GSW: 1998
MEETING MINUTES
Geological
Society of
Minutes
of the 1297th Meeting,
January
14, 1998.
Presidential Person in Black Sorensen
called the meeting to order at precisely 8:00PM. The minutes of the 1296th meeting were read
and accepted as read. Visitors Suzanne
Wiley (NOAA), Cornelia Klass, Suzanne Vanderlee and an additional visitor from
the University of Capetown, Robert Kinsley (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and
Eric Hagen, were introduced. Moments of
silence were observed for recently deceased members Jack Gair and David Appleman. There will be no February 11 meeting. The President announced a new policy
combining two remarkable attributes for GSW - namely asking questions and
drinking beer. SWILL WHILE YOU GRILL is
now the appropriate way to stay on time.
Jim Luhr and Karen Prestegaard are the new program chairs. There was an informal communication from
Ellis Yochelson on the Centennial of the Washington Academy of Sciences.
The first speaker was David Goshen of the
Maryland Department of Natural resources discussing
The second talk was by David James of the
Department of Terrestrial magnetism on “Water, Wayward Slabs, and the Formation
of the
The third talk was by Allison MacFarlane
from
The meeting was adjourned at 9:47 PM. Attendance was 65.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas B. Woodward, Meeting Secretary
Geological Society of
President
Sorensen called the 1298th Meeting of the Geological Society of
Washington to order at 8:01PM Wednesday January 28, 1998, Powell Auditorium,
Cosmos Club. The minutes of the 1297th
meeting were read and accepted as corrected.
Guests included Leslie Gordon, USGS, Pete McLaughlin,
The first
talk was given by Richard Wunderman from the Smithsonian Institution on a
“Geoelectrical Traverse across the Western Limb of the Midcontinent Rift in the
The second
talk was by Edward Callendar from the USGS on “Has Environmental Legislation
Been Effective? The Case for Lead.” Air
quality data and water quality data are frequently variable in quantity and
quality. Sediment core data from urban
and suburban lakes or reservoirs, however, particularly in areas of rapid
sedimentation (5 cm/yr), give very good resolution. Sediment core data parallel the available air
quality data with sharp increases from 1960 to the early 1970’s and a sharp decrease
since then. Lead data in large sediment
basins and in rural areas had smaller but broader peaks. Automobiles are the main source of
environmental lead with air emissions cut by 95% since the mid-1970’s. Current lead levels are still double
pre-urbanization levels however.
Questions by Keenay, Galvin, Bricker, Stifel, Am Ende, French,
Wunderman, and Kadrea.
The third talk was by Robert Schmidt, USGS retired and
the Smithsonian on “More than jars and coins: the environmental legacy of Roman
Silver-Lead mining at Plasenzuela,
Respectfully
submitted,
Nicholas B.
Woodward
Geological
Society of
Minutes of the 1299th meeting,
February 25, 1998
President
Sorensen called the meeting to order at 8:01 PM. The minutes were accepted as read.
There were
abundant guests, including 8 graduate students from the
Announcements
included the latest refrain of the new ballad "Grill While You Swill"
to the tune of The Beggar's Opera, and "Park Not, Lest Ye Parked Somewhere
less Desirable" to the tune of A Mighty Fortress. In the latter case the hymn leader indicated
that $558 dollars was more than the GSW was willing to swallow in parking
charges for even our most beloved Swillers, and that parking in the Cosmos Club
lot was restricted to the pure of heart or large of wallet, which regrettably
does not include many of us.
Paul
Kimberly was announced as a new member, and immediately drafted as the Chair of
the Science Fair Committee.
Alma Paty announced that the Women in Mining
organization was helping with the Harriet Tubman School Science Fair and would
welcome assistance from GSW.
Tom Dutro
presented an informal communication on how N.H. Darton had given two lucid GSW
talks only 50 years apart and that,
Our first
speaker was Michael O'Connell of the USGS whose talk was entitled
"Conditions that affect the transport and Fate of Nitrate in a Maryland
Coastal Plain Watershed". His
discussion focused on data that demonstrates that groundwater flow is
partitioned into shallow transport and deep transport zones. The shallow zone has dominantly young
groundwater, whereas the deeper has much older groundwater, based on CFC
contents. Recharge is calculated to be 5
cm/yr while precipitation in the area is 110 cm/yr. The shallow transport zones are frequently
dominated by macropore flow, from roots and burrows, whereas deeper flow is
through normal porous media flow. Most Nitrate
is transported by surface or shallow flow from agricultural plots in upper recharge
basin areas. Groundwater stratification
is common with high, medium and low flow and decrease of Nitrate with
depth.
Questions by
Wood and Stifel.
Our second
Speaker was Richard Fiske of the Smithsonian on "A Crater lake caldera at
an ocean depth of 1.4 km? You must be kidding?" Dick proposed the hypothesis of caldera
formation in a submarine environment after spending too much time in
Questions by
Sato, Rubin, Milton, Neuzil, Rankin, Stifel, Haffner, Sato, Hearn, Neuman, and
Lipin (filling in for Sato).
Our third
speaker was Dr. Kay Brubaker of the
Question by
Van Brocken (sp??)
Attendance
was 102.
The meeting
was adjourned at 9:47 PM.
These notes
were written by Nick Woodward, read with slight modification by Sandy Neuzil,
and are respectfully submitted March 11, 1998.
Minutes of
the 1300th meeting of the
Geological
Society of
Wednesday March 11, 1998.
The 1300th
meeting started at 8:00 PM.
Minutes of the 1299th meeting were read by
Council Secretary Sandy Neuzil with overheads explaining Meetings Secretary
Nick Woodward’s absence.
No new
members were announced.
