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Vol. 8, No. 2 February 1998 INSIDE • G. K. Gilbert, p. 16 GSA TODAY • Forests as Carbon Sinks, p. 22 • Rocky Mountain A Publication of the Geological Society of America Section Meeting, p. 27

The Ediacara Biota: A Terminal Neoproterozoic Experiment in the Evolution of Life Guy M. Narbonne Department of Geological Sciences, A B Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada, [email protected]

ABSTRACT The Ediacara biota is a distinctive assemblage of large, soft-bodied organisms that characterizes terminal Neoproterozoic (latest Precambrian) strata worldwide. Some Ediacaran organisms apparently were the root- stock for the Phanerozoic evolution of animals; other bizarre forms may represent a failed experiment in Precam- brian evolution. The Ediacara biota and its nonactualistic preservation and ecosystem characterized the final 20 m.y. of the Proterozoic, and disappeared near the beginning of the Cambrian “explosion” of shelly and burrowing animals. Figure 1. Photograph and artist’s reconstruction of the holotype of Swart- puntia germsi from Namibia. For simplic- INTRODUCTION ity, only three petaloids are shown. Met- The terminal Neoproterozoic was a ric scale. After Narbonne et al. (1997, Figs. 6 and 8). period of fundamental change in Earth history. Major changes included the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia and the subsequent collision of some of the fragments that were to form Gond- wana (Hoffman, 1992; Unrug, 1997), a stone beds (Fig. 1). The Ediacara biota con- Phanerozoic systems (cf. Sepkoski, 1981). succession of at least four global glacia- tains a few forms that might be familiar to Prior to the appearance of the Ediacara tions, and some of the largest known a modern beachcomber, alongside bizarre biota, Mesoproterozoic to mid-Neopro- changes in the oceans and atmosphere taxa whose place in the evolution of mod- terozoic (1600–600 Ma) benthic communi- (Knoll and Walter, 1992). It is against this ern life is uncertain. A few “Ediacaran sur- ties had been dominated by prokaryotic backdrop that we see the appearance of vivors” have been reported from the Cam- microbes along with some sheetlike and abundant, large organisms, including the brian, but most of the archetypical forms ribbonlike algae (Knoll, 1992). Evidence first definite fossil animals in Earth his- disappeared abruptly near the Cambrian from molecular phylogeny suggests that tory, the Ediacara biota. “explosion” (Grotzinger et al., 1995). microscopic animals could have evolved The Ediacara biota typifies terminal The unique biology, ecology, and preser- sometime prior to the appearance of the Neoproterozoic rocks worldwide (Glaess- vational mode of the Ediacara biota effec- Ediacara biota, but the exact timing ner, 1984; Fedonkin, 1992; Jenkins, 1992; tively marks the end of the Proterozoic remains debatable (Wray et al., 1996; Runnegar and Fedonkin, 1992). It was Eon, and may herald the beginning of Conway Morris, 1996). The oldest known first described from Newfoundland and the Phanerozoic. megascopic Ediacara-type remains occur Namibia, but the name is derived from the in the Twitya Formation of northwestern superb assemblages of these fossils discov- EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY Canada (see Fig. 3, locality 22) immedi- ered at Ediacara in the Flinders Ranges of ately below tillites correlated with the The Ediacara biota occupies a pivotal South Australia by Sprigg (1947). In con- Marinoan-Varanger glaciation and position in the evolution of life on Earth, trast with the shelly fossils that character- believed to be about 600 m.y. old (Hof- between the largely microbial (especially ize the Phanerozoic, the Ediacara biota mann et al., 1990). The structures consist stromatolitic) communities that charac- consists almost exclusively of the remains of centimeter-scale rings and discs that are terize the classic “Precambrian” and the of soft-bodied organisms, which are typi- shelly biotas of the Cambrian and younger cally preserved as impressions on sand- Ediacara Biota continued on p. 2 IN THIS ISSUE GSA TODAY February Vol. 8, No. 2 1998 The Ediacara Biota: A Terminal Rock Stars—G. K. Gilbert ...... 16 Neoproterozoic Experiment in the GSAF Update ...... 18 GSA TODAY (ISSN 1052-5173) is published monthly Evolution of Life ...... 1 Washington Report ...... 20 by The Geological Society of America, Inc., with offices at 3300 In Memoriam ...... 2 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado. Mailing address: P.O. Box Forests as Carbon Sinks ...... 22 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140, U.S.A. Periodicals postage Memorial Preprints ...... 2 Penrose Conference Reports paid at Boulder, Colorado, and at additional mailing offices. 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Ervin Brown MS 917, National Center, Reston, VA 22092 Managing Editor: Faith Rogers Production & Marketing Manager: James R. Clark Production Editor and Coordinator: Joan E. Manly Graphics Production: Joan E. Manly, Leatha L. Flowers Ediacara Biota continued from p. 1 North America (Fig. 3). The known stratigraphic range of Ediacara-style biotas is ADVERTISING: Classifieds and display: contact Ann Crawford, (303) 447-2020; fax 303-447-1133; acrawfor@ similar to the simplest (most primitive?) approximately 55 m.y. (ca. 600–544 Ma), geosociety.org. elements of the Ediacara biota worldwide. but diverse and complex fossils are known Issues of this publication are available as electronic Acrobat A global rise in atmospheric oxygen in only from the final 20 m.y. of the Neopro- files for free download from GSA’s Web Site, http://www. the Late Proterozoic may have been the terozoic (Fig. 2). At least three stratigraphi- geosociety.org. They can be viewed and printed on various trigger that permitted animals to achieve cally restricted assemblages have been personal computer operating systems: MSDOS, MSWin- dows, Macintosh, and Unix, using the appropriate Acrobat megascopic size at this time (Canfield and recognized, each more diverse than its reader. Readers are available, free, from Adobe Corporation: Teske, 1996). predecessor (Narbonne et al., 1994). It was http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html. Ediacaran biotas diversified rapidly formerly believed that the Ediacara biota This publication is included on GSA’s annual after the end of the Neoproterozoic gla- disappeared several tens of millions of CD-ROM, GSA Journals on Compact Disc. ciations (Fig. 2) and are now known from years before the beginning of the Cam- Call GSA Publication Sales for details. 50% Total Recoverd Fiber some 30 localities on five continents, brian, but precise U-Pb dates of fossilifer- Printed in U.S.A. using pure soy inks. 10% Postconsumer including at least seven distinct regions of ous strata in Namibia indicate that the

2 GSA TODAY, February 1998 In my view, any inter- Aitken, 1990; Fedonkin and Runnegar, pretation that unites the 1992). disparate fossils of the Edi- The second are the nonresistant acara biota into a single tax- “discs” such as Ediacaria and Cyclomedusa onomic group, be it jelly- (Fig. 5). These were originally interpreted fish, protists, lichens, or as jellyfish (medusoids), but considera- vendozoans, should be tions of the morphology and preservation viewed with suspicion. Edi- of these discs have progressively elimi- acaran fossils range from nated taxa to the point that no undoubted centimeter-scale blobs to “jellyfish” remain among the Ediacara complexly segmented discs biota! All appear to have been bottom- and fronds more than 1 m dwelling (benthic) organisms, and many Figure 2. Late long. Symmetry ranges seem to have been permanently attached Neoproterozoic from bilateral to trigonal to to the sea bottom (Seilacher, 1982; Nar- stratigraphic tetragonal to pentameral to bonne and Aitken, 1990; Gehling, 1991; column, showing radial. Some were soft and Fedonkin and Waggoner, 1997). The cen- the position of the Ediacara biota. jellylike; others were highly timeter-scale disc to hemisphere Beltanelli- resistant to both mechani- formis (Fig. 6), perhaps the most common cal stress and decomposi- and widely distributed Ediacaran fossil tion. Different taxa lived worldwide, is strikingly similar to the base under conditions ranging of some anemones and especially to the Ediacara biota persisted to near the from shallow, sunlit shelves to the deep bases of Paleozoic burrows generally beginning of the Cambrian “explosion” seafloor. Several distinct groups can be rec- attributed to anemones (Narbonne and (Grotzinger et al., 1995). Possible explana- ognized; I focus here on the three most Hofmann, 1987; Fedonkin and Runnegar, tions for the abrupt disappearance of the common and familiar. 1992). Larger discs such as Ediacaria, some Ediacara biota include elimination of a The least equivocal are the trace fos- of which are as large as a dinner plate, are preservational “window” (Fedonkin, sils, which are represented almost exclu- more controversial. Most show no evi- 1992), competition and predation by early sively by simple subhorizontal burrows dence as to the nature of their upper sur- skeletal animals (McMenamin, 1986), and (Fig. 4). These show evidence of mobility face, but several taxa show evidence of global geochemical perturbations (Bartley and imply concentration of sensory hairlike markings extending radially from et al., 1998). organs at a “head” region. All previous a central disc (e.g., Fig. 5A) which might workers have regarded these simple trace alternatively be regarded as the tentacles AFFINITIES fossils as the work of bilaterian animals of a polyp or the rootlike structures of a (e.g., Seilacher, 1989; Narbonne and In a little more than a decade, the Ediacara Biota continued on p. 4 affinities of the Ediacara biota have gone from being a well-documented “fact” to becoming one of the great controversies in paleobiology. Prior to the mid-1980s, virtually all workers emphasized similarities in two-dimensional structure between Ediacaran fossils and living groups of jellyfish, soft corals, annelid worms, and arthropods, and concluded that the Ediacara biota represented the direct ancestors of these modern groups. Glaess- ner (1984) aptly termed this “The dawn of animal life.” In contrast, Seilacher (1982, 1989, 1992) believed that most of the Ediacara biota was unrelated to modern organisms, a “failed experiment” in the history of life on Earth. Seilacher suggested that Ediacaran organisms be referred to his new phylum or kingdom “Vendozoa,” which consists of quilted organisms that lacked mouths and guts and received energy by absorbing dis- solved organic molecules or by harboring photosynthetic or chemosynthetic sym- bionts. The rival classifications of Glaess- Figure 3. Global distribution of principal Ediacara-type fossil assemblages and environments. Data from ner and Seilacher represent two end- Glaessner (1984, Fig. 1.8, localities 1–23), Hofmann (1987, Fig. 13, localities 24–25) and recent litera- member views that have generated lively ture (localities 26–29). Glaessner’s localities 8 (calcareous tubes), 16 (pseudofossils), and 18 (Cambrian) debate in the literature over the past have been omitted, as have several low-diversity assemblages of discs and problematica described subse- decade (Gehling, 1991; Runnegar, 1995). quently. Australia: 1—Flinders Ranges, Adelaide “Geosyncline”; 2—Officer Basin; 3 and 4—Amadeus Basin; 5—Mt. Skinner; 6—Georgina Basin. Africa: 7—Namibia; 28—Algeria (Bertrand-Sarfati et al., Seilacher (1992) subsequently restricted 1995). Europe: 9—White Sea, Russia; 10—Podolia, Ukraine; 11—Urals; 19—Charnwood Forest, England; his original concept of the “Vendozoa” 29—Finnmark, Norway (Farmer et al., 1992). Asia: 12—Yenisey River, Siberia; 13—Lake Baikal, Siberia; (which he now terms the “Vendobionta”) 14—Anabar and Olenuk, Siberia; 15—River Maya, Siberia; 17—Yangtze Gorge, China; 23—Iran. North and specifically removed taxa that he now America: 20—Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland; 21—North Carolina; 22—Mackenzie Mountains, regards as true animals. northwestern Canada; 24—Wernecke Mountains, northwestern Canada; 25—Rocky Mountains, British Columbia; 26—Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia (Ferguson and Simony, 1991); 27—Spring Range, Nevada (Horodyski, 1991; Waggoner and Hagadorn, 1997).

GSA TODAY, February 1998 3 AB

Figure 4. Simple burrows following a carbonaceous layer in the Wernecke Mountains, northwestern Canada. Scale in millimeters. After Nar- bonne and Hofmann (1987, Fig. 10a). Figure 5. Ediacaran discs from northwestern Canada. Scale in millimeters. A: Hiemalora from the Mackenzie Mountains. Note pustular surface with carbonaceous coating, and radiating tentacle-like markings to left. After Narbonne (1994, Fig. 3.1). B: Ediacaria (Beltanella) with overlying stem (right side of disc) from the Mackenzie Mountains. After Narbonne and Aitken (1990, Pl. 1, Fig. 1).

Ediacara Biota continued from p. 3 holdfast (Runnegar, 1995). Others are overlying sand bed and thus are preserved attached to tubelike structures (Fig. 5B) as ridges on its sole (Figs. 5, 6), whereas or even complete fronds (Jenkins, 1992), most quilted fossils (e.g., Dickinsonia) did and are best interpreted as holdfasts. not decompose until after cementation of A third group are potential true the sand and are preserved as indentations Vendobionta (sensu Seilacher, 1992). on the base of the bed (Fig. 7). Resistant Seilacher (1989, 1992) has shown that organisms can even be preserved within their distinctive quilted structure (Figs. 1, and on top of storm beds (Fig. 9), but this 7) is constructed of parallel, linked tubular is extremely unusual for nonresistant segments in which the walls were more discs. resistant than the ceilings. After the organ- One might expect exquisite preser- ism died, segments could become deflated vation of soft organisms under a layer or even imbricated. These organisms were Figure 6. The probable anemone Beltanelliformis of submarine volcanic ash such as at Mis- formerly regarded as representing the from the Bernashev Member, Ukraine. Metric scale. taken Point, but why do some thick storm ancestors of several modern groups rang- deposits and proximal turbidites faithfully ing from soft corals to annelid worms preserve delicate structures on Ediacaran (Glaessner, 1984). However, close similar- fossils despite the obvious evidence of dated at 565 ± 3 Ma (U-Pb on zircons; ity of the quilted constructional elements high-energy conditions during deposition? Benus, in Landing et al., 1988), providing among architectures that range from erect The answer seems to lie in the warty, pus- a precise date for this “Ediacaran Pom- multifoliate “fronds” (e.g., Swartpuntia; tular texture that marks most fossiliferous peii.” The most common mode of preser- Fig. 1) to flat reclining sheets (e.g., Dickin- Ediacaran surfaces (Figs. 4–7). Russian vation of the Ediacara biota worldwide is sonia; Fig. 7A) implies that these taxa were paleontologists refer to this as “old ele- on the soles of storm or turbidite beds more similar to each other than to any phant skin,” and it provides the search (Fig. 8B), again reflecting instantaneous modern organisms (Narbonne et al., image for Ediacaran fossils on at least deposition of sand on the muddy seafloor. 1997). The Vendobionta appears to be three continents; it is rarely found in beds Wade (1968) recognized two preserva- a distinctive clade (monophyletic group) that do not contain Ediacaran fossils, and tional modes that reflected resistance to of Neoproterozoic organisms, but its taxo- these fossils are almost never found in decomposition. In particular, most discs nomic position is uncertain; suggestions beds that lack this texture. Gehling (1987) decomposed prior to cementation of the range from an extinct group within the phylum Cnidaria (which also includes modern corals and anemones) to an extinct phylum or even kingdom unre- AB lated to the subsequent Phanerozoic evolution of animals (Buss and Seilacher, 1994).

PRESERVATION If almost all Ediacaran organisms were soft-bodied, how were they preserved so abundantly worldwide? First and fore- most, Ediacara-type fossils are preserved in event beds. These soft-bodied organisms lived on the mud bottom, and their impressions were preserved when they were catastrophically covered by a bed of sand-sized debris (an event). One famous example is the felsic tuff that covers the Figure 7. Dickinsoniids preserved as indentations on bed soles from Ediacara, Australia (A), and the fossil surface at Mistaken Point in New- Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada (B). Metric scale. A: Two specimens of Dickinsonia costata. foundland (Fig. 8A). This tuff has been South Australia Museum P13760. B: Windermeria aitkeni. After Narbonne (1994, Fig. 3.2).

4 GSA TODAY, February 1998 first recognized the similarity between these surfaces and modern microbial mats and has concluded that these mats were instrumental in stabilizing the mud sur- Figure 9. Living face and perhaps providing a “death assemblage (A) and mask” on the organism itself. In most preservation (B) of cases, the distinctive texture is all that Swartpuntia germsi remains of the former microbial mat, but from Namibia. Spec- in northwestern Canada mats are pre- imens lived on the mud bottom and served as black carbonaceous sheets that are preserved within coat the fossil surfaces and that are locally and on top of the ripped up to form intraformational con- bed of hummocky glomerates of carbonaceous sheets, some cross-bedded sand- still bearing fossil impressions (Fig. 10). stone. After Nar- bonne et al. (1997, The prevalence of microbial mats Fig. 11). throughout the subtidal realm represents a nonactualistic feature of Neoproterozoic seas (Seilacher and Pfluger, 1994; Mac- Naughton et al., 1997). Bioturbation, crop- ping, and competition resulted in severe reduction of these mats in the Early Cam- as the Burgess Shale, implying that the dis- brian and, thus, less likelihood of preserv- appearance of the Ediacara biota was not ing soft-bodied organisms on sandstone solely preservational. soles. However, with a few notable excep- tions (see e.g., Conway Morris, 1993), ECOLOGY complex Ediacara-type organisms are also As discussed above, recent studies absent from Cambrian Lagerstätten such suggest that the Ediacara biota consists mainly of benthic organisms, most of which are in their original life position. Shallow-water deposition characterizes the vast majority of Ediacaran fossil sites (Fig. 3), including the classic sites in Australia, Namibia, and northern Russia Figure 10. Conglomerate of carbonaceous rip-up (Gehling, 1988; Narbonne et al., 1997; clasts, with a specimen of Spriggia preserved on a Grazhdankin and Ivantsov, 1996). Fossilif- clast, from the Wernecke Mountains of northwestern Canada. GSC 83030. erous sandstones in all these regions contain wave ripples and hummocky cross- stratification, but they typically lack true desiccation cracks and other evidences of lithospheric plate. Strata were deposited in emergence. Most fossiliferous strata were shelf and slope settings on the margin of deposited between wave-base and storm ‰ the opening proto–Pacific Ocean. Shelf wave-base, and were probably within the facies in the Wernecke Mountains com- euphotic (photosynthetic) zone. A handful prise mainly storm-deposited sandstones of deep-water occurrences of the Ediacara A that were laid down in shallow, wave- biota are also known (Fig. 3), principally agitated, and probably euphotic environ- in the Avalon Zone of eastern North ments (Narbonne and Hofmann, 1987). America and England (Jenkins, 1992). In contrast, slope facies in the Mackenzie Shallow-water features have not been Mountains lack shallow-water features found in any of these successions, and and are characterized by turbidites, con- process sedimentology studies (such as tourites, and mass-flow deposits that accu- those carried out at Mistaken Point in mulated in 1.0–1.5 km water depth on the Newfoundland; Landing et al., 1988) continental slope (Dalrymple and Nar- imply that the strata were deposited on a bonne, 1996). Ediacara-type fossils in both deep-sea turbidite fan, but the subsequent regions appear to be in their original life tectonic history of these regions makes ‰ positions. The principal difference in biota calculations of absolute depth impossible. between these two environmental regimes Diversity is moderate to high, but only is the extreme abundance of probable one taxon (Charnia) from Mistaken Point anemone Beltanelliformis in the shallow- and Charnwood Forest is also known from water assemblages of the Wernecke Moun- shallow-water successions. However, it is tains and its complete absence from the uncertain whether the unusual composi- deep-water assemblages in the nearby tion of these assemblages reflects the deep- B Mackenzie Mountains. This mirrors global water setting or paleogeographic isolation trends—Beltanelliformis occurs profusely in of the Avalonian microcontinent during Figure 8. Preservation of Ediacaran fossils in shallow-water settings worldwide but has the terminal Neoproterozoic. North America. Arrows show their positions. Ruler not yet been found in any deep-water suc- The Windermere Supergroup of is 15 cm long. A: Felsic tuff (565 ± 3 Ma) covering cession. Few other differences in composi- the fossil surface at Mistaken Point, Newfound- northwestern Canada provides a unique tion are evident, suggesting that the land. B: Cyclomedua plana on sole of a turbidite in natural laboratory to study the depth dis- the Sheepbed Formation at Sekwi Brook, north- tribution of the Ediacara biota on a single western Canada. Ediacara Biota continued on p. 6

GSA TODAY, February 1998 5 Ediacara Biota continued from p. 5 Buss, L. W., and Seilacher, A., 1994, The phylum Knoll, A. H., and Walter, M., 1992, Latest Proterozoic Vendobionta: A sister group of the Eumetazoa?: stratigraphy and Earth history: Nature, v. 356, Paleobiology, v. 20, p. 1–4. p. 673–678. depth-related zonations that characterize Canfield, D. E., and Teske, A., 1996, Late Proterozoic Landing, E., Narbonne, G. M., and Myrow, P., editors, Phanerozoic and modern seas were not rise in atmospheric oxygen concentration inferred from 1988, Trace fossils, small shelly fossils and the Precam- strongly developed in the terminal Neo- phylogenetic and sulphur-isotope studies: Nature, brian-Cambrian boundary: New York State Museum proterozoic (Narbonne and Aitken, 1990). v. 382, p. 127–132. Bulletin 463, 81 p. In some ways, the Ediacaran ecosys- Conway Morris, S., 1993, Ediacaran-like fossils in MacNaughton, R. B., Dalrymple, R. W., and Narbonne, Cambrian Burgess Shale–type faunas of North America: G. M., 1997, Early Cambrian braid-delta deposits, tem differed significantly from all modern Palaeontology, v. 36, p. 593–635. Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada: Sedimentology, v. 44, p. 587–609. systems. Microbial mats covered most Conway Morris, S., 1996, Molecular clocks: Defusing marine surfaces and exerted a major influ- the Cambrian “explosion”: Current Biology, v. 7, McMenamin, M. A. S., 1986, The garden of Ediacara: ence on sedimentation patterns. Burrow- p. R71–R74. Palaios, v. 1, p. 178–182. ing organisms were sparse and mostly Dalrymple, R. W., and Narbonne, G. M., 1996, Conti- Narbonne, G. M., 1994, New Ediacaran fossils from ineffective bioturbators, and no animals nental slope sedimentation in the Sheepbed Formation the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada: (Neoproterozoic, Windermere Supergroup), Mackenzie Journal of Paleontology, v. 68, p. 411–416. seem to have been capable of preying on Mountains, N.W.T.: Canadian Journal of Earth Sci- Narbonne, G. M., and Aitken, J. D., 1990, Ediacaran fos- ences, v. 33, p. 848–862. the largely soft-bodied and immobile Edi- sils from the Sekwi Brook area, Mackenzie Mountains, acaran organisms. McMenamin (1986) Farmer, J., Vidal, G., Moczydlowska, M., Strauss, H., northwestern Canada: Palaeontology, v. 33, p. 945–980. Ahlberg, P., and Siedlecka, A., 1992, Ediacaran fossils has referred to this as “The garden of Edi- Narbonne, G. M., and Hofmann, H. J., 1987, Ediacaran from the Innerelv Member (late Proterozoic) of the biota of the Wernecke Mountains, Yukon, Canada: acara,” and in many ways it reflects the Tanafjorden area, northeastern Finnmark: Geological Palaeontology, v. 30, p. 647–676. last vestiges of the Precambrian lifestyle Magazine, v. 129, p. 181–195. Narbonne, G. M., Kaufman, A. J., and Knoll, A. H., that had characterized the preceding 3 b.y. Fedonkin, M. A., 1992, Vendian faunas and the early 1994, Integrated chemostratigraphy and biostratigraphy evolution of Metazoa, in Lipps, J., and Signor, P. W., of Earth history. However, the presence of of the Windermere Supergroup, northwestern Canada: eds., Origin and early evolution of the Metazoa: anemones (Gehling, 1988) and sponges Implications for Neoproterozoic correlations and the New York, Plenum Press, p. 87–129. (Gehling and Rigby, 1996) among the Edi- early evolution of animals: Geological Society of Fedonkin, M. A., and Runnegar, B., 1992, Proterozoic America Bulletin, v. 106, p. 1281–1292. acara biota implies that ecological niches metazoan trace fossils, in Schopf, J. W., and Klein, C., Narbonne, G. M., Saylor, B. Z., and Grotzinger, J. P., in the Ediacaran seas included microcarni- eds., The Proterozoic biosphere: A multidisciplinary 1997, The youngest Ediacaran fossils from southern study: Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, vores and filter feeders. Ecological tiering Africa: Journal of Paleontology, v. 71, p. 953–967. p. 389–396. included, for the first time, three feeding Runnegar, B., 1995, Vendobionta or Metazoa? Fedonkin, M. A., and Waggoner, B. M., 1997, The levels: an elevated level in the water col- Developments in understanding the Ediacara “fauna”: Late Precambrian fossil Kimberella is a mollusc-like Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, umn occupied by the fronds; a seafloor bilaterian organism: Nature, v. 388, p. 868–871. Abhandlungen, v. 195, p. 303–318. level with anemones, sponges, and a vari- Ferguson, C. A., and Simony, P. S., 1991, Preliminary Runnegar, B., and Fedonkin, M. A., 1992, Proterozoic ety of other organisms; and the shallow report on structural evolution and stratigraphic correla- metazoan body fossils, in Schopf, J. W., and Klein, C., tions, northern Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia: subsurface where wormlike bilateria bur- eds., The Proterozoic biosphere: Cambridge, UK, Cam- Geological Survey of Canada Paper 91-1A, p. 103–110. rowed beneath microbial mats. These eco- bridge University Press, p. 369–388. Gehling, J. G., 1987, Earliest known echinoderm— logical innovations laid the groundwork Seilacher, A., 1982, Late Precambrian and Early Cam- A new Ediacaran fossil from the Pound Subgroup of brian Metazoa: Preservational or real extinctions? in for the massive ecological changes of the South Australia: Alcheringa, v. 11, p. 337–345. Holland, H. D., and Trendall, A. F., eds., Patterns of Cambrian “explosion,” and thus marked Gehling, J.G., 1988, A cnidarian of actinian grade from change in Earth evolution: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, the beginning of our Phanerozoic world. the Ediacaran Pound Subgroup, South Australia: p. 159–168. Alcheringa, v. 12, p. 299–314. Seilacher, A., 1989, Vendozoa: Organismic construction ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gehling, J. G., 1991, The case for Ediacaran fossil roots in the Proterozoic biosphere: Lethaia, v. 22, p. 229–239. to the metazoan tree: Geological Society of India Seilacher, A., 1992, Vendobionta and Psammocorallia: Memoir 20, p. 181–224. Interactions and discussions with Lost constructions of Precambrian evolution: Geologi- members of the IUGS Working Group on Gehling, J. G., and Rigby, J. K., 1996, Long expected cal Society of London Journal , v. 149, p. 607–613. sponges from the Neoproterozoic Ediacara fauna of a Terminal Proterozoic System and IGCP Seilacher, A., and Pfluger, F., 1994, From biomats South Australia: Journal of Paleontology, v. 70, to benthic agriculture: A biohistoric revolution, in Project 320 (Neoproterozoic Events and p. 185–195. Resources) helped me in writing this Krumbein, et al., eds., Biostabilization of sediments: Glaessner, M. F., 1984, The dawn of animal life: A bio- Oldenberg, Germany, Bibliotheks und Information- paper. Line drawings are the work of John historical study: Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University system der Universitat Oldenberg, p. 97–105. Press, 244 p. Glew, Rob MacNaughton, and Ela Rusak. Sepkoski, J. J., 1981, A factor analytic description of the Long-term funding has been provided by Grazhdankin, D. V., and Ivantsov, A. Yu., 1996, Recon- Phanerozoic marine fossil record: Paleobiology, v. 7, the Natural Sciences and Engineering structions of biotopes of ancient Metazoa of the Late p. 36–53. Vendian White Sea biota: Palaeontological Journal, Sprigg, R. G., 1947, Early Cambrian (?) jellyfishes from Research Council of Canada (NSERC v. 30, p. 674–678. Research Grant 2648); the Geological the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: Royal Society of Grotzinger J. P., Bowring, S. A., Saylor, B. Z., and Kauf- South Australia Transactions, v. 71, p. 212–224. Survey of Canada and Lithoprobe also man, A. J., 1995, Biostratigraphic and geochronologic Unrug, R., 1997, Rodinia to Gondwana: The geody- constraints on early animal evolution: Science, v. 270, provided support during critical periods. namic map of Gondwana supercontinent assembly: p. 598–604. I thank Molly Miller for editorial advice GSA Today, v. 7, no. 1, p. 1–6. Hofmann, H. J., 1987, Precambrian biostratigraphy: and Michael Gibson and an anonymous Wade, M., 1968, Preservation of soft-bodied animals Geoscience Canada, v. 14, p. 135–154. reviewer for helpful reviews. This paper in Precambrian sandstones at Ediacara, South Australia: is dedicated to the memory of Bob Hofmann, H. J., Narbonne, G. M., and Aitken, J. D., Lethaia, v. 1, p. 238–267. 1990, Ediacaran remains from intertillite beds in Waggoner, B. M., and Hagadorn, J. W., 1997, Ediacaran Horodyski, who found the first Ediacaran northwestern Canada: Geology, v. 18, p. 1199–1202. fossils from western North America: Stratigraphic and fossils ever discovered in the western Hoffman, P. F., 1992, Did the breakout of Laurentia paleogeographic implications: Geological Society of United States. turn Gondwanaland inside out? : Science, v. 252, America Abstracts with Programs,v. 29, no. 6, p. A-30. p. 1409–1412. Wray, G. A., Levinton, J. S., and Shapiro, L. H., 1996, REFERENCES CITED Horodyski, R. J., 1991, Late Proterozoic megafossils Molecular evidence for deep Precambrian divergences from southern Nevada: Geological Society of America among metazoan phyla: Science, v. 274, p. 568–573. Bartley, J. K., Pope, M., Knoll, A. H., Semikhatov, M. A., Abstracts with Programs, v. 23, no. 6, p. A-163. and Petrov, P. Yu., 1998, A Vendian-Cambrian bound- Manuscript received November 3, 1997; revision received ary succession from the northwestern margin of the Jenkins, R. J. F., 1992, Functional and ecological aspects November 13, 1997; accepted November 14, 1997 ■ Siberian Platform: Stratigraphy, palaeontology, and of Ediacaran assemblages, in Lipps, J. H., and Signor, correlation: Geological Magazine (in press). P. W., eds., Origin and early evolution of the Metazoa: New York, Plenum Press, p. 131–176. Bertrand-Sarfati, J., Moussine-Pouchkine, A., Amard, B., and Ahmed, A. A. K., 1995, First Ediacaran fauna found Knoll, A. H., 1992, Biological and biochemical preludes in western Africa and evidence for an Early Cambrian to the Ediacaran radiation, in Lipps, J. H., and Signor, glaciation: Geology, v. 23, p. 133–136. P. W., eds., Origin and early evolution of the Metazoa: New York, Plenum Press, p. 53–86.

