GSW: 1968 MEETING MINUTES

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF.WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

January 10, 1968

The 901st meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium at 8:00 P.M., Wednesday, January 10, 1968, with President Ralph Miller presiding.

President Miller opened the meeting with remarks ap­propriate for beginning the nine hundred series of meetings, and reminded the members that this was the year of the Society's Diamond Jubilee.

Two visitors were introduced: the towering head of the Colorado School of Mines - and animal husbandry - Dr. Orlo Childs; and H. W. Straley, III, representing an undis­closed engineering firm.

The minutes of the 900th meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to membership of Nicholas Lampiris, of the U.S.G.S. and George Washington University; and Leonard A. Wood, U.S.G.S.

A memorial to Waldemar Schaller was presented by Joseph Fahey.

The President, realizing the importance of having the support of a hustling Communications Committee, praised the out-going committee for a job well-done; then introduced the now-hustling members of the incoming committee, chairmanned by Dennis Cox.  Other members include Rucker, Ketterer, Randolph, Mixon, Reeves, Bailey.

Partly in regard for the new meetings' Secretary, but also to achieve the warmth of camaraderie, the President asked of those who chose to discuss a paper to oblige the chair by first stating their names,

The regular program followed:

Francis Kohout, "Cyclic flow of saltwater in a coastal aquifer - filmed experiment using time-lapse photography on a hydraulic model," discussed by Miller and Guild.

Isidore Adler, "Lunar geochemistry - analytical pro­blems and solutions," discussed by Sato, Duke, Robertson, and Toulmin.

Dallas Peck, "Formation of columnar joints in Kilauea lava lakes, Hawaii," discussed by Bell (twice), Roedder, and Sato.

The program for the next regular meeting was announced, as was an irregular meeting to be held in the GSA Auditorium, 10:00 A.M., January 29, featuring Don Gorsline, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer.

Attendance 187. The meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m.

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

January 24, 1968

The 902nd meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 24, 1968, with President Ralph Miller presiding.

The President stated that this meeting was the first to be arranged by the new Committee on Communications.

The Minutes of the 901st meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to membership of the following from the Geological Survey: John M. DeNoyer, Donald G. Hadley, Michael W. Higgins, Lynn Glover, III, James D. Byerlee; and the following from the American Geological Institute: David M. Delo, Ross L. Shipman, George R. Downs, Robert McAfee, Jr.,  Beverly Barrow.

There were two so-called "informal" communications:

Pete Toulmin, thinly disguised as a good Samaritan represent­ing the Finance Committee, delivered a few well-chosen words about Group Hospitalization Insurance. Then, having pre­empted the podium by ruse, he launched into a walrus-like non sequitur which appeared to speak of many things. When he accused the members of the Society's "high-powered" Awards Committee of being mental cripples, however, it became clear that Toulmin was intending to scribe even more deeply the battle line previously drawn between paleontologists and geochemists. Seeking to obtain the recognition to which he believes geochemists are entitled but never receive, Toulmin carried his audience aloft on a remarkable flight through a Geochemical Aviary. There, a selected suite of our feathered friends were aptly described as they roosted and nested in their native habitats.

WHEREUPON:

E-an Zen, having just been hushed by Toulmin and identified as an Eastern Smirk, flapped onstage where he quickly assumed the starring role of Charlie Chan in a new mystery thriller titled: The Case of the Purloined Pennsylvanian!  Carefully sifting fossil evidence discovered by chance in an old museum on Long Island, Chan and his faithful companion, Inspector Mamay, deduced that the missing Pennsylvanian was buried beneath several feet of concrete Freeway — in the Bronx?? The exact location was alleged to be in front of a particular rooming house that suspiciously resembled 221 Baker Street. — No doubt operated by a certain Mrs. Hudson.  Chan - I mean Zen - confessed that he did not know whether the Pennsyl­vanian had originally been there but now wasn't, or that it had never been there before but now — was?  Obviously, the case is not elementary, but he promised swift action towards finding a solution.

The President called the attention of the new members to the delights of the Society's Group Insurance Program; then repeated his request that those who wish to discuss a paper to first state their names.

The regular program followed:

Marvin Lanphere, Irwin, and Hotz, "Geochronologic studies in the Klamath Mountains of California;" discussed by Mr. Peridotite Thayer.

Harold Thomas, "Hydrology of Central Tunisia;" discussed by Guild, the Chair, and Nace.