Several guests were introduced although transmission from the audience
was a little garbled: Sergi Rosotskov (??), Dr. Larry ??? DTM, Dr. ???? NIST, 5
undergraduates from the
There were two announcements.
1. A plea for 9
volunteers to judge a science fair March 21st (last Saturday).
2. A reminder not to park
in the Cosmos parking lot, unless you are willing to pay, i.e. do not pull up
and tell the attendant you are here for GSW.
The first speaker, Suzan Van der Lee, of the Department of Terrestrial
Magnetism, presented "Constraints on the subduction history of the trailing fragments of the Farallon plate
from seismic imaging."
Anomalies in
seismic wave train transmissions are used to detect thermal anomalies and
chemical alterations in the upper mantle, down to 500 kilometers depth. Seismograms are used to interpret the
post-Cretaceous subduction history along the west coast of the
Fourteen
questions were asked by: Richard Ash,
Richard Walker, Dan Milton, David James, Rick Wunderman, Pete Stifel, E-an Zen,
Gene Robertson, Steve Shirey, Moto Sato (2), George Helz, Tom Van Broten ??,
and Paul Silver,
The second
talk "Early occupation of world deltas, sea level, and geoarchaeological
considerations" was delivered by Daniel J. Stanley of the Smithsonian
Institution.
Worldwide,
Holocene delta initiation around 8,000 to 6,500 years ago is synchronous with
the decrease in rate of sea level rise.
Archaeological evidence shows that these deltas were occupied shortly
after their stabilization. This suggests
that human occupation was “pulled” into fertile deltas that were optimal for
agriculture and hunter gatherer lifestyles rather than being “pushed” into
deltas by population pressures.
Four
questions were asked by: Fred Simon, Jeff Williams, Christina Gallup, and Paul
Silver.
The third
paper was "The effects of aerosols on photochemical smog" by Russell
Dickerson,
Ozone is a
recalcitrant component of smog. It
damages crops, is a greenhouse gas, and has adverse effects on human
health. Ozone is formed by a
photochemical reaction that involves hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides, and near UV
light of sunshine. Aerosols in air
pollution effect the amount of UV light that is available and thus have an indirect
effect on production of ozone. Mineral
dust and soot absorb UV light whereas sulfur dioxide and ammonium sulfate
reflect and scatter UV light. Thus east coast
sulfur-based haze can contribute to a previously unpredicted increase in ozone
production.
Seven
questions were asked by: Rick Wunderman (2), Mac Ross, Alan Kolker, George
Sellers, Daniel Stanley, and Gene Robertson.
Eighty three
extremely inquisitive people attended and the meeting adjourned at 10:05 PM.
These notes
are respectfully submitted by Sandy Neuzil in Nick Woodward’s absence, again.
The 1301st meeting started at 8:00 PM.
Minutes of
the 1300th meeting were read by Council Secretary Sandy Neuzil, again.
Three new
members were announced.
1. Keith McLaughlin, with the Center for Monitoring Research
in
2. Timothy Mock, with the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
at the Carnegie Institution of
3. Michael J. Smith, with the American Geological
Institute.
Approximately sixteen guests were introduced:
Brenda
Sanford; John Boyd from geophysical lab, DTM; Five students from the University
of Maryland: Adrian, Tony, Gary, Mary, and Mark (sorry I did not catch your
last names); Dean Frank Brown (he may have been announcing the UMD students);
Dave Diodata a post doc with WRD USGS; Yingwei Fei introduced about five young
colleagues from the Carnegie Institution (I really apologize that I did not
catch the names); Joe Truster (he may have been one of Yingwei Fei's
colleagues); Brian Mahew of Papadapolos and Associates.
There were
three announcements.
1. Brett
Leslie announced a job opening with NRC
2. Jeff
Williams announced the Assateague Shelf and Shore Workshop and field trip at
George Mason University. Well, now you have missed it. It was the last weekend
in March.
3. Sorena
Sorensen announced the publication of a book by Ellis Yochelson of the
Smithsonian Institution.
There were
no informal communications.
The first
speaker, Mary Jo Baedecker, of the US Geological Survey, presented "Redox
processes and hydrocarbon attenuation in groundwater."
Millions if
not billions of dollars are spent on mining and refining and then again on
cleaning up from processing and inadvertent "spills." A case of an
oil spill in 1986 near Bemidji Minnesota shows that although water soluble
hydrocarbons are entrained in the shallow aquifer groundwater flow, the oil
plume has reached a near steady state in 10 years. Methanogenic bacteria in the
anoxic zone, using iron and manganese as electron receptors, are decomposing
the hydrocarbons at approximately the same rate that they are moved downstream.
Natural processes should be investigated further as a potentially viable low
cost mechanism for hydrocarbon spill cleanup.
Seven
questions were asked by: Warren Wood, Lawrence Labella, Brett Leslie, Moto
Sato, Pete Stifel, Karen Prestegaard, and Park McBride.
The second
talk "Depositional features and stratigraphy in granitic plumes" was
delivered by Robert A. Wiebe of Franklin and Marshall College.
Careful
observation of granitic and mafic materials can be used to interpret the
original "up" orientation at the time of emplacement and the
sequential history of emplacement in large plutons. Numerous slides illustrated
examples of "sedimentary structures" and their up direction: e.g.,
dykes injected through and spreading over a crystal mush yet below the crystal
free magma, bottom scour, load casts, diapiric movement and piping up through
successive layers, soft deformation, filter pressing of crystals, and slab
structures. What looks like zones of cooling inward from the country rock walls
of a pluton chamber may be reinterpreted as sequentially upward, horizontal filling
of a chamber that sagged over time with successive emplacements to give a near
vertical orientation to what was the horizontal chamber floor.