6 GSA TODAY, February 1998

Sarewitz Leaves IEE Post

After 21⁄2 years as director of GSA’s Institute for Environmental Education Are you a junior or senior (IEE), Daniel Sarewitz has accepted a majoring in geoscience? position with Columbia University as a senior research fellow. He will write Would you like to work in a on science and technology policy and set up a science policy institute that national park this summer? will focus on social outcomes. Sarewitz, who was a GSA Congres- If so, apply for a sional Science Fellow in 1989–1990 and a science consultant to the U.S. House GSA 1998 Summer Internship! of Representatives Committee on Sci- ence, Space, and Technology, was appointed to the IEE post in 1995. GSA is sponsoring five National Park Service undergraduate internships for the “It’s been exciting working with summer of 1998. Interns will work with park scientists and staff to develop inter- GSA during this time of major change pretive programs, provide public education, and conduct research. Internships are in our science,” Sarewitz said. “You can available at the following parks: Badlands, Denali, Lake Clark, Petrified Forest, and see signs of this change everywhere—in White Sands. the job market, in academia, in publications. Just look at the evolution of Each internship carries with it a stipend of $2500, to cover transportation, the GSA annual meeting over the past food, and incidental expenses. Accommodations in the park will be provided free five years or so. Sessions about educa- of charge. tion, environment, and policy used to Internships will be awarded on a competitive basis to five junior or senior be very rare. Now they are an impor- undergraduates majoring in geoscience. Applicants must be GSA student Associates. tant part of the meeting.” You may join GSA at the same time you submit your application for the intern pro- During his IEE tenure, Sarewitz gram. Detailed position descriptions and additional qualifications are listed on our helped to implement some of these Web site (www.geosociety.org/iee/parkint.htm) and in January GSA Today. changes, by organizing media workshops, symposia, and theme sessions Apply for a GSA–National Park Service Internship by submitting: at GSA annual and section meetings; • A one-page letter explaining your interest in and qualifications for the intern- initiating workshops on the ship. Include (1) dates that you are available for the internship; (2) your prefer- USGS–National Biological Service ence (if any) for a national park placement, selected from the list of five avail- merger and on the policy relevance able park positions; (3) your phone number; (4) your GSA membership number.; of predictive modeling; launching • A copy of your academic transcript (unofficial is okay); the Roy Shlemon Mentors in Applied • Your resume; and Geology Program; guiding the GSA • One letter of reference from a faculty member in your geoscience department. Congressional Science Fellow and (This letter may be included with your application package in a separate, sealed National Park Service Internship pro- envelope, with the signature of the reference across the seal, or it can be mailed grams; and working with the Geology separately.) and Environment Public Outreach Program to cultivate communication among geoscientists, policy makers, Send applications to: National Parks Internship Program, representatives of the private sector, Geological Society of America, and members of the general public 3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301 on environment-related issues. Sarewitz has moved to Washing- All application materials must be received at GSA headquarters by March 1, 1998. ton, D.C., where he can keep track of The five successful applicants will be notified no later than April 15, 1998. meetings and other activities of con- For more information, call (303) 447-2020 ext. 195, or e-mail bbrown@ gressional committees that deal with geosociety.org science policy. His new position begins on March 1. The 1998 GSA–National Park Service Internship Program is supported by generous IEE was formed in 1990 and was gifts from John F. Mann, Jr., and the Shell Oil Company Foundation. This program is headed by GSA Fellow and benefactor administered by the John F. Mann, Jr. Institute for Applied Geoscience. Fred A. Donath, as a volunteer, for almost five years. The success of this initiative dictated establishing a full- time directorship, and that is the position for which Sarewitz was hired in 1998 National Research Council Summer Internship Program 1995. The recent gift from John F. The application period is now open for the 1998 summer internship program of the Mann, Jr. (see January 1998 GSA Today, National Research Council. Interns work at the NRC offices in Washington, D.C. Gradu- p. 1) to support an Institute for Applied ate or postdoctoral candidates in the physical, biological, and social sciences or any field Geoscience will ensure that the IEE of engineering are invited to submit the application available at http://www2.nas.edu/ agenda remains a vital part of GSA’s nrc-ip. The deadline is March 1, 1998. For more information, contact [email protected] outreach activities. For information, or write to: Deborah Stine, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, contact Liz Knapp at GSA headquarters, Washington, DC 20418. [email protected]. ■

8 GSA TODAY, February 1998 SAGE REMARKS You Show Me Yours, and I’ll Show You Mine

John C. Butler, Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, [email protected]

The National Science Standards (1996) Lecture Hall listings, at http://www.utexas. resources will be the value these resources place great emphasis on creating environ- edu/world/lecture/index.html. Instructors add to the learning environment. ments in which all students can learn. are encouraged to publish Internet Inherent features of the Internet’s World addresses of their course materials at To Share or Not To Share Wide Web (hypertext links coupled with this University of Texas at Austin–spon- Having committed to experimenting its interactive and distributed nature) lend sored site, which has been in existence for with the Internet, the developer will be themselves to serious experimentation to at least three years. Given the interdisci- faced with a decision as to whether to evaluate the potential of the Internet as plinary nature of the geosciences, the cur- share the resources with the rest of the one way to create these environments. rent contents for science and mathematics world or to restrict access. Systematic Sur- It is encouraging that an overwhelming are summarized in Table 1. veys of the World Wide Web (http://www. majority of the developers of geosciences uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/use.html) lead to Internet-based course resources are willing Table 1. World Lecture Hall Science and the conclusion that more than 95% of the to share materials. Faculty with an interest Mathematics Internet Course Resources available resources are open to the public. in learning how their colleagues are using Several universities (University of Illinois, the Internet have a wealth of material Discipline No. of http://www.geology.uiuc.edu/, and the through which to browse, examine con- listings University of Texas at El Paso, http://www. tent, and obtain ideas for developing Biochemistry 13 geo.utep.edu/class_notes/Class_Index.htm their own resources. Biology and botany 64 l, for example) restrict access to some of The widespread willingness to “share Chemistry 55 their course resources to enrolled students. by showing” Internet-based resources is Computer science 133 UT at El Paso, however, provides an e-mail impressive. This nearly universal practice Geography 20 link for other instructors to request access. can have a twofold impact. First, the Geosciences 38 Others, like the University of Wyoming instructor has access to a veritable wealth Mathematics 28 (http://geoweb.uwyo.edu/) restrict access of information from which to select Physics 52 to individual student pages (where instruc- resources for his or her evolving course World Lecture Hall science 403 tors record performance on quizzes and pages (for example, see the Virtual Geo- examinations) and course notes. Still oth- sciences Professor, http://www.uh.edu/ ers, like the MIT Physical Geology Tutor ~jbutler/anon/anonfield.html). Second, The World Lecture Hall staff make no (http://cfd4.mit.edu/PGTdemo/), restrict the instructor can gain insight into how attempt to add resources that were not access to illustrations to on-campus users. other instructors are conducting similar nominated by the developer(s), so there is The number of formal courses deliv- courses. This is a win-win situation as both a bias in their listings. I have been keeping ered via the Internet in a “distance educa- faculty and students ultimately may derive track (by systematically reviewing depart- tion format” is increasing. Even some of benefit. mental Internet pages) of the number of these are available for inspection by other G. Van Dusen “The Virtual Campus— course resources in the geosciences since students and faculty; for example, Envi- Technology and Reform in Higher Educa- the fall semester of 1995. ronmental Problem Solving at Indiana tion,” ASHE-ERIC Higher Education For First Time Readers, http://www. University–Purdue University at Indi- Reports, v. 25, no. 5, 1997) observed that uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/use.html provides anapolis (http://www.geology.iupui.edu/ many institutions seem to follow the a brief introduction of links to geoscience classes/g130/coned/index.htm). “Yuppie toy model” in making decisions courses and course resources that have Clearly, there is a need to protect the to purchase and use electronic technology. been identified during the past two years. intellectual properties of both the devel- However, the institution with the most At the beginning of the fall 1997 semester, oper and the textbook publisher and to toys might turn out to be the loser and there were 623 of these resources being forbid access to student records. Each not the winner. Van Dusen argues that produced by geoscience faculty at 135 developer will face these and related ques- the “institution that approaches the vir- departments in the United States and tions and issues when it is time to move tual campus concept with the attitude Canada. Thus, only about 6% of these html (hypertext markup language) files that the new technologies are merely resources have been nominated for listing and images to a server. better tools that can be used to help the in the World Lecture Hall. (A resource is Each user of resources produced by institution effectively and efficiently defined as having features that take at someone else needs to be aware of the achieve its educational mission will be least a minimal advantage of the distribu- concepts of “fair use” and “protection far more successful in the long run.” The tive nature of the Internet; thus, a typed of intellectual property.” The University question is, therefore, What is an efficient syllabus and course outline would not of Texas at Austin has prepared a Crash and cost-effective way for a faculty to qualify.) Course in Copyright (http://www. learn whether or not the Internet can Although the number of geoscience utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/ help their institution do this? courses with Internet-based course cprtindx.htm), which provides a good resources continues to increase, it can starting point. Getting Started be argued that much of the growth is due to a relatively small number of faculty pro- The best way to begin exploring the Learning from Colleagues ducing more and more of these resources potential of the Internet in helping to cre- over time. Whether the Internet is During more than 30 years of teach- ate learning environments is to find out adopted by a larger percentage of the ing at the university level, I have partici- how colleagues are using Internet-based geoscience faculty remains to be seen. resources in their courses. A good starting The value added by Internet-based course point for such an exploration is the World SAGE Remarks continued on p. 10

GSA TODAY, February 1998 9 SAGE Remarks continued from p. 9 html course pages can be, take a look at Internet Tours (for example, http://www. Calculus I—Math 151 (http://calclab. uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/anoninternettour. pated in many discussions about how to math.tamu.edu/docs/math151/), at Texas html) can be made available to a class, or evaluate teaching. In discussing “class- A&M University. Material that an instruc- you may wish to develop your own “Intro- room visits,” it was usually decided that tor usually hands out to a class—a syl- duction to the Internet” as a part of the negative issues outweighed the positive. labus, schedule, important dates, past exercises that you develop; for example, Many of my colleagues will talk freely exams, and suggested homework prob- Searching for Specific Information (http:// about their research project(s) but are lems—are published. Why not take the www.uh.edu/~jbutler/physical/exercise6. notably reticent about discussing how word-processing version of your syllabus, html). At last count there were more than they plan their courses and what for example, save it as a text file, and add 20 courses dealing with gaining familiarity approaches they use to cover selected the html tags to make it into a file that with the Internet listed at the World Lec- topics. you can distribute on the Internet? ture Hall site. Much of what I have learned about I like the OnLine Survey (http://www. Electronic Data Processing (http:// constructing courses and presenting con- isc.tamu.edu/~mpilant/math151-survey. www.nd.edu/~rbarger/capp380syl.html) is tent has come about since I became an html) that the faculty have designed: taught by Robert N. Barger at Notre Dame. active “Internet Voyeur”—and I believe “In an effort to improve instruction across This course was designed to accomplish that my students are the true beneficiaries the Engineering Math sequence, we would the following. “Students will study com- of my reeducation. like to know something about each of the puter ethics and will learn some UNIX In selecting course resources and students in this class. Please take time to utilities and such Internet applications as courses to feature here, I had to omit some answer the following questions. Using this e-mail, listserv, telnet, ftp, newsgroups, really exciting resources. Readers are urged information, background and goal profiles archie, gopher and veronica, talk, search to find ways to share knowledge of what of students who take this course will be engines, and the World Wide Web (includ- works (and doesn’t!) with colleagues developed.… These profiles will help us to ing HTML and JavaScript). Learning activi- within and across discipline boundaries. evaluate curricular changes in Calculus … ties will be done on-line. Exams will be Although the examples are discipline- and to compare current students to previ- given on-line. Homework assignments, based, the general philosophy of the ous students in Math 151. The informa- ethics case analyses, and a Web page pro- instructor or producer as to layout, presen- tion you provide will be kept strictly confi- ject will also be done on-line.” tation style, techniques for visualization dential; there will be no identification of Results of Current Students’ Previous of fundamental concepts, etc. should have individual students.” Use of Computer Applications and Lan- a wider appeal. I list these examples in Most colleges and universities give guages (and their philosophic world increasing order of complexity (which students the opportunity to critique the views), at http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/sur- is in no way meant as a criticism, as the courses that they take—but usually at the vey.html, allow students to compare their technically simplest pages still have utility end of the course. Rarely do faculty take background with others in the class. This for those who developed them and for the opportunity to survey students about might prove beneficial, especially in large their students). There is something to be their attitudes toward education in general survey courses where students often are gained from each of these that can be or a course in particular, or about their not sure what the prerequisites are and transferred to a particular level of Web level of preparation for a course while it is whether they are really prepared. awareness and preparedness. I hope that in progress. I particularly like Barger’s emphasis you will view these resources as examples I recently gave my students in Physi- on Internet ethics and the Ethics Case that might be worthy of emulation. cal Geology the opportunity to participate Histories (http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/ in a Preparation and Background Survey cases.html). Everyone who uses the Inter- Electronic Syllabus (http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/physical/ net should be familiar with the concept of physsurvey.html). All of the homework fair use, and it helps to have case histories I used to distribute about 50 pages of exercises are published on the Internet, so to refer to. handouts per student in a semester in my the student must use the Internet to access Physical Geology course. At about 50 stu- and complete the assignments. In order to Discipline-Based Internet dents and $0.10 per page, I spent about assess how many students were routinely Initiative $250 for a small course. If my colleagues accessing the course pages, I added a gave out an average of 50 handouts per One of the first geosciences Internet- “blinking” link at the top of the course student, the cost would be about $5,000 based resources for a course that I encoun- home page. Students could receive 10 for the 1,000 students who take Physical tered was developed by the Department of “extra points” if they responded within Geology each semester. Earth and Ocean Sciences at the Univer- 5 days; they were admonished to let the When I first introduced my students sity of British Columbia. This effort was other students discover the survey for to the Internet in Physical Geology underwritten as part of a university and themselves. After one week, 24 (50%) of (http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/physical/ province–wide commitment as described the students had responded. The correla- physical.html), many of them used the in Newsletter of Computing and Commu- tion between class rank (out of some 300 terminals at the University of Houson nication (http://www.cc.ubc.ca/ccandc/ available points) and response to the sur- library. Many quickly learned that the mar95/mrn.html), March 1995. Michelle vey was disappointing but anticipated— library was not charging for printing, and Lamberson has been with the project from 75% of the students in the upper half of printed the entire set of pages! Many indi- its inception. Her article in May/June 1995 the class responded within the allotted viduals are simply more comfortable with Newsletter of Computing and Communication time as compared to 25% in the lower a printed version—even if they know that (http://www.cc.ubc.ca/ccandc/may-june95/ half of the class. they can access the same materials on the geoweb.html), puts into perspective their Internet at any time. I have simply passed current effort, Course Web Pages in Earth Learning About the Internet the cost on from my department to the and Ocean Sciences (http://www.eos.ubc. on the Internet library! ca/courses/courses.html)—23 courses with A good first use of the Internet might Once the decision has been made to extensive Internet resources in fall 1997. be to distribute materials needed by stu- incorporate Internet resources in a course, Lamberson received the first EduCom dents in a course or set of courses. As an it is imperative to assess the level of Inter- Medal to be awarded by the Geological example of how effective even very simple net familiarity of each student. Some Society of America (October 1997), a well-

10 GSA TODAY, February 1998 earned recognition for not only her A Searchable Index (http://esg-www.mit. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader work but also the commitments that the edu:8001/bio/search.html) provides a (http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/ Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences mechanism for locating specific informa- acrobat/readstep.html) allows the user to have made to their faculty and students. tion in this hypertext text. view, navigate, and print PDF files across If faculty are contemplating an exten- For seven chapters there are Practice all major computing platforms. Acrobat sive Internet effort, or would like to see Problems (http://esg-www.mit.edu:8001/ Reader is the free viewing companion to how such a project could be organized, bio/problems.html), which, in my opin- Adobe Acrobat 3.0 and to Acrobat Capture the Earth and Ocean Sciences Web ion, are the real heart of these pages. Many software. Adobe will allow you to link to Resources Page (http://www.science.ubc. modern textbooks provide questions, but their site where your users can Download ca/~eoswr/project/) clearly highlights the few provide answers accompanied by sug- a Free Copy of the Reader (http://www. importance of having the right kind of gestions as to where to go when you need adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/distribute. help at the unit level. to know. The philosophy behind the self- html). Earth and Ocean Sciences at UBC quizzes is explained as follows: “This is a Geochemistry (http://www.geo. has devoted most of its funds to people— diagnostic quiz to show whether or not cornell.edu/geology/classes/GEO455. Michelle Lamberson and a HTML), taught by William group of enthusiastic students White at Cornell, provides an who work with faculty. The excellent illustration of how faculty provide the goals and appropriate course material objectives and produce the can be distributed as PDF files. content. The students provide In addition to the text, a syl- the skills for getting the mate- labus, problem sets and solu- rials on the Internet. Lamber- tions and geochemistry-related son serves as the interface web links are available on the between student workers Internet. and the faculty. Take a Note that if you inter- look at Developer Tools, sperse pictures, plots, and (http://www.science.ubc. other graphical displays in ca/~eoswr/) or, perhaps your word-processing docu- better yet, have your Infor- ments, your PDF files will mation Technology Office look retain the look and feel of at that site. It really helps if the hard-copy original. your organization recognizes the need for tools and gadgets that can be you learned what you needed to learn Distance Education Course? shared across the university. from the readings. When you have Another development that I have answered all of the questions, you turn in been watching is the Introduction to Internet-Based Text the quiz electronically (by pressing the but- Geophysical Exploration (http://magma. ton). This is purely a diagnostic exercise to The materials listed above are Mines.EDU/fs_home/tboyd/GP311/), help both yourself and your tutor know best considered as Internet-based course which is produced by Tom Boyd and Phil where weak points in comprehension are. resources, as they were designed to com- Romig at the Colorado School of Mines. Once the answers have been submitted, plement materials distributed in specific This is a joint effort between Boyd and you may jump to the Self-Quiz answers courses. Perhaps the next step would be Romig and the Society of Exploration and check your answers against the solu- the development of a hypertext book Geophysicists, a case of professional tion key. If you got a question wrong, are such as the MIT Biology Hypertext Book organization investing in the learning uncertain about a certain question, or (http://esg-www.mit.edu:8001/bio/ environment of students who are poten- don’t know what a word means, the Self- 7001main.html). This effort is produced tial future members and contributors to Quiz answers come with a searchable index by the Experimental Study Group at MIT the discipline. so that you can immediately get to the (http://esg-www.mit.edu:8001/home/ The authors provide their Philosophy material you need to review.” home.html). of Teaching and Learning (http://www. The current version of the hypertext mines.edu/fs_home/tboyd/GP311/ Alternative to an book has 11 Chapters (http://esg-www. INFORMATION/MOTIVATION/motiv. Internet-Distributed Text mit.edu:8001/bio/chapters.html) with the html). The parallel they draw between look and feel of a classroom lecture featur- As developed at MIT, the hypertext learning and playing baseball is intriguing, ing a blackboard and an overhead projec- involved several steps. First, an instructor regardless of your discipline: “The frame- tor. References to other Internet resources prepared a word-processing document work of the prototype learning environ- are minimized. (This is something that containing the text. Second, overheads ment we are developing has many paral- each producer must consider. How easy do and other graphics were scanned and con- lels to the way youngsters learn to play you want to make it for the readers to verted to images. Third, the documents baseball. In developing this analog, con- “surf”? How critical are the these links to from the first two steps were combined sider first a program for baseball instruc- the purpose of the pages you are produc- and an html document produced. tion based on the model that is currently ing? Should the links be interspersed One of the frustrating aspects is that used by most universities to teach engi- throughout the text or lumped together at many of the features of the word-process- neering and science. One could easily the end as other resources? Clearly, the ing documents, such as tables and lists, envision a baseball undergraduate being MIT group favored minimizing possible are not automatically retained when con- required to take courses in calculus, differ- distractions.) verted to html files. You can reformat a ential equations, physics, fluid mechanics, Each set of Review Questions (http:// table, but it may not have the same look the history of baseball, baseball and soci- esg-www.mit.edu:8001/bio/chem/ as it did in its original form. I suggest that ety, baseball theory, and various specialty problems.html) is immediately followed everyone contemplating the preparation courses (pitching, base running, hitting, by a link to the Solutions (http://esg-www. of course resources should at least review mit.edu:8001/bio/chem/solutions.html). Portable Document Files (PDF). SAGE Remarks continued on p. 12

GSA TODAY, February 1998 11 ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS CALL FOR NOMINATIONS AADE INDUSTRY FORUM ON To reward and encourage teaching excellence in beginning professors of earth science at the college Pressure Regimes in level, the Geological Society of America announces: Sedimentary Basins and Their Prediction THE SEVENTH ANNUAL September 2-4, 1998 Del Lago Resort at Lake Conroe, North of Houston, TX Sponsors: AADE, CONOCO, DOE and GRI Format: SEG Summer Workshop Format Biggs Award REGISTRATION Pre-registration Fee is $800 and includes 4 nights of accommodations at the For Excellence In Earth Science Resort and 3 meals per day during the conference. Attendance is limited to Teaching For Beginning Professors 200 people. All earth science instructors and PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY: faculty at 2- and 4-year colleges who have been To bring together geoscientists and engineers who deal with all aspects of teaching full time for 10 years or less. (Part-time pore pressure in sedimentary basins. Session topics will include (1) shale mechanics, (2) overpressure mechanisms, (3) pore pressure and fracture gra- teaching is not counted in the 10 years.) dient prediction, (4) pressure at the prospect and basin scale, (5) pressure AWARD AMOUNT: An award of $500 is made management while drilling, and (6) frontier issues. possible as a result of support from the Donald and ABSTRACTS AND PUBLICATION Carolyn Biggs Fund. Extended abstracts will be published in a preprint volume (6 page maximum NOMINATION PROCEDURE: For nomination with text and figures). The abstract deadline is March 31, 1998. forms write to Edward E. Geary, Director of Educational INFORMATION Programs, Geological Society of America, P.O. Box 9140, For additional information on the Forum contact the meeting chairman Boulder, CO 80301. Dr. Alan R. Huffman, Manager, Seismic Imaging Technology, Conoco Inc. DEADLINE: Nominations and support materials for by fax at 580/767-6067, or the 1998 Biggs Earth Science Teaching Award must be e-mail at [email protected] received by April 30, 1998.

