Geomorphological and glacial geological surveys and multiple cosmogenic nuclide analyses (10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne) allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of variations prior to the last glacial maximum of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and valley glaciers in the Terra Nova Bay region. Glacially scoured coastal piedmonts with round-topped mountains occur below the highest local erosional trimline. They represent relict landscape features eroded by extensive ice overriding the whole coastal area before at least 6 Ma (pre-dating the build-up of the Mt. Melbourne volcanic field). Since then, summit surfaces were continuously exposed and well preserved under polar condition with negligible erosion rates on the order of 17 cm/Ma. Complex older drifts rest on deglaciated areas above the younger late-Pleistocene glacial drift and below the previously overridden summits. The combination of stable and radionuclide isotopes documents complex exposure histories with substantial periods of burial combined with minimal erosion. The areas below rounded summits were repeatedly exposed and buried by ice from local and outlet glaciers. The exposure ages of the older drift(s) indicate multiple Pleistocene glacial cycles, which did not significantly modify the pre-existing landscape.

Thick successions of turbidites are widespread in the Ross–Delamerian and Lachlan orogens and are now dispersed through Australia, Antarctica and New Zealand. U-Pb detrital zircon age patterns for latest Precambrian, Cambrian and Ordovician metagreywackes show a closely related provenance. The latest Neoproterozoic–early Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks have major components, at c. 525, 550, and 595 Ma, i.e. about 40–80 million years older than deposition. Zircons in these components increase from the Neoproterozoic to Ordovician. Late Mesoproterozoic age components, 1030 and 1070 Ma, probably originate from igneous/metamorphic rocks in the Gondwanaland hinterland whose exact locations are unknown. Although small, the youngest zircon age components are coincident with estimated depositional ages suggesting that they reflect contemporaneous and minor, volcanic sources. Overall, the detrital zircon provenance patterns reflect the development of plutonic/metamorphic complexes of the Ross–Delamerian Orogen in the Transantarctic Mountains and southern Australia that, upon exhumation, supplied sediment to regional scale basin(s) at the Gondwana margin. Tasmanian detrital zircon age patterns differ from those seen in intra-Ross Orogen sandstones of northern Victoria Land and from the oldest metasediments in the Transantarctic Mountains. A comparison with rocks from the latter supports an allochthonous western Tasmania model and amalgamation with Australia in late Cambrian time.

A magnetic survey was carried out in the area between Lady Newnes Bay and Evans Névé (northern Victoria Land), to ascertain whether the contact between the Wilson and the Bowers terranes could be identified remotely. The survey consisted of three ground and 12 helicopter-borne profiles. The method was calibrated on the southernmost profiles, which cover a well-exposed section of the contact between the Wilson and Bowers terranes. The northern profiles were located in an area where the contact is poorly constrained by outcrops, so that it could be tested whether the junction displays a magnetic signature. The magnetic data and the 2.5-D modeling of three selected profiles indicate that no easily recognizable magnetic signature defines this contact. The main features of the area are magnetic anomalies probably controlled by the “Meander Intrusives” and the McMurdo volcanic rocks, both characterized by high susceptibility values. If an anomaly related to the contact exists, then it is probably masked by these stronger anomalies.

Highly deformed metaconglomerates, mafic to felsic in composition, characterize the eastern Lanterman Range (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica). In the literature the mafic and felsic metaconglomerates are known as Husky Conglomerate and Lanterman Conglomerate respectively. They occur in a 25 km long strip along the Lanterman Fault, which is a major tectonic boundary between the Wilson and the Bowers terranes. New field observations show that there is a gradual transition from mafic to felsic metaconglomerates: this supports a stratigraphical continuum from Husky to Lanterman Conglomerate, and indicates that they belong to the same sedimentary succession. Structural analysis indicates that Husky and Lanterman conglomerates suffered the same structural evolution. From all these evidences, there is no reason to distinguish two types of metaconglomerates, apart from the diversity in the lithological features. However the two terms “Husky Conglomerate” and “Lanterman Conglomerate” can be still used to refer to the mafic and felsic facies of the same sedimentary succession. On the basis of their lithology the Husky Conglomerate can be derived from the Glasgow volcanic arc, whereas the felsic clasts of the Lanterman Conglomerate may be derived from a continental basement below the Glasgow arc or from a continental block bounding the Bowers trough.

A volcanic event, represented by both coarse ash and a prominent sulphate peak, has been detected at a depth of 85.82 m in a 90 m ice core drilled at Talos Dome, northern Victoria Land. Accurate dating of the core, based on counting annual sulphate and nitrate fluctuations and on comparison with records of major known volcanic eruptions, indicates that the event occurred in 1254 ± 2 AD. The source volcano is most likely to be located within the Ross Sea region. In particular, the glass shards have a trachytic composition similar to rocks from The Pleiades and Mount Rittmann (Melbourne volcanic province), about 200 km from Talos Dome. Sulphate concentration is comparable with that of violent extra-Antarctic explosive events recorded in the same core, but atmospheric perturbation was short-lived and localized, suggesting a negligible impact on regional climate. It is suggested that this eruption may represent the most important volcanic explosion in the Melbourne province during the last eight centuries; thus this event may also represent a valuable chrono-stratigraphical marker on the East Antarctic plateau and in adjoining areas.