Four
questions were asked by: Mike Brown (2), Cy Galvin, and Brooks Hanson.
The third
paper was "Phase transitions in the Earth's mantle" by Yingwei Fei,
Carnegie Institution of Washington.
At both 400
and 670 km depth in the mantle, the region of transition from the silicate-rich
crust to the iron-rich core, rapid increases of earthquake wave propagation
suggest an increase in mineral density. How can we study the mineral phases at
the temperatures and pressures found in this region of the mantle, which are
difficult to reproduce accurately? An experimental anvil was constructed to
take seven samples, of slightly different composition, simultaneously "downward"
or "upward' through the pressure and temperature regimes found at these
depths. Phase diagrams were constructed for olivine, spinel, garnet,
perovskite, etc. Density characteristics of the minerals formed give insights
into seismic wave propagation and the potential for, or hindrance of, deep
subduction of slabs within the mantle.
Four
questions were asked by: someone, Richard Walker, Gene Robertson, and John
Boyd.
Ninety nine
people attended and the meeting adjourned at 9:42 PM.
These notes
are respectfully submitted by Sandy Neuzil in Nick Woodward's absence, again.
The
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes of the 1302nd meeting of the Geological Society of Washington, Powell Auditorium,
Cosmos Club, Wednesday, April 8, 1998.
President
Sorenstein called the meeting to order at 7:56 pm, or at least she tried to.
E-an Zen immediately raised a point of order, claiming that it was not yet
8:00. But the damage had already been done, and the meeting started anyway. The
minutes, written by the substitute Secretary, Sandy Neuzil, and read by the emergency
backup Secretary, Jeff Grossman, were corrected and approved.
Two visitors
were announced:
Judith
Barry from the University of mumble-mumble,
and Mike
Rose from the University of Wales, Cardiff
The one new
member announced was:
Mike
Minarik, Carnegie Institution of Washington
President
Saarinen announced that GSW will soon send out a questionnaire about how the
Society does business. She next announced
that the GSW Spring field trip would be canceled due to lack of permission to
visit certain localities. President
Shermanson then noted that Bill Burton had a big article on local geology in
the current Horizon section of the Washington Post, and that he needed copies
of it for the USGS Open House. Obviously
cranky this evening, E-an Zen seemed to find it amusing that the USGS could not
afford to buy a few 25-cent newspapers, and told us so. Charles McMorrow then made a motion that GSW
commend Bill Burton for writing this article; the motion was approved unanimously. In a final announcement, Bruce Lipin
announced that he was asked to announce the USGS open house on April 25 and 26,
which he then announced.
The first
talk was "Laboratory studies of cometary dust," by Scott Messenger of
NIST. Interplanetary Dust Particles
(IDPs) are usually obtained using otherwise unused U2's. Most are <40 mm in diameter and <0.1 mm in grain
size. From some asteroids come some and
some come from some comets and for some it's fun to say from which one any one
comes from. Some IDPs bear the
signatures of interstellar grains, as seen in their greatly elevated D/H
ratios. Messenger also argued that some IDPs could be traced to particular comets,
such as Schwassmann-Wachman 3. There
were questions by anonymous, Wertzbacher, Rich Walker, Mike Rise, John Farrell,
Pat Taylor, and the Secretary (who President What's-her-name rudely asked to
identify himself so that he might get his own name right in the minutes).
The second
talk was "Gas hydrate¾A paean or a pain," by Keith Kvenvolden of the USGS. Gas hydrates
are water clathrates, with methane/H2O ratios of 170. As much as 10000000000000 tons of natural gas
is locked up under 300 m of water on continental margins, and 400000000000 tons
is found in permafrost regions at the poles.
This may be the largest carbon reservoir in the upper geosphere. But, they are a difficult resource to
tap. Could gas-hydrate explosions explain
ship disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle,
and could melting of the deposits put an end to life as we know it? Probably not, but they may cause massive
undersea landslides, and the scuttling of drilling platforms. Hydrates may also form on sub-sea equipment
while pumping natural gas. The Indians
and Japanese are trying to overcome these problems in using gas hydrates as a
resource. There were questions by Sato, Schiffries, Stifel, Frisson,
Schiffries, Farrell, Taylor, Huebner, Rye, Zen, Luhr, and Sandy Neuzil. After
20 minutes of this, President Bjornsen cut off further questions.
The final
talk was "Recent changes in ice flow indicate that ice sheets are not in
steady state," by Mark A. Fahnestock of NASA. Recent changes in ice flow indicate that ice
sheets are not in steady state. The
Greenland ice cap, described by the speaker as a "large particle of
ice" is like a flowing puddle of molasses with GPS meters stuck into
it. These meters show that a 700 km long
ice stream is headed north in eastern Greenland, although why the ice was behaving
this way was beyond the understanding of the Emergency Backup Secretary. The Ross ice shelf in east Antarctica is also
on the move, and has retreated and thinned over the last 11000 years. The speaker then tried to trace two twisty
tear trends, crazy courses of crooked curving cracks and creases, bergs by big
blue blocks with blatant bulging blisters, and weird rows of writhing wrinkles
in the ice in great detail to show how complicated things are. In short, recent changes in ice flow indicate
that ice sheets are not in steady state.
There were questions by Kvenvolder, Stifel, Stifel, Sandy Neuzil, and
Peck.
Pres.
Jorgensen adjourned the meeting at 9:52 pm.
There were 55 attendees.
Respectfully
submitted,
Jeffrey N.
Grossman, that's G-r-o-s-s-m-a-n
EBS
(Emergency backup secretary)
The
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes
of the 1303rd meeting of the Geological Society of Washington,
Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Wednesday April 22, 1998.
