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NEWSBREAKERSDoes Plate Tectonics facilitate a deep-Earth water cycle?A new study into hydrous mantle minerals suggests mantle convection and Plate Tectonics may regulate the amount of water in the oceans through a deep-Earth water cycle that involves Ringwoodite and other silicate intermediaries such as garnet. The work, as yet unpublished but submitted for peer review, will vastly expand the timeline for Earth's water cycle and provide an alternative or at least parallel explanation for the origin of Earth's water if proven correct. We expect to see a lot more of this debate in the coming year. New drill core library for South AustraliaA new $32.2 million Drill Core Reference Library is under construction in Tonsley, South Australia. The new facility, scheduled to open early 2016, will be home to one of the world's best ore deposits reference collections, a Data Metallogenica room and a palaeontology area to house the State's fossil collection. FROM THE DIVISIONS
Divisional information is regularly updated at http://gsa.junctionworld.com/events/divisionmeetings.html Australian Capital TerritoryRegular meetings 2015: Third Tuesday of each month (Except January) New South Wales2015 meeting dates to be advised QueenslandQueensland Division launches a new App: a self-guided walking tour through the heart of Brisbane featuring the use of building stones from the early days of European settlement to the modern expansion of Australia's third largest City. Download it here. 2015 meeting dates to be advised Every Wednesday evening: GeoPub South AustraliaSunday 22nd February 2015 Tasmania2015 meeting dates to be advised Victoria2015 meeting dates to be advised Western AustraliaRegular meetings: First Wednesday of each month (except December and
January) GSA EVENTSGSA membership renewals for 20152015 Member renewals have been posted to all members. If you didn't receive your membership renewal and book sale information please contact the GSA office. Want to join the GSA but don't know how to do this? Working reduced hours or retrenched during the downturn? If you are a GSA member of five years of more and have been retrenched in the downturn please contact the GSA as you will be eligible for membership assistance Membership fees for unemployed members receiving AJES (online or hardcopy) are reduced to $25.00 for 2015 and will be waived for these unemployed members not receiving AJES. You can contact us and we can assist you with your GSA membership, by email info@gsa.org.au or phone (02) 9290 2194. GSA Membership is from the 1st January to the 31st December .National Rock Garden: Federation display completeDespite extensive publicity the rock stolen from the Victorian display last year has not been recovered. Happily however, a larger (gold-free) specimen sourced from Ballarat has joined the Bendigo specimens to restore the Victorian display. With the final addition of an explanatory plaque for the Western Australian specimens the Federation Rocks display is now complete. You can read more about the National Rock Garden (NRG) in the latest NRG newsletter available here. Geotourism Standing Committee and Geotourism definedThe GSA is pleased to advise that the Geotourism sub-committee became the Geotourism Standing Committee in late 2014. If you want to contact members of the Geotourism Standing Committee, please use this link: http://gsa.junctionworld.com/heritage/Geotourism.html Recently the GSA Governing Council also approved the definition of the Geotourism, as follows: Specialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology.Riding the Wave: A conference to showcase current research and ideas in Structural Geology and Tectonics 22-27 November 2015 Pre-conference field trip: 14-21 November 2015 Post-conference field trip: 28-29 November 2015 Key dates: Download the second circular here. For queries and expressions of interest contact: New AAP Memoir available now!Memoir 46: Ordovician (Darriwilian-early Katian) trilobite faunas of northwestern Tarim, Xinjiang, China IN THE NEWSNew island emerges in TongaOngoing volcanism at a shallow water vent in Tonga has seen the emergence of a new, as yet, unnamed island. Naming rights for the island, assuming it persists, fall to Tonga's king but the island is expected to disappear soon after the eruption ceases. Speaking of volcanoes ... Italy's Mount Etna continues to put on a show. Ongoing eruptions in Iceland. Ongoing eruptions from Kilauea still threaten Pahoa. Indian landslide raises flood fearsA recent landslide in northern India has blocked the Tsarap River. There are fears the resultant 60m high earthen dam will fail catastrophically and cause widespread damage downstream. ON THE WEBCrowd funding for Aussie meteorite hunt soughtA group of Australian researchers are seeking modest support to continue their ongoing quest for meteorites from the Nullarbor plain. Follow the link if you would like to know more and possibly help crowd fund this project. Google Street View goes inside a rock shop!You can now browse the beautiful display cabinets in Dave's Down to Earth rock shop, Evanston (Chicago) USA, just by wandering down the street using Google Street View. We assume Dave is OK with this! Jurassic Park missed the snakes!New research has uncovered snake fossils that extend the record backwards from the Upper Cretaceous to the Middle Jurassic. IN THE MEDIAMeteorite records early magnetic behaviour in solar system bodiesIn the early Solar System small planetary bodies were hot enough to segregate into a liquid metal core surrounded by rocky mantle. As the objects cooled the motions of liquid iron-nickel core generated a magnetic field that has been preserved in pallasite meteorites. National Rock Garden a focus for Olympiad students
Mars: The field trip continued ...Drill sample on its way!
http://tinyurl.com/o39vrf9 Software update worked well - Sol 867 Work virtually on Mars Beagle 2 found on Mars, probably intact More news from the solar system ... What's in AJESThe Australian Journal of Earth Sciences online is available through the Taylor & Francis website. It is very easy to navigate and use. AJES is available to financial members of the GSA. Don't miss the next issue because your membership has lapsed! Volume 62 No.1Published on-line and soon to be mailed to subscribers D. H. Moore, P. G. Betts and M. Hall N. Stokes, C. L. Fergusson and R. Offler K. Lane, E. Jagodzinski, A. Reid, M. Hand and R. Dutch E. Swierczek, G. Backe, S. P. Holford, E. Thentorey and A. Mitchell G. R. Holdgate and R. H. Grapes D. I. Cendón, C. E. Hughes, J. J. Harrison, S. I. Hankin, M. P. Johansen, T. E. Payne, H. Wong, B. Rowling, M. Vine, K. Wilsher, A. Guinea and S. Thiruvoth Other papers published on-line recentlyI. Jones and C. Verdel Follow this link to see the most recent papers published on-line. Coming up in TAGTAG for March