.2 Unlocking Early Miocene Climate – New Zealand in a warmer world.
Recovery of drill cores to study a remarkably well-preserved high-resolution climate archive from a Maar Crater Lake in Central Otago, New Zealand. The record is thought to span the Oligocene-Miocene Boundary and the Mi-1 glaciation and will be the first terrestrial mid southern latitude record of this event. Physical Properties and paleomagnetic methods will be used to develop a time series of annual to decadal resolution and fossil data will be combined with physical properties data to reconstruct the terrestrial environment and climatic influences. NZ Partners: University of Otago, GNS Science. International Partners: University of Massachusetts, University of Adelaide. Funding: Marsden Fund, Royal Society of New Zealand.

3.3 Ice in the Greenhouse: a Paleocene record of Antarctic deep-water flow.
Investigation of deep-sea erosion of the New Zealand landmass prior to the opening of the circum-Antarctic sea way. Work is based on outcrops now exposed along the eastern margin of the New Zealand landmass including Campbell Island. A combination of geochemical, paleontologic, sedimentologic and paleomagnetic methods are being employed to determine ocean temperatures and currents as well as identify and correlate hiatuses and other environmental indicators. NZ Partners: GNS Science, University of Otago, Waikato University, International Partners: University of Bristol, City University of New York. Funding: Marsden Fund, Royal Society of New Zealand.

3.4 Glaciomarine retreat on Campbell Island.
Campbell Island sits isolated from mainland New Zealand and well south, within the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, it is potentially a good barometer of long-term Southern Hemisphere ocean and climate change. We will collect marine geophysical data from the “fiords” on the eastern side of Campbell Island and use gravity and piston cores to sample and study the retreat history. The RV Polaris II is supporting the field work. Funding from the University of Otago PBRF funds.

3.5 Ross Sea Drift and the last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica.
Determining the relationship between glacial deposits of the Ross Sea drift and marine strata recovered by coring or ice shelf exhumation through field studies and cosmogenic dating of quartz rich marine sandstones found on the surface of the drift. The aim is to test the history of deposition of the Ross Sea drift and timing and extent of processes involved in its deposition. NZ Partner; GNS Science. International Partners: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ANSTO. Funding from University of Otago Research Grant.

3.6 A national Centre for Advanced Teaching and Postgraduate Research in Marine Sciences.
A project to bring together advanced teaching and postgraduate research in marine Sciences across the breadth of disciplines in the physical and marine biological sciences as well as across full latitudinal extent and range of unique marine environments embodied in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone. NZ Partners: Auckland University, University of Otago, Victoria University and Industry Partners. Funding from the Tertiary Education Commission.

3.7 Pliocene sea level history.
Determination and correlation of relative sea level histories from the New Zealand and Chilean margins of the South Pacific. Correlation using high resolution magnetostratigraphies to decipher eustatic and tectonic influence in stratigraphic sequence development. NZ Partners: University of Otago, Victoria University, International Partners: Southern Illinois University, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Servicio National de Geologia y Mineria de Chile. Funding: Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, and International partners.

3.8 Paleoseismicity of the Alpine Fault and Hikurangi Subduction Margin.
Construction of a well dated record of earthquake history for two of New Zealand’s regions known to be the source of large earthquakes. The target period is the last 20 thousand years and project will use sediment cores collected from the RV Marion DuFresne and RV Tangaroa. Seismic events will be identified and dated using sedimentological, physical and magnetic analysis of the cores. NZ Partners: NIWA, Victoria University, University of Otago. International Partners: Geoscience Rennes (CNRS), Geosciences Azure (Nice), Virginia Institute of Technology, Oregon State University. Funding: Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International partners.

3.9 Climate Variability West Coast NZ.
Construction of the paleoceanographic history of intermediate and deep water circulation of the SE Tasman Sea from long sediment cores collected as part of the MATACORE voyage of the RV Marion DuFresne. Cores transect the watermasses of interest and the sediment record is provided by a combination of sediment sourced from the Hokitika and Cook Submarine Canyons as well as hemipelagic and biogenic sedimentation. A combination of sedimentologic, stable isotope, paleontologic and magnetic methods are being employed to reconstruct and date water mass history. NZ Partners: NIWA, University of Otago, GNS Science, Geomarine Research. International Partners: Geoscience Rennes (CNRS), Geosciences Azure (Nice), Alfred-Wegener-Institute. Funding: Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International partners.

4. Research Facilities

4.1 Otago Paleomagnetic Research facility.
A low field laboratory (150 nT) housing a long core cryogenic magnetometer with in line AF degaussing coils, susceptibility bridge and solenoid loop for imparting anhysteric remanent magnetism. Spinner magnetometer and ASC thermal demagnetiser. ASC pulse magnetiser and AGICO Kappabridge with automated sample handler for anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and heating element for determining temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility. The facility also includes a range of field  and sample preparation equipment and in house analytical software as well as other standard analytical packages.