President Sorensen called the meeting to
order at 8:01PM. With some puzzlement,
the president recognized the actual
Meeting Secretary to read the minutes, whose recent dereliction of duty
had been sonorously commented upon before the august crowd previously. The minutes, as composed for strings and bassoon by the Emergency Backup
Secretary Jeff Grossman, were read, commented upon and approved as
corrected. Two guests, David Mitchtree
and Robert Tinsley, were introduced, and two deaths noted with sadness, that of
Dr. Louis Pavlides and Mrs. Arlene Newman.
The USGS is holding an Open-House on April 25 & 26 and members are
encouraged to attend.
The first talk was by James F. Allan of the
NSF on “Petrology of Fernandina: Is the Galapagos hotspot really a
Warmspot?” Over the last 5-6 my the Cocos/Nazca
ridge has migrated away from the Galapagos Islands, although thin oceanic
crust, recent volcanism and isotopic compositions of igneous rocks from Fernandina
island suggests that it remains directly over the hotspot. The volcanic rocks are evolved tholeiites,
but also carry signs of mixing of melts, including chrome-spinel that is
armored by plagioclase. Lead isotopes
suggest that new material is added to the magma chamber periodically, perhaps
on the order of every decade or so. The
mixing model also suggests that the Galapagos lavas are the result of a shallow
magma chamber that buffers deeper inputs from the hotspot. The conclusion was that the Galapagos plume
which was highly vigorous and created the Caribbean Igneous Province 90 my ago
is dying out and only supplying limited amounts of new melt to the base of the
magma chamber. Questions by Voight,
Walker, Luhr, Sato and Rankin.
The second speaker was Ted A. Maxwell of
the Smithsonian Institution on “Streams SIR-C saw sub Saharan Sand.” SIR-C, also recognized as Shuttle Imaging
Radar - C band has mapped the distribution of nearly or fully buried alluvial
channel systems beneath sand deposits “4
Flat Tires” distance south of Cairo, along the Sudanese border. High rainfall during the Early Pleistocene
caused development of river systems that drain into major depressions in the
region. A few of the channels are
exposed on the surface, but others can be delineated the radar, mostly trending NE-SW. SIR-C also can be used to map elevation
differences and thus surface slopes between the channels. The interfluvial areas have been the source
of various archeological discoveries.
The third speaker was Kay Behrensmeyer of
the Smithsonian Institution on “WHY are there no dinosaur bone beds at the KT
boundary? and other tales of death and preservation in the fossil record.” First, the speaker identified three damage
zones associated with any bolide impact, the ZONE OF DEATH, the ZONE OF SLOW
DEATH, and the ZONE OF LONG TERM EFFECTS.
With the asteroid movies due this spring it was encouraging to note that
most of us would live in the zones of SLOW DEATH and LONG TERM EFFECTS.
Forensic characteristics paleontologists look for when considering the impact
of impacts are: magnitudes of mass deaths, age profiles of the victims, multispecific
versus monospecific victims, etc.
Unfortunately, paleontologists also have to worry about the preservation
possibilities for victims, and variables such as recycling of body parts,
burial rates, mineralization rates, etc, and the effect of “time averaging” of
deaths during long sedimentation intervals.
20X Enrichment of victims by extinctions at any one time over background
death rates becomes small or invisible after only 10 years or so. With 100% preservation of victims the
enrichment becomes indistinguishable after 1000 years. Thus paucity of victims, increased
weathering, time averaging, patchy sedimentation and current outcrop availability
all limit our ability to identify mass deaths.
Congregation of victims in limited areas, multispecificty of victims,
and decreases in scavenging because of loss of scavengers might aid in our
identification of an impact. Questions
by Dutro, Grossman, Burton, Stanley and Sato.
The President announced that the next meeting
would be held September 9, and wished everyone a nice summer. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM. There were 62 attendees.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas B. Woodward
Meetings Secretary.
The
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes
of the 1304th meeting of the Geological Society of Washington,
Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, September 9, 1998
President Sorensen called the large and
enthusiastic meeting to order at 7:59PM .
The minutes from the 1303rd meeting were accepted as read because no one
remembered what had happened on April 22.
Many visitors graced our presence, although the folks who introduced
them pretty much mumbled their names.
Seven visitors were introduced including two from the USGS, one new AGI
Congressional Science Fellow and one Geological Society of America
Congressional Science Fellow. Their
names can be added to this archival document if their sponsors would care to
contact me directly with the correct spellings.
Three new members were announced, Lawrence Libelo from EPA, Jim Quick of
the USGS and Henry Wilson of Banner Engineering. The audience observed silence in respect for
two departed GSW members, Bruce Hanshaw and Michael Fleischer, both of, or
formerly of, the USGS.
Announcements were made about the upcoming
Earth Science Week Oct 11-17 sponsored by the AGI, a Conference on Communication
Technology sponsored by the Washington Academy of Sciences Oct 19, and a W.A.S.
Workshop on the Role of Science in the Development of Washington and the Nation
Oct 29-31. Tom Dutro announced a
convention on Sept 12-13 of Science Editors, Librarians and Publishers. R.S. Fiske presented an informal
communication following up on his paper last spring on Myojin Knoll Caldera
southeast of Japan. He described new
research within the caldera that documents a massive sulfide deposit developing
on the seafloor which is the size and perhaps density of the Pentagon.
The first presentation was by Dr. Lori
Glaze from Goddard Space Flight Center on Satellite Observations of Volcanic
Plume Tops. The goal of the project is
to understand atmospheric dynamics associated with volcanoes based on the topography
of the top of the volcanic plume. This
is of course all we will be able to observe on other planets, so understanding
it on earth will provide essential constraints on our planetary
observations. The topographic image of
the top of the plume is derived from its shadow structure based on
relationships among the incident sun angle, satellite angle and surface element
orientation of the plume surface.
