Cenozoic: A length of time (an Era) on the geological time scale between 65 years ago and the present. It is the time during which mammals became dominant on the earth.

CIROS: Cenozoic Investigations in the Ross Sea. A drilling project during the 1980s near Butter Point.

Continental Drift: The well accepted theory that plates on the earth’s surface move.

Cretaceous: A Period on the geological timescale between 136 and 65 million years. This period was characterised by ferns and dinosaurs.

Era: A length of time making up several Periods. Eras include the Precambrian, Cambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.

Fast ice: Sea ice which is attached to the land (fastened). Fast ice is usually strong and stable in the spring.

Gondwana: That single giant continent made up of the southern continents including Antarctica, South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Jurrassic: A Period on geological timescale between 190 and 136 million years. This period was characterised by dinosaurs.

Period: The most commonly used unit of time on the geological timescale. A Period is part of an Era.

Rift: A trench or valley, often on the sea floor, where the earth’s plates have moved apart.

Sedimentary: A rock formed by the accumulation of sediment (minerals and animal/plant remains) over time. Often forms distinct layers or strata.

Strata: Layers in sedimentary rock.

Tectonics: The study of the movements and deformation of the crust of the earth. Plate tectonics in the study of the movement of the earth’s plates.