European geological initiative for the Shackleton Range

The Shackleton Range occupies a key geological position in Antarctica (Fig. 1). Its location, at the edge of the continental craton between the mobile belts of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) and the stable platform of Dronning Maud Land (Neuschwabenland), and its geological constitution offer possibilities for: understanding the nature of the ‘Pacific’ margin of the Antarctic craton during the Palaeozoic, distinguishing between subduction- and collision-related tectonics at an ancient continental margin, and contributing to the debate on the relationship between East and West Antarctica. The structural orientation of the range, at right angles to the trend of the TAM, has puzzled geologists ever since its discovery.