Thermal observations of the plumes supports the geometric calculations
since plume topography is also related to plume thermal structure. Questions were asked by a member of the USGS
and by Karen Prestegaard.
The second presentation was by Thomas
Yanosky of the USGS titled “The Element Analysis of Tree Rings in Hydrologic
Investigations.” Tree rings are
routinely called upon to provide wet-dry climate information based on ring
widths and shapes, but this project investigated dendrochemistry, that is the
chemical composition changes between rings.
Proton induced X-ray emission spectroscopy is used to obtain
multi-elemental analyses of .5mm spots within tree rings. Dendrochemistry is believed to provide a
history of chemical changes in a tree’s environment over time such as, for
example contamination of soils around the tree, contamination of groundwaters
or salt encroachment. Dendrochemistry
depends heavily on demonstration that there is limited movement across rings
within a tree, although it is well recognized that geometry and chemistry
within a ring changes going from the roots to the top of any individual
tree. Several case studies support the
use of dendrochemistry as a useful if challenging tool. A lively discussion with more than a dozen
questions ensued.
The third presentation was by Thomas
Casadevall of the USGS on “Opportunities and Challenges for the US Geological
Survey as we Enter the 21st Century.”
The Department of the Interior is emphasizing the importance of cross-disciplinary
activities for the new Geological Survey especially in examining problems at
the landscape, ecosystem or basin scale, and those requiring contributions from
all parts of the USGS. There is a question of whether the Post-World War II
paradigm on the role of science remains viable in the present, and whether a
new contract is necessary between science and public policy arenas. The USGS is smaller and has more responsibilities
with a total budget of approximately $1.1B.
It must address broad issues such as multiple cause and effects and the
impact of human activities on regions.
The USGS will increase its work with other Federal and State Agencies,
and with the academic community. It is
also aware of the need to participate in training a new scientifically skilled
work force. Questions by Perry, Hayes,
Cardis, Roth and Linde.
The first meeting of the season now
presents us all with a challenge to remain as awake, enthusiastic and
questioning for the rest of our programs.
The attendance was 87. The
meeting adjourned at 9:58 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas B. Woodward
Meeting Secretary
The Geological Society of Washington
Minutes of the 1,305th meeting of the Geological Society of Washington, Powell
Auditorium, Cosmos Club, September 22, 1998.
First Vice
President Steven Shirey called the meeting to order at 8:01 PM. The minutes
from the 1,304th meeting were accepted as read.
Six guests
were introduced: Rich Lane from the National Science Foundation, Todd Waight
from the University of Maryland, Bruce Taylor from IMCI, Joanne Taylor from
USGS, Russell Ashley from the University of Maryland and Jerry Harbor from the
NRC. The introductions were done clearly
and succinctly in standard Midwestern English which made the secretary's job
much easier.
Announcements:
Dave Applegate announced Earth Science Week in October sponsored
by AGI and 30 state governors.
On Oct 14 IRIS will hold an associated meeting at the AAAS building,
but please RSVP - announcements were on the back table. I hope that went well.
1VP Shirey announced that future speakers are now listed on
our.
Our first speaker was Mark Bulmer of the Smithsonian Institution
discussing "An analysis of Sabancaya volcano, southern Peru, using
RADARSAT images and fieldwork".
Recent mudflows in the nearby Coca Valley associated with volcanic
activity and melting ice and snow on top of the several volcanoes in the area
prompted the new examination of volcanic features, particularly the volcanic
flow morphologies. RADARSAT is a programmable
satellite radar system which uses SAR and C-band, from which stereo imaging and
surface roughness studies can be done.
In many cases, features can be seen better on the satellite images than
in the field because of their scale, namely flow ridges and channels, although
field work is essential to document the flow morphology details and to make a
quantitative assessment of the areas undergoing changes on the volcano.
Questions by Hayes, Stifel, New, Wonderly, Helz and Shirey.
The second speaker was Richard Ash of the Smithsonian Institution and the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism on
"Oxygen Isotope fractionation among chondrite components." The study examined the origin of the
"terrestrial fractionation line" (TFL), which is the way delta 18O/16O
and delta 17O/16O ratios are supposed to be related. Martian meteorites do not lie on the TFL, nor
do several other varieties of meteorites.
Why Not? In situ UV laser
fluorination analyses demonstrate meteorites may be chemically related like Urelites,
but may not have the same δ17O/δ18O
ratios. The conclusion was that there
probably were two primordial oxygen reservoirs in the galaxy, one an 16O
rich dust or solid phase and one an 16O poor gas phase, which have
variably exchanged during formation of the solar system, and all other changes
occurred post-solidification. The cause
of the multiple reservoirs are unclear but two suggestions were that supernova
condensate has non-mass dependent fractionation processes, or that there was
galactic cosmochemical memory of more complex formation processes that are
otherwise not preserved.
Questions by
Walker, Shirey, and Milton.
The third
presentation was by Richard Marzolf of the U.S. Geological Survey on
"Stream metabolism and the effect of the 1996 controlled flood on the
Colorado river in Glen Canyon." The
project tested the hypothesis that the changes in the river biology during the
flood and flood recovery stages would influence the water chemistry - and if
so, then water chemistry can be used as a proxy for biological health /
photosynthetic processes. The baseline
measurements indicate that generally pH and Oxygen content rise from sunrise to
midnight related to enhanced photosynthesis in the river ecosystem and then
decline until dawn. The exception is in the river less than 5 km below the dam
where old cold bottom water from low in the reservoir outgases CO2
continuously. The flood seriously
disrupted the biomass of the river system such that after the flood, pH peaked
at dusk and O content was constant throughout the day. The river recovered its preflood chemical
pattern within 2-3 weeks after the flood indicating a very rapid
reestablishment of the river ecosystem despite the significant morphologic
changes.