Nicholas Short, "The anatomy of a meteorite impact crater: West Hawk Lake, Manitoba, Canada;" discussed by Papike, (thrice) Toulmin, Cargill, Kiilsgaard, and Chao.

The program for the next regular meeting was announced and the members were reminded that AAPG Distinguished Lecturer Don Gorsline would deliver a paper in the GSA Auditorium, 10:00 a.m., Monday January 29, sponsored by the Society and George Washington University.

Attendance 109. The meeting adjourned at 10:03 p.m.

William L. Newman,

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

February 14, 1968

The 903rd meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, February 14, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.

The President opened the program by welcoming the numerous visitors - many of them in town for the forthcoming meeting of the Northeast Section of GSA. "This Society-sponsored meeting," President Miller announced, "will be held at the Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D. C. February 15 to 17, with Meyer Rubin serving as Chairman."

The President further noted that Frank C. Whitmore had been appointed Chairman of the Annual Meeting of GSA to be held in Washington, D. C. in 1971, an event to be similarly hosted by the Society.

The minutes of the 902nd meeting of the Society were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to membership of the following from the Naval Oceanographic Office: Donald A. Burns, Dennis K. Clark, Oscar K. Huh, Patrick C. Martin, Edward J. Pastula, Jr., Robert R. Tittle, David R. Zinzer; and from the Army Map Service: Tor H. Nilsen; and from the Geological Survey: George A. Sellers, Esma Y. Campbell, Theresa M. Sousa.

The President announced the deaths of Sidney Paige and David Gallagher, both members of the Society.

The regular program was a "Symposium on the struc­ture of the continental margin of eastern United States," featuring four panelists.

President Miller introduced the panelists in turn as each presented a paper on various features of the continental margin. During the introductory remarks, the Chair appeared to disclaim any knowledge of the pan­elists' professional affiliations and then – intermittently - proceeded to prove it.

Charles L. Drake, Lament Geological Observatory, spearheaded the symposium by summarizing the major tectonic features of the eastern margin. Displaying an illustration showing the close refit of the continents as partial evidence for drift, Drake scorned the use of a zipper, and instead adjusted the drape of the torn continental fabric by buttoning Gibraltar into Tunisia; noting that "this allows plenty of freedom in the rear for North America's tail."

Isidore Zietz, USGS, relying heavily on the cur­rently popular "nondata", described magnetic anomalies throughout the entire margin, a vast region which he, on one occasion, projected deep into the heart of Texas. "The flat anomalies of the ocean floor, it turns out", said Zietz, “are probably metamorphic effects” and he hinted that this would have major implications on theories of continental drift.

John C. Reed, Jr., USGS, wasn't certain whether he was a Daniel in the lion's den or an Alice in Wonderland. Less ambitious than Zietz, he described the nature of basement rocks and their inferred relations to magnetic anomalies throughout the southern part of the coastal region - an area only half as vast.

Martin F. Kane, USGS, restricted his discussion of rocks and their magnetic anomalies to a region centering on the Gulf of Maine. He noted that "as it turns out, something's been going on in the Bay of Fundy."

The open discussion that followed took the form of a series of dialogues between panelists and various members of the audience. Exchanges were noted between: Clifford Kaye and Kane, E-an Zen and Reed, Herbert Woodward and Reed, Michael Fuller and Zietz, an unknown gentleman on the center aisle and Zietz, Dennis Cox and Drake.

A highlight of the discussion was a prologue monologue by William Dempsey.  Dempsey finally got to the point, however, and asked Zietz if the flat magnetic anomalies of the ocean floor couldn't be caused by uniform polarization of basalt rather than metamorphism. Zietz, caught in deep water and treading rapidly to stay afloat, admitted he was merely a geophysicist, and that his interpretation was based on opinions held by several eminent geologists; then he casually dropped a few names. Reed quickly disassociated himself from Zietz and his colleagues.

President Miller thanked the panelists for a provocative evening; then announced the program for the next regular meeting.

The Attendance count was a hall-filling 346, but even this is believed to be a minimum figure.

After adjournment at 9:58 p.m. beer and pretzels were distributed in the auditorium's outer chambers.

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

February 28, 1968

The 904th meeting (perhaps more appropriately called the PDQ meeting) of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell auditorium, February 28, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.

One visitor, Dr. Raymond Bisque, Colorado School of Mines, vas introduced and three shy visitors were noticed: Jack Harrison and Jack Murphy, USGS, Denver: and Hal Morris, USGS, Menlo Park.

