For scientists this island rocks

ROCK ON: GNS and Japanese geologists at Whangaroa last week before embarking on a field trip to the geologically unique Arrow Rocks near Whangaroa. Dr Hamish Campbell, left, is pictured with fellow GNS scientist Chris Adams and, left to right, Atsushi Takemura, Satoshi Yamakita and Yoshiaki Aita.

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There are not many places on Earth where geologists can study a sequence of rocks spanning the Permian and Triassic periods.

So it is little wonder they keep returning to Arrow Rocks, also known as Oruatemanu Island, near Tauranga Bay.

The island has fossils and sediments which date between 252 million years and 292 million years and have the potential to offer clues about the planet's biggest species extinction event.

Geologist and research scientist Dr Hamish Campbell says the island's deep marine sediments are rich in the skeletal remains of zooplankton and are unique.

"There's nowhere quite like it in the southern hemisphere," says Dr Campbell, who works at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences in Wellington.

Dr Campbell was one of a team of 11 New Zealand and Japanese scientists and students who visited the island last week to try to pinpoint the Permian and Triassic boundary in the rock sequence.

"Every sample we take generates more questions, so we'll never get to the end of this research."

Dr Campbell says New Zealand geologists owe much to Japanese geologists who realised the scientific importance of Oruatemanu Island in 1999 and have visited the island almost every year since.

"Thanks to the Japanese putting a huge effort in over the years, we are able to make sense of the rocks."

- © Fairfax NZ News