Questions by
Galvin, Prestegaard, Rye, Hayes, and Robertson.
Attendance
was 89. The meeting was adjourned at
9:46 PM.
Respectfully
submitted by,
Nicholas B.
Woodward, Meeting Secretary
Read as
modified slightly by myself and Sorena Sorensen
Sandra G.
Neuzil, Council Secretary
Oct 14,
1998.
Geological
Society of Washington
Minutes of the 1,306th Meeting of the Geological Society of Washington, Powell
Auditorium, Cosmos Club, October 14, 1998.
President
Sorena Sorensen called the meeting to order at 8:00 PM. The minutes from the
1,305th meeting were accepted as read. Several guests were
introduced: a bevy of students from the
University of Maryland and ?? Jarvis from the Naval Research Laboratories.
There were no new members.
There were
three Announcements:
1. President Sorensen read a letter from
President Bill Clinton welcoming all Earth Scientists during Earth Science Week
and thanking us as stewards and caretakers of the earth.
2. The Cosmos Club Parking Charges crisis
continues. Please do not park at the
Cosmos Club and glibly say "GSW" because the ?6.50 charge then comes
to GSW.
3. The Nominations Committee will meet on Oct
16. Suggestions and volunteers for
officers and Council Members will be welcomed by Brooks Hanson, Nominations
Committee Chair.
An Informal Communication was given by Cy Galvin on
the historical classification of streams, runs, creeks, and rivers in the
Washington area, citing informal use as well as formal designation on maps.
Our first
speaker was William Hart from the National Science Foundation and Miami
University speaking on "The fire in a land of fire and ice -- Volcanism in
the western Wrangell Volcanic Field, Alaska." The Wrangell volcanic field
has developed since 26 Ma with a change in subduction about 5 Ma and is comprised
of large shield volcanoes that are unusual for an arc setting. The frontal, middle, and rear portions of the
arc show time transgressive emplacement.
Changes in elemental concentrations and mafic/silicic compositions are
suggestive of a complex differentiation history. The conclusion was that the middle portion of
the arc contains more mantle sourced material.
Three
questions by: Jim Luhr, ?? Jamie Owen (NSF), and Bill Franklin.
The second
speaker, Michael Brown of the University of Maryland gave us "New views of
granite ascent and emplacement in obliquely convergent (transpressive)
orogens." Studying migmatite melting contacts and strain foliation in the
Central Maine Belt Silurian/Devonian deformation, one can deduce mechanisms of
granite movement through the crust from regions with to without layering
strain. Going from high strain to low
strain, granite movement tends to be through sheetlike to pipelike
structures. During the thickening phase
of collision, heat and deformation and partial melting and weakening are
propogated upward through the crust.
These may cross cut regional structures and will taper off to either
side of the heat source. Three Questions by: Steve Shirey, Brooks Hanson, and
someone from the University of Maryland
The
third presentation was by Conel Alexander from the Department of Terrestrial
Magnetism on "Stardust in meteorites: how geochemists came to teach
astronomers a thing or two." Stardust (nanometer size diamonds, silicon
carbide, amorphous graphite, and silicon nitrile grains) in meteorites from
outside of the solar system can be used to study the age and nuclear synthetic
evolution of the universe. Dust composition can give age since the Big Bang --
evolution of H and He building into heavier
elements. Graphite grains, with two
layer onion type morphology condensed from stellar gases, can give snapshots of
the evolution of stars and super nova.
Size distribution of grains give details of stellar winds. With the advent of ppb detection limits,
earthbound geochemists analyzing 1,000 atom grains of stardust can interpret
snapshots of the evolution of the universe. Four Questions by: Brooks Hanson, Rich Walker, Christina Gallup,
and Mike Brown.
Attendance
was 83 and the meeting was adjourned at 9:58 PM.
Respectfully
submitted by,
Sandy
Neuzil, substitute Meeting Secretary
Nov. 4,
1998.
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes of the 1,307th Meeting of the Geological Society of Washington, Powell
Auditorium, Cosmos Club, November 4, 1998.
First
Vice-President Shirey called the meeting to order at 8:04 PM. The minutes from the 1,306th meeting which
had been ably taken by the Substitute Meeting Secretary Sandy Neuzil filling in
for the increasingly neglectful Meeting Secretary, were accepted as read.
Guests Jesse
Timworthy and Sarah Gressley (?) from the University of Maryland were
introduced. Sign ‘em up for
membership. New members Kathleen
Siadhal, Russell Ashley, Richard Lane, David Wansch, David Micheltree, Laurie
Benton, Tammy Nguyen, Steve Cucolo and Tammy Dickinson were recognized. Steve Shirey asked for announcements, or if
any members who had passed away would identify themselves so that they could be
recognized. There were no announcements.
First VP
Shirey then announced the slate of nominations for the upcoming elections: 1st
VP and President Elect Jane Hammarstrom (USGS), 2nd VP Craig Schiffries(NRC),
Treasurer Judy Ehlen(DOD), Meeting Secretary - Hal Gluskoter(USGS), Councilors
- Ted Maxwell (Air & Space), Chris Neuzil (USGS) and Jay Kaufman
(UMD). GSW Officers and Councilors that
carry over from 1998 to 1999 include: President Shirey(DTM,CIW), Council Secretary
- Nick Woodward (DOE), and Councilors - Christina Gallup (UMD), Margo Kingston
(USGS) and Linda Rowan (AAAS). And now for the FUN.