The minutes of the 903rd meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to member­ship of the following from the Maryland Geological Survey: William P. Crowley, Jonathan Edwards, Jr., and from the CIA: Homer C. Talley, Jr., Richard C. Kellagher, Bobby G. Shipp, John D. Walker, and Erwin J. Runge.

The Secretary also announced that the NE Section of GSA was held at the Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C., February 15 to 17.

President Miller disclosed that he had been reading the Constitution and had learned the Society is authorized to hold meetings in May. In recent years, the spring series has ended in April. The desires of the membership were expressed in a two-stage vote; Result: The Communications Committee will seek speakers for two meetings in May.

A Memorial to A. Nelson Sayre was presented by Lee McGuiness.

The regular program followed:

Wilmot H. Bradley, USGS, "Remarks on the occasion of GSW's 75th Anniversary", commented upon by Lee McGuiness. During a study, of the Society's archives, Bradley discovered that a Program chairmen had over-numbered by one a meeting held during the mid-1940’s and thus, for more than two decades, the Society has been living in sin. But no attempt was made, either by the chair or floor, to save the Society's reputation, and we shall continue to live in sin. The chair, however, later divulged the nature of some domestic problems that resulted from numbering personal checks with letters,

George H. Chase, USGS, reported on "Aquifer geometry and geologic structure at the National Reactor Testing Station, Idaho." Discussed by Ray Nace, an early worker in the field.

Lincoln E. Page, USGS, "Plutonic rocks of New England", discussed by Lanphere, Hadley, Cox, Toulmin (twice) and Herz.

The President announced the program for March 13.

Attendance 136. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

March 13, 1968

The 905th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, March 13, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.

Four visitors were introduced: Albert Marranzino and David Grimes, USGS, Denver; Earle Pampayan, USGS, Menlo Park; and Col. Bill Wilson, U. S. Corps of Engineers.

The minutes of the 904th meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to membership of Frank D. Spencer, U. S. Geological Survey.

The President informed the Society that the American Geological Institute would be mailing out forms in the near future to be used in compiling the 1968 Register of Scientific Personnel.

The President further noted that the season of Science Fairs was upon us, and that the Society traditionally supports these activities. He asked those who wished to volunteer their services as judges at the forthcoming Fairs to contact Wendell Cochrane, Chairman of the Public Service Committee.

The regular program followed:

Patrick T. Taylor, "Interpretation of the heat-flow pattern of the Sumatra Trench," discussed by Gilbert.

John Van N. Dorr II, "with hammer and camera through African Manganese," discussed by Guild (twice), Thayer, Roedder, and Fleischer. Describing certain relationships among beds of chromite, Dorr sought to insert the term "Bastard Seam" into the literature; whereupon, the guardian of nomenclature, Judge Cohee, promptly rose to defend the integrity of the Geologic Names Committee and, without recourse to a quorum, disallowed the term.

Thomas P. Thayer, "Igneous sediments from the mantle," a 20-minute formal presentation followed by two informal communications and a lecture on "basic" mineralogy and magma mechanics.  The paper and supporting declamations , which put the "squeeze on" a stratiform complex of unknown composition in the mantle at unknown temperatures, pressures, and viscosities, were discussed by Herz, Robertson, Roedder, Dave Stewart (spelled HERB SHAW), Brown and Peck.

President then reminded the Society of the opportunity to participate in Science Fair activities, announced the program for the next meeting, thanked the speakers for an informative evening, and adjourned the meeting at 9:46 p.m. Attendance 132.

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF.WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

March 27, 1968

The 906th meeting of the Society vas held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, March 27, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.

Two visitors were introduced: Tom Cherry, Continental Oil Company, and Chris Brooks, Carnegie Institution of Washington.

The minutes of the 905th meeting were read and corrected. Tom Thayer caught the Secretary confused in his beds, pointing out that the Bastard Seam described by Dorr was not common manganese ore but, rather, a noble ferro-alloy-chromite.

The Secretary announced the election to member­ship of Allen E. DeWall, U. S. Geological Survey and George Washington University.

The Secretary also announced the apparent disappearance of two vital record books from the Survey library: One containing minutes of the Council's activities from January 1957 to March 1964, and one containing the Minutes of the Society's regular meetings from January 1957 to January 1965.

The President again stressed the opportunities offered Society members to serve as Science Fair judges and asked those interested to contact Wendell Cochrane, Chairman of the Public Service Committee.

The regular program followed:

Gerhard W. Leo, USGS, "Geology and geochronology of western Liberia," a description of major tectonic segments and their ages which might be useful in guiding the probable fit of South America and Africa  prior to Continental drifting; discussed by Thayer, Anderson, Reeves, Rosanski, Guild, and Herz.