SAGE Remarks continued from p. 11 pace appropriate to the student’s situation. a sampling strategy, bid on the project, The coordinator is a coach who answers manage a budget, and incorporate infor- etc.). If students were lucky enough to questions rather than giving lectures, mation gained from a variety of sources attend a university that emphasized field so interaction can occur at any time. to solve a real problem. work, the baseball curriculum would also The efficiency of this function will also All of the modules include Java include a six-week field program where be enhanced by the establishment of applets that truly encourage playing the students either took field trips to watch the FAQ file. (3) Personalized Instruction. “what if” game. For example, the Gravity professional players practice their art, or, Students submit their own survey designs Module involves determining the location in some rare instances, actually played the and receive data sets customized to that of abandoned tunnels in the shallow sub- game.” design. In addition, they can submit a surface. The user specifies the tunnel Their course consists of four modules. new survey design at any time. When width and depth, the density contrast The principles underlying the modules are they interact with the coordinator, it is in between the tunnel and the surrounding described as follows: “[T]he learning phi- regard to their unique survey design and rock, the number of readings at each sta- losophy that we are incorporating in this data set.” tion, the station spacing, etc. A gravity program is characterized by one that In the Gravity Module (http://magma. profile is constructed as a function of includes Multiple Opportunities for Mas- Mines.EDU/fs_home/tboyd/GP311/ the values input by the user. It is highly tery, Autonomously Paced Learning, and MODULES/GRAV/main.html), the subject instructive to hold all but one of these val- Personalized Instruction. Our program matter is introduced in the form of course ues constant and allow the other to vary. includes each of these in the following notes, and both on-line and off-line refer- For example, what happens to the magni- ways. (1) Multiple Opportunities for Mas- ences are provided. tude of the gravity anomaly if the tunnel tery. In the process of designing surveys I took a course with a similar name width increases? If the density contrast and interpreting data, students use model- a long time ago. The objectives may have decreases ? If the depth of the tunnel ing software as many times as necessary to been the same, but the level of student increases? discover the relationships between geolog- involvement leading to understanding is Boyd and Romig elected to modify ical parameters and physical phenomena. orders of magnitude greater in the Boyd the way the course is presented. They In the final report associated with each and Romig course. Students gain more of still meet with the class in two three-hour module, students must demonstrate mas- an understanding of principles when they sessions per week, but now the students tery of these concepts by writing the set apply them directly to solving a specific control what happens in class by the ques- of rules that describe those relationships. and realistic problem rather than hand- tions they ask. Lecturing per se has been (2) Autonomously Paced Learning. Each cranking out the answer to a small part module is a project that can be done at a of a problem. Users of this module design SAGE Remarks continued on p. 13

12 GSA TODAY, February 1998 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Edwards Aquifer Revisited ment by Woodruff et al. that “the Edwards aquifer may not always be [present].” However, those who do should not be con- We appreciate the critique of our article by our colleagues cerned that the Edwards aquifer will disappear on a human time Woodruff, Rose, and Abbott (GSA Today, v. 7, no. 11, November scale. Such statements can (and will) be quoted out of context 1997), and we wish to respond by making three points. and will mislead the public because “in Texas, water is for fight- First, our statement, “It is not always recognized … that ing.” It is, in fact, difficult to conceive of a drought so severe and although the Edwards aquifer is present in the San Antonio area, prolonged or a regional contamination event so catastrophic that the Edwards Limestone is not” (Sharp and Banner, 1997), was this aquifer would not continue to supply water of usable quality intended to emphasize the fact, no more and no less, that strati- to wells, springs, or a combination thereof. The Edwards aquifer graphic and hydrostratigraphic units are not identical! The ratio- may become abused and overexploited, and it may not be able to nales for these differences are given by Maxey (1964) and Seaber meet everyone’s desired water needs in the future. The aquifer (1988). We submit that this distinction is not always appreciated will, most likely, be impacted by the effects arising from the con- by the geological community, let alone the general public. We tinued rapid rate of urbanization, but the Edwards aquifer won’t infer from our colleagues’ letter that this point has been made disappear. and that they agree, even though old terms will continue to be used (and misused). References Cited Second, in modern hydrogeology, precise mapping of geo- Maxey, G. B., 1964, Hydrostratigraphic units: Journal of Hydrology, v. 2, p. 124–129. logical strata is desirable because hydraulic properties of aquifers Seaber, P. R., 1988, Hydrostratigraphic units, in Back, W., et al., eds., Hydrogeology: commonly can be related to or inferred from the lithologic and Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, Geology of North America, v. O-2, geologic characteristics of such strata. Recent detailed strati- p. 9–14. graphic maps by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Sharp, J. M., Jr., and Banner, J. L., 1997, The Edwards aquifer: A resource in conflict: the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology and the Barton Springs/ GSA Today, v. 7, no. 8, p. 1–8. Edwards Aquifer Conservation District of the Edwards aquifer Small, T. A., Hanson, J. A., and Hauwert, N. M., 1996, Geologic framework and hydro- (e.g., Small et al., 1996) are noteworthy in this regard. The public geologic characteristics of the Edwards aquifer outcrop (Barton Springs segment), northeastern Hays and southwestern Travis Counties, Texas: U.S. Geological Survey and governmental agencies demand specifics, especially in urban- Water-Resources Investigations Report 96–4306. izing areas. For instance, they demand to know what the effects John M. Sharp, Jr. will be of this development, this water supply plan, or this poten- Jay L. Banner tial contamination threat on the yield and water quality of spe- University of Texas cific well fields or specific springs. Our ability to make such Austin, TX 78712 assessments demands more precision, not less. Finally, we agree that scientists should not confuse the public. We aren’t sure how many nonscientists will read the state- Letters continued on p. 14

SAGE Remarks continued from p. 12 Scientific Visualization (http://www. Would students who have learned to imsa.edu/edu/astro/ils/mat/scivis.html) use the Internet as just another tool in replaced by the Internet resources, and permeates the course resource pages at learning be interested in your programs? class time is devoted to face-to-face inter- ISMA. Three courses that should especially actions between students and faculty. be examined are Astrophysics (http:// Summing Up This course, however, could be www.imsa.edu/edu/astro/index.html), It is encouraging that an overwhelm- taken by a mature student as an indepen- Geophysics (http://www.imsa.edu/edu/ ing majority of the developers of Internet- dent study. I can imagine a geophysicist geophysics/), and Modern Physics (http:// based course resources are willing to share sitting on a drilling rig in the North Sea. www.imsa.edu/edu/topics/). them. The Internet itself provides the best It is windy and cold outside, but inside Student Performance Self-Assessment medium for evaluating the impact of the her office, the Internet provides a con- (http://www.imsa.edu/edu/geophysics/ Internet in constructing learning environ- nection to a highly interactive learning assessment/stnd1form.html) is an integral ments. A few hours of exploration can environment. part of the IMSA programs. These self- introduce inquiring instructors to the vari- assessments provide feedback to the ety of uses that their colleagues are experi- Glimpse of the Future? instructors throughout the course— menting with. not just at the end. One of the truly impressive educa- The National Science Standards (1996) In Getting Information About tional sites on the Internet is the Illinois (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/ the Earth (http://www.imsa.edu/edu/ Mathematics and Science Academy—IMSA nses/html/overview.html) note that geophysics/geosphere/tectonics/exercise1. (http://www.imsa.edu/welcome/whatis. “good teachers of science create environ- html), for example, emphasis is on under- html), “an educational laboratory for ments in which they and their students standing and not on mechanics. All IMSA designing and testing innovative programs work together as active learners. … Just exercises are constructed in a similar fash- and methods to share with other teachers as inquiry has many different facets, so ion and conclude with a written report and schools in Illinois and beyond—pro- teachers need to use many different strate- incorporating a description of the method, grams and methods to transform mathe- gies to develop the understandings and data gathering, data reduction, images, matics and science teaching and learning. abilities described in the Standards.” The and interpretation. Included in the laboratory is the state’s Internet appears to be one way to create What if students with this back- three-year public residential educational these environments. ■ ground and extensive practice in problem program for 650 Illinois students (grades solving enrolled in your department? 10–12) talented in mathematics and Would your programs be challenging? science.”

GSA TODAY, February 1998 13 Letters continued from p. 13 However, a large body of scientific knowledge already is available such that GSA ON Contract Mapping Gore’s opinions can be refuted easily without waiting for further debate. The issue is THE WEB I certainly agree with Rowley, Dixon, crucial, considering the Kyoto, Japan, con- and Stevens (GSA Today, October, 1997, ference to draw up a global treaty to limit p. 17–19) about the importance of 7.5 emissions of greenhouse gases; if imple- Visit the GSA Web Site at minute quadrangle scale geologic map- mented, such a treaty would seriously http://www.geosociety.org. From ping. I was glad to see my old friend Jack hamper economic activity worldwide, our home page you can link to many infor- Harrison quoted in their letter. I spent with a commensurate increase in human mation resources. Here are some highlights: time in Montana with Jack, as he went misery. about trying to achieve his target of a On our Membership page you'll Recent increase in the carbon dioxide quadrangle mapped per day in the Belt learn about the GSA Employment Service, content of the atmosphere, likely but not Supergroup. I’m not so sure Jack would find out how to become a GSA Campus certainly attributable to human activity have agreed with them that the USGS Representative, or learn how to get forms and significant back only as far as 1940, always lived up to its basic mapping mis- to join GSA as a professional or as a stu- does not correlate with a global warming sion. Like many other economic geologists dent. You’ll also find information here on trend commonly cited as beginning in the he and I were aware that our profession’s how to nominate a GSA Member to Fellow- early 1800s but largely finished before frequent calls for basic geologic mapping ship standing. 1940. Following nearly two centuries of by the Survey were often ignored in favor global warming, none of the disasters now Try out the Meetings site for a first of others of the Survey’s programs. being declared as the inevitable conse- look at the 1998 Annual Meeting in But now that the Survey’s staff of quence of that warming have materialized. Toronto, with links to key Toronto Web experienced mappers is diminished, what’s The geologic record indicates past climate sites. wrong with contracting some of the map- fluctuations vastly more severe than that ping to competent independent geolo- From the Publications heading, you perceived for the present; in past geologic gists? Through long use of USGS geologic can visit the GSA Bookstore, where you’ll eras human activity obviously could not maps, most of us are familiar with the find prices on DNAG publications slashed have been a factor. Incidentally, many by 50% (and GSA Member discount still conventions used and quality required. respected scientists question the validity applies). You’ll find two Treatise volume Support services such as isotopic analyses of recent global warming as proposed by revisions, an Explore Kilauea multimedia could still be provided by the Survey as environmentalists. CD-ROM, a new Reviews in Engineering needed. During the past two decades more Geology volume, and several new Memoirs I understand that the Geologic Map- carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil and Special Papers. There’s a general page ping Act is one of the sources of revenue fuels has been poured into the atmosphere with information for contributors, detailed wanted by federal and state geologic sur- than in any earlier two decades, and in the information on preparing manuscripts for veys. However, my partner and I are prob- recent period, the actual global tempera- GSA books, information on copyright, a ably not alone in desiring some of this ture has decreased slightly (see, for exam- free geologic time scale, and more. Don’t work. As Ph.D. geologists with extensive ple, Kerr in Science, 1995, v. 267, p. 612). forget the GSA Data Repository—you can experience, we believe we could provide Data published recently in Sky and download valuable supplementary materials geologic maps at a competitive cost, ready Telescope (Baliunas and Soon, December relating to articles in GSA Bulletin and Geol- for final drafting by the USGS. We’d even 1996) indicate a close correlation between ogy. As always, you’ll find abstracts of all be willing to submit a map on spec, to the solar magnetic cycle and global tem- articles in those journals posted monthly. show that we can work within the Sur- perature (data recorded for the past 250 vey’s system. In the Education section, read about years; length of cycle correlates with tem- If Rowley, Dixon, and Stevens want GSA’s educational programs, including PEP perature deviation from the mean). support for the Geologic Mapping Act, (Partners for Education Program), and the A significant benefit of increased car- perhaps they should consider spreading Earth and Space Science Technological Edu- bon dioxide is that plant growth world- out its benefits a little. Support from geol- cation Project (ESSTEP). Find out about wide has burgeoned. For example, timber ogists for renewal would be much broader GSA’s environment and public policy activi- growth in the United States has increased based. ties in the Institute for Environmental 25% in the past 40 years (Forest Statistics Education section, including updates on John Trammell of the United States, 1987; Access to Energy, the GSA Congressional Science Fellowship Grand Junction, CO 81506 1993, v. 21, nos. 3 and 4). This increase program, the Roy J. Shlemon Applied Geol- is corroborated by a study of tree-ring ogy Mentor Program, and the new pro- growth which indicates that average tree- gram on “Prediction in the Earth Sciences.” Upside of CO2 Increase ring width, steady from about A.D. 300, has suddenly increased substantially since Under Foundation you will find infor- In the November issue of GSA Today the mid-20th century (Graybill and Idso, mation on the GSA Foundation and the cur- Bruce Molnia summarized Vice President Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 1993, v. 7, rent annual giving campaign, a list of Gore’s view on glaciers and global warm- p. 81–95). The significance of plant trustees and officers, and several ways to ing: human activity (primarily, pumping growth increase as a result of increased make a planned gift. “greenhouse gases,” mostly carbon diox- atmospheric carbon dioxide is important ide, into the atmosphere by burning of See the Administration section for because of its potential effect on increased fossil fuels) is causing global warming, and information on GSA Medals and Awards, food crop harvests worldwide. governments must intervene to prevent research grants, and other general informa- In light of these facts, it seems to me drastic consequences that will be detri- tion about GSA. You can also link to the irresponsible to argue that global warming mental to mankind. At the end of his pages for GSA Sections and Divisions for is assured, and that it will modify Earth’s report Molnia admitted that the vice specific information on each of these. environment to the detriment of humanity. president’s evaluation is controversial, and he promised to report further on Daniel R. Shawe the “debate.” Lakewood, CO 80226 ■

14 GSA TODAY, February 1998 1998 GSA Division Officers and Past Chairs About People

ARCHAEOLOGICAL GEOLOGY J. Steven Kite—Secretary GSA Member Vicki Cowart, Rolfe D. Mandel—Chair Karen L. Prestegaard—Past Chair Colorado Geological Survey, Denver, has C. Reid Ferring—First Vice-Chair received the Distinguished Public Service Lisa E. Wells—Second Vice-Chair SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY to Earth Science award from the Rocky William C. Johnson—Secretary-Treasurer Greg H. Mack—Chair Mountain Association of Geologists. E. James Dixon—Past Chair Mark J. Johnsson—First Vice-Chair GSA Fellow Bilal U. Haq, National Andrew S. Cohen—Second Vice-Chair Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia, COAL GEOLOGY David S. McCormick—Secretary-Treasurer will receive the SEPM (Society for Sedi- Brenda S. Pierce—Chair Richard A. Davis, Jr.—Past Chair mentary Geology) Francis P. Shepard Cortland F. Eble—First Vice-Chair Medal for 1998. Charles Barker—Second Vice-Chair STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY AND The Carnegie Foundation for the Thomas D. Demchuk—Secretary-Treasurer TECTONICS Advancement of Teaching named GSA James R. Staub—Past Chair Vicki L. Hansen—Chair Member Barbara J. Tewksbury, Hamil- Stephen Marshak—First Vice-Chair ton College, Clinton, New York, as 1997 ENGINEERING GEOLOGY Jane Selverstone—Second Vice-Chair New York Professor of the Year, and Vincent S. Cronin—Chair Charles M. Onasch—Secretary-Treasurer Member Kenneth Verosub, University Scott F. Burns—Chair-Elect Terry L. Pavlis—Past Chair of California, Davis, as 1997 California Robert A. Larson—Secretary Professor of the Year. Helen L. Delano—Past Chair

GEOPHYSICS Eugene D. Humphreys—Chair CALL FOR NOMINATIONS REMINDERS Susan E. McGeary—First Vice-Chair OFFICERS AND COUNCILORS To be elected—Second Vice-Chair The GSA Committee on Nominations requests your help in compiling a list of GSA G. Randy Keller—Secretary-Treasurer members qualified for service as officers and councilors of the Society. The committee Kenneth P. Kodama—Past Chair requests that each nomination be accompanied by basic data and a description of the qualifications of the individual for the position recommended (vice-president, treasurer, GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION councilor). Deadline for nominations for 1998 is FEBRUARY 18, 1998. David W. Mogk—Chair Martha Sykes—First Vice-Chair DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD To be elected—Second Vice-Chair The GSA Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals for their exceptional David F. Mastie—Secretary-Treasurer service to the Society. GSA Members, Fellows, Associates, or, in exceptional circumstances, Ellen P. Metzger—Past Chair GSA employees may be nominated for consideration. Any GSA member or employee may make a nomination for the award. Awardees will be selected by the Executive Committee, HISTORY OF GEOLOGY and all selections must be ratified by the Council. Awards may be made annually, or less Gerard V. Middleton—Chair frequently, at the discretion of Council. This award will be presented during the annual Kenneth L. Taylor—First Vice-Chair meeting of the Society. Deadline for nominations for 1998 is MARCH 2, 1998. Gerald M. Friedman—Second Vice-Chair JOHN C. FRYE ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY AWARD William M. Jordan—Secretary-Treasurer In cooperation with the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), GSA Paul R. Seaber—Past Chair makes an annual award for the best paper on environmental geology published either by HYDROGEOLOGY GSA or by one of the state geological surveys. The award is a $1000 cash prize from the endowment income of the GSA Foundation’s John C. Frye Memorial Fund. The 1998 Darryll T. Pederson—Chair award will be presented at the autumn AASG meeting to be held during the GSA Annual Mary Jo Baedecker—First Vice-Chair Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Stephen W. Wheatcraft—Second Vice-Chair Nominations can be made by anyone, based on the following criteria: (1) paper must Joe C. Yelderman, Jr.—Secretary-Treasurer be selected from GSA or state geological survey publications, (2) paper must be selected Warren W. Wood—Past Chair from those published during the preceding three full calendar years, (3) nomination must INTERNATIONAL include a paragraph stating the pertinence of the paper. Nominated papers must establish an environmental problem or need, provide substan- Gabor Tari—President tive information on the basic geology or geologic process pertinent to the problem, relate John J. W. Rogers—First Vice-President the geology to the problem or need, suggest solutions or provide appropriate land-use rec- Suzanne Mahlburg Kay—Second Vice- ommendations based on the geology, present the information in a manner that is under- President and Secretary-Treasurer standable and directly usable by geologists, and address the environmental need or resolve Ian W. D. Dalziel—Past President the problem. It is preferred that the paper be directly applicable by informed laypersons PLANETARY GEOLOGY (e.g., planners, engineers). Deadline for nominations for 1998 is MARCH 30, 1998. Cassandra R. Coombs—Chair NATIONAL AWARDS Daniel T. Britt—First Vice-Chair The deadline is April 30, 1998, for submitting nominations for these four awards: David A. Kring—Second Vice-Chair William T. Pecora Award, National Medal of Science, Vannevar Bush Award, Alan T. Ralph P. Harvey—Secretary-Treasurer Waterman Award. James R. Zimbelman—Past Chair

QUATERNARY GEOLOGY AND Materials and supporting information for any of the nominations may be sent to GSA Execu- GEOMORPHOLOGY tive Director, Geological Society of America, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301. For more Leslie D. McFadden—Chair detailed information about the nomination procedures, see the November 1997 issue of GSA Today, or the Web (www.geosociety.org/admin/awards.htm), or call headquarters at Ardith K. Hansel—First Vice-Chair (303) 447-2020, extension 140. Peter U. Clark—Second Vice-Chair

GSA TODAY, February 1998 15 INTRODUCTION Bernard of Chartres, an 11th-12th century philosopher and teacher, said that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they and for a greater distance, not by any virtue of our own but because we are carried high and raised aloft by their stature. All of us have our geological heroes, those giants on whose shoulders we stand. To encourage recognition of these luminaries and to provide inspiration for students and young professionals, the GSA History of Geology Division presents Rock Stars, brief profiles of our geological giants. If you have any comments on profiles, please contact Robert N. Ginsburg, University of Miami, RSMAS/MGG, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149-1098, E-mail: [email protected]. —Robert N. Ginsburg, History of Geology Division

Model Survey Geologist: G. K. Gilbert

Joanne Bourgeois, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 Karl Gilbert at age 19 (from Davis, 1926).

It would have been hard to predict who loved to spend the evening solving When I was a boy I noticed that by rock- that a rather sickly, quiet boy from puzzles and riddles, and doing other men- ing a skiff I gave it a forward motion. That Rochester, New York, would become one tal gymnastics. His father was something led to the trial of other impulses, and I of the most famous geologists to explore of a family maverick, a self-taught portrait found that by standing near the stern and the American West, crossing Death Valley painter who barely eked out a living; thus alternately bending and straightening my legs so as to make the skiff rock endwise, I by foot and mule, fighting upstream Karl’s family was too poor to afford much could produce a forward velocity of sev- through the Grand Canyon, crisscrossing in the way of entertainment outside the eral yards a minute. If I stood on one side the basins and ranges of Utah, Arizona, home, which they called the “Nutshell.” of the medial line, the skiff moved in a and New Mexico. Not only did G. K. Karl seems to have had no problem enter- curve. The motions I caused directly were Gilbert survive these many adventures taining himself, though—in addition to strictly reciprocal, the departures from ini- (as well as the 1906 San Francisco earth- puzzle-solving, he liked to read, including tial position being equaled by the returns. quake), but his scientific reports based on popular magazines, and was particularly The indirect result of translation was con- this and other field work are some of the fond of boating; with a friend, he built nected with reactions between the water best geologic papers ever written. It seems several small boats, which they took on and the oblique surfaces of the boat. that Gilbert’s geologic career started as a the Genesee River near Rochester. A quiet, Karl finished high school at the age series of fortuitous events, but a look at his intelligent child, Karl was very curious, of 15 and, because he showed academic early life reveals certain qualities that may and early on, he developed excellent pow- promise, went on to the University of have inclined him toward the profession. ers of observation. His superb physical Rochester, with some financial sacrifice Grove Karl Gilbert, called Karl, was intuition is evident in this recollection from his family. His clothes were quite born in 1843 into a tightly knit family of childhood boating experiences: shabby and his social life restricted, but

Gilbert along the Genesee River near Rochester, New York. (Photo published in Yochelson, 1980, courtesy of USGS Photographic Library.)