The first talk
was given by Tom Wright of the Smithsonian Institution on “Contrasting seismic
rhythms of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, Hawaii.” The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has compiled
an earthquake catalog for the years 1903-1959, and anecdotal records from the
Limon family on the island reporting significant seismicity extending back to
1825. The earthquake records indicate
that Mauna Loa and Kilauea have different intrusive and seismic styles. Kilauea intrusive episodes produce highly
fractionated lavas over a seismic period of days associated with southward
movement of the south flank of the volcano.
It is estimated that only about 40% of Kilauea lavas are erupted and the
locations of the eruptions are highly variable.
Mauna Loa on the other hand has no mixed or fractionated lavas, is not
spreading, has seismic periods of from 1-3 years before eruption and it is estimated
that nearly 100% of the magma is erupted in a predictable pattern of summit
eruptions followed by flank eruptions.
The conclusion from a safety point of view (rhythm method) is that Mauna
Loa eruptions are foretold by precursor seismicity, but its precise timing
cannot be tied down exactly, whereas Kilauea seismicity is relatively closely
followed by eruptions and warnings need to wait for seismicity to begin. Questions by Pat Mumble and Gene Robertson.
The second
talk was by Tom Holtz of the University of Maryland on “Functional Morphology
of the Skull of Tyrannosaurs, or You are how you eat it.” T-rex although the
best known Therapod has various cousins within the group Therapoda, which
together allow improved theories about how Tyrannosaurs functioned. Most Therapods have slab-like flat skulls
without a palate and have steak-knife like teeth. T-rex’s have a palate and have knife-edged
banana shaped teeth. Spinosaurids,
another Therapod group have conical teeth.
The teeth and muscle attachment areas of the skulls suggest the
way(s) in which these animals dealt with
their prey. Therapods without a palate
have skulls that would be strong in compressive loading not in torsion, so they
might chomp but not chew. T-rex on the
other hand may have both crushed bone and masticated. Questions by Smoot, Shirey, Rye, and Stifel
brought out the poop on T-rex DO.
The third
talk was by Tod Waight from the University of Maryland on “Isotopic
Fingerprinting of Feldspar Phenocrysts: the Implications for Crystal transfer
and Magma Mingling at Wilson’s Promontory Batholith, Australia.” Mafic enclaves within the Wilson’s Prom
granite include large feldspar phenocrysts which have come from the surrounding
granite. The hypothesis being tested was
how well 4 phenocrysts preserved the Nd and Sr isotopic composition of the
granite after being enveloped by the mafic magma. Major isotopic
heterogeneities were observed within mafic matrix rock and across single
phenocrysts, even one which remained within the granite. The conclusion was that there was geochemical
interaction between the mafic and felsic magmas immediately after the mafic
phase was intruded, and then the large feldspars were transferred into the
mafic enclaves. The feldspars can record
changing isotopic compositions during magma evolution, and in this case give evidence
for at least three isotopic components.
Beware of whole rock analyses.
Questions by Halker, French, Galvin, Hanson, Brown and Mumble.
Attendance
was 75. The meeting was adjourned at
9:37 PM.
Respectfully
submitted,
Nicholas B. Woodward
Meeting Secretary
Geological
Society of Washington
Minutes
of the 1308th Meeting of the Geological Society of Washington,
Wednesday November 18, 1998, Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club.
President Sorensen called the meeting to
order at 8:01PM. The minutes of the
1307th meeting were accepted as read.
Guests Kevin Marval, Ann Bricker, Peggy Wormington and a new Peter Wylie
were introduced. New member ??? Was announced. President Sorensen announced that the Rocks
Gallery at the Museum of Natural History would open at Noon Tuesday November
24th.
The first speaker was Suzanne Bricker from
NOAA on “A History and retention of Pb, Cu and Zn in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island,
determined from sub-tidal and marsh sediments.” The study examined fluvial
deposition of the three metals into sub-tidal and salt-marsh sediments based on
measurements in sediment cores, and compared the vertical sequence of core data
with population and water treatment (ie. Sewage treatment) history. The
sub-tidal zone has high levels of metal retention, whereas the salt marsh has
less than 10% retention. Pb and Cu levels
increased in cores about 1900 reflecting increasing population, and increasing
industrial facilities tied into sewer system.
The levels peaked during the depression, and Cu and Pb have decreased in
recent decades because of new treatment plants.
The Clean Air Act also contributes to the decrease because it decreased
Pb particulates in the air and water. Zn
levels are unreliable indicators because Zn is much more soluble and
mobile. Questions by Hammarstrom,
Sellars, Galvin, Messenger, Zen, Rye, and Jones.
The second talk was by Jeffrey Grossman of
the U.S. Geological Survey whose truly astounding resume was briefly summarized
by the otherwise quite well-behaved president.
His topic was “Where we find meteorites and Why.” Meteorites occur in two groups, those we see
fall and those we trip over, also known as ‘finds’. Seeing them come down is better and more fun,
because we can make lots of money selling them, or at least shaving bits off to
give to museums while we sell the rest.
Unfortunately since more and more of us want to live in suburbia and
have toilets and cable TV we are depopulating the wide open spaces where most
meteorites fall and we are missing our chance to make our fortunes. As a statistical result, the rate of
meteorites being observed falling has not kept pace with the rates at which we
trip over them, as long as we know where to do our tripping, which is mostly in
Antarctica and other fun deserts where funny looking rocks are easy to
see. Questions by Walker, Slack, Sellars,
Milton, Stewart, Marrow, Hanson, Galvin and Rowan.