Douglas W. Rankin, USGS, "Magmatic activity and orogeny in the southern Blue Ridge," a chronologic sequence of magmatic events, prefaced by an apology for associating with Neuman, Hadley and Reed; discussed by Zen (twice), Herz, Cohee, Drake, Hart, and Guild.

Philip W. Guild, USGS, "Metallotects of North America," a subjective, if not philosophical approach to the problem of ore-finding; discussed by the Chair, McKelvey (twice),  Cox, Fleischer, Thayer, Weeks, Johnston, Reeves, and Roedder. Foxy McKelvey, tasting the grape and finding it sour, denounced metallotects on the grounds that the concept was too general and too loose in scope and therefore useless as a practical exploration tool. W. D. Johnston, Jr., a geopolitician of some girth, rose to defend the concept by noting the dilemma of scale and insisting that one must test new ideas and think global to achieve success. Further, he expressed surprise that McKelvey, having established himself as one of geology's great generalizers, could be so critical of metallotects.

The President announced the program for the April 10th meeting, which will take place during the annual meetings of the American Geophysical Union.  Then he thanked the speakers for a very interesting program, and adjourned the meeting at 9:57 p.m.

Attendance 140.

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

April 10, 1968

The 907th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, April 10, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.

The President extended a general welcome to visitors, most of whom were in town to attend the American Geophysical Union meetings; and then announced that because of the pre­vailing 10:00 curfew the minutes of the 906th meeting would not be read (boos), that there would be no announcements nor informal communications (boos and hisses), and that the customary beer and pretzels would not be served (boos, hisses, and groans). He also stated that the papers would not be discussed, and that the meeting would terminate sharply at 9:30, allowing the members sufficient time to observe curfew regulations.

The regular program followed:

Robert L. Kovach, Stanford University, "Some magnetic and electrical experiments on the San Andreas Fault,” a description of a magnetometer network centered about the fault-riven Almaden Winery; preliminary data suggest that magnetic variations may serve as an earthquake pressage.

R. R. Doell.(and G. B. Dalrymple), "Paleomagnetic studies of the Valles Caldera and their contribution to ocean-floor spreading," a report of the recent discovery in the Caldera of a magnetic reversal event that took place about 750,000 years ago which solved a problem of dating certain sea-floor events.

Frederick J. Vine, Princeton University, "Aspects of ocean-floor spreading," a review of evidence for periodic upwelling of material along the world's major oceanic ridges, and the successful application of a random injection model.

Within the final minute of allotted time, the President thanked the speakers and invited them to return at a later date for full discussion of their papers. He then called attention to the need for volunteers to judge Science Fairs.

The meeting adjourned sharply at 9:30 p.m.

Attendance: 103.

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

April 24, 1968

The 908th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, April 24, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with Vice President Charles S. Denny presiding.

The Vice President explained the absence of the President and Secretaries, who were attending an AAPG meet­ing in Oklahoma.

John Huddle gave an informal communication on the biologic species of conodonts. Discussed by Whitmore and Peggy Appleman.

The Secretary announced the election to membership of Rosalind A. Tuthill, USGS.

Bruce Martin, Dept. Water Resources, State of Maryland, gave a brief comment on the movie 2,001.

Even on invitation by the Vice President, Pete Toulmin had no informal comments.

The regular program followed:

Cornelia C. Cameron, USGS, "Relation of commercial quality of peat to bedrock and geologic structure," discussed by Toulmin, Roedder, Sato, and Martin.

Charles Milton, George Washington University, "New carbonate minerals from East Africa," discussed by Roedder, Hanshaw, Zen, Toulmin, Robertson, Weeks, Jones, Sato, and Barton.

R. S. Fiske and W. T. Kinoshita, USGS, "Deformation studies on Kilauea Volcano prior to the eruption of November 1967," discussed by Davis, Cox, Stewart, Barton, Toulmin, Roedder, Zen, and Robertson.

The meeting adjourned at 9:4l p.m. Attendance: 90.

Meyer Rubin

Acting Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

May 8, 1968

The 909th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, May 8, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.

One visitor was introduced: Dr. Elizabeth Wood, formerly of Bell Telephone Laboratories.

The minutes of the 908th meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced dismally that the two missing minutes books were still missing.

The Secretary then read the proposed changes and additions to the Society's by laws which shall be voted on at the May 22nd meeting. Wendell Woodring questioned the appropriateness of voting on proposed amendments at a regular meeting, but was assured by the Chair that such procedures were in order.