16 GSA TODAY, February 1998 he seems to have borne cheerfully and Gilbert learned in the spring of 1869 with an even temper whatever hardships that a second geological survey of Ohio came his way. He enrolled in the classical was being organized, and, quite boldly, curriculum, centering on mathematics, decided to go in person to ask then-gover- Greek and Latin, and rhetoric and logic. nor Rutherford B. Hayes for a survey job. Because he was fairly frail, a condition set Upon being told that only Ohioans would by his father for his attending college was be hired, he persisted by visiting J. S. New- a program of regular outdoor exercise, and berry, director of the survey (and a profes- this may have inclined Karl toward geol- sor at Columbia School of Mines), who ogy, which was one of the minor subjects told Gilbert the same thing, but offered he took. His professor was Henry A. Ward, him a volunteer position, at $50/month founder of Ward’s Natural Science Estab- expenses. Gilbert accepted this excellent lishment, which at that time was called opportunity in July 1869 and was an Cosmos Hall. Ward collected geological impressive enough worker that the next Gilbert’s 1871 field sketch of geology at the and zoological specimens and supplied year he was offered a salaried job. His mouth of Colorado Canyon, near the Arizona- them primarily to museums and schools. duties included conducting field work, Nevada border (reproduced in Davis, 1926, from Karl graduated from college in 1862. drawing fossil plants and fish (at which Gilbert’s notebook). Probably because he was physically weak he excelled), and writing reports. New- and also perhaps because he was disin- berry also employed Gilbert to help him clined toward conflict, he did not enlist prepare college lectures, and introduced raphy, structure, paleoclimatology, sedi- for military duty in the Civil War, nor him to several eminent geologists. mentology, and geophysics. Subsequently, was he drafted, though his name came Newberry had experience on some after some time as head of the Appala- up twice. He had debts to pay off from early western surveys, so in 1871 Lieu- chian Division and in other administrative college, so he took a job teaching public tenant G. M. Wheeler asked him to recom- duties, Gilbert returned to the West to school in Jackson, Michigan, where his mend a geologist for a geographical survey study problems caused by hydraulic gold older sister lived. But Gilbert had so much west of the 100th meridian; Gilbert was a mining in the Sierras. This work resulted trouble handling unruly schoolboys that natural choice. This survey was one of in two more classic studies—one of sedi- he quit even before the school year ended! four competing surveys (Hayden, King, ment transport, and another we would Age 19, out of a job, and with no par- Powell, Wheeler) conducted in the early today call an “environmental impact” ticular idea of what to do, Karl returned 1870s, which eventually were merged analysis. to the family home in Rochester. Soon he into the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Best known for applying quantitative found work at Ward’s Cosmos Hall, where 1879. The Wheeler survey was ambitious, techniques to physiographic problems, for the next five years (1863–1868) he cat- focused on military and engineering goals, his well-written and well-reasoned publi- alogued samples, and, as he gained experi- and full of adventures and mishaps; cations show insight into a broad range of ence, collected specimens and helped Gilbert gladly moved to the Powell survey fields—survey techniques, glacial geology, mount exhibits in museums. He was left in late 1874. Gilbert had met John Wesley lunar studies, earthquakes, method and in charge of a mastodon excavation on Powell in Washington, D.C., while work- philosophy of science. An extremely gen- the Mohawk River when the excavation ing on the Wheeler reports. Gilbert and erous man, he was influential from indi- director, James Hall, wrenched his hip. Powell became close intellectual comrades, vidual to administrative levels; quite self- Because the skeleton was incomplete, freely exchanging ideas and support over effacing, he was eager to give others credit. in addition to directing the excavation, the course of their careers. They were two Nevertheless, he is the only person to have Gilbert had the opportunity to visit and of the six geologists originally hired onto been appointed president of the Geologi- study other mastodon skeletons in Boston; the USGS, and Powell became its second cal Society of America twice (1892 and later he studied other fossil exhibits in director (1881–1894). 1909), one measure of his esteem. New York. On these trips he had opportu- Gilbert’s detailed field notebooks indi- Puzzle-solving, curiosity, keen obser- nities to meet with professional geologists. cate that he was in general good-natured vation, drawing skills, creativity, ability to Also during this time, he studied mathe- and even-tempered in the field, putting get by on a low budget—these were fam- matics, anatomy, and geology at home in up with many hardships; for example: ily-established traits that set G. K. Gilbert the evenings. “Today my mule gave out with hunger & on the road to a career in geology. Add to Although much of his Cosmos Hall fatigue & I had to walk several miles, but those his physical intuition, classical and work involved fossils, Gilbert was more she finally recovered so as to bring me mathematical training, cheerfulness and interested in physical geology than in into camp at nine o-clock, which was but generosity, and a stamina that went paleontology. In general, he was more an hour later than the rest.” Gilbert drew beyond his natural condition, probably attracted to processes and principles than cartoon sketches of his mule and of his driven by his developed interest in geol- to “facts” and catalogues. But he realized observations, later redrawing certain views ogy. The result was a long and distin- that careful, detailed description of physi- to use in scientific publications. He even guished career of a man who was well cal evidence and a creative imagination put a sketch of his mule in one of his respected—and perhaps more important, were necessary to solve the geologic puz- reports from the Powell expedition. well liked—by those who knew him. ■ zles that confronted him. While excavat- Gilbert’s years on the Wheeler and ing the mastodon, he became fascinated Powell surveys resulted in several classic For Further Reading with potholes in the river bed, and con- studies. He recognized the block-fault Davis, William Morris, 1926, Biographical memoir ducted a detailed survey of 350 of them nature of the Basin Range (his term) and Grove Karl Gilbert, 1843–1918: National Academy in order to determine their origin and the laccolithic nature of the Henry Moun- of Sciences Memoirs, v. XXI, 303 p. rate of retreat of the associated waterfall. tains. The latter study also includes an Pyne, Stephen J., 1980, Grove Karl Gilbert, a great He published both a popular account of essay on land sculpture emphasizing engine of research: Austin, University of Texas Press, 306 p. the mastodon excavation and a technical dynamic equilibrium among various Yochelson, Ellis L., editor, 1980, The scientific ideas report on the potholes, his first two publi- parameters—slope, runoff, bedrock, etc. of G. K. Gilbert: Geological Society of America Special cations. Gilbert later recalled that his pot- Then, as head of the Great Basin Division Paper 183, 148 p. holes study was what attracted him to fur- of the USGS, Gilbert studied Lake Bon- ther work in geology. neville, producing a synthesis of physiog-

GSA TODAY, February 1998 17 GSAF UPDATE

Valerie G. Brown, Director of Development, GSA Foundation

From the Ground Up ingful as his and his wife Bunnie’s out- Brian Skinner played two lead standing generosity to GSA. roles, as a trustee and as interim chair Chapter I: Thank You and Charlie Mankin will long and of the Second Century Fund Campaign Farewell! deservedly be honored for his leadership Committee; he will remain active as the as chair of the Foundation and for his Foundation representative to the GSA At the 1997 annual meeting of the commitment to the success of the Second Committee on Investments. GSA Foundation Board in October, four Century Fund Campaign. Both the Foundation and GSA have senior trustees retired after distinguished Haydn Murray also augmented his been extraordinarily fortunate to have service to the Board, presiding over a Board presence by additional participation benefited from the time, dedication, and period of significant expansion of Foun- in the formation and planning of the Sec- support of these wise and generous dation activities and assets. ond Century Fund Campaign. friends. Phil LaMoreaux’s wide experience and acquaintance proved to be as mean-

Chapter II: Welcome! We are equally fortunate in introducing the four new trustees, who are eager to contribute their expertise to the Foundation’s ongoing engage- ment with GSA’s mission and programs. Bob Fuchs has already made contributions beyond calculation as Foundation president since 1992, ensuring Fuchs MacKenzie Skinner Suttner the successful launch of the Second Century Fund Cam- paign. This followed nine years as GSA’s treasurer, during which Petroleum, Ltd., he joined Marathon Oil Company, headquar- he also maintained an entrepreneurial stake in resource explo- tered in Littleton, Colorado. Although he “retired” in 1986 as ration and development. Bob’s extensive experience as a profes- manager of Oil and Gas Exploration based in London, he contin- sional geologist and as a mainstay of GSA’s operations give him a ues to work as a consultant. Dave’s historical knowledge of GSA unique insight into furthering the Foundation’s agenda. will bring an essential perspective to the board’s discussions. Dave MacKenzie is returning to active duty after having Catherine Skinner assumes the board’s “Skinner Chair in served GSA through the 1970s as a Councilor, a Bulletin Associate Geological Science and Organizational Advancement.” As a scien- Editor, and a member of the Annual Meeting, Publications, tist, Catherine has achieved considerable renown for her unusual and Headquarters Advisory committees. Dave has also had a combination of expertise in mineralogy and human biology. Her notable career as a petroleum geologist. After three years in special interest in the process of mineralization both in geological Europe and the Mediterranean with American Overseas and biological systems has been manifest in many important publications. Additionally, her institutional experience with the full-time faculty of Yale University and the visiting faculties at GSA Foundation Harvard, Cornell, and the University of Adelaide have given 3300 Penrose Place her significant exposure to the materialization of gift support. P.O. Box 9140 Lee Suttner is transiting from several years as a leader of Boulder, CO 80301 the Second Century Fund Campaign Committee. Lee’s numerous (303) 447-2020 professional and scientific activities, publications, and awards [email protected] include service to GSA as a member of Council and a mainstay of programs and conferences. At Indiana University, he currently holds dual posts as chair of the Department of Geological Enclosed is my contribution in the amount of $______. Sciences and as associate dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the long Please add my name to the Century Plus Roster list of his activities, the words “outstanding” and “distin- (gifts of $150 or more). guished” appear frequently, attesting to the commitment he brings to all that he does. ■ Please credit my gift to the ______Fund. PLEASE PRINT Name ______Digging Up the Past 1955 USGS Field mapping, Four Corners area: Address ______seeing those type sections for real instead of City/State/ZIP ______textbook pictures — WOW! —James Minard Phone ______

18 GSA TODAY, February 1998 Donors to the Foundation, November 1997 (Please note: All contributions, both annual and Second Century Fund, are included under the fund designated by the donor.)

Claude C. Albritton Engineering Larry A. Jackson Desiree E. Stuart- Joseph S. Gates Memorial Geology Award Henry R. Schmoll* Alexander Monica E. Gowan ◆ E. James Dixon Helen L. Delano* Neil S. Summer Carlyle Gray Antoinette Lierman William R. Farrand Wanda J. Taylor Gottfried K. Guennel John C. Frye Medlin Scholarship William C. Johnson* Tracy L. Vallier Gerald H. Haddock Environmental Award Lisa E. Wells Louis P. Vlangas Donald F. Hammer Award Lawrence L. Brady Richard A. Zimmermann Judith L. Hannah Biggs Excellence in Robert B. Scarborough Richard F. Meyer Richard L. Hay ◆ Earth Science Rocky Mountain GEOSTAR Memorial Fund Keith A. Howard Education Section Endowment Charles F. Berkstresser, Jr.* Ronald K. Sorem William W. Jenney, Jr. William A. Kneller* Fund Lawrence R. Cann in memory of Craig H. Jones Lawrence Wu Arthur A. Bookstrom ◆ E. A. Keller John Van N. Dorr II Lisle T. Jory Linus R. Litsey ◆ Birdsall Award John S. Klasner ◆ Minority Fund Patricia H. Kelley Alfred Clebsch* Richard A. Zimmermann SAGE Brian F. Atwater William E. Kelly Marilyn A. Kooser Charles F. Berkstresser, Jr.* ◆ History of Geology Christina Lochman-Balk* John P. Kempton Mary P. Fryar Cady Award Award Ruth A. M. Schmidt* Paul O. Knorr Roland A. Gangloff William A. Kneller* Charles F. Berkstresser, Jr.* John F. Wehmiller Bart J. Kowallis Ann I. Guhman Robert H. Dott, Jr. Dale Curtiss Krause Cordilleran Section North-Central Lynne M. Meyers Paul R. Seaber Charles R. Lewis Endowment Fund Section Endowment Susan E. Nissen Linus R. Litsey ◆ ◆ Robert O. Beringer Arthur D. Howard Fund Margaret M. O’Neill Richard L. Mauger ◆ ◆ Julie J. Dieu Fund Richard L. Hay Walter C. Pusey III Lisa K. Meeks ◆ ◆ Monica E. Gowan Peter L. K. Knuepfer Patricia H. Kelley Ruth A. M. Schmidt* Robert L. Melvin Kiguma J. Murata ◆ Michael L. Sargent ◆ ◆ Hydrogeology John L. Berkley Kiguma J. Murata Allan V. Cox Student Division Award Operating Fund Ronald K. Sorem James T. Neal Scholarship Award Paul R. Seaber Richard Daniel White Richard A. Zimmermann William E. Nellist Tom Shoberg Paul E. Olsen Institute for Penrose Conferences Southeastern Section Endowment H. Kenneth Peterson Doris M. Curtis Environmental William A. Kneller* James A. Peterson Memorial Education Fund Bruce L. “Biff” Reed ◆ Charles L. Pillmore Joan R. Clark* A. Black John P. Kempton Scholarship James B. Pinkerton I. G. Grossman Scott F. Burns John H. Fournelle Unrestricted— Walter C. Pitman III Christina Helen L. Delano* ◆ Allan F. Schneider Foundation Jeremy B. Platt Lochman-Balk* Ruth A. M. Schmidt* Theodore Arnow Paul E. Potter Grover E. Murray John F. Sutter Research Grants Douglas Barrie Lloyd C. Pray* ◆ in memory of Richard A. Zimmermann John T. Andrews Robert O. Beringer William A. Prothero Robert M. Dreyer Daniel S. Barker International Charles F. Berkstresser, Jr.* Walter C. Pusey III and Terah L. Smiley William A. Bassett Geological Congress Kay Bierbrauer Richard H. Ragle Ruth A. M. Schmidt* Rodey Batiza ◆ William C. Prinz Arthur A. Bookstrom John G. Ramsay Charles F. Berkstresser, Jr.* John T. Dillon in memory of Donald W. Boyd* James C. Ratte David E. Blake Alaska Scholarship Charles L. Drake Martin L. Bregman Philip E. C. Reed Arthur L. Bloom Award Scott F. Burns Marith Cady Reheis J. Hoover Mackin Charles E. Chapin ◆ Shirley A. Liss Arthur P. Butler, Jr.* Michael L. Sargent Award Joan R. Clark* Ruth A. M. Schmidt* Phillip E. Butler Henry R. Schmoll* H. Richard Blank, Jr. Robert F. Dill Douglas Saxon Coombs Melvin C. Schroeder* Shirley Dreiss Edgar C. Bowman Julie M. John K. Costain Frederick L. Schwab Memorial Paul E. Damon Donnelly-Nolan J. Campbell Craddock* Robert J. Scott David B. Rogers P. Thompson Davis Peter A. Drobeck Dexter H. Craig Paul R. Seaber Harvey M. Kelsey III Martin B. Farley Dwornik Planetary Steven N. Daviess Richard H. Sibson James C. Knox Fraser E. Goff Geoscience Award Ralph K. Davis I. Gregory Sohn Peter L. K. Knuepfer Donn S. Gorsline Edward J. Dwornik Jelle Zeilinga De Boer George C. Soronen June E. Mirecki Stephen D. Hurst Denton S. Ebel Edward C. de la Pena David P. Stewart William E. Scott Ronald J. Lipp Odette B. James Helen L. Delano* Raymond T. Stotler, Jr. Richard L. Threet Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr. ◆ ◆ David B. Stewart Julie J. Dieu John F. Sutter Robert Metz Carolyn H. Carol G. and John T. Rollin Eckis Richard R. Thompson Bruce James O’Connor van der Bogert McGill Fund Robert H. Fakundiny Harry Ludwig Thomsen Judith Totman Parrish Alta S. Walker Russell H. Campbell Edward C. Farren Raymond T. Peter W. Reiners Robert L. Fisher Throckmorton, Jr. Jennifer Roberts Gerald M. Friedman *Century Plus Roster (gifts of $150 or more). William E. Scott William S. Fyfe Donors ◆ Second Century Fund. Carol Simpson continued on p. 20

GSA TODAY, February 1998 19 WASHINGTON REPORT 2. Astronautical research and development, including resources, personnel, Bruce F. Molnia equipment, and facilities; 3. Civil aviation research and Washington Report provides the GSA membership with a window on the activities development; of the federal agencies, Congress and the legislative process, and international interactions 4. Environmental research and that could impact the geoscience community. These reports present summaries of agency development; and interagency programs, track legislation, and present insights into Washington, D.C., 5. Marine research; geopolitics as they pertain to the geosciences. 6. Measures relating to the commercial application of energy technology; 7. National Institute of Standards and Technology, standardization of House Science, a Study, and a Senate Bill weights and measures and the metric system; “The United States has been operating under a model developed by Vannevar Bush in his 8. National Aeronautics and Space 1945 report to the President entitled ‘Science: The Endless Frontier.’ It continues to operate Administration; 9. National Space Council; under that model with little change. This approach served us very well during the Cold 10. National Science Foundation; War, because Bush’s science policy was predicated upon serving the military needs of our 11. National Weather Service; nation, ensuring national pride in our scientific and technological accomplishments, and 12. Outer space, including exploration developing a strong scientific, technological, and manufacturing enterprise that would serve and control thereof; us well not only in peace but also would be essential for this country in both the Cold War 13. Science scholarships; and potential hot wars…With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the de facto end of the 14. Scientific research, development, and Cold War, the Vannevar Bush approach is no longer valid. Appealing to national pride in demonstration, and projects therefor. the sense that ‘Our science is better than your science’ is no longer meaningful to the Amer- These activities are divided between ican public. The needs of our military mission today are far different, and the competitions the Committee’s four subcommittees: we are engaged in now are less military and largely economic. Science today is an interna- Basic Research, Technology, Space and Aeronautics, and Energy & tional enterprise, and we must assume a leadership role in guiding international science Environment. policy…I know that Vern [House Science Vice Chairman Ehlers] has discussed science policy with many academic and scientific leaders from across the country and has received In the 105th Congress, the commit- a positive response from the scientific community. I believe it would be a powerful role for tee, composed of 25 Republican members Vern to lead, with your advice and support, the House in developing a new, sensible, and 21 Democratic members, is chaired by F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R—WI); for- coherent long-range science and technology policy.” mer Chairman George E. Brown, Jr., (D— — excerpt of House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s letter to CA) is its ranking minority member. The Science Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., February 12, 1997 other Republican members (listed by “These are important discussions and I am pleased that this Committee is taking the seniority) are: Sherwood L. Boehlert, New leadership in setting science policy for the next Century.” York; Harris W. Fawell, Illinois; Constance A. Morella, Maryland; Curt Weldon, Penn- — Rep. George Brown at the start of a year-long sylvania; Dana Rohrabacher, California; study of U.S. science, October 23, 1997 Steven Schiff, New Mexico; Joe Barton, Texas; Ken Calvert, California; Roscoe G. Bartlett, Maryland; Vernon J. Ehlers, In my opinion, the House Committee diction is defined in Rule X, Section (1)(n), Michigan; Dave Weldon, Florida; Matt on Science is the most powerful overseer and includes: Salmon, Arizona; Thomas M. Davis, Vir- of science in the U.S. government. It is a 1. All energy research, development, and ginia; Gil Gutknecht, Minnesota; Mark standing committee, part of the perma- demonstration, and projects therefor, Foley, Florida; Thomas W. Ewing, Illinois; nent legislative structure of the House of and all federally owned or operated Charles W. Pickering, Mississippi; Chris Representatives. Originally established by nonmilitary energy laboratories; Rule X of the House, the committee’s juris- Washington Report continued on p. 21

Donors Frederick P. Zoerner Mark Cloos* Judith Totman Parrish Richard Daniel White continued from p. 19 Craig Dietsch George W. Putman John H. Whitmer* Unrestricted—GSA Joseph A. Dixon Henry R. Schmoll* Michael B. Winter Rudolf Trümpy Thomas H. Anderson EXXON Exploration Paul R. Seaber Henry H. Woodard Samuel J. Tuthill Daniel D. Arden, Jr. Company* Judith Terry Smith Richard A. Zimmermann Robert H. Weber Charles F. Berkstresser, Jr.* George R. Hallberg Paul Stone Peter M. Whelan Bruce A. Brown Women in Science Milton T. Heald Stephen M. Strachan Donald E. White* Burrell C. Burchfiel Ruth A. M. Schmidt* Robert B. Johnson George Theokritoff William M. Whiting C. Wayne Burnham Wynn Weidner H. D. Klemme Robert P. Thomas Kemble Widmer Arthur P. Butler, Jr.* William W. Locke Harry Ludwig Thomsen James C. Wise Eugene Cameron *Century Plus Roster James C. MacLachlan Newell F. Varney Albert E. Wood Catharine S. Castro (gifts of $150 or more). Richard W. Mitchell Bradley A. Wake Richard E. Wright Joan R. Clark* ◆ Second Century Fund. Maurice J. Mundorff Erchie Wang Richard A. Zimmermann Alfred Clebsch* J. R. Ouellette

20 GSA TODAY, February 1998 Washington Report continued from p. 20 Advancement of Science; William A. Jeff Bingaman (D—New Mexico), and Pete Nierenberg, director emeritus of Scripps Domenici (R—New Mexico) presented the Cannon, Utah; Kevin Brady, Texas; Merrill Institution of Oceanography; Debra van National Research Investment Act of 1998, Cook, Utah; Phil English, Pennsylvania; Opstal, vice president of the Council Senate Bill 1305, a bill calling for a dou- George R. Nethercutt, Jr., Washington; on Competitiveness; Roger A. Pielke, Jr., bling of federal support for science, in Tom A. Coburn, Oklahoma; and Pete Ses- National Center for Atmospheric Research; most civilian science agencies over the sions, Texas. The other Democratic mem- Roland W. Schmitt, president of the Amer- next ten years. The bill specifically includes bers are: Ralph M. Hall, Texas; Bart Gor- ican Institute of Physics; Charles V. Shank, NASA, NSF, NOAA, EPA, NIST, the Smith- don, Tennessee; James A. Traficant, Jr., director of Lawrence Berkeley National sonian Institution, the Departments of Ohio; Tim Roemer, Indiana; Robert E. Laboratories; Kenneth I. Shine, president Agriculture, Education, Energy, and Veter- Cramer, Jr., Alabama; James A. Barcia, of the Institute of Medicine; H. Guyford ans Affairs, the Centers for Disease Con- Michigan; Paul McHale, Pennsylvania; Stever, University of California; Harold E. trol and Prevention, and the National Eddie Bernice Johnson, Texas; Alcee L. Varmus, director of the National Institutes Institutes of Health. The bill does not Hastings, Florida; Lynn N. Rivers, Michi- of Health; Charles M. Vest, president of include scientific research in the Depart- gan; Zoe Lofgren, California; Michael F. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; ment of the Interior (DOI) or defense- Doyle, Pennsylvania; Sheila Jackson Lee, Admiral James D. Watkins, president related research. The omission of DOI Texas; Bill Luther, Minnesota; Walter H. of the Consortium for Oceanographic is a carry-over from Gramm’s previous Capps, California; Debbie Stabenow, Research and Education; Deborah Wince- objections to the activities of the former Michigan; Bob Etheridge, North Carolina; Smith, Council on Competitiveness; National Biological Service, now the U.S. Nick Lampson, Texas; Darlene Hooley, William A. Wulf, president of the National Geological Survey’s Biological Resources Oregon; and Ellen Tauscher, California. Academy of Engineering; John Yochelson, Division. The study requested by Gingrich will president of the Council on Competitive- When introducing this new legisla- be headed by Committee Vice Chairman ness; and John A. Young, retired president tion, Lieberman stated that the bill “is Vern Ehlers. Introducing the study, and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company. important legislation designed to reverse Sensenbrenner said: “This is an important On December 8, 1997, at an Early a downward trend in the Federal Govern- project to help assure America’s position Career Scientists Roundtable, participants ment’s allocation to science and engineer- of continued scientific excellence in the were told that the goal of the study is to ing research.… In other words, money future, and I am pleased that Vice Chair- make a new science policy that is “long- spent to increase scientific and engineer- man Ehlers, being a scientist himself, has range” in that it will last 25 years or more. ing knowledge represents an investment agreed to lead the study.” Thus, it was important to get input from which pays rich dividends for America’s On October 23, 1997, the Science young scientists who are only a few years future.… In broad terms, our innovation Policy Study began with an address by into their careers and will be living with system consists of industrial, academic Speaker Gingrich, a press conference, the new policy for much of their profes- and governmental institutions working and a luncheon hosted by the Council sional lives. The attendees were urged together to generate new knowledge, new on Competitiveness. This was followed to continue participation in the project technologies and people with the skills to by a roundtable discussion with about 35 after the roundtable, and to contact move them effectively into the market- prominent scientists and science policy other young scientists to solicit their place. Publicly funded science has been makers, representatives of the Executive views about this topic. Participants were shown to be surprisingly important to the Branch, and several members of the Sci- reminded of the changing environment innovation system. A new study prepared ence Committee, including George Brown. of science policy in recent years and that for the National Science Foundation found Upon being introduced, Ehlers stated: the output of the study should be a broad that 73 percent of the main science papers “I am gratified with the personal partici- policy statement that can serve much the cited by American industrial patents in pation of Speaker Gingrich, Chairman same role as the broad principles laid two recent years were based on domestic Sensenbrenner, and Ranking Democrat down in the Vannevar Bush 1945 report. and foreign research financed by govern- George Brown. Their personal interest An example of the type of issue that could ments or nonprofit agencies.” indicates the priority this Congress is plac- be discussed is the recommendation of At the same press conference that ing on scientific research and technologi- that report for a central agency to fund all unveiled the National Research Invest- cal development.” Roundtable participants federally supported civilian research and ment Act, science community representa- included: Bruce Alberts, president of the development. This 1945 recommendation tives released a “Unified Statement on National Academy of Sciences; John A. was never acted upon. The question of Research,” which calls for a much more Armstrong, National Science Board; Lewis why the federal government should be aggressive increase in federal funding M. Branscomb, Harvard University; Allan involved in funding science at all, which of science. This statement has received Bromley, Yale University; Rita R. Colwell, was used to lead off the first roundtable, endorsement from 106 science organiza- University of Maryland; Kenneth W. Dun- was also raised as a possible discussion tions, including the Geological Society of gan, chair of the American Association point. America. Collectively, these organizations of Engineering Societies; Robert J. Eagan, Members of the public are invited represent more than 3,000,000 scientists Sandia National Laboratories and presi- to submit letters and papers to the Science and engineers. According to American dent of the Federation of Materials Soci- Policy Study for consideration. Also on the Physical Society President and former ety; Clifford Gabriel, Office of Science future agenda for the study are field brief- Presidential Science Advisor D. Allan and Technology Policy; R. C. Greenwood, ings and hearings that will be held in Bromley, the unified statement is “a call chancellor of the University of California, spring 1998. A final report to Congress is for a renewed commitment to investment Santa Cruz; William R. Hambrecht, chair- expected at the end of 1998. The address in science and technology.” The statement man of the Council on Competitiveness; for the Science Policy Study Web page, is available at the American Chemical Sherrie Hans, The Pew Charitable Trusts; accessible through the Science Commit- Society’s Web site. A future Washington William Happer, Princeton University; tee’s Website, is www.house.gov/science/ Report will examine the progress made by Arthur Jaffe, president of the American science_policy_study.htm. the House Science Committee‘s Science Mathematical Society; Anita K. Jones, At a press conference held the day Policy Study and the fate of the National University of Virginia; Rowena Matthews, before the kickoff for the study, Senator Research Investment Act of 1998. ■ University of Michigan; Shirley M. Phil Gramm (R—Texas) and cosponsors Malcom, American Association for the Senators Joe Lieberman (D—Connecticut),