4.2 Physical Properties.
A Geotek multisensor core logger for whole and split core. System installed with gamma density, p-wave velocity, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, GeoScan IV and spectrophotometer sensors. The MSCL will be used on a variety of different samples including U-channels sub-sampled from cores for paleomagnetism studies. This system is the first to be delivered with new and improved electronics and software. A cold room core store is also available.

4.3 RV Polaris II
The university of Otago’s research vessel which is equipped, amongst other things, with sidescan (including Multibeam), seismic (CHIRP & Boomer) coring (gravity & Piston) and bottom sampling equipment as well as on board lab space to process samples. Vessel usually works around the south of New Zealand including Fiordland, Stewart Island and New Zealand’s subantarctic Islands.

5. Selected Publications

• Wilson, G S, Pekar, S F, Naish, T R, Passchier, S, DeConto, R: The Oligocene-Miocene Boundary – Antarctic Climate response to Orbital Forcing. Developments in Earth & Environmental Sciences, v. 8, 369-400, 2009.
• Naish, T R, Wilson, G S: Constraints on the amplitude of Mid-Pliocene (3.6-2.4 Ma) eustatic sea-level fluctuations from the New Zealand shallow-marine sediment record. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, v. 367, 169-187, ., 2009.
• Ohneiser, C, Wilson, G S, Field, B D, Crundwell, M P: A new high-resolution, middle Miocene magnetostratigraphy from western Southland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology  & Geophysics, v. 51, 261-274, 2008.
• Naish, T R; Wilson, G S; Dunbar, G B; Barrett, P J., 2008. Constraining the amplitude of Late Oligocene bathymetric changes in western Ross Sea during orbitally-induced oscillations in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet: (2) Implications for global sea-level changes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 260, p. 66-76, 2008.
• Johnston, L, Wilson, G S, Gorman, A R, Henrys, S A, Horgan, H, Clark, R, Naish, T R: Cenozoic basin evolution beneath the southern McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Global and Planetary Change, v. 62, 61-76, 2008.
• Wilson, G S; Florindo, F; Sagnotti, L; Ohneiser, C: Paleomagentism of the AND-1B core, ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, vol. 14, p. 289-296, 2007.
• Wilson, G S, Levy, R H, Brown, G; Dunbar, N; Florindo, F; Henrys, S; Graham, I; McIntosh, W C; McKay, R; Naish, T R; Ohneiser, C; Powell, R D; Ross, J; Sagnotti, L; Scherer, R P; Sjunesskog, C; Strong, C P; Taviani, M; Winter, D M; ANDRILL MIS Science Team. Preliminary integrated chronostratigraphy of the AND-01B drill core, ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, vol. 14, p. 297-316, 2007.
• Wilson, G S; Damaske, D; Moller, H D; Tinto, K; Jordan, T: The geological evolution of southern McMurdo Sound – new evidence from a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey. Geophysical Journal International, vol 170, p 93-100, 2007.
• Gilichinsky, D A; Wilson, G S; Friedmann, E I; McKay, C P; Sletten, R S; Erokhina, L G; Fyodorov-Davydov, D G; Hallet, B; Ivanushkina, N E; Kochkina, G A; Laurinavichyus, K S; Ozerskaya, S M; Rivkina, E M; Shcherbakova, V A; Soina, V S; Sorokovikov, V A; Spirina, E S; Vishnivetskaya, T A; Vorobyova, E A; Chanton, J; Shatilovitch, A V; Ostroumov, V E; Mamukelashvili, A; Tiedje, J M: Multi-million-year survival of biota in Antarctic Permafrost: Implication for Astrobiology. Astrobiology,  vol 7, p 275-311, 2007.
• Florindo, F; Wilson, G S; Roberts, A P; Sagnotti, L; Verosub, K L: Magnetostratigraphy of Late Eocene – Early Miocene glaciomarine sequences from the Victoria Land Basin, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Global and Planetary Change, vol 45, p 207-236, 2005.
• Naish, T R; Wehland, F; Wilson, G S; Browne, G H; Cook, R A; Morgans, H E G; Rosenberg, M; King, P R; Smale, D; Nelson, C S; Kamp, P J J; Ricketts, B: An integrated sequence stratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental, and chronostratigraphic analysis of the Tangahoe Formation, southern Taranaki coast, with implications for mid-Pliocene (c. 3.4-3.0 Ma) glacio-eustatic sea-level changes. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, vol 35, p 151-196, 2005.