There was a plethora of informal communications:

James Clark informed the Society that the Geology Department of Duke University was compiling a much-needed directory of geologic research underway in the Southeastern States and that questionnaires seeking project details are being sent out.

Blair Jones, bringing Milton's African Safari further north, showed what happens to trachyte when digested by hot alkaline waters.

Johannesh Schroeder, having carefully probed the composition of Echinoid skeletons showed how certain anatomical parts became selectively enriched in magnesium, to form calcic dolomites rather than magnesium calcites.  "Spines and teeth", Stroder revealed, contain less magnesium carbonate than the Epiphysis.

The regular program followed:

Lucien B. Platt, George Washington University, Ordovian gravity sliding in Pennsylvania: a paper describing remarkably confusing structures in the Martinsburg shale — a "bunch of rocks nobody wants"; discussed by Zen (twice), the Chair, and Clark.

Raymond C. Douglas, USGS, "Morphologic studies of fusilinids from the Lower Permian of West Pakistan", which described a method of determining species by cranking physical character­istics into a computer; discussed by Kinney and Roedder.  Roedder, suspected of having geochemical tendencies, tried to provoke paleontologist Douglas into reviving an old feud by admitting that although geochemists were adept at black-box methods, the paleontologists were now guilty of using the biggest, most costly box of all - the computer. Douglas refused to take the bait.

P. R. Vogt and E. D. Scheider, U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office, "Discontinuities in the history-of sea floor spreading,” in which sadness was expressed that contemporary researchers appear to ignore the concepts of Wegener and other early proponents of Continental Drift; discussed by Robertson, Bisque, and Benson.

The meeting adjourned at 10:02 p.m.

Attendance 118.

William L. Newman,

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

May 22, 1968

The 910th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, May 22, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.

As the meeting opened, Ebraham Shekarchi reported that a vehicle was limiting egress from the Cosmos Club's parking lot. One of the evening's speakers hastened to move his vehicle from an area appropriately marked. "Reserved for Speakers".

One visitor was introduced: Michael Loughridge [Lockbridge?] , U.S. Naval
Oceanographic Office.

The minutes of the 909th meeting were read and approved, as corrected by parliamentarian Wendell Woodring.

President Miller called attention to a document that had been distributed to all members present which listed the council-approved changes and additions to the Society's By-Laws. A move to adopt the proposed changes and additions was seconded and the subsequent voice vote was essentially yea - except that a "Hack" broke the silence to register a single nay.

The regular program followed:

Jules D. Friedman, USGS, "Infrared surveys of the neovolcanic median zone of Iceland", an illuminating view of the plumbing systems of Surtsey and her companion volcanoes as scanned by an orbiting satellite; discussed by Toulmin (twice) and Roedder.

Harry E. LeGrande, USGS, "Classification of hydrogeologic settings - a type", which described similar "solution peneplains" that have developed on dissimilar rocks, namely the chalk belt of Alabama-Mississippi and the gabbro terrain of North Carolina; discussed by Warren.

Larry H. Heflin, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, "Undermining Washington - engineering geology for the transit system", a progress report on Greater Washington's subway and a review of the rocks and structures likely to be encountered and the constraints they impose; discussed by Reed, Withington, and Toulmin.

The President thanked the speakers for the informative meeting which concluded the Spring Series.  Wishing all a happy summer, he adjourned the meeting at 9:44 p.m.

Attendance: 70,

William L. Newman,

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

October 9, 1968

The 911th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, October 9, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.

The President opened the first meeting of the Fall Series with a warm welcome and hoped all had a profitable summer.

The following visitors were introduced to the Society: Bill Carmen USGS, Marquette, Michigan; Theodore K. Chamberlain, Univ. of Hawaii, and Ocean Science and Engineering, Bethesda; Tony Erlank, Capetown, South Africa; and a contingent from the Geological Survey's Publications Div; John Eric; Mel Haines; Pete Dilonardo; and Dick Kidwell. Noted at the meeting was Dale Jackson of the USGS, Menlo Park, California office.

The minutes of the 910th meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to membership in the Society of the following: Julian W. Feiss, USGS; Theodore K. Chamberlain, University of Hawaii and Ocean Science and Engineer­ing; Richard P. Sheldon, USGS; Michael S. Loughridge, U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office.

The President sadly announced that nearly 100 members had not paid their dues.