GSA TODAY, February 1998 21 Forests as Carbon Sinks

David J. Verardo, 1997–1998 GSA Congressional Science Fellow

On October 22, 1997, while many included tree planting and careful harvest- GSA members were engaged in the annual ing could effectively reduce excess atmo- meeting in Salt Lake City, President Clin- spheric CO2 concentrations by 30% of the ton unveiled his Climate Change Program. President’s goal at a cost of $2 to $20 per As broadly outlined at the time, the pro- ton of carbon. That was much less costly posal called for $5 billion in spending for than emissions controls or carbon taxes research and development and tax incen- which were estimated to cost up to $100 tives to reduce atmospheric greenhouse per ton of carbon. Even so, the remaining gases. While the proposal was the first step 70% of the Administration’s goals must in a comprehensive strategy to reduce lev- eventually come from reduced gas emis- to community level recognize the value els of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, sions and increased energy efficiency. of forests. The next step, to be pursued it was heavily dependent on technological When analyzed for their total benefit, during the second session of the 105th fixes to achieve its goal. Other cost-effec- forestry efforts were attractive because Congress, is to develop a suitable technical tive biological approaches were over- they provided for early action and ancil- strategy and provide funding to best use looked. Specifically, the Administration lary environmental benefits such as water- this renewable resource. overlooked the capacity of domestic shed and habitat protection and reduced Are forest management strategies a forests to sequester carbon. risk of landslides. panacea for greenhouse gas reductions? Recognizing this oversight and the Next, how could the public be helped Certainly not, because the problem is potential contribution from Oregon to understand, in a simple way, the impor- larger and the solution more complicated on this issue, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden tance of trees to carbon sequestration? than simply planting trees. For a national (D—OR) urged the Administration to Luckily, most people generally understand program to be effective, it must take into explicitly incorporate forest management account the concerns of all stakeholders programs into any national strategy for and provide financial incentives for climate change. In a November letter to action. In this manner, industries that are President Clinton, Sen. Wyden noted: The forest ecosystem is an part of the problem are also part of the “Forests possess an enormous capacity to effective sink for carbon solution. Also, since there are no physical absorb atmospheric CO2 and act as natural barriers to CO2 migration in the atmo- and long-term carbon sinks. Since their because it uses CO2 for growth sphere, other nations will ultimately need development some 360 million years ago, to act, as well. Tree planting and forest forests have helped regulate atmospheric of vegetation and then stores management, however, provide a time- CO2 levels. The enclosed fossilized laurel carbon in soils and biomass. proven inexpensive carbon mitigation leaf is 50 million years old and provides technique. mute testimony to the success of the most In formulating public policy, it is not basic biological form of CO2 regulation on enough to get the science right; to get the Earth. The basic structure of the leaf, the the role that vegetation plays in atmo- right science is also necessary, by explor- point of uptake for CO2, has remained spheric chemistry. What they often do not ing many possibilities. In a 1978 paper in virtually unchanged for eons because it realize, however, is that forests and atmo- the journal Science, M. Morgan wrote: works and works well. The forest ecosys- spheric carbon have been linked for hun- “Good policy analysis recognizes that tem is an effective sink for carbon because dreds of millions of years. To illustrate this physical truth may be poorly or incom- it uses CO2 for growth of vegetation and latter point, a fossil leaf was included in pletely known. Its objective is to evaluate, then stores carbon in soils and biomass. the letter sent to President Clinton to pro- order, and structure incomplete knowl- The forests of the Pacific Northwest are vide tangible evidence of the timelessness edge so as to allow decisions to be made some of the most productive forests on of this process. Such a strategy proved use- with as complete an understanding as pos- Earth and are often overlooked for their ful to the general public as well, judging sible of the current state of knowledge, its tremendous value as carbon sinks. Today, by responses following Sen. Wyden’s press limitations, and its implications.” A diffi- ongoing studies from industry, academia, conferences announcing the forest initia- cult task, no doubt, but on the issue of and government show that reforestation tive. At this point, the objective of win- using trees to reduce greenhouse gases, and sensible forest management strategies ning hearts and minds was achieved. The early indications are that forests provide are cost-effective means to help achieve struggle for the pocketbook, however, a win-win solution. ■ your goal of reaching 1990 levels of atmo- remains. spheric CO2 by 2008–2012.” Using forests for CO2 mitigation David J. Verardo, 1997–1998 GSA Con- In considering a legislative initiative received strong support by timber and fos- gressional Science Fellow, serves on the staff to address atmospheric CO2 reductions, sil fuel companies, environmental organi- of Senator Ron Wyden (D—OR). The one-year two concerns were raised. First, how did zations, and community groups. Unlikely fellowship is supported by GSA and by the U.S. Oregon contribute to the problem, and partners such as British Petroleum and the Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, what could it contribute toward a solu- Environmental Defense Fund joined ranks under Assistance Award 1434-HQ-97-GR- tion? Oregon already had laws controlling with Mobil Oil and timber and utility 03188. The views and conclusions contained in greenhouse gas emissions and was the first companies in committing corporate funds this document are those of the author and should state to require mandatory reductions in to domestic reforestation efforts. Histori- not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of atmospheric CO2. Moreover, the scientific cally, many local civic groups across the the U.S. government or GSA. You can contact basis for carbon sequestration by forests nation consistently promoted the planting the author by mail at 717 Hart Senate Building, was sound. Studies of domestic forests in of trees for their energy reduction Washington, D.C. 20510, by phone at (202) the United States showed that on-the- (through shading) and beautification 224-3430, or by e-mail at david_verardo@ ground forest management programs that value. So, Americans from the corporate wyden.senate.gov

22 GSA TODAY, February 1998 PENROSE CONFERENCE REPORT contemporary crustal movements—among many other topics! In this report, we highlight key Tectonics of Continental Interiors questions raised by the presentations. We emphasize the questions because most Conveners: participants would agree that in the end, Stephen Marshak, Department of Geology, University of Illinois, 1301 W. Green St., the conference indicated a need for fur- Urbana, IL 61801, [email protected] ther study, rather than producing a con- Michael Hamburger, Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, sensus that key issues have been resolved. 1005 E. 10 St., Bloomington, IN 47405, [email protected] Ben A. van der Pluijm, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 C.C. Little Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, [email protected] What Is a “Continental Interior”? The diversity of contributions to the conference emphasized that while most geologists intuitively distinguish among Continental interiors include those epeirogeny, and by Sierd Cloetingh on continental margins and continental inte- parts of continents that do not border an intracontinental basins and intraplate riors, there is disagreement about where oceanic basin, do not lie within a plate- stress. The keynote for Session 3, “Conti- to draw the boundary between these margin orogenic belt, and/or do not con- nental-Interior Deformation,” by Leigh provinces, and whether such a distinction tain a Cenozoic suture. These regions Royden, was on quantitative analysis of serves a useful purpose. Clearly, the include cratons (platforms and shields), as extension in continents. Session 4, “Seis- Phanerozoic tectonic character of the U.S. well as intracontinental mountain belts, micity and Neotectonics” included a Midcontinent differs from the tectonic such as the Tien Shan of central Asia, and keynote by Mary Lou Zoback on stress and character of the Andean orogen, but does the “Laramide-style” deformation seismicity in continental interiors. Two a region like the Tien Shan behave more provinces of North and South America. field trips, led by George Davis, provided like the latter or like the former? Most par- Continental interiors contain a fascinat- participants with the opportunity to ticipants concluded that there is indeed ing, but relatively little studied, record of examine the transition between the Basin- value in distinguishing among different tectonic activity. We convened a Penrose and-Range province and the Colorado kinds of crust on the basis of vertical Conference September 23–28, 1997, with Plateau in the western United States and strength profiles, on response to stress, the purpose of bringing together an inter- to see the style of deformation in the and on strain style. national and interdisciplinary group of Colorado Plateau. geoscientists to assess the current state of The conference successfully provided How Did Continental Interiors knowledge about continental interiors and a unique opportunity for a mix of geolo- Evolve During the Precambrian? to outline future research directions con- gists and geophysicists to learn about a Participants saw an image of conti- cerning these regions. Attendees included vast array of related topics, including the nental interiors as forming from accreted 101 geoscientists from 17 countries, who petrology and structure of Precambrian arc terranes, brought together either by converged for five days at the Brian Head provinces, strength as a function of depth subduction or by vast strike-slip duplex- Resort, along the edge of the Colorado in the lithosphere, seismic anisotropy in ing. Participants also learned about simi- Plateau near Cedar Breaks in southern the subcontinental mantle, the distribu- larities and differences between tectonic Utah, to study poster displays, hear talks, tion of earthquakes and faults in platform processes in the Precambrian and tectonic share in the discussions, and participate in regions, Cenozoic tectonism of central processes of the Phanerozoic, ultimately field trips focused on continental interior Asia, advances in understanding the reflecting contrasts in heat flow between tectonics. Laramide province, fission-track–based the Precambrian and contemporary Earth, We divided the conference into four uplift history and geomorphology of cen- progressive devolatilization of deeper crust sessions, each including lectures by one or tral Australia, advances in basin subsi- through time, and a long-term decrease in two keynote speakers. Session 1, “Forma- dence analysis, the nature of stress and oceanic crustal thickness. Construction tion, Character, and Fabric,” included a strain in affecting Midcontinent U.S. processes, by their nature, yielded conti- keynote by Çelal Sengör on the processes strata, new insight into the nature of deep nents with pronounced fabrics that affect by which continental crust assembles continental crust from the study of high- the geometry of later tectonism. Confer- and becomes cratonized. Session 2, pressure lithologies in shield areas, strain ence participants also saw evidence for “Epeirogeny, Basins, and Paleostress,” fea- rates in intracontinental seismogenic the existence of Precambrian continental- tured keynotes by Michael Gurnis on the zones and recurrence intervals of conti- effect of mantle processes and subduction nental-interior earthquakes, and initial on continental stratigraphy and results of ongoing GPS measurements of Tectonics continued on p. 24

Penrose Conference Participants

John Adams Sierd Cloetingh Mark Hemphill-Haley Jean-Claude Mareschal Ulrich Riller Sarah Tindall Ghassan I. Al-Eqabi Dickson Cunningham John Holbrook John McBride Walter Roest Roy Van Arsdale Fernando F. Alkmim Gregory A. Davis Robert Holdsworth A. Mikolaichuk Samuel Root George Viele Walter Alvarez George H. Davis Mary Hubbard Walter D. Mooney Gerald Ross Lev Vinnik Bernd Andeweg Tim de Freitas Gene Humphreys Desmond Moser Leigh H. Royden Yu Wang Dragan Andjelkovic Terry Engelder Yngvar Isachsen Brendan Murphy Mary Sanborn-Barrie Phil Wannamaker Irina Artemieva Eric A. Erslev Robert Jacobi Douglas Nelson Christopher Schmidt Tim Wawrzyniec Donald L. Baars Thomas Flottmann Leonard Johnson W. John Nelson David Schwartz Shimon Wdowinski Amgalan Bayasgalan Charles Gilbert Craig H. Jones Charles M. Onasch Deborah Scott John Weber Steve Boger Tim Glover Stacy Kerkela Timothy Paulsen A. M. Çelal Sengör Russell Wheeler Dennis Brown Francisco Gomez James Knapp John Percival Colin Shaw Terry J. Wilson Larry Brown Michael Gurnis Barry Kohn Chris Potter David B. Snyder Donald U. Wise Marvin Carlson Zohar Gvirtzman Michelle Kominz Jose Pujol R. A. Stephenson An Yin Robert Casavant Henry Halls Delores Kulik Vaino Puura Pradeep Talwani Tanja Zegers Ibrahim Cemen Martin Hand Timothy Kusky C. P. Rajendran Jean-Charles Thomas Mary Lou Zoback Charles Chapin Thomas C. Hanks Anthony R. Lowry Lothar Ratschbacher Basil Tikoff Wang-Ping Chen Richard Harrison William Lund

GSA TODAY, February 1998 23 Tectonics continued from p. 23 reflect the movement of uncompensated New Madrid zone of the central United loads that occurs when there is a decrease States, serve as a model of continental interior orogens in the Canadian Shield in lithosphere strength caused by thermal interior seismicity in general or are simply and in the interior of Australia. changes or by changes in stress state. A an anomaly. Could seismicity suddenly broad region of epeirogenic uplift encom- migrate to other regions? Is it linked to the How Do Continental Interiors passes the southern Urals, and freeboard intersections of fault zones? Ongoing stud- Become “Cratonized”? of continents has not varied substantially ies aim to characterize seismic recurrence Though the semantics of how to through time (thus, there may be a feed- intervals and strain rates in continental define a continental interior remained back mechanism controlling freeboard). interior seismic zones of Asia and North vague, there was no disagreement at the America. The question of why significant conference that some parts of conti- What Is the Nature of Continental uplift does not necessarily occur around nents—the cratons—are stronger than Interior Deformation? contemporary seismic zones remains others, and have not undergone intense The deformation of continental interi- unanswered, as do questions regarding the metamorphism and deformation since the ors yields at least four kinds of structures: source of stress driving seismicity. Recent Precambrian. In fact, such contrasts in epeirogenic depressions and uplifts, dis- stress measurement studies suggest that continental crustal character were shown, crete fault-and-fold zones, penetrative the continental crust is just about at a quantitatively, to control the style of strains in cover strata, and fracture arrays. state of failure, so that very slight increases crustal rifting. Conference participants In some cases, such structures are relatively in differential stress can trigger earth- debated the issue of how continental crust subtle and lead to the false conclusion that quakes. Clearly, a better understanding of becomes “cratonized.” Does cratonization interiors are completely stable, whereas in strength as a function of depth in the con- merely reflect the progressive slow cooling other cases, such structures are dramatic tinents will provide important constraints of continental lithosphere (thermal struc- and yield major topography. Evidence pre- on models of continental dynamics. ture in continents changes with time), so sented at the conference supports the that continental crust becomes stronger hypothesis that preexisting fabrics and SUMMARY as it ages? Does it require the distillation, faults to a large extent localize strain in This Penrose Conference highlighted by igneous processes, of silicic compo- continental interiors. But there were differ- current accomplishments of research on nents and volatiles out of the lower crust ing opinions concerning the proportion of interiors of continents and suggested and migration of these components into strain due to stresses transmitted to the many problem areas that require addi- the upper crust, thereby leaving a stronger, interior from interactions at continental tional work. The conference demonstrated mafic, layer in the lower crust? Or does margins relative to the proportion of strain that there has been significant progress the strength derive from basalt depletion resulting from lithosphere-asthenosphere toward development of a comprehensive of the lithospheric mantle, or from a sub- interaction. model explaining the origin and behavior lithosphere root composed of partially Intracontinental deformation in of continental interiors, but that such a subducted Archean oceanic slabs? Partici- diverse geographic settings, including model is not yet complete. Its ultimate for- pants also discussed the issue of whether Central Asia (e.g., Tien Shan, Pamirs, Mon- mulation will require input from many cratonization could only happen in the golia), southern South America (Pampean geoscience disciplines. Archean or Paleoproterozoic, or whether Ranges), western United States (Colorado it could eventually happen to recently Plateau and Rocky Mountains), and the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS formed continental interiors such as U.S. Midcontinent shows pronounced We thank the Geological Society of central Asia. similarities—for example, structures of the America for sponsoring this conference U.S. Midcontinent resemble structures of and for providing funds to help support What Do Continental Interiors the Laramide-style provinces of the west- student participation. We are very grateful Look Like at Depth? ern United States and southern South to the Tectonics Program (Tom Wright) of Layered reflectors at depth continue America. In many, but not all, cases, the the National Science Foundation and the to be enigmatic. In some, but not all, deformation appears to have involved Office of External Research (John Sims) of cases, cratons are a seismic “layer cake,” reactivation of preexisting fault zones, the U.S. Geological Survey for providing but on closer examination, there seem to some of which were associated with older grants that helped support students, over- be distinct differences in the layering. Par- rifting events. Some continental interior seas participants, keynote speakers, and ticipants debated whether the astheno- orogens are dominated by basement- the field trip. We also greatly appreciated sphere beneath continental interiors is involved thrusting or transpression, while the participation of George Davis, who anisotropic, which may indicate the pres- others contain dominantly strike-slip organized two superb field trips; Bill Lund ence of a broad region of shear in the faults with local uplifts related to restrain- of the Utah Geological Survey, who set up asthenosphere as continental plates move. ing bends. Continental-interior deforma- the poster-display facility and helped with tion is most pronounced during marginal numerous logistical issues; Leonard John- Why Do Epeirogenic Movements collisional or convergent tectonism, but son, who described NSF funding opportu- Occur in Continental Interiors? it can occur at other times as well (as illus- nities to the participants; and the keynote Continental interiors have undergone trated by contemporary seismicity in the speakers (Çelal Sengör, Sierd Cloetingh, broad, regional vertical displacements— New Madrid area). Presenters restated a Mike Gurnis, Mary Lou Zoback, Leigh i.e., “epeirogeny.” Some of these move- key point throughout the meeting—signif- Royden, and Larry Brown), who provided ments yield discrete basins, domes, or icant strain occurs in localized areas in a solid framework for the meeting. We arches; others appear to reflect tilting of continental interiors. thank Lois Elms for expertly handling the whole continents or change in freeboard. conference logistics; the staff of the Brian Conference participants examined the What Is the Nature of Continental Head Lodge, who helped make the meet- record of epeirogenic movements, as Interior Seismicity and Stress? ing run smoothly despite El Niño and recorded by stratigraphy and by fission- Participants debated whether or not Hurricane Nora; and Wang-Ping Chen for track dating studies. They debated the seismicity can be associated with distinct reviewing a draft of this report. ■ concept of dynamic topography, which preexisting fault zones, whether seismicity relates epeirogeny to flow within the man- is affected by fluid pressure variations in tle (e.g., sinking of dense oceanic slabs), the crust, and whether characteristics of and the concept that pulses of epeirogeny contemporary seismic zones, such as the

24 GSA TODAY, February 1998 PENROSE CONFERENCE REPORT Faults and Subsurface Fluid Flow: Fundamentals and Applications to Hydrogeology and Petroleum Geology

Conveners: Laurel B. Goodwin, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801, [email protected] William C. Haneberg, New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources, New Mexico Tech, 2808 Central Avenue SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, [email protected] J. Casey Moore, Earth Sciences Board, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, [email protected] Peter S. Mozley, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801, [email protected]

Representatives from academia, 2. One participant noted that most environments should spend more time industry, and government agencies partici- data on the relation between faults and talking to each other. pated in the Penrose Conference “Faults fluid flow have been collected in areas 6. Participants considered how dis- and Subsurface Fluid Flow: Fundamentals populated by normal faults. Thrust faults cussions started at the meeting might be and Applications to Hydrogeology and have been studied to a lesser extent and translated into long-term collaborative Petroleum Geology” held September strike-slip faults have, with few excep- relationships and continued interaction 10–15, 1997, in Albuquerque and Taos, tions, been ignored. The group agreed that among representatives of different disci- New Mexico. The mixture of structural the degree to which data collected from plines. Further discussion centered around geologists, geochemists, hydrogeologists, one tectonic setting could be applied to industry funding of academic research. engineers, and petroleum geologists another is undetermined. Petroleum industry representatives encouraged fruitful interdisciplinary 3. The field trip and subsequent emphasized that academic researchers exchanges, and the conference benefited talks and posters emphasized differences could indeed successfully work in concert from the active participation of 11 stu- between fault-zone structures and defor- with industrial sponsors, but that the dents, who received significant financial mation processes in rock and those in research has to provide solutions to practi- support from a variety of sources (see poorly consolidated sediments. These cal problems in an economical and timely acknowledgments). differences have implications for the manner. Industry will generally not fund The conference began with a short hydrogeologic characterization of individ- vague or overly generalized projects that field trip in the Albuquerque area, fol- ual faults. For example, the Sand Hill fault, do not appear to hold promise of future lowed by a trip to Taos for three days of subject of the field trip, cuts poorly con- economic benefit. Others raised the point talks, posters, and discussions. We initially solidated sediments and is characterized that the kinds of studies that would be of focused on primarily geologic studies of by an absence of open fractures and by most practical use are the most expensive individual faults and fault zones, pro- extensive grain-scale tectonic mixing of and generally beyond the resources of gressed to laboratory and field studies sediments such as sands and clays. On the funding sources such as the NSF hydro- involving the quantification of permeabil- other hand, faults in rocks may exhibit logic sciences or tectonics programs (e.g., ity changes related to faulting, geochemi- extensive fracture networks and flow large-scale drilling and fault characteriza- cal and geophysical techniques for investi- channels. tion projects). Academic-industrial consor- gating fault-fluid interactions, and finally 4. The wide variety of geochemical tia were suggested as one possible solu- addressed basin-scale studies and applica- techniques currently available allows char- tion, using the ongoing collaborative work tions to petroleum geology. acterization of fluid sources resulting in in Dixie Valley as an example, and the fault-zone diagenesis. These techniques Ventura anticline was suggested as a possi- Discussions, Opinions, and offer a window into paleo–fault-zone ble target for collaborative effort because Implications plumbing. Integration of diagenetic stud- of the wealth of petroleum industry data. ies with other fault-zone research can pro- Six key points deserve special mention. Field Trip mote an understanding of the relative tim- 1. Fault zones, whether developed in The Sand Hill fault is one of the major ing of cementation versus deformation, sediments, sedimentary rock, or crystalline normal faults bounding the Rio Grande and allow us to better characterize faults rock, are structurally and hydrologically rift. Where exposed, it juxtaposes synrift as dynamic systems. Geochemists in the heterogeneous. One of the more provoca- sediments of the uppermost Oligocene group also emphasized the importance of tive statements, offered by an environ- to middle Miocene lower Santa Fe Group thermodynamic testing of models of rock- mental consultant, was that much of the against those of the Pliocene to lower fluid interaction, models that are often fault characterization work conducted in Pleistocene upper Santa Fe Group. Field proposed by geologists and geophysicists the academic community was too arcane relationships indicate that the Sand Hill with limited geochemical background. and at scales too detailed to be of immedi- fault, like other faults associated with the The latter can be unaware of advances in ate use to practitioners. The group agreed Rio Grande rift, is a growth fault. As a con- understanding of geochemical processes, that including modelers in a given project sequence, sediments of different ages that such as the importance of fluid mixing at an early stage would ensure collection have been cut by the fault have undergone and biogenic activity in the precipitation of geologic and hydrologic data necessary different amounts of slip. Subsurface data of cements. and appropriate for mathematical models. indicate that the base of the lower Santa 5. Advances in interpreting seismic Modelers, however, are still asking how Fe Group is offset about 600 m by the reflection profiles, especially those of satu- these data should be generalized for use in fault. In contrast, recent mapping by rated faults in accretionary prisms, suggest flow and transport models. All agreed that Michiel Heynekamp shows that the the possibility of better subsurface charac- scales of observation and methods for uppermost unit of the upper Santa Fe terization of fault-zone features. Part of upscaling measurements of properties the lesson to be learned may be that such as permeability are critical issues. researchers working in different tectonic Fluid Flow continued on p. 26

GSA TODAY, February 1998 25 Fluid Flow continued from p. 25 cal properties and the development of sandstone” (Myers), “Fault and fracture structural discontinuities in the northern network controls on hydrocarbon migra- Group, the youngest unit cut by the Barbados Accretionary Complex” (Brück- tion and fault sealing in deep-water sand- fault, is offset only about 10 m. mann), “Architecture, permeability struc- stone reservoirs” (Nelson), “Changes in Heynekamp’s work further indicates ture, and evidence for fluid flow in Fault 6, petrophysical and hydraulic characteristics that deformation and cementation are Traill Ø, east Greenland” (Caine, Forster, of faulted poorly consolidated sand, Santa largely controlled by the grain size of the and Bruhn), “A method for sampling Fe Group, central NM” (Sigda and Wilson), faulted sediments. Where juxtaposed sedi- faults in unconsolidated sediments” “Structural features as fast pathways at ments are fine grained, the zone of defor- (Dimeo), “Grain size controls on fault- Yucca Mountain, Nevada” (Sweetkind), mation is narrow and structurally simple, zone architecture of the Sand Hill fault and “The brittle-ductile transition and per- and the fault is only lightly cemented zone” (Heynekamp, Mozley, and Good- meability evolution: Experimental mea- with micritic calcite. Where juxtaposed win), “A collaborative study of the Sand surement, microstructural observations, sediments are coarse grained, the zone of Hill fault in New Mexico” (Holl, Shea, and network modeling” (Zhu and Wong). deformation is wide and structurally com- Vrolijk, and Fairchild), “Fluid flow proper- plicated, and the fault is cemented with ties and sealing mechanisms of a cored Geophysical Studies and sparry calcite cement. Like faults in rock, fault zone in the Hickory Sandstone New Techniques the Sand Hill fault includes a damage zone aquifer, Texas Hill Country” (Ibáñez, Shea, The third session, concerned with (with minor slip surfaces, deformation and Johnson), “Three-dimensional struc- geophysical methods and new techniques, bands, and folded beds) and a core zone ture of small faults and hydrogeologic opened with the talks “Faults and fluid (clay-rich along most of the fault). In implications” (Martel and Boger), “GIS flow in accretionary prisms: Contrasts contrast to faults in rock, it also contains fault database of the middle Rio Grande to hard rock examples and applicability mixed zones that flank the fault core. basin: Georeferenced fault-characteriza- of geophysical tools” (Casey Moore), The mixed zones contain everything from tion data input for hydrogeologic models” “Dynamic elastic properties of fault zones little deformed pods of sediment to tec- (Minor), and “Characterization of fault- in fine-grained marine sediments: Implica- tonically well mixed sediments, in which related ground-water compartmentaliza- tions for seismic imaging of pore pressure material from different beds is mixed tion in a porous sandstone aquifer in the and fluid content” (Tobin), and “Geophys- almost to the point of homogenization. Texas Hill Country” (Johnson). ical investigations of faults and fluid flow Where the hanging-wall mixed zone in Dixie Valley” (Barton). is coarse grained, it is typically heavily Modification of Permeability Posters presented were “Deep cemented with calcite, in some places Through Deformation hydraulic fracture tiltmeter imaging” forming elongate concretions believed to The second session of the conference and “San Andreas near-field stress state” be paleoflow direction indicators. Neither provided a bridge from primarily geomet- (Castillo), “The use of seismic methods to the genesis of the cement nor the spatial ric studies of fault zones to the question of locate deep water wells within fault and variability of elongate concretion orienta- the influence of faulting on the permeabil- fracture zones: An example from Flagstaff, tions in and directly adjacent to the fault ity of sediments and rocks. Introductory Arizona” (Catchings), “Initiation and evo- are well understood. Discussions focused talks were: “Laboratory studies of sand- lution of fault zones in accretionary on the unresolved problems and on devel- stone deformation” (Wong), “Permeability prisms: Comparing cores, logs, seismic opment of fault-zone foliations and lin- of fault zones within siliciclastic and car- amplitude, and seismic coherency” (C. eations, reasons for the absence of open bonate rocks” (Antonellini), and “Fault- DiLeonardo and J. C. Moore), “Investiga- fractures in uncemented sediments and zone deformation of poorly consolidated tion of the hydraulic response of faults cemented zones, development of the sediments” (Goodwin, Heynekamp and identified by geophysical studies at Owens mixed zones, and mechanisms for the Haneberg). Lake, California” (Jacobson), “Use of tri- formation of oriented concretions. Posters presented at the session were: tium data to define and model the “Seismogenic faulting and fluid flow at hydraulics and contaminant transport of Fault Zone Architecture 550–700 m depth: Products of Hyogoken- a faulted clay at a DNAPL site” (Losonsky), The Taos part of the conference Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake” (Agar et al.), and “GIS-based analysis of subsurface fluid began with a session devoted to fault- “Fluid pathways provided by contempora- migration in sedimentary basins (Paulus) zone architecture and characterization, neous activity of thrust and normal faults including the opening talks, “Models of during the Marche thrust belt develop- Fluid-Rock Interaction and fault zone architecture and permeability ment, central Apennines, Italy” (Ghisetti Hydrothermal Systems structure” (Forster), “Self-generation of frac- and Vezzani), “Vertical discharge of ex- Opening talks were: “Geochemistry ture permeability by migrating fluids” (Sib- tremely overpressured fluids along growth of fluids and their role on the dynamics of son), and “Structural characteristics of flow faults in the Rio Grande Embayment, Gulf the San Andreas fault, California” channel geometry along faults” (Bruhn). of Mexico Basin, USA” (McKenna), “Anal- (Kharaka, Kennedy, Evans, and Thordsen), Poster presentations included “Corre- ysis of brittle deformation and permeabil- lation of clay mineralogy, sediment physi- ity structure of cataclastic faults in porous Fluid Flow continued on p. 27