• Roberts, A P; Wilson, G S; Harwood, D M; Verosub, K L: Glaciation across the Oligocene-Miocene boundary in southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; new chronology from the CIROS-1 drill hole. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol 198, no1-2, p 113-130, 2003.
• Wilson, G S; Barron, J A; Ashworth, A C; Askin, R A; Carter, J A; Curren, M G; Dalhuisen, D H; Friedmann, E I; Fyodorov-Davidov, D G; Gilichinsky, D A; Harper, M A; Harwood, D M; Hiemstra, J F; Janecek, T R; Licht, K J; Ostroumov, V E; Powell, R D; Rivkina, E M; Rose, S A; Stroeven, A P; Stroeven, P; van der Meer, J J M; Wizevich, M C: The Mount Feather Diamicton of the Sirius Group; an accumulation of indicators of Neogene Antarctic glacial and climatic history. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol 182, no 1-2, p 117-131, 2002.
• Wilson, G S; Lavelle, M; McIntosh, W C; Roberts, A P; Harwood, D M; Watkins, D K; Villa, G; Bohaty, S M; Fielding, C R; Florindo, F; Sagnotti, L; Naish, T R; Scherer, R P; Verosub, K L: Integrated chronostratigraphic calibration of the Oligocene-Miocene boundary at 24.0+ or -0.1 Ma from the CRP-2A drill core, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Geology, vol 30, no 11, p 1043-1046, 2002.
• Naish, T R; Woolfe, K J; Barrett, P J; Wilson, G S; Atkins, C; Bohaty, S M; Bucker, C J; Claps, M; Davey, F J; Dunbar, G; Dunn, A G; Fielding, C R; Florindo, F; Hannah, M J; Harwood, D M; Henrys, S A; Krissek, L A; Lavelle, M; Meer, J; McIntosh, W C; Niessen, F; Passchier, S; Powell, R D; Roberts, A P; Sagnotti, L; Scherer, R P; Strong, C P; Talarico, F; Verosub, K L; Villa, G; Watkins, D K; Webb, P –N; Wonik, T: Orbitally induced oscillations in the East Antarctic ice sheet at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary. Nature, vol. 413, p. 719-723, 2001.
• Rogers, K M; Morgans, H E G; Wilson, G S: Identification of a Waipawa Formation equivalent in the upper Te Uri Member of the Whangai Formation; implications for depositional history and age. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, vol 44, no 2, p 347-354, 2001.
• Wilson, G S: Glacial geology and origin of fossiliferous-erratic-bearing moraines, southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; an alternative ice sheet hypothesis. Antarctic Research Series, vol 76, p 19-37, 2000.
• Wilson, G S; Bohaty, S M; Fielding, C R; Florindo, F; Hannah, M J; Harwood, D M; McIntosh, W C; Naish, T R; Roberts, Andrew P; Sagnotti, L; Scherer, R P; Strong, C P; Verosub, K L; Villa, G; Watkins, D K; Webb, P N; Woolfe, K J: Chronostratigraphy of CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, vol 7, no 4-5, p 647-654, 2000.
• Wilson, G S; Roberts, A P: Diagenesis of magnetic mineral assemblages in multiply redeposited siliclastic marine sediments, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand. Geological Society Special Publications, vol 151, p 95-108, 1999.
• Sagnotti, L; Florindo, F; Verosub, K L; Wilson, G S; Roberts, A P: Environmental magnetic record of Antarctic palaeoclimate from Eocene/Oligocene glaciomarine sediments, Victoria Land Basin. Geophysical Journal International, vol 134, no 3, p 653-662, 1998.
• Wilson, G S; Roberts, A P; Verosub, K L; Florindo, F; Sagnotti, L: Magnetobiostratigraphic chronology of the Eocene-Oligocene transition in the CIROS-1 core, Victoria Land margin, Antarctic: Implications for Antarctic glacial history. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, vol 110, p 35-47, 1998.
• Wilson, G S: The Neogene East Antarctic ice sheet; a dynamic or stable feature? Quaternary Science Reviews, vol 14, no 2, p 101-123, 1995.
• Wilson, G S; McGuire, D M: Distributed deformation due to coupling across a subduction thrust; mechanism of young tectonic rotation within the south Wanganui Basin, New Zealand. Geology, vol 23, no 7, p 645-648, 1995.
• Pillans, B J; Roberts, A P; Wilson, G S; Abbott, S T; Alloway, B V: Magnetostratigraphic, lithostratigraphic and tephrostratigraphic constraints on lower and middle Pleistocene sea-level changes, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol 121, no 1-2, p 81-98, 1994.
• Barrett, P J; Adams, C J; McIntosh, W C; Swisher, Carl C, III; Wilson, G S: Geochronological evidence supporting Antarctic deglaciation three million years ago. Nature, vol 359, no 6398, p 816-818, 1992.
• Roberts, A P; Wilson, G S: Stratigraphy of the Awatere Group, Marlborough, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, vol 22, no 3, p 187-204, 1992.