He further announced the appointment of an Ad Hoc Committee, with E-an Zen Chairman, which will spearhead the preparation of earth science project descriptions for use by student scientists.

An informal communication by Ellis Yochelson featured a pictorial review of the beginning and tragic conclusion of the XXIII International Geological Congress held in trouble-torn Prague, Czechoslovakia.

The regular program followed:

Thomas G. Gibson, USGS, -"Some tectonic aspects of the Atlantic Coastal Plane and Shelf", a description of the various depositional environments that affected sedimentation during the Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods; discussed by the Chair.

Camilla A. Scott, USGS, - "Geologic Maps and the Three Color Printing Process", a lucid resumé of map printing problems and - when the need for economy is pitted against the demand for excellence - their imaginative solutions; discussed by Life enthusiast, the other Bob Neuman.

Norman Herz, USGS, - "Anorthosites, continental drift and the origin of the earth-moon system," a provoking discussion of the dis­tribution patterns of massif-type anorthosite belts coupled with age data that cluster around 1.3 billion years, all suggesting an earth-shaking heat pulse; spiritedly discussed by Dale Jackson, Lanci Bengtz, Stan Hart, Don Lindsley (twice), Herb Shaw, an unknown gentleman on center aisle - possibly a geochemist -, Ed Roedder, Marvin Lanphere, Dave Stewart, and a serious question by Montis Klepper.

President Miller thanked the speakers, announced the next meeting and adjourned at 9:50.

Attendances 201.

William L. Newman

Sec'y

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

October 23, 1968

The 912th Meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, October 23, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.

The following visitors were introduced:  Lyle W. Newman, Sandia Corporation, Albuquerque; Prof. John Hansen, Univ. of Copenhagen; Leif Lorborg, Danish Atomic Energy Commission Research Establishment Riso; Abraham Vromen, Israel Mining Industries; Jack Gair, USGS, Marquette, Michigan.

The minutes of the 911th meeting were read and approved.

A Memorial to Carl H. Dane was presented by George Cohee.

The President reminded the members that GSW is sponsoring the Geological Society of America's Annual Meeting to be held in Washington, D.C., in 1971.  Then, with a keen regard for the passage of geologic time, he confided to those members young enough to be interested that the Society would also sponsor the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in 1977.

The President further announced that a special lecture by Prof. John J. Prucha, Chairman of the Dept. of Geology, Syracuse Univ. and participant in AAPG's Distinguished Lecture Series, would be held in the GSA Auditorium at 10:00 a.m. on November 21.  The lecture, sponsored jointly by the Society and George Washington University, is titled: "Sedimentary Rock Deformation related to structure in the Basement."

Reviewing the need for more write-ups of projects suitable for young earth-science students to undertake, the President solicited the help of the Society. Any ideas generated should be sent to E-an Zen.

The regular program followed:

Irving Breger, J. C. Chandler, and Peter Zubovic, USGS: "Infrared study of structural H2O in Heulandite and Clinoptilolite", which described a neat method for determining the water content in tiny amounts of two minerals; discussed by E-an Zen, Dan Appleman, Ed Roedder, Jack Van Dorr, and Moto Sato.

Peter F. Bermel, USGS, "Antarctic mapping — dog teams to satellites", a pictorial review of a topographer's way of life in the south polar regions; discussed by the Chair and Philip Guild.

Richard S. Fiske, USGS, "The 1967-68 eruption of Kilauea Volcano - first color motion pictures", a dramatic documentary of the numerous phases of eruption in Halemaumau Fire Pit; discussed by Ed Roedder, Henry Warrens Frank Davis, and Dennis Cox.

The President announced that the next meeting would be held on November 13.

The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

Attendance 210.

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

November 13, 1968

The 913th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, November 13, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with Vice-president Charles Denny Presiding.

Vice President Denny noted that the President and Secretaries had taken the occasion of the GSA's Annual Meeting in Mexico City to vacation south of the border.

Distinguished visitor Herbert Hawkes was recognized by the Chair. The minutes of the 912th meeting were read and approved as corrected by Walt Ketterer.

The Acting Secretary announced the election to membership in the Society of the following: Herbert W. Blodget, National Aeronautics and Space Admin.; Vernon J. Henry, National Science Foundation and Univ. of Ga.; William F. Cannon, USGS; Jacob E. Gair, USGS; Judith Ann Boreman, USGS; R. Philip Benson, Silver Spring, Md.; William L. Emerick, USGS; Robert B. Fraser, USGS; John G. Vedder, USGS.

And still another plea was made for the return of the two missing books of the Society's minutes.