Penrose Conference Participants

Susan M. Agar Trenton Cladouhos Nicholas W. Hayman Stephen Martel Geff Rawling Shiro Tamanyu Marco Antonellini Dana Coffield Michiel Heynekamp Alex S. Mayer Sheila Roberts Lansing Taylor Colleen Barton John B. Czarnecki James Holl Thomas E. McKenna James C. Sample Geoffrey Thyne Craig Bethke Carrie Decker William D. Ibanez Virginia T. McLemore William T. Shea Harold Tobin Venugopal Bhat B. Christopher Dimeo Elizabeth Jacobson Brian J. O. L. McPherson Rick Sibson Matthew M. Uliana Claudia Borchert Peter Eichhubl Brann Johnson Scott A. Minor John Sigda E. J. M. Willemse Warner Bruckmann Lynne W. Fielding Yousif Kharaka Diane Moore Leslie Smith Mike Whitworth Ronald L. Bruhn Craig B. Forster Andreas Koestler Julia K. Morgan S. E. Sommer Colin F. Williams Michael P. Bunds John W. Geissman Mingchou Lee Rodrick Myers Daniel B. Stephens John Wilson Michael C. Carpenter Leonid Germanovich Schön Levy Eric P. Nelson Wendy Sumner Teng-fong Wong David A. Castillo Francesca C. Ghisetti Dina L. Lopez Gernot Paulus Donald Sweetkind Wenlu Zhu Rufus D. Catchings Matthias Grobe George Losonsky Mark Person

26 GSA TODAY, February 1998 Final Announcement late Paleozoic strata occur south of Flagstaff in the Red Rock country near Sedona, Arizona. To the north fluvial and ROCKY MOUNTAIN SECTION, GSA eolian strata of Triassic and Jurassic age 50th Annual Meeting crop out throughout the Navajo and Hopi reservations and in the Lake Powell–Glen Flagstaff, Arizona Canyon region. Grand Canyon National May 25–26, 1998 ★ Park is 80 miles north of Flagstaff and Petrified Forest National Park is 120 miles to the east. During late May, the days are typi- he Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society cally clear, with temperatures averaging of America and the Department of Geology at Northern 75–80 °F, and the nights are cool and Arizona University in Flagstaff will host the 1998 section T pleasant; there is little precipitation this meeting on the campus of Northern Arizona University. time of year. The weather should be ideal for field excursions and trips to nearby SETTING margin of the Colorado Plateau. There scenic areas and parks, as well as visits are more than 550 vents in the area, the to Lowell Observatory, the Museum of The 50th annual meeting of the GSA latest eruption occurring in A.D. 1065 and Northern Arizona, and Meteor Crater. Rocky Mountain Section will be held at leaving Sunset Crater, 15 miles north of Flagstaff lies at the junction of Inter- the DuBois Center on the campus of Flagstaff and but one of many easily acces- states 40 and 17 and thus is easily reached Northern Arizona University. Flagstaff is sible volcanic features in the area. Flagstaff by car. Rail service is available from the at the base of San Francisco Mountain, a is situated on the southern margin of the east and west. Flagstaff airport is approxi- composite cone over 12,600 feet in eleva- Colorado Plateau province near the tran- mately 3 miles south of the city. tion—the highest point in Arizona. The sition into the Basin and Range to the San Francisco volcanic field covers about south. Excellent exposures of mid- to Rocky Mountain continued on p. 28 2,000 square miles along the southern

Fluid Flow continued from p. 26 facies—A bridge between the field and Posters were: “Timor Sea fault-seal models” (Haneberg). integrity” (Castillo), “Fault geometry and and “Ion microprobe (SIMS) work on car- The posters were: “Importance of fault conductivity studies, Prudhoe Bay bonate veins from the Cascadia drilling leg alteration reactions for the brittle Death Field, North Slope, Alaska” (Coffield et al.), 146—Mathematical modeling of fluid Valley fault zone” (Cladouhos, P. J. Vrolijk, “Structural and tectonic constraints on flow, heat transport, and deformation” D. S. Cowan, Morgan), “Modeling poten- fracture zone aquifers of Northern Oman” (Sample). tial fault-related fast-pathways in the (Fielding), “Evaluating fault-controlled The posters presented in this session vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada” fluid flow in an exhumed petroleum reser- were: “Fluid flow and mixing across (Czarnecki), “Modeling fault propagation voir” (Forster), “Fault-controlled basin- gouge-filled fault cores” (Bunds), “Scale in compressive stress regime” (Ger- scale fluid migration of mineralizing fluids and rates of fault-related fluid flow in the manovich), “Integration of tectonic het- in the northeastern Rhenish Massif, Ger- Miocene Monterey Formation, coastal erogeneities into advanced reservoir simu- many” (Grobe), “The significance of frac- California” (Eichhubl and J. R. Boles), lations: Methodology and applications” ture-redirected recharge on the water bud- “Fault influence on fluid flow and reser- (A. G. Koestler), “Modeling fluid flow and get of an arid alluvial aquifer, Indian Wells voir diagenesis” (Lee), “Mineralogic associ- heat transfer at Basin and Range faults” Valley, California” (Thyne and J. Gille- ations of fault and fracture flowpaths in (Lopez, Smith, M. Sorey), “Micromechan- spie), “The influence of structural features tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada” (Levy), ics of localization in granular shear zones on regional ground-water flow in the Salt “Evolution of Rio Grande Rift barite- revealed by DEM simulations: The role of Basin and Toyah Basin of West Texas” fluorite-galena deposits, New Mexico” particle size distribution and interparticle (Uliana), and “Tectonic controls on the (McLemore), “Evolution of fracture perme- friction” (Morgan), “Fluid flow pathways hydrothermal evolution of the Rio Grande ability under hydrothermal conditions” in fractured porous media at the outcrop rift near Socorro” (Person). (Moore), “Formation mechanism of frac- scale: Integration of field observations and ture-vein system in geothermal reservoirs” numerical modeling” (Taylor), “The influ- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (Tamanyu), and “The close interrelation- ence of the San Andreas fault on ground- Financial support for the conference ships between jointing, pressure solution water flow in the upper Coachella Valley, was provided by the Geological Society of and mass transfer that together play a California: A mathematical modeling America, the National Science Foundation, crucial role in the nucleation of faults investigation” (Mayer), and “Results of Exxon Production Research, Daniel B. in limestones exposed along the Bristol current investigations into fluid flow Stephens & Associates, the New Mexico Channel, UK” (Willemse). along growth faults in the Gulf of Mexico” Geological Society, the New Mexico Bu- (Roberts). reau of Mines & Mineral Resources, and Mathematical Modeling of the New Mexico Tech Office of Research Fluid Flow, Heat Transport, Basin-Scale Studies and & Economic Development. We also thank and Deformation Petroleum Geology Rita Case for her secretarial support, Lois Opening talks were: “Coupled models The two opening talks of this session Elms for her logistical expertise, and the of ground-water flow and heat transport” were: “Modeling basin scale fluid flow” staff of the Sagebrush Inn for their atten- (Smith), “Numerical simulations of granu- (Person), and “Trapping mechanisms and tive service. This report is also available lar shear zones using the distinct element producing characteristics of faulted sand- at http://www.nmt.edu/~haneberg/ method” (Morgan), and “Hydrostructural stone reservoirs” (Shea). PenroseAnnouncement.html. ■

GSA TODAY, February 1998 27 Rocky Mountain continued from p. 27 REGISTRATION FEES REGISTRATION Advance (by April 24) On Site Preregistration Deadline: Full meeting One day Full meeting One day April 24, 1998 Professional Preregistration fees are lower than Member $60 $40 $75 $50 on-site fees, so preregister as soon as possi- Nonmember $70 $50 $85 $60 ble. Name badges will be mailed to the Student preregistrants at least three weeks before Member $20 $15 $30 $25 the meeting. Badges must be worn for Nonmember $25 $20 $40 $30 access to all activities from 6 p.m. Sunday, K–12 Professional $20 $5 $25 $5 May 24, through 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 26. Guest or Spouse $10 N/A $15 N/A Members of GSA and its associated Societies pay discounted fees. Please indicate your affiliation(s) to register using the and changes must be made in writing ing zones, (2) a deep aquifer in consoli- member rates. and received by May 1, 1998. NO REFUNDS dated sediments, and (3) an even deeper Full payment MUST accompany OR CREDITS WILL BE MADE ON CAN- aquifer in Permian to Devonian lime- registration. Unpaid purchase orders are CELLATION NOTICES RECEIVED AFTER stones. We also will visit areas where NOT accepted as valid registration. Charge MAY 1. Refunds will be mailed from GSA shallow water occurs in seeps and springs, cards are accepted as indicated on the pre- after the meeting. Fees paid by credit card discuss critical riparian ecosystems depen- registration form. Please recheck the card will be credited according to the card dent on them, and examine efforts to numbers, because errors will delay your number on the registration form. There restore the ecosystems where they have registration. The confirmation card will will be NO refunds for on-site registration been damaged intentionally or uninten- be your receipt for all payments. No other and ticket sales. tionally by human activity. We also will receipts will be sent. visit sites of recent comprehensive studies Register one professional or student FIELD TRIPS to explore for new well fields in the deeper per form. Copy the form for your records. regional aquifer; remote sensing, geologic Premeeting Guest registration is required for mapping, and surface geophysical tech- 1. Miocene Volcanism and Geomor- those attending guest activities, technical niques are being used to locate and define phology in Verde Valley, and Petrol- sessions, or the exhibit hall. Guest regis- fractures and faults. Although little is ogy of Alkaline and Mildly Alkaline trants MUST be accompanied by a profes- known about the deeper aquifer in the Rocks at House Mountain Shield sional or student registrant. A guest is Flagstaff area, its relation to overlying Volcano, Sedona, Arizona. May 24. defined as a nongeologist spouse or friend water-bearing zones and its importance as Richard Holm ([email protected]), of a professional or student registrant. a regional ground-water resource will be Dept. of Geology, Northern Arizona Uni- Students and K–12 teachers must discussed briefly. Cost: $40 (includes trans- versity, P.O. Box 4099, Flagstaff, AZ 86011; show a current ID in order to obtain these portation, lunch, field guide). Limit: 20. Wayne Ranney, Zia Enterprises, Flagstaff; rates. Students or teachers not having a 3. Volcanism and Sedimentation in James Wittke and Katherine Lee, Northern current ID when registering will be the Miocene-Pliocene Hopi Buttes Arizona University. We will examine the required to pay the professional fee. and Hopi Lake. May 23, 8 a.m. to basalt-covered southern margin of the It is important that the preregistration May 24, 6 p.m. Michael Ort (mho@ Colorado Plateau and enter the Verde deadline be met because the badges and nauvax.ucc.nau.edu), Jorge Vazquez, Valley on a lava ramp down the Mogollon other meeting information will be mailed Todd Dallegge, Dept. of Geology, Northern Rim, focusing on the stratigraphic, geo- to the registrants. All registrations received Arizona University, Box 4099, Flagstaff, morphic, and tectonic relations of basalt after this date will be held for on-site AZ 86011; James White, Dept. of Geology, lava flows and their underlying erosion processing and charged on-site rates. University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, surfaces, the lacustrine Verde Formation, Packets containing restaurant and local New Zealand, phone 64-3-479-9009. The and volcanic centers in the region. information will be mailed following Hopi Buttes volcanic field is a late Miocene The trip concludes with a visit to House receipt of preregistration forms. to Pliocene nephelinitic volcanic field that Mountain, where we will examine the On-site registration will be on Sunday, erupted through mid–late Miocene Hopi stratigraphy, petrology, and geochemistry May 24, from 4 to 8 p.m., Monday, May 25, Lake sediments. The trip will concentrate of the shield volcano. A large basanitic from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday, May on the volcanic structures and facies asso- nephelinite dike was intruded into mildly 26, from 7 a.m. to 12 noon, in the ball- ciated with the maar volcanoes. We will alkaline and subalkaline flows of the room of the DuBois Center on the North- look at excellent exposures into the eroded shield volcano. The dike hosts phaneritic ern Arizona University campus. For addi- roots of maars, into the maars structures rocks including nepheline monzosyenite tional information, contact Michael Ort themselves, and the maar lake sediments, and feldspar ijolite. Cost: $45 (includes ([email protected]), Registration Chair- with spectacular continuous outcrops transportation, lunch, refreshments, person, Dept. of Geology, Northern Arizona showing the lateral and vertical variations reprints, field guide). Limit: 19. University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011. in the deposits. We will also focus on the 2. Exploration for and Ecological GSA is committed to making every Hopi Lake sediments, paying particular Importance of Shallow and Deep event at the 1998 Rocky Mountain Section attention to the timing of the lake’s pres- Ground Water Around the San Fran- meeting accessible to all people. If you ence in the area, and its relation to the cisco Mountains. May 24. Abe Springer have any special needs, such as an inter- maar volcanism. Cost: $130 (includes van ([email protected]), Dept. of Geology, preter or wheelchair, contact Larry Middle- transportation, 1 night double-occupancy Northern Arizona University, Box 4099, ton ([email protected]) or (520) in motel in Holbrook, field guide, field Flagstaff, AZ 86011; Don Bills, U.S. 523-2429 by March 15, 1998. lunches, and refreshments). Limit: 20. Geological Survey, Flagstaff. Around San 4. Tertiary Volcanism, Sedimenta- Francisco Mountain near Flagstaff, ground Cancellations, Changes, tion, and Tectonics of the Central water occurs in three different types of and Refunds Arizona Transition Zone. May 24. aquifers: (1) shallow perched water-bear- All requests for registration additions Robert S. Leighty ([email protected]), Ari-

28 GSA TODAY, February 1998 zona Geological Survey, 416 W. Congress in motel in Kingman, field guide, field ogy, Northern Arizona University, St., Suite 100, Tucson, AZ 85701. This trip lunches, and refreshments). Limit: 17. Flagstaff, AZ 86011, [email protected]. will provide an overview of Tertiary geol- 7. A Tale of Two Rivers: Mid-Tertiary 2. Paleontologic and Stratigraphic ogy across the Basin and Range–Colorado Structural Inversion and Drainage Studies in the Grand Canyon Area: Plateau transition zone from Flagstaff to Reversal Across the Southern Bound- A Symposium in Honor of Stanley S. the Phoenix area. Morning activities will ary of the Colorado Plateau. May 26, Beus. David Elliott, Dept. of Geology, focus on volcanic and sedimentary stratig- 5 p.m. to May 28, 10 p.m. Andre R. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, raphy, paleogeography, and petrogenesis Potochnik ([email protected]), Dept. AZ 86011, [email protected]. of the Hickey Formation, Chalk Canyon of Geology, Arizona State University, 3. Synthesis of Recent Geomorphic Formation, and Middle Tertiary latites in Tempe, AZ 85287; James E. Faulds, Nevada Research Along the Colorado River. the Verde Valley, Cordes, Black Canyon Bureau of Mines and Geology. On this Richard Hereford, U.S. Geological Survey, City, and New River areas. Structural fea- trip, we conduct a paleogeographic tran- 2255 N. Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, AZ 86001, tures and regional tectonism will be dis- sect across the Basin and Range–Colorado [email protected]. cussed during afternoon activities in the Plateau transition zone to examine evi- 4. Evolution of Mid- to Late Prot- Cave Creek, Humboldt Mountain, and dence for a Laramide fluvial depositional erozoic Basins in the Southwest— Bloody Basin areas. Hiking will be mini- system that was later defeated by mid- Tectonic and Depositional Settings. mal; weather conditions will vary widely. Tertiary extension and volcanism. We fol- Larry Middleton, Dept. of Geology, Cost: $45 (includes transportation, lunch, low an early Tertiary paleovalley (of Grand Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, snack, field guide). Limit: 24. Canyon scale), that contains a remarkably AZ 86011, [email protected]. complete record of the structural and sedi- 5. Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Postmeeting mentologic history that led to regional Colorado Plateau. Jon Spencer, Arizona 5. Permian Rocks in North-Central drainage reversal across the Colorado Geological Survey, 416 Congress St., Arizona: A Comparison of the Plateau boundary. Choice of return to Suite100, Tucson, AZ 85701, jspencer@ Sections at Grand Canyon and Flagstaff or Phoenix. Cost: $120 (includes geo.arizona.edu. Sedona. May 27–28. Ronald Blakey transportation, field guide, meals from 6. Geological Framework of the ([email protected]) and Larry breakfast May 27 through lunch May 28). Grand Staircase–Escalante Monu- Middleton, Dept. of Geology, Northern Camping only (no lodging). Dinners on ment Area. Wendell Duffield, U.S. Arizona University, Box 4099, Flagstaff, the road May 26 and 28 not included. Geological Survey, 2255 N. Gemini Dr., AZ 86011. The classic Permian sections Limit: 19. Flagstaff, AZ 86001, wduffield@flagmail. of Sedona and Grand Canyon will be 8. Meteor Crater, Arizona: Geology wr.usgs.gov. compared and contrasted. Depositional and Cultural History. May 27. Jeff 7. Tectonics of the Southern Rio systems and paleotectonics will be em- Kargel ([email protected]), Grande Rift and Adjacent Basin and phasized. We will discuss reasons for the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ Range—Their Connection. Greg Mack, contrasts between the two sections while 86001. This 5-hour trip to Meteor Crater, Dept. of Geological Sciences, New Mexico taking several short to intermediate hikes just 40 miles (65 km) east of Flagstaff, will State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003. each day. The beautiful scenery and excel- take participants on a walking tour (total [email protected]. lent exposures of the two areas offer distance <5 km) around the crater rim and 8. Geoscience and Environmental abundant photographic opportunities. over the ejecta blanket. We will examine Science Education Using Computer Cost: $100 (includes transportation, lunch, evidence for the composition of the Multimedia: What Works and Why. snack, field guide). Does not include May impactor; the dynamics of the explosive Michael Kelly, Center for Environmental 27 lodging in Flagstaff. Limit: 35. impact, including impact melting and Sciences and Education, Northern Arizona 6. Proterozoic Rocks Within the the effective depth of the explosion; and University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, Michael. Mojave-Yavapai Boundary Zone, geologic disturbances represented by the [email protected]. Northwestern Arizona: Comparison crater, including such effects as inverted 9. Middle and Late Mesozoic Tecton- of Metamorphic and Structural stratigraphy and faulting. Participants will ics of the Borderland: From Bisbee Evolution Across a Major Litho- also inspect rusted remains of the world’s Extension to Laramide Shortening. spheric(?) Structure. May 26, 5 p.m. first-ever attempt, by Daniel Barringer Timothy Lawton, Dept. of Geological Sci- to May 28, 8 p.m. Ernie Duebendorfer early in this century, to mine an asteroid. ences, New Mexico State University, Las ([email protected]), Dept. of Geology, Cost: $21 (includes lunch). Limit: 30. Cruces, NM 88003, [email protected]. Northern Arizona University, Box 4099, 10. Active Tectonics of the Central Flagstaff, AZ 86011; Matt Nyman, Uni- SYMPOSIA and Northern Rocky Mountains. versity of Michigan. On the first day, we David Lageson, Dept. of Earth Sciences, General sessions will include tectonics will focus on three phases of Proterozoic Montana State University, Bozeman, MT and structural geology of the Rocky Moun- ductile deformation, two phases of gran- 59717-0348, [email protected]. tains, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and ulite-facies metamorphism, and syn- edu. Range–Colorado Plateau transition zone, deformational magmatism in the Cerbat 11. Water Quantity and Quality: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary Mountains, astride the 75-km-wide Issues Related to Perched Aquifers. petrology, stratigraphy and sedimentology, boundary zone between the Mojave and Abe Springer, Dept. of Geology, Northern paleontology, geochemistry, hydrogeol- Yavapai Proterozoic crustal provinces. On Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, ogy, and environmental geology. General day two we will examine polyphase defor- [email protected]. questions concerning symposia should be mation and metamorphism in the Huala- addressed to Wendell Duffield, Technical pai Mountains, which are within the Pro- POSTER SESSIONS Program Coordinator, U.S. Geological Sur- terozoic boundary zone. We will discuss vey, 2255 N. Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, AZ Each poster will be exibited for one constraints on the timing and nature of 86001, (520) 556-7205, wdufffield@flag- half day in the main ballroom of the juxtaposition of the two provinces and mail.wr.usgs.gov. For the symposia listed DuBois Center. Please indicate your the local effects and regional implications below, prospective authors should contact preference for poster presentation on of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic individual chairs. the abstract form. plutonism, metamorphism, and deforma- 1. Tertiary Evolution of the Transi- tion. Cost: $160 (includes 4-wheel-drive tion Zone. Nancy Riggs, Dept. of Geol- transportation, 2 nights double-occupancy Rocky Mountain continued on p. 31

GSA TODAY, February 1998 29 Amount ______TOTAL FEES TOTAL $______May 27 (408) $ 21 1 $ ______May 26Ð28 (407) $120 1 $ ______May 24May 27Ð28 (404) (405) $ $100 45 1 1May 26Ð28 $ ______$ ______(406) $160 1 $ ______May 24 (301) $ 32 __ $ ______May 24 (401) $May 24 45 1May 23Ð24 $ ______(402) (403) $ $130 40 1 1 $ ______$ ______...... (60) $20(90) $10 $ (61) 5 __ NA $ ______$ ______(30) $20(32) $25 $15 (31) (33) $20 __ $ ______$ ______Full Meeting One Day Qty...... $70 (14) $50 (15) __ $ ...... (10) $60...... (10) $40 (11) __ $ ...... DR CR ...... FOR OFFICE USE Boundary Zone San Francisco Mtns. Member fee applies to any current Professional OR Student of GSA or Associated Societies listed at left. Discount does not apply to guest registrants. A ______VCK#______M ______Bal. A/R 1233-005 ______Ref. A/P 2006 ______Refund ck# ______8. Meteor Crater, Arizona 8. Meteor Crater, 5. Permian Rocks in North-Central Arizona Proterozoic Rocks, Mojave-Yavapai 6. Rivers, Colorado Plateau of Two 7. A Tale REGISTRATION FEES REGISTRATION Professional Member* Professional Nonmember Guest or spouse * SPECIAL EVENT Canyon Railroad Trip 1. Verde FIELD TRIPS Valley Verde 1. Miocene Volcanism, Shallow and Deep Groundwater, 2. 3. Miocene-Pliocene Hopi Buttes and Lake Zone Central AZ Transition Volcanism, 4. Tertiary Student Member* Student Nonmember Professional KÐ12 I ⁄ fax Expires Home Phone Business Phone I Flagstaff, Arizona, May 25–26, 1998 ( ______) ______-______( ______) ______-______( ______) ______-______ORM F Employer/University Affiliation Mailing Address (use two lines if necessary) Name as it should appear on your guest’s badge April 24, 1998. City State May 1, 1998. Name as it should appear on your badge (last name first) City State or Country City State or Country ZIP Code Country (if other than USA)

Please print clearly ¥ BADGE YOUR THIS AREA IS FOR I I I I

GUEST INFORMATION ¥ Please print clearly ¥ badge This area is for I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I II I special considerations that you or Please inform us by March 15 of any Please inform us by March 15 (A) GSA (B) NAGT (C) PS (D) SEPM I will need special considerations. REREGISTRATION Check American Express VISA MasterCard I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I II I your guest require.

P GSA Rocky Mountain Section Circle member affiliation (to qualify for registration discount): Deadline: Preregistration Cancellation Deadline: MAIL TO: 9140, BOULDER, CO 80301 BOX SECTION MEETING, P.O. MOUNTAIN GSA ROCKY to: funds payable Remit in U.S. Mountain Section Meeting GSA Rocky 1998 be prepaid. must (All preregistrations Purchase Orders not accepted.) Payment by (check one): I Card Number I Signature

30 GSA TODAY, February 1998 Rocky Mountain continued from p. 29

PROJECTION EQUIPMENT Projection equipment will be provided for standard 35 mm slides. Two pro- jectors and two screens will be available. FLAGSTAFF Authors must provide their own carousel; only a limited number will be available on site. Other special equipment—e.g., a computer—must be requested in advance. A speaker-ready room will be available for previewing and loading carousels.

EXHIBITS The exhibit area will be in the DuBois Center and will be open during the welcoming reception Sunday, May 24, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tues- day. Exhibit space will cost $50 for an area about 12 ft. × 12 ft. For further information, contact Paul Umhoefer, Dept. of Geology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, (520) 523-6464, [email protected].

