Knoll A H, Ohta Y
Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Polar Res. 1988;6:59-67.
The stratigraphic importance of fossils is never more apparent than in attempts to unravel the complexities of metamorphic terrains. The age and stratigraphic relationships of the thick metasedimentary and metavolcanic succession of Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard, have been the subject of investigation and debate since the early part of this century (Hoel 1914; Craig 1916; Tyrrel 1924), and sharply different interpretations have been proposed (e.g. Harland et al. 1979; Hjelle et al. 1979). Until now, such interpretations have been unconstrained by palaeontological data, an understandable consequence of the metamorphic alteration undergone by these rocks. In this paper, we report the discovery of stratigraphically useful microfossils preserved in chert nodules from carbonaceous, dolomitic shales on northern Prins Karls Forland. These fossils have significant implications for the stratigraphic and structural interpretation of Forland metasediments, as well as for the more general problem of palaeontological prospecting in severely deformed and metamorphosed terrains, including those characteristic of the Archean Eon.
化石在地层学上的重要性，在试图解开变质岩地区的复杂情况时最为明显。自本世纪初以来，斯瓦尔巴德群岛西部的普林斯·卡尔王子地厚层变质沉积岩和变质火山岩序列的年龄及地层关系，一直是研究和争论的主题（霍尔，1914年；克雷格，1916年；蒂勒尔，1924年），并且已经提出了截然不同的解释（例如，哈兰德等人，1979年；赫勒等人，1979年）。到目前为止，这些解释一直不受古生物学数据的限制，这是这些岩石经历变质作用的一个可以理解的结果。在本文中，我们报告了在普林斯·卡尔王子地北部的碳质、白云质页岩的燧石结核中保存的具有地层学意义的微化石的发现。这些化石对于福兰变质沉积物的地层和构造解释，以及在严重变形和变质地区（包括太古宙时期特有的地区）进行古生物学勘探这一更普遍的问题，都具有重要意义。