Our third speaker was Doug Irwin of the
Smithsonian Institution on “Using U/PB geochronology to constrain causes of the
end-Permian Mass Extinction.” The end-Permian extinction is the largest of the
six Phanerozoic mass extinctions, with 54% of families gone, including plants,
insects, and tetrapods. Cockroaches
nearly bought it too. New data on ages
of the beds across the Permian-Triassic boundary was collected in China, and
the extinction is now tied down to between 251.4 and 252.3 MY ago. There is no evidence of a bolide impact, and
although the dates of the Siberian Traps volcanics coincide in time with this
event there is no known linking mechanisms.
There was also a marine transgression in China at this time, and
evidence of anoxyic shallow and deep marine waters. The 2 parts per mil average delta 13 Carbon
isotopic shift has been appealed to by some authors as a reflection of marine
overturning possibly causing the extinction is misleading since there was a
shallow water shift of 2.5 parts per mil and a 5 parts per mil shift in other
sediments. Overall, it is probably a
complicated event with interacting factors rather than a “single mechanism”
mass extinction. Questions by Milton,
Marrow, Hanson and Rowan.
The meeting adjourned at 9:46 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas B. Woodward
Meeting Secretary
Geological
Society of Washington
Minutes
of the 1309th Meeting of the Geological Society of Washington,
Wednesday December 16, 1998, Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club.
President Sorensen called the meeting to
order at 8:03PM. The minutes were
accepted as corrected. Guests Peggy
Appleton, Dorothy Stout, Adrianna Okampo, Kevin Pope and Al Levetan were introduced. New Member Martha Hayes was announced. There were no informal communications.
President Elect Shirey then introduced our speaker for the evening, the
President who works on “ROCKS IN COOL PLACES”, President Sorensen, whose talk
was entitled “Hidden Colors of Jade”.
Jade as
an artistic material can either be comprised of Nephrite, which is the
amphibole tremolite, or Jadeitite, which is the pyroxene jadeite. It was a popular material in ancient cultures
because it is soft enough to be worked with quartz tools, but is dense, and has
a very high fracture toughness. The
strength properties make it resilient in complex artistic designs, and it can
be polished to a high luster. The
textures of the mineral aggregates, which can range from a felted texture to a
granular, almost puzzle-block style, gives Jade a complex fabric which also
makes it very attractive as an art material. Because of the complex
combinations of cation sites within the tremolite structure, and the somewhat
different sites in the jadeite structure various minor elements can be present
within the Jade to give it its variety of colors. Pure “Jade” is white; Cr in
particular gives individual grains their deep green color. Geologically “Jade” occurrences are colocated
with ophiolites (nephrite- Jades) or blueschists (jadetite- Jades). Archaic Chinese Jade comes from Nephrite
bearing granite/dolomite skarns.
Jadeitites from blueschist areas were introduced in 1794, and have
different colors. Cathodoluminescence
studies on jades show excellent colored substructures within mineral grains,
that support growth of the minerals during fluid migration. Different fluids give slightly different
color bands, some of which indicate oscillatory fluid trace element
contents. Based on the catholuminescence
study jade is considered to predominantly form in veins during devolatilization,
rather than as replacements of host-rock mineral grains, and the jade minerals
continue to grow as vein material. Thus,
although Jade is a highly prized artistic material, from a scientific point of
view it provides a unique time-integrated history of trace element effects of
slab devolatilization during subduction.
In deference to the highly polished,
intricately designed, and artistic Presidential presentation no questions were
asked. Attendance was 78. The meeting was adjourned at 8:59PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Former Meeting Secretary,
Nicholas B. Woodward
Geological Society of
Minutes of the 106th Annual Meeting of the Geological Society
of
Outgoing
and Celebrating President Sorensen called the meeting to order at 9:14PM with
the declaration to “Get thee beer and Park it!”
Council
Secretary Sandy Neuzil read the minutes of the 105th meeting which were
accepted as read.
Meeting
Secretary Nick Woodward reported on the statistics of the 1998 meetings
including the observations that Tom and Dick did a lot of presentations this
year, and that our attendance drops immediately prior to AGU both in the spring
and the fall. He also summarized some of
the lowlights of the headlines that might have come from some of our
outstanding presentations.
Judy
Ehlen’s Santa Hat presented the Treasurers report, noting that dues payments by
Council members was improving. Dick
Fiske presented the Auditing Committee report.
Jeff Grossman presented the Membership Committee’s report on behalf of
Membership Committee Chair, L. Rupert.
There
was no Field trip Committee Report, but Bill Burton’s chairpersonship was
defended by the President.
The
Science Fair Committee report was presented by Paul Kimberly who is looking for
more volunteers to help judge this coming spring’s science fairs in the local
area.
Jeff
Grossman presented the results of the Membership Survey data - and concluded
that there were few consistent trends other than people who don't attend
regularly have more ideas on how to change things. Still, attendance is most closely tied to how
far people have to travel to attend, and thus is probably not very sensitive to
most possible changes.
The
Awards Committee report was presented by Tom Simkin. The Great Dane award went to Dick Fiske who
is the speaker with the most numerous awards.
In particular Tom noted that Dick’s presentation was the epitome of what
an Informal Communication should be - witty - informative and -short. The
The
Sleeping Bear Award Committee’s Report, was presented by Steve Shirey and the
award was presented to HERSELF, She Who Must Be Obeyed, President Sorensen.
There
was no New Business.
President
Sorensen read the slate of New Officers and Councilors, nominated by the
Nominating Committee and approved by the Council to the breathlessly expectant
membership. The slate was duly elected
by the 55 members present. The outgoing
president handed over the official accoutrements of office to President Shirey,
who adjourned the meeting at 10:21 PM.
Respectfully
submitted,
Nicholas
B. Woodward