STUDENT PRESENTATIONS Awards will be given for the best paper and second-best papers by students. The GSA Rocky Mountain Section encour- and ages students to present their research at through this meeting. We want both undergradu- Proterozoic, ate and graduate contributions. Paleozoic, and Pliocene sequences. STUDENT TRAVEL SUPPORT The renovated New York The GSA Rocky Mountain Section Metro Line coach cars travel through Amerisuites Flagstaff, 2455 S. Beulah has funds to support travel to the meeting two national forests and give visual access Blvd., (520) 774-8042. $75/$85 for students. Submit requests to Ken Kolm, to abundant protected wildlife. The group Days Inn I-40 Flagstaff, Dept. of Environmental Science and rate is $32 each for a group of 20 or more. 2735 S. Woodlands Village Blvd., Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, If the minimum is not reached, partici- (520) 779-1575. $65/$65 Golden, CO 80401, kkolm@mines. pants will be notified well in advance. Econolodge West, 2355 Beulah Blvd., colorado.edu. Applications must be Address inquiries to Ronald Blakey, (520) 774-2225. $70/$70 received by March 15, 1998. Special Events Chairperson, Dept. of Embassy Suites, 706 S. Milton Rd., Geology, Northern Arizona University, (520) 774-4333. $125/$135 SPECIAL EVENTS and Flagstaff, AZ 86011, Ronald.Blakey@ Fairfield Inn by Marriott, 2005 S. SPOUSE or GUEST PROGRAM nau.edu. Specifics of each trip will be Milton Rd., (520) 773-1300. $90/$90 provided upon request. La Quinta, 2355 S. Beulah Blvd., The welcoming reception will be (520) 556-8666. $69/$79 Sunday, May 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the ACCOMMODATIONS Motel 6, 2745 S. Woodlands Village Blvd., DuBois Center on the Northern Arizona (520) 779-3757. $33/$39 campus. Hors d’oeuvres will be available, Blocks of rooms have been reserved Ramada Inn, 2755 Woodlands Village and there will be a cash bar. The Rocky on the campus of Northern Arizona Uni- Blvd., (520) 773-1111. $60/$60 Mountain Section business meeting will versity, only a few minutes walk from the Quality Inn Flagstaff, 2000 S. Milton be held at 12 noon Tuesday, May 26. DuBois Center, the site of the meetings. Rd., (520) 774-8771. $80/$80 Flagstaff features the Museum of The rate for these rooms is $45 per person A limited shuttle will be provided. Northern Arizona and Lowell Observatory, per night based on double occupancy. This The schedule will be in the program. and Meteor Crater is nearby. The Red Rock includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner in country of Sedona is 30 miles to the south. the dining hall on campus. Contact Louise DETAILED INFORMATION Other attractions include a round trip by Brown, (520) 523-1246, to make reserva- rail from Williams to Grand Canyon tions at NAU. ALL motels listed below, Address questions concerning regis- through the San Francisco Volcanic Field. except for Fairfield Inn, are within one- tration to Michael Ort, Dept. of Geology Reservations can be made by calling (520) quarter mile of the meeting site. Meeting Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, 773-1976 or faxing 520-773-1610. The participants must contact these motels AZ 86011, [email protected]. Direct cost is $49 per person and includes the directly for reservations. Remember, this questions regarding lodging and activities park entrance fee. is Memorial Day weekend so book early. to Larry Middleton, Dept., of Geology, GSA has arranged to have a group Below prices are subject to change. Prices Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, excursion on the Verde Canyon Railroad, shown are for single and double occu- AZ 86011, [email protected], Sunday, May 24 from 1 to 5 p.m. The trek pancy. ZIP code for these Flagstaff motels fax 520-523-9220. ■ follows the Verde River south of Flagstaff is 86001.

GSA TODAY, February 1998 31 CALENDAR

Only new or changed information is published in GSA Today. A complete listing can be found in the Calendar section on the Internet: http://www.geosociety.org.

1998 Penrose Conferences May May 14–18, Linking Spatial and Temporal Scales in Paleoecology and Ecology, Solomons, Maryland. Information: Andrew S. Cohen, Dept. of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, (520) 621-4691, fax 520-621-2672, [email protected]. June June 4–12, Evolution of Ocean Island Volca- noes, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Information: Dennis Geist, Dept. of Geology, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, (208) 885-6491, fax 208-885-5724, [email protected]. July July 4–11, Processes of Crustal Differentia- tion: Crust-Mantle Interactions, Melting, and Granite Migration Through the Crust, Verbania, Italy. Information: Tracy Rushmer, Dept. of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, (802) 656-8136, fax 802-656-0045, ORDER FORM—1998 GSA Abstracts with Programs [email protected]. To purchase copies of GSA Abstracts with Programs, you may use this form. Prepayment September is required. Members, provide member number and deduct your 20% discount. September 13–17, Ophiolites and Oceanic Crust: New Insights from Field Studies and Check your records to make sure you have not previously purchased any of these publications Ocean Drilling Program, Marshall, California. on you dues statement, or through Publication Sales. No refunds for duplicate orders. Information: Yildirim Dilek, Dept. of Geology, List Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, (513) 529- Meeting Meeting Dates Price Quantity Amount 2212, fax 513-529-1542, [email protected]. Northeastern 3/19–3/21 $15 $ 1998 Meetings North-Central 3/19–3/20 $15 $ March South-Central 3/23–3/24 $15 $ March 3–5, Australian Gold Conference, Southeastern 3/30–3/31 $15 $ Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Australia. Information: 1998 Australian Gold Conference, 132 Edward St., Perth, Cordilleran 4/7–4/9 $15 $ WA 6000, Australia, phone 61-8-9328-2910, fax Rocky Mountain 5/25–5/26 $15 $ 61-8-9328-1240, [email protected], http:// Annual Meeting (Toronto) 10/26–10/29 $38.75 $ www.rhk.com.au/98gold/. April Total $ Check here if GSA Member April 14–17, Geoscience 98, Keele, Staffordshire, Members deduct 20%. It will not be applied later. ➝ –20% $ UK. Information: Conference Office, Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1V Member # ______TOTAL $ 0JU, UK, [email protected]. SHIP TO: April 17–19, National Association of Geo- science Teachers—Far Western Section Name ______Spring Field Conference: Geology of Southeast- ern Sierra Nevada—Revisited, Bishop, California. Address ______Information and registration: Mario V. Caputo, Mt. San Antonio College, Dept. Earth Sciences, Address ______1100 North Grand Avenue, Walnut, CA 91789; City______State ____ ZIP ______Daytime Phone [email protected]. July METHOD OF PAYMENT: July 4–13, FORAMS’98: International Sympo- CHECK or MONEY ORDER (payable in U.S. funds on U.S. bank) sium on Foraminifera, Monterrey, Mexico. Credit Card (Please print information) Information: Martha A. Gamper, Florida Interna- tional University, [email protected], MC VISA AmEx Diners (circle one) Exp. Date ______http://www.fiu.edu/~longoria/forams98. Card No. ______August August 20–28, Metallogeny and Geodynamics Signature of Cardholder ______of the North Asian Craton and Framing Oro- genic Belts, with Field Excursion to Southern TO ORDER BY MAIL: Send this form to GSA Publication Sales, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140 Lake Baikal and Zun-Kholba Lode Gold Deposit, Irkutsk, Russia. Information: Tatiana Bounaeva, TO ORDER BY PHONE OR FAX using a major credit card Institute of Geochemistry, Russian Academy of fax (24 hour line): 303-447-1133; or phone (303) 447-2020 or 1-800-472-1988 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MT) Sciences, P.B. 4019, Irkutsk 664033, Russia; TO ORDER ELECTRONICALLY: Visit our Web site at www.geosociety.org phone: 7-3952-46-59-64, fax 7-3952-46-40-50; [email protected]. ON-SITE PURCHASES may be made in the registration area. Supplies are limited. Calendar continued on p. 33

32 GSA TODAY, February 1998 GSA ANNUAL MEETINGS 1998 October 26–29 Metro Toronto Convention Centre Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel www.geosociety.org/meetings/98

GENERAL CHAIRS Jeffrey J. Fawcett, University of Toronto, Peter von Bitter, Royal Ontario Museum

TECHNICAL PROGRAM CHAIRS Denis M. Shaw, McMaster University Andrew Miall, University of Toronto Proposal deadline was January 2. TORONTO FIELD TRIP CHAIRS 1998 Annual Meeting Pierre Robin, Henry Halls, University of Toronto No more field trips will be accepted. ASSEMBLY OF A CONTINENT

1999 FUTURE MEETINGS Denver, Colorado 2000 Reno, Nevada ...... November 13–16 October 25–28 2001 Boston, Massachusetts ...... November 5–8 Colorado Convention Center 2002 Denver, Colorado ...... October 28–31

GSA SECTION MEETINGS—1998

NORTHEASTERN SECTION, March 19–21, Holiday Inn by the Bay, SOUTHEASTERN SECTION, March 30–31, Embassy Suites, Portland, Maine. Information: Stephen G. Pollock, Dept. of Geosciences, Charleston, West Virginia. Information: Larry D. Woodfork, West Virginia University of Southern Maine, Gorham, ME 04038, (207) 780-5350, Geological and Economic Survey, P.O. Box 879, Morgantown, WV fax 207-780-5167, [email protected]. Preregistration deadline: 26507-0879, (304) 594-2331, fax 304-594-2575, woodfork@ February 13, 1998. geosrv.wvnet.edu. Preregistration Deadline: February 27, 1998. NORTH-CENTRAL SECTION, March 19–20, Ohio State University, CORDILLERAN SECTION, April 7–9, California State University, Long Columbus, Ohio. Information: William I. Ausich, Geological Sciences, Beach, California. Information: Stan Finney, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Ohio State University, 275 Mendenhall, 125 S. Oval Mall, Columbus, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, (562) 985-8637, OH 43210, (614) 292-0069, fax 614-292-7688, [email protected]. [email protected]. Preregistration Deadline: March 6, 1998. Preregistration Deadline: February 13, 1998. ROCKY MOUNTAIN SECTION, May 25–26, Northern Arizona SOUTH-CENTRAL SECTION, March 23–24, OU Continuing University, Flagstaff, Arizona. Information: Larry Middleton, Dept of Education Center, Norman, Oklahoma. Information: M. Charles Gilbert, Geology, Box 4099, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, School of Geology and Geophysics, University of Oklahoma, 100 E. Boyd (520) 523-2429, [email protected]. Preregistration Deadline: St., Suite 810, Norman, OK 73019-0628, (405) 325-4424, fax 405- April 24, 1998. 325-3140, [email protected]. Preregistration Deadline: February 6, 1998.

Calendar continued from p. 32 October omm/alaska/icam/1998/98ann.html or http:// October 5–7, Fifth International Conference www.bgr.de/b3.icam3.html. (Abstract deadline: August 23–27, American Chemical Society on Remote Sensing for Marine and Coastal March 31, 1998.) National Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts. Environments, San Diego, California. Informa- November Information: Sally Pecor, ACS News Service, 1155 tion: Robert H. Rogers, ERIM International, P.O. November 9–12, 4th International Conference 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036, (202) Box 134008, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-4008, (313) on the Geology of the Middle East, Beirut, 872-4451, fax 202-872-4370, [email protected]. 994-1200, ext. 3234, fax 313-994-5123, http:// www.erim-int.com/CONF/conf.html. (Deadline for Lebanon. Information: Mustapha Mroueh, Leb- September submitting summaries of papers: February 27, 1998.) anese National Geological Committee, P.O. Box September 22-25, Gold Exploration and 11-8281, Beirut, Lebanon, phone 961-1-862665- Mining in NW Spain, Oviedo, Spain. Informa- October 12–16, Third International Confer- 840262, fax 961-1-822639, [email protected] tion: Daniel Arias Prieto, Facultad de Geología, ence on Arctic Margins, Celle, Germany. Infor- Universidad de Oviedo, c/ Arias de Velasco s/n, mation: F. Tessensohn, ICAM III, c/o BGR, Postfach Send notices of meetings of general interest, in 33005 Oviedo, Spain, fax 34-8-5103087, 51 01 53, D-30631 Hannover, Germany, phone format above, to Editor, GSA Today, P.O. Box 9140, [email protected]. 49-511-643-3137, fax 49 511 643 2304 (subject: ICAM III), [email protected], http://www.mms.gov/ Boulder, CO 80301, E-mail: [email protected].

GSA TODAY, February 1998 33 VOLUME 26 February BULLETIN and NO. 2 P. 97Ð192 GEOLOGY Contents FEBRUARY 1998 99 Relation of inversely graded deposits to suspended-sediment grain- size evolution during the 1996 flood experiment in Grand Canyon David M. Rubin, Jonathan M. Nelson, David J. Topping The Geological Society of America 103 Depositional facies of late Pleistocene Heinrich events in the Labrador Sea Reinhard Hesse, Saeed Khodabakhsh Volume 110, Number 2, February 1998 107 Organic carbon accumulation in the Holocene sapropel of the Black Sea S. E. Calvert, R. E. Karlin CONTENTS 111 Step-leach Pb-Pb dating of inclusion-bearing garnet and staurolite, with implications of Early Proterozoic tectonism in the Black Hills 127Ð148 Late Quaternary strike slip on the eastern part of the Awatere fault, collisional orogen, South Dakota, United States South Island, New Zealand Peter S. Dahl, Robert Frei T. A. Little, R. Grapes, and G. W. Berger 115 Ridge-plume interactions or mantle heterogeneity near Ascension Island? 149Ð162 Near-surface structural model for deformation associated with the T. A. Minshull, N. J. Bruguier, J. M. Brozena February 7, 1812, New Madrid, Missouri, earthquake Jack K. Odum, William J. Stephenson, Kaye M. Shedlock, and 119 Structural analysis of metasedimentary enclaves: Implications for tectonic evolution and granite petrogenesis in the southern Lachlan Thomas L. Pratt Fold Belt, Australia J. A. C. Anderson, R. C. Price, P. D. Fleming 163Ð172 Development and exhumation of a Neogene sedimentary basin during extension, east-central Nevada 123 Pleistocene relief production in Laramide mountain ranges, western Brian K. Horton and James G. Schmitt United States Eric E. Small, Robert S. Anderson 173Ð187 Plinian eruptions at Glacier Peak and Newberry volcanoes, United 127 Responses of ground water in the Black Mesa basin, northeastern States: Implications for volcanic hazards in the Cascade Range Arizona, to paleoclimatic changes during the late Pleistocene James E. Gardner, Steven Carey, and Haraldur Sigurdsson and Holocene Chen Zhu, Richard K. Waddell, Jr., Ira Star, Murray Ostrander 188Ð210 Origin of a classic cratonic sheet sandstone: Stratigraphy across the 131 Direct evidence of active deformation in the eastern Indian Sauk IIÐSauk III boundary in the Upper Mississippi Valley oceanic plate Anthony C. Runkel, Robert M. McKay, and Allison R. Palmer Christine Deplus, Michel Diament, Hélène Hébert, Guillaume Bertrand, Stéphane Dominguez, Jacques Dubois, Jacques Malod, Philippe Patriat, Bernard Pontoise, Jean-Jacques Sibilla 211Ð230 Structural and kinematic evolution of the Yukon-Tanana upland tectonites, east-central Alaska: A record of late Paleozoic to Mesozoic 135 A pollen record of Holocene climatic changes from the Dunde ice cap, crustal assembly Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau V. L. Hansen and C. Dusel-Bacon Kam-biu Liu, Zuju Yao, Lonnie G. Thompson 139 Redox ratios with relevant resolution: Solving an old problem by 231Ð258 New Tertiary stratigraphy for the Florida Keys and southern peninsula using the synchrotron microXANES probe of Florida Jeremy S. Delaney, M. Darby Dyar, Steven R. Sutton, Sasa Bajt Kevin J. Cunningham, Donald F. McNeill, Laura A. Guertin, 143 Very large plant and root traces from the Early to Middle Devonian: Paul F. Ciesielski, Thomas M. Scott, and Laurent de Verteuil Implications for early terrestrial ecosystems and atmospheric p(CO2) Jennifer M. Elick, Steven G. Driese, Claudia I. Mora Distinguishing middle Late Cretaceous tectonic events from regional 259Ð268 147 500 ka precipitation record from southeastern Australia: Evidence for sea-level change using foraminiferal data from the U.S. Western interglacial relative aridity Interior Linda K. Ayliffe, Pyramo C. Marianelli, Malcolm T. McCulloch, Graham E. Mortimer, Virginia S. Martinson, Paul L. Heller, and William E. Frerichs John C. Hellstrom, Kevin C. Moriarty, Rod T. Wells 151 Geochemical evidence for a mid-Cretaceous superplume 269Ð283 Fracture control of regional ground-water flow in a carbonate aquifer Yoshiyuki Tatsumi, Hironao Shinjoe, Hideo Ishizuka, William W. Sager, Adam Klaus in a semi-arid region James R. Mayer and John M. Sharp Jr. 155 Transport and deposition in the May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens blast flow 284 Erratum Marcus I. Bursik, Andrei V. Kurbatov, Michael F. Sheridan, Andrew W. Woods 159 Fluid flow during active oblique convergence: A Southern Alps model from mechanical and geochemical observations P. O. Koons, D. Craw, S. C. Cox, P. Upton, A. S. Templeton, C. P. Chamberlain MOVING? Don’t risk missing a single issue of 163 Tectonic setting and terrane accretion of the Archean Zimbabwe craton GSA Today or other publications! If you’re planning on T. M. Kusky changing your address, simply write in your new address 167 High-resolution seismic reflection profiles from Lake Titicaca, and mail this coupon along with your subscription mail- Peru-Bolivia: Evidence for Holocene aridity in the tropical Andes ing label (use label from this newsletter) to: GSA, Mem- Geoffrey O. Seltzer, Paul Baker, Scott Cross, Robert Dunbar, Sherilyn Fritz bership Services, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 171 Fluids in the lower crust following Mendocino triple junction 80301-9140. Or you may call with your change of address migration: Active basaltic intrusion? information— (303) 447-2020 or 1-800-472-1988 or e-mail us at Alan Levander, Timothy J. Henstock, Anne S. Meltzer, Bruce C. Beaudoin, [email protected]. Anne M. Trehu, Simon L. Klemperer (Report address changes at least six weeks in advance. If possible, give us your 175 Importance of flood-plain sedimentation for river sediment budgets change of address by the tenth of the month.) and terrigenous input to the oceans: Insights from the Brahmaputra- Jamuna River PLEASE PRINT M. A. Allison, S. A. Kuehl, T. C. Martin, A. Hassan Name ______179 A test of (Ge/Si)opal as a paleorecorder of (Ge/Si)seawater Address ______Gilles Bareille, Monique Labracherie, Richard A. Mortlock, Ernst Maier-Reimer, Philip N. Froelich ______183 Beyond surface heat flow: An example from a tectonically active City ______sedimentary basin Phillip A. Armstrong, David S. Chapman State/ZIP/Country ______187 Well-traveled cockles: Shell transport during the Holocene Phone (business hours) ______transgression of the southern North Sea Karl W. Flessa I do not wish to have this number in the Membership Directory. Forum 191 Carbon isotopic evidence for photosynthesis in Early Cambrian oceans Change my voting section to: ______Comment: Robert Riding, Julian E. Andrews Reply: Donna M. Surge, Michael Savarese, J. Robert Dodd, Kyger C Lohmann

34 GSA TODAY, February 1998 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Nominations Sought Published on the 1st of the month of issue. Ads (or can- least three references to: Search Committee, Department cellations) must reach the GSA Advertising office one of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6105 Fairchild Hall, for 1998 AWGF month prior. Contact Advertising Department (303) Hanover, NH 03755; e-mail: earth.sciences@dartmouth. 447-2020, 1-800-472-1988, fax 303-447-1133, or edu; web pages: http://www.dartmouth.edu/artsci/rox. Outstanding E-mail:[email protected]. Please include com- Evaluation of applications will begin January 15 and plete address, phone number, and E-mail address with all will continue until the position is filled. The appointment Educator correspondence. will be effective July 1, 1998. Per line Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity/affirmative The Association for Women Geosci- Per Line for each action employer. Women and minorities are encouraged ences Foundation requests nomina- for addt'l month to apply. Classification 1st month (same ad) tions for the 1998 AWG Outstanding THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS Educator Award. The award honors Situations Wanted $1.75 $1.40 CLASTIC SEDIMENTOLOGIST well-established college or university Positions Open $6.50 $5.50 The Geosciences Department at The University of Texas Consultants $6.50 $5.50 at Dallas invites applications for a tenure-track faculty teachers who have played a signifi- Services & Supplies $6.50 $5.50 appointment in clastic sedimentology to begin Fall 1998. cant role in the education and sup- Opportunities for Students This position is at the Assistant Professor level, although port of women geoscientists both first 25 lines $0.00 $2.35 outstanding candidates will be considered for a higher additional lines $1.35 $2.35 rank. We are particularly interested in applicants whose within and outside the classroom. Code number: $2.75 extra qualifications commplement one or more of our existing Nominations must include the nomi- Agencies and organizations may submit purchase order or efforts in geophysics, global change, geohydrology, and payment with copy. Individuals must send prepayment environmental geology, and can teach courses in nator’s supporting letter, a summary with copy. To estimate cost, count 54 characters per line, sequence stratigraphy and basin analysis. Applicants of the nominee’s academic and pro- including all punctuation and blank spaces. Actual cost should have a Ph.D. in the Geosciences. We seek a cre- fessional accomplishments, and at may differ if you use capitals, centered copy, or special ative and dynamic individual who will develop an exter- characters. nally-funded research program and who is keenly inter- least six letters of recommendation ested in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate from professional colleagues, former To answer coded ads, use this address: Code # ----, levels and supervising M.S. and Ph.D. students. Applica- GSA Advertising Dept., P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO students, and current students. Send tions, including a statement of research interests, and 80301-9140. All coded mail will be forwarded within teaching objectives, curriculum vitae, and the names, nominations to Janet Bauder Thorn- 24 hours of arrival at GSA Today office. addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three burg, 810 West Forest Dr., Houston, references should be sent to: Academic Search #2032, TX 77079-3324. Deadline for nom- The University of Texas at Dallas, P.O. Box 830688—M/S Positions Open AD23, Richardson, TX 75083-0688. Indication of sex and inations is March 15, 1998. ethnicity for affirmative action statistical purposes is ASSISTANT PROFESSOR — DARTMOUTH COLLEGE requested as part of the application but not required. The AWG Foundation presents the The Department of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College Inquiries can be made directly to: Robert J. Stern award at the annual meeting of the invites applications for a tenure-track position in neotec- ([email protected]). For more information, see the UTD Geological Society of America. Previ- tonics/active tectonics/surficial processes and/or physical World Wide Web site: http://www.utdallas.edu/ dept/geo- hydrogeology at the assistant professor level. The suc- science/. The University of Texas at Dallas is an Affirma- ous recipients are Lisa Pratt, Linda cessful candidate will be expected to demonstrate excel- tive Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed Abriola, Mary Savina, B. Charlotte lence in both teaching and research, develop a vigorous to fostering diversity in its student body, faculty, and staff. Schreiber, Margaret Delaney, Marie externally funded research program, and advise student research at the B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. levels. A strong field SEDIMENTOLOGIST/STRATIGRAPHER Morisawa, Laurie Brown, Sharon component of research is essential to this position. Austin Peay State University Department of Geology/Geog- Mosher, and Maria Luisa Crawford. Send curriculum vitae, list of publications, description of raphy invites applicants for an Assistant Professor, tenure- proposed teaching and research interests and objectives, track position in Sedimentology/ Stratigraphy to begin and the names, addresses, and fax/phone numbers of at August 1, 1998. Completed Ph.D. required. Teaching load will include Physical Geology, Historical Geology and Stratigraphy/Sedimentation on a rotational basis. The Department offers a B.S. degree with a faculty of “I unequivocally recommend nine and four adjunct instructors. Although the Department's primary emphasis is undergraduate teaching, the appointee this workshop to my colleagues … will be expected to pursue an active research program. Applicants should send a letter of interest, curriculum I learned a tremendous amount vitae and three letters of reference to Phillip Kemmerly, about both technology and teaching.” Chair, Department of Geology and Geography, Austin Earth and Peay State University, Clarksville, TN 37044. Review of Bob Blodgett, 1997 ESSTEP participant Space Science applications will begin March 1, 1998 until filled. Technological Austin Peay State University is an equal opportunity/ Education Project (ESSTEP) affirmative action employer. Applications from women and Do you teach in grades 8–14, minority groups are strongly encouraged. and are you interested in: ☛ Learning about and using the latest technologies employed by earth and space scientists? FULL PROFESSORSHIP OF SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY ☛ Knowing how Geographic Information Systems, GPS, the Internet, image processing, and The University Henri Poincaré (Nancy, France, 20,000 multimedia can make your teaching more relevant and engaging for students? students, 2500 employees) invites applications for a full professor position beginning September 1998. Candidates ☛ Being provided the support and resources to construct a powerful learning environment must have demonstrated potential in the development of at your home institution? significant multidisciplinary research programs in the field of sedimentary basins and should have experience in set- ☛ Helping students to be thoughtful problem solvers using technical and scientific skills for ting up of interactions with industry (petroleum and envi- 21st century careers? ronmental management). The appointee will be co- responsible for a research group (30 permanent Then join us in 1998 for an exciting hands-on ESSTEP program: researchers plus Ph.D. students) and will have a major July 6–18, Cypress College, Southern California, or role in the organization of lecture courses. Research areas considered especially important to this offer are: 1) July 27–August 8, Boulder, Colorado innovative reconstruction of paleoenvironments based on Interested faculty must apply as a team (2–4 persons/team) from institutions in the modern sedimentological approaches including organic and mineral geochemistry, 2) integrated study of sedimen- same community; 40 spaces are available in 1998. tary basins. Fluent French is not necessary but will be strongly appreciated. Submit curriculum vitae, publication For application materials please contact: Gwenevere McNally, Education record and summary of research prospects to: Dr. P. Department, Geological Society of America, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301, Landais, Director, CREGU, BP 23, 54501 Vandoeuvre Cedex. France. e-mail: [email protected]. fax: (303) 447-2020 x162; fax 303-447-1133; e-mail: [email protected]. +33-383440029. tel: +33-383441900. Use the same Applications for 1998 summer workshops are due March 15, 1998. address to get further information. Deadline: February 29, 1998. Funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation Classifieds continued on p. 38

GSA TODAY, February 1998 35 Field Trips with a Difference … for GSA Members and Friends GeoVentures are a special benefit created for members, but are open also to guests and friends. GeoVentures is the overall name for adult educational and adventure experiences of two kinds: GeoTrips or GeoHostels. Both are known for expert scientific leadership. Fees for both are low to moderate, relative to the length of time and destination, and include lodging and meals as designated. Detailed itineraries for each GeoVenture and helpful travel information are available from GSA. Contact Edna Collis, [email protected], GSA Meetings Department, 1-800-472- 1988, ext. 134, or (303) 447-2020, or fax 303-447-0648.