The Vice-President announced the death of John P. Creel.

The Nominating Committee's slate of Society officers for 1969 was announced as follows:

For President                            Montis R. Klepper
For First V.P.                           Frank C. Whitmore, Jr.
For Second V.P.                      Francis R. Boyd, Jr.
For Secretary (meetings)           William D. Carter
For Secretary (council)             William L. Newman
For Treasurer                           Wilna B. Wright
For Counselors                         Wendell Cochran

                                            Douglas W. Rankin

                                            James B. Rucker

For representative to Washington Academy of Sciences: Ralph L. Miller

The Vice-President reminded the members that an AAPG Distinguished Lecture by John J. Prucha would be held in the Auditorium at 10:00 a.m., on November 21.

The regular program followed:

Julian Feiss, Department of the Interior: "Utilization of geothermal power in Japan;" a pictorial tour of Japan's rapidly growing geothermal power industry; discussed by Tom Thayer, Charles Hunt, Bob Weeks, Harold Kirkemo, and Don Peterson.

Frank E, Senftle, USGS: "Use of Californium for mineral exploration by in situ neutron activation," a compact neutron source currently wholesaling at $450 billion per gram; discussed by Pete Toulmin (twice), Dennis Cox, Charles Warren, The Chair, Doug Kinney, Dick Sheldon (twice), and Julian Feiss.

Gilbert Corwin, USGS: “Sea Floor spreading: review, critique and a suggestion", climaxed with a graphical moving exhibit -live and in color; discussed by Gene Robertson, Tom Thayer (4 minutes), and E-an Zen.

The Vice President announced that the next meeting followed by the Annual Meeting would be held December 11.

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Attendance: 81

William C. Prinz

2nd Substitute Acting Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

December 11, 1968

The 914th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, December 11, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.

President Miller extended a general welcome to the numerous ladies in the audience, who represented a significant proportion of the distaff side of the membership.

One visitor was introduced: David Herrick of Penn State.

The minutes of the 913th meeting were read and approved.

The Secretary announced the election to member­ship of the following: Rodney J. Caruso, U.S. Army, Ft. Myer, Virginia; Zolpkly [previous name was illegible] Whiteman, Washington, D.C.; William H. Pinson, Goddard Space Flight Center; Richard B. Loring, George Washington University; Herbert E. Hawkes, Jr., Washington, D.C.; John D. Gassaway, Naval Research Laboratory.

The President noted that Dr. John J. Prucha, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer did present a paper titled "Sedimentary Rock Deformation Related to Structure in the Basement" at 10:00 A.M. on November 21, 1968, in the GSA auditorium.

The Chair announced that the Earth Science project write-ups were completed and the package transmitted to the Washington Joint Board of Education for inclusion in their forthcoming publication.

The Chair further announced that plans for pre­paring a geologic guide to the Greater Washington area were underway with John C. Reed, Jr., in charge.

The President turned the Chair over to Vice-President Charles Denny who introduced the speaker of the evening by noting that President Miller's birthplace was near Bethlehem. While the audience pondered the ramifications of that disclosure, President Miller delivered his Presidential address titled: "The Cumberland Overthrust Block, 1968".

Attendance: 169    The meeting adjourned at 9:01 pm

William L. Newman

Secretary

 

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT

76th Annual Meeting
December 11, 1968

The 76th Annual Meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Wednesday evening, December 11, 1968, at 9:25 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.

The Minutes of the 75th Annual Meeting were read by Meetings Secretary Bill Newman.

The Annual Report of the Secretaries was read by Council Secretary Bill Oliver.

The Treasurer's Report as of December 11, 1968 was presented by Treasurer Wilna Wright. Total receipts from all sources plus $358.34 cash balance, $4,071.34; total expenditures were $3,670.37; the net cash balance as of December 11, 1968, is $400.97. The Endowment Fund stands at $2,790.65, giving total net assets at the year's end of $3,191.62. The net increase in assets over 1967 is $173.30.

The Auditing Committee's report was presented by Robert Weeks, Chairman. The Treasurer's books were found to be in excellent shape with individual items of income and expenditures correctly summarized and all monies where they belonged. The Committee commended the Treasurer "on the condition and order of all pertinent materials."

The Report of the Finance Committee was presented by Chairman Priestly Toulmin. The wide-ranging interests of the Committee were reflected in Toulmin's customary rambling report. First, he spoke glibly about the delights of the Society's Insurance Program, imparting the news that a dependent child -if in school - may be covered under the Family Plan until age 25.  Then he darkly warned that inflation of medical costs would no doubt cause a rise in premium rates. He also noted increases in Society expenditures, notably the higher cost of printing, addressing and mailing services and mounting rental charges by the Cosmos Club. To conserve the Society's fiscal resources, he recommended, among other things, the elimination of May meetings, and the use of keg beer instead of canned beer. He was pleased to note that the recent increase in dues produced only a small spurt of resignations. Toulmin then paid tribute to Carle Dane, whose knowledge and experience are sorely missed by the Committee.

The Public Service Committee's report was presented by Chairman Wendell Cochrane. Cochrane reviewed the Society's involvement in Earth Science education throughout the Greater Washington area and noted that GSW members were serving as judges of earth science projects In science fairs; that several members were assisting in science course work in the public schools and in certain colleges; and that GSW is cooperating with the Joint Board on Science Education by active partici­pation and by direct financial aid.

The Awards Committee Report was presented by Chairman Josh Tracey, supported by Ed Roedder and Bill Joyner. First prize for the best paper of the year, consisting of a silver bowl, with the names of past and present winners engraved upon it - plus a $25 check - was given to Dick Fiske for his dramatic documentary of "The 1967-68 eruption of Kilauea Volcano - first color motion pictures." Second prize of $10 went to Doug Rankin for "Magmatic activity and orogeny in the Southern Blue Ridge."

The requirements for the Great Dane award, presented for the "best informal communication of the year, were stretched to the utmost when the award went to Bill Newman, the Meetings Secretary, who appeared to excel in not presenting informal communications. Chairman Tracey did say some kind words about the quality of the minutes, however.

President Miller then called upon the Chairman of the Sleeping Bear award for his presentation. The call, however, yielded Bruce Hanshaw - a real sleeper!  Mumbling nonsense, Hanshaw struck G flat on the piano and the real Sleeping Bear staggered out from his hastily constructed pallette of twigs and leaves at the rear of the stage. Mounting the stage in full bed gear, aptly colored in washed-out puce, the Bruin shouted, "Quality must be restored to this award!"

Then, admitting that the year was sadly deficient in spontaneous humor, he nailed Herz for his cryptic remark: "One point (meaning 1.3 billion years ago) is a lot of data."

Zietz, customarily a runner-up for assorted prizes, was singled out for his annual "promise to keep it short!" and his admission that he "had lots of data on slides that can't be shown."

Then running out of names ending in Z, Bruin clawed on Thayer who had put the "squeeze on an unknown stratiform complex at unknown temperatures and pressures"; then he pounced on Reed who, feeling short-sheeted, complained that the area he was asked to discuss was only "half as vast" as Izzy's.

At this moment Bruin was presented a pair of Bear Paws that grasped a flask of sipping whiskey.  "Another good thing from the Bear Paws," he observed slyly; then glanced around the hall to see if HE was listening.

The Vince McKelvey-Bill Johnston Poste and Riposte over Phil Guild's metallotects was reexposed for consideration. McKelvey's charge that the concept was not based on any known scientific method but was instead, the result of excessive generalization, drew from Johnston his complete astonishment that McKelvey - of all people - should object to excessive generalizations. But both candidates for the award were rejected on the grounds that they both meant what they said.  "The Committee was seeking the, 'guileless' comments," said Bruin.

Suddenly breaking precedent by attacking the President, Bruin noted the Chair's penchant for proving he was completely unfamiliar with the various speakers' professional affiliations. Also noted was the Chair's clear announcement that the next meeting would be held on the second February in Wednesday!

Bruin then removed his headgear to expose the leering face of Dave Stewart, the Society's perennial candidate for the Sleeping Bear Award, and the full impact of magnificent irony was felt throughout the hall. The President, tossing his own hat in the ring as a serious contender, had eliminated his closest rival for the award "by appointing him Chairman of the Committee, thus forcing him to present the cup to he who did the appointing. Handing President Miller the cup, Steward" muttered, "Anyway, I got to hold it briefly!"

The annual election of officers and councilors followed. The official slate was presented; it was moved and seconded that nominations be closed, and the officers and councilors were elected by acclamation.

The Chair thanked the Communications Committee for a highly successful year and singled out Dennis Cox for kudos.

Then he passed out more of the same to the various councilors whom he identified by name.

The new officers were introduced by the President and a transfer of gavels was made.

There was a rough reading of the rough minutes.

The meeting adjourned at 10:35 p.m. Attendance: 168.

William L. Newman

Secretary