Fort Lewis College, largest to drain the San Juan ice- Durango, Colorado field. Fort Lewis College is 300 June 27–July 2, 1998 feet above the town, on the rem- GeoHostel 6 days, 6 nights nant of an outwash terrace. Ero- sion during Neogene uplift has Scientific Leaders: exposed Precambrian basement Geology of the Gregory Holden and rocks, a complete Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary section, and Kenneth Kolm, Tertiary caldera-related pyroclastic rocks and associated mineraliza- Colorado School Southwestern tion. The area is home to the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow of Mines, Golden, Gauge Railroad, Anasazi Indian ruins, ghost towns, and spectacular Colorado San Juan mountain wildflowers and scenery. Greg Holden and Ken Lodging, Meals, and Ground Transportation Kolm are experienced Mountains The group will be lodged at Fort Lewis College, West Hall. All GeoHostel leaders and lodging is based on single occupancy, or doubles for couples. Meals ran a Durango GeoHostel will include plentiful hors d’oeuvres at the Welcoming Reception– in 1992. Both are associ- Orientation on Saturday evening, daily breakfasts and sack lunches, ate professors at the Col- and a hearty farewell dinner on Thursday evening. Field trip trans- orado School of Mines portation will be provided in air-conditioned, 15-passenger vans. and know the Durango area well. You will find Fee and Payment them informed, inform- $660 for GSA Members $710 for Nonmembers

Photo by Ken Kolm. ing, and enthusiastic. $100 deposit is due with your reservation and is refundable through April 30, less $20 processing fee. Total balance due: April 30. Description Included: Classroom programs and materials; field trip Durango, Colorado, was founded more than a century ago as the sup- transportation; lodging for 6 nights (single-occupancy, or double for ply center for the mining camps of the San Juan Mountains. Located couples); breakfast and lunch daily, train ride on the Durango & Sil- at the boundary of the Colorado Plateau and the Colorado Rockies, verton Narrow Gauge Railroad, welcoming and farewell events. the town today is the recreational center for some of the most scenic, Not included: Transportation to and from Durango, Colorado; historic, and geologically diverse country in the west. The Durango transportation during hours outside field trips; and other expenses townsite was the terminus to the Ice Age Animas River glacier, not specifically included. GeoHostel: Geology of the Grand Teton–Yellowstone Country SOLD OUT Teton Village, Jackson, Wyoming, 6 days, 6 nights • July 18–23, 1998 • Rob Thomas and Sheila Roberts

DEPOSIT NO. OF TOTAL PAID REGISTER TODAY! PER PERSON PERSONS DEPOSIT Send a deposit to hold your reservation; please pay by check or credit GH982—Durango $100 ____ $______card. You will receive further information and a confirmation of your TOTAL DEPOSIT $______registration within two weeks after your reservation is received. I’ve enclosed no deposit, but I’m interested. Please send information. VISA MasterCard American Express Name

Institution/Employer Credit Card # Exp. Date

Mailing Address Signature

City/State/Country/ZIP FAX OR MAIL REGISTRATION FORM AND Phone (business/home) CHECK OR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION TO: 1998 GSA GeoVentures, GSA Meetings Department Guest Name P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301 , Fax 303-447-0648

GSA Member # MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: GSA 1998 GeoVentures

36 GSA TODAY, February 1998 A. L. WASHBURN, 1997 atterned ground, encompassing circles, nets, polygons, and stripes, indicate soil, temperature, hydrologic, and other environmental conditions, past and present. Plug circles and plugs, a variety of patterned ground, occur in both nonsorted and sorted forms in permafrost environments. Study inPP the Canadian High Arctic and a review of hypotheses of origin support the conclusion that plug circles and plugs are diapiric forms resulting from frost heaving, and that surfaceward seepage accounts for many occurrences. Plug circles and plugs are perhaps transitional to larger forms with prominent stoney ringlike borders of the classic Spitsbergen variety of sorted circle, whose origin is commonly linked to circulatory soil processes; details of that origin are still somewhat problematical. MWR190, 102 p., indexed, ISBN 0-8137-1190-8, $45.00, Member price $36.00

Eva Interglaciation excavations, and new data on the character Forest Bed, Unglaciated and age of the deposits from fission-track SPE319 East-Central Alaska: dating of tephra, paleomagnetism of the loess, 52 p. Global Warming 125,000 thermoluminescence dating of loess, and new ISBN 0-8137-2319-1 Years Ago radiocarbon dating by liquid scintillation. $36.00 13 12 Member price edited by T. L. Péwé and Dendrochronology studies of trees and C/ C $28.80 others, 1997 isotopic ratios of wood from the Eva forest bed are compared to those from trees of the The ancient, boreal Eva modern boreal forest. This last interglaciation forest, buried in frozen of 125,000 years ago is demonstrated for the loess of the subarctic, first time to be a period of major erosion forms the centerpiece in of loess and deep and rapid thawing of this evaluation of the time and nature of the permafrost, followed by emplacement of the environment during an interglaciation warmer Eva forest bed. During the than that of the present. This book brings past 100,000 years, the together results of examination of hundreds treeless steppe environment of loess exposures over the past 50 years, when returned and the deposits loess faces were still frozen in gold-mining were refrozen.

The Surface Rupture of the 1957 Gobi-Altay, Mongolia, Earthquake by R. A. Kurushin and others, 1997 he 1957 Gobi-Altay earthquake is the last major earthquake (M ~ 8) to occur in a continental region. The full complement of processes Tthat distinguishes continental tectonics from plate tectonics—internal deformation of blocks, conjugate faulting, variations in amounts of slip along faults, block rotations about vertical axes, basement folding, and even the formation of new faults (through fault-bend folding at the earth's surface)—occurred in 1957 and remain clearly exposed in the arid environment of the Gobi-Altay. Because of the variety of styles and the extent of deformation, the subparallel surface ruptures, ~25 km apart, provide a microcosm of intracontinental mountain building at a large scale. SPE320, 160 p., ISBN 0-8137-2320-5, $69.00, Member price $55.20 Volumes are 8-1/2" x 11". Prices include ordinary shipping and handling. 1-800-472-1988 www.geosociety.org Publication Sales, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301, 303-447-2020, fax 303-447-1133 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING continued from p. 35

HYDROGEOLOGY / SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY Aleutian arc volcanoes, conducts daily satellite surveil- EOS at Duke includes 14 full-time faculty, 3 faculty with TOWSON UNIVERSITY lance of the entire arc, investigates magmatic processs secondary appointments from other units, and 3 research Towson University in Towson, Maryland, seeks to fill an relevant to volcanic hazards within the arc, and maintains scientists. Research and educational programs of EOS entry-level tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor close ties with volcanologists in Kamchatka and Japan. cover a broad spectrum of subdisciplines in geology, level in Hydrogeology/Sedimentary Geology to begin Fall The appointee will, through participation in the AVO team marine geology, hydrology, and oceanography. Support- 1998. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong and through independent research efforts, seek to ing facilities at Duke include a wide range of computer commitment to undergraduate teaching in a metropolitan develop a more rigorous quantitative understanding of the hardware and software, analytical equipment, laborato- area. Towson's geology program is a concentration in the coupled physical, chemical, and thermal processes that ries, and research vessels. We look forward to receiving Geosciences major and is housed within the Physics comprise volcanism. Research facilities at UAF include applications from qualified applicants who will enhance Department. theSeismology Laboratory, electron microprobe facility, the existing strengths of EOS and NSOE in these areas. In addition to upper-level undergraduate courses in the remote sensing data archives and computer resources Please see our web site at http://www.geo.duke.edu for Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, Hydrogeology, and Sedi- of the Alaska Synthetic Aperture Radar Facility, the additional information. mentary Petrology, this faculty member should be able to Alaska Data Visualization and Analysis Laboratory, and The successful candidate will hold a Ph.D. degree and develop and teach new courses to help expand Towson's the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. New scientific will be expected to develop a vigorous research program Geosciences program and support the Environmental Sci- opportunities will develop as the International Arctic in his or her specialty as well as being committed to both ences major. Responsibilities will inlcude teaching intro- Research Center, currently under construction adjacent to undergraduate and graduate teaching, including B.S., ductory Physical and Historical Geology on a rotational the Geophysical Institute, begins operations in 1998. M.S., and Ph.D. level geology degree candidates. The basis and supervising undergraduate research. A viable Please send a letter of application, resume, statement of position is broadly defined in terms of specialty and could research program and teaching experience are desirable. research and teaching interests and experience, and include outstanding individuals with innovative Interested persons should send curriculum vitae, state- names, addresses and phone numbers of three refer- approaches to stratigraphy, sedimentation, sedimentary ment of teaching philosophy, and names of three references by March 1, 1998 to: Dr. John C. Eichelberger, petrography, basin analysis, etc. We especially encourage ences to: Dr. Rachel Burks, Chair of Geology Search Chair, Volcanology Search Committee, Geophysical Insti- applications from candidates who use the sedimentary Committee, Physics Department, Towson University, Tow- tute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, P.O. Box 757320, record in investigations of global change and tectonics. son, MD 21252. Applications must be received by March Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320. Phone: 907-474-5530; fax: Send vitae and names of 3 references to: Chair of the 2, 1998. A Ph.D. is required at time of appointment. 907-474-7290; e-mail [email protected]. Search Committee, Division of Earth & Ocean Sciences, Towson University is an equal opportunity/affirmative The University of Alaska is an equal opportunity/affir- Box 90230, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0230. All action employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. mative action employer and educational institution. Women applications received by March 1, 1998, will be guaran- Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans and minorities are encouraged to apply. Your application teed consideration. Duke University is an Equal Opportu- are encouraged to apply. for employment with the University of Alaska is subject to nity/ Affirmative Action Employer. public disclosure under the Alaska Public Records Act. SCHOOL OF EARTH AND OCEAN SCIENCES DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNCATION (NSF) Applications are invited for two tenure-track faculty posi- DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES NSF's Division of Earth Sciences is seeking qualified candi- tions in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Rank is UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST dates for an Associate Program Director or Program Direc- open, but strong preference will be given to appointments The Department of Geosciences at the University of Mas- tor in our Tectonic Program. This position is excepted from at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in the follow- sachusetts in Amherst invites applications for a tenure-track the competitive Civil Service and may be filled either on a 1- ing fields: a) tectonics-structural geology; b) chemical position at the Assistant Professor level in the broad areas to 2- year Visiting Scientist/Temporary basis or under the oceanography or low temperature geochemistry (new of structural geology, tectonics, and geodynamics. This per- provisions assignment of the Intergovernmental Personnel laser-ICP-MS facility available); c) global climate, atmo- son will augment the exisitng structural geology program. Act (IPA). IPA applicants must be permanent, career spheric or related biogeochemical science. Close interac- Areas of particular interest include neotectonics, fracture employees of eligible organizations for at least 90 days tions are fostered with nearby government laboratories of analysis, seismology and planetary structural geology, but prior to entering into a mobility assignment agreement with the Geological Survey of Canada Pacific; B.C. Geological all related fields will be considered. The ability to intereact NSF. Reimbursement of salary and other related costs are Survey; Canadian Climate Centre; and Institute of Ocean with other programs in the Department such as hydrogeol- negotiated between NSF and the individual's institution. Sciences. Applicants should have an interest in research ogy, geophysics, Quaternary geology, or petrology is Current annual salary for the position ranges from: and teaching aspects of earth system science. essential. Appointee will be expected to establish a funded Associate Program Director— $54,629 to $86,059; Pro- Qualifications include the completion of a Ph.D. and research program. Teaching duties will include undergradu- gram Director— $64,555 to $100,611. demonstrated strong research and teaching potential. ate and graduate courses within structural geology - field Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience Duties will include teaching at undergraduate and gradu- geology - tectonics program, occasional courses in general in some field of earth sciences. In addition, for the Associ- ate levels. Letters of application, clearly outlining the can- geology, and courses in the candidate's area of interest. ate Program Director, 4 years of successful research, didate's expertise, teaching experience and research Applications should include a statement of research and research administration and/or management experience interests, along with curriculum vitae and names, teaching interests, and the names, addresses, fax numbers beyond the Ph.D. and for the Program Director, 6 years of addresses, fax and e-mails of three referees should be and e-mail addresses of three or more referees. Copies of successful research, research administration and/or man- sent by February 27, 1998 to: Dr. C. R. Barnes, Director, published papers or preprints should be included. All mate- agement experience beyond the Ph.D. in an area sup- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victo- rials should be sent to: Structural Geology Search Commit- ported by the Program is required. A broad general knowl- ria, P.O. Box 3055, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P6 Canada. tee, Department of Geosciences, University of Mas- edge of earth sciences research and familiarity with the In accordance with Canadian immigration regulations, sachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-5820. Review of U.S. scientific community are desirable. this advertisement is directed to Canadian citizens and applications began in early January 1998 and will continue The Tectonics Program supports field, laboratory, theo- permanent residents. The University of Victoria is commit- until the position is filled. Further information about the retical, and computational studies of processes and kine- ted to employment equity and encourages applications Department can be found at our Web site: http:// matics accompanying deformation at plate boundaries from women, members of visible minorities, aboriginal www.geo.umass.edu. The University of Massachusetts and in plate interiors. Areas of research include structural peoples, and persons with disabilities. Web site is http://www.umass.edu. The University of Mas- geology, tectonics, geochronology, petrology, paleomag- sachusetts is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity netics, and other fields releated to understanding the tec- TENURE-POSITION — VOLCANOLOGIST Employer; women and minorities are encouraged to apply. tonic history of the lithosphere through time. UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, FAIRBANKS Interested scientists should send a resume and a letter The Geophysical Institute and the Department of Geology DIRECTOR -- ANALYTICAL LABORATORY indicating areas of interest and time frame of availability to: & Geophysics at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, invite DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences, applications for a 12-month (3/4 time research, 1/4 time INDIANA UNIVERSITY Room 785, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230. teaching), tenure-track faculty position. The level of The Department of Geological Sciences invites applica- For further information, contact Alan Gaines at (703) appointment will depend upon experience. The successful tions for a position as Director of Analytical Services. 306-1553; emai: [email protected]. Hearing-impaired indi- applicant will develop a program of externally funded Duties include the supervision of the operation and mainte- viduals should call TDD at (703) 306-0189. NSF is an research in volcanology. We seek someone with a focus nance of analytical instrumentation, including an atomic equal opportunity employer committed to employing a on the physics of magmatic processes and an interest in absorption spectrophotometer with graphite furnace, an highly qualified staff that reflects the diversity of our nation. field observations at active systems. This research pro- ICP spectrophotometer, an ion analyzer, and sulfur/carbon gram should complement existing strengths in volcanic analyzer. Additional duties will include routine and novel BIOGEOCHEMISTRY petrology, seismology, geology, and geochemistry. The methods for analyses of solids and waters. A minimum of PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY appointee will also 1) supervise graduate and undergradu- an M.S. degree in chemistry, geochemistry, or a related The Geology Department of Portland State University ate student research projects, 2) contribute to the teaching area is required. Preference will be given to Ph.D.s with seeks to fill a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in of topics such as geology, physical volcanology, and geo- research orientations. Submit a resume and a statement of the area of Biogeochemistry to begin Fall 1998. The suc- dynamics at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, analytical interests to: Dr. Edward M. Ripley, Chair of cessful candidate is expected to teach undergraduate and and 3) assist with monitoring of volcanoes and response Search Committee, Department of Geological Sciences, graduate courses and conduct a vigorous externally to eruption crises. A Ph.D in an appropriate field is Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405. Indiana Univer- funded research program, including supervision of mas- required. The appointee will be a member of the Volcanol- sity is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Employer. ter's students in geology and master's and Ph.D. students ogy Group at the Geophysical Institute, and will be in environmental sciences and resources. Primary interest expected to take an interdisciplinary approach to research SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY is in low-temperature microbialgeochemical processes in through collaboration with researchers in other disciplines, The Division of Earth & Ocean Sciences (EOS) of the geological systems. Candidates should also be interested institutions, and countries. The appointee will also serve Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in applying their knowledge and skills to the general edu- on the staff of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), a invites applications for an anticipated tenure-track position cation of all undergraduate students. We are interested in cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, UAF, in the general area of sedimentary geology to be filled at secondary areas of interest, which could include paleon- and Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Sur- the assistant professor level. The starting date will be tology, historical geology, geographical information sys- veys. AVO operates dense seismic networks on 16 active open, but we hope to fill the position by Fall 1998. tems, hydrogeology or secondary education. The new fac-

38 GSA TODAY, February 1998 Research, Award, and Internship Opportunities ulty should interface with ongoing studies in soils, weath- ering, hydrogeology, contaminant modeling, lacustrine National Research Council Associateship Programs and estuarine processes. The Ph.D. is required by the The National Research Council announces the 1998 Postdoctoral and Senior date of hire. A detailed resume including two letters of Research Associateship Programs to be conducted on behalf of over 120 research labora- professional references and a statement of research and teaching interests must be received by March 1, 1998. tories throughout the United States representing nearly all U.S. government agencies Address the Biogeochemistry Search Committee; Geology with research facilities. The programs provide opportunities for Ph.D. scientists and engi- Department; Portland State University; Portland, Oregon neers of unusual promise and ability to perform research on problems largely of their 97207-0751. Fax (503) 725-3025. E-mail [email protected]. pdx.edu. The Geology Department home page is http:// own choosing yet compatible with the research interests of the sponsoring laboratory. www.geol.pdx.edu. Portland State University is an equal Approximately 350 new full-time Associateships will be awarded on a competitive opportunity/ affirmative action employer and the Geology basis in 1998 for research in: chemistry; earth and atmospheric sciences; engineering, Department is committed to diversifying its faculty. applied sciences and computer science; life, medical, and behavioral sciences; mathematics; SOIL / ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENTIST space and planetary sciences; and physics. Most of the programs are open to both U.S. STANFORD UNIVERSITY and non-U.S. nationals, and to both recent doctoral recipients and senior investigators. The Department of Geological and Environmental Sci- ences at Stanford University invites applications for a Awards are made for one or two years, renewable for a maximum of three years; tenure-track assistant professorship in soil/environmental senior applicants who have held the doctorate at least five years may request shorter geosciences. This new position is intended to complement periods. Annual stipends for recent Ph.D.’s for the 1998 program year range from our growing research and teaching programs, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, in environmental geo- $30,000 to $47,000 depending upon the sponsoring laboratory, and will be appropri- science. Research specialities may include but are not ately higher for senior award recipients. limited to geochemical and biogeochemical studies of Applications submitted directly to the National Research Council are accepted on a soils, both modern and ancient, aqueous/groundwater geochemistry, mineral/soil-water interactions, and geo- continuous basis throughout the year. Those postmarked no later than April 15 will chemical cycling and modeling. be reviewed in June, and by August 15 in October. Priority will be given to those applications received by Information on specific research opportunities and participating federal laborato- March 16, 1998. Applicants must have a Ph.D. degree at the time of appointment. This appointment must be made ries, as well as application materials, may be obtained from the National Research Coun- at the assistant professor level. Please send a letter of cil, Associateship Programs (TJ 2114/D3), 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, interest, a statement of teaching and research objectives DC 20418, fax 202-334-2759, [email protected], http://www.nas.edu/rap/welcome.html. and accomplishments, a curriculum vitae, a publication list, and the names and addresses of three potential rec- ommenders to: Professor Gordon E. Brown, Jr., Depart- ment of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2115. the Rocky Mountain region. In addition, grants as large as College Station, TX. A shipboard scientist application form Stanford University has a strong institutional commit- $1000 are awarded for engineering geology research and leg descriptions are included in the JOI/USSAC ment to the principle of diversity. In that spirit, we particu- (with no restriction on the geographic area of interest), Ocean Drilling Fellowship application packet. larly encourage applications from women, members of and one grant as large as $1000 is offered for studies of Both one-year and two-year fellowships are available. ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities. the Heart Mountain Fault in northwest Wyoming. Inter- The award is $22,000 per year to be used for stipend, ested students can obtain applications forms and grant tuition, benefits, research costs and incidental travel, if information directly from the Society website at http://rain- any. Research may be directed towards objectives of a bow.rmi.net/~css/ or by mail from the Chair of the Memo- specific leg or to broader themes. For more information Services & Supplies rial Fund Funds Committee, Colorado Scientific Society, and to receive an application packet contact: JOI/USSAC P.O. Box 150495, Lakewood, CO 80215. Deadline for Ocean Drilling Fellowship Program, Joint Oceanographic LEATHER FIELD CASES. Free brochure, SHERER applications is April 3, 1998. Institutions, Inc. 1755 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite CUSTOM SADDLES, INC., P.O. Box 385, Dept. GN, 800, Washington, DC 20036-2102 (Andrea Johnson; Tel: Franktown, CO 80116. Graduate Research Assistantships in Exploration 202-232-3900, ext. 213; email: [email protected]). Geophysics. Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, seeks graduate research assistants (M.S. and NASA Planetary Biology Internships. The Marine Bio- Opportunities for Students Ph.D.) starting August 1998. Qualified students will be logical Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, invites involved in geophysical projects that are closely related to applications from graduate students and seniors accepted Teaching Assistantships. Geology Department at Cali- hydrocarbon exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. More to graduate programs for awards of $2200 plus travel to fornia State University has teaching assistantships avail- specifically, they will be involved in one or all of the follow- participate in research at NASA centers and collaborating able for students wishing to pursue an M.S. in geology. ing research areas: (1) salt tectonics, (2) numerical model- institutions for approximately 8 weeks. Typical intern pro- Appointment carries tuition waiver and $10,000 salary for ing/inversion of gravity and heat flow, and (3) processing grams include: global ecology, remote sensing, microbial academic year. Department strengths are in the areas of and interpretation of seismic-reflection data. Students with ecology, biomineralization, and origin and early evolution sedimentary geology, structural geology, and environmen- strong background in geophysics, geology, petroleum of life. Application deadline: 2 March 1998. For informa- tal geology. Bakersfield is located in the heart of Califor- engineering, physics, and mathematics are encouraged to tion/applications, contact: Michael Dolan, Planetary Biol- nia's petroleum and agricultural areas, and abundant apply. It is desirable that applicants have some familiarity ogy Internship, Department of Biology, Box 3-5810, Uni- opportunities exist for industry-supported thesis projects. with the UNIX computation environment. A variety of ana- versity of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-5810. For additional information and application materials con- lytical software such as MATLAB, GeoQuest (IESX and Email: [email protected]. Tel (413) 545-3223. An Equal tact: Robert Horton, Graduate Coordinator, Department of CPS-3), GeoDept, ARC/INFO, ArcView, and GMT runs on Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Geology, California State University, Bakersfield, CA Sun workstations of the department. 93311-1099. (805) 664-3059 or visit the department's web Application deadline is March 1, 1998. Individuals The Southwest Earth Studies Program. A NSF-spon- site at http://www.geol.csubak.edu/Geology/. wishing more information about the research projects sored Research Program in Philosophy and the Earth Sci- should write to Dr. Seiichi Nagihara, Department of Geo- ences. June 15 to August 8, 1998, Durango, Colorado. Traveling Fellowship: Interdisciplinary Research Train- sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204- Southwest Earth Studies is a research program into the ing Group (RTG) in ecology, geology, archeology, geogra- 5503; e-mail: [email protected]. nature of knowledge. The program consists of two profes- phy, and soils. Graduate students are invited to Minnesota sors and ten students, five each from the earth sciences for up to 3 months to enhance training in "Paleorecords of JOI/USSAC Ocean Drilling Fellowships. JOI/U.S. Sci- and philosophy. Students explore the philosophic implica- Global Change." Stipend (provided for citizens, nationals ence Advisory Committee is seeking Ph.D. and M.S. tions of scientific issues, and investigate the role that sci- or permanent residents of the U.S.), travel and living degree candidates of unusual promise and ability who are entific information can play in philosophic and public policy allowance, and tuition. Application deadline April 1 (for enrolled at U.S. institutions to conduct research compati- debates. These themes are developed through an exami- travel July 1 — December 31) and October 1 (for travel ble with that of the Ocean Drilling Program. April 15, 1998, nation of the issues surrounding acid mine drainage in the January 1 — June 30). For application contact RTG, Uni- is the next fellowship application deadline for both ship- San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. Qualified versity of Minnesota, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, board and shorebased research proposals. Shipboard applicants receive: tuition and fees, room and board; 3 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108. Phone research is related to future ODP legs on which students hours credit in environmental studies; $1000 stipend. Pre- 612/624-4238; fax 612/624-6777; e-mail: julso001@tc. wish to sail as scientists. Shorebased research may be requisites: Junior or Senior standing w/GPA of 3.3 or umn.edu; web: http://lrc.geo.umn.edu/RTG/. An Equal directed towards broad themes or the objectives of a spe- higher; background in the earth sciences and in philoso- Opportunity Educator and Employer. cific DSDP or ODP leg — past, present, or future. phy. Send college transcripts, resume, two letters of rec- Shipboard proposals submitted for the upcoming April ommendation from professors, a 500-word statement Research Grants Available. The Colorado Scientific 15 deadline should be based on the following ODP legs: explaining your interest in this program, and a telephone Society invites graduate students to apply for research Leg 182 Great Australian Bight, Leg 183 Kerguelen number, to: Robert Frodeman, Director, Southwest Earth grants, to be awarded in early May 1998. Applicants must Plateau, Leg 184 East Asia Monsoon, Leg 185 Izu-Mari- Studies Program, University of Tennessee, 615 McCallie, be enrolled in a Master’s or Ph.D. program at an accred- ana, and Leg 186, W. Pacific Seismic Net/Japan Trench, Chattanooga, TN 37403. ited college or university. Approximately eight grants rang- and Leg 187 Australia-Antarctic Discordance. Fellow can- For additional information: http://www.utc.edu/~ses. ing from $500 to $1200 will be awarded for field-oriented didates wishing to participate as shipboard scientists must Application deadline is March 16, 1998. research on the geology, geochemistry, and geophysics of also apply to the ODP Manager of Science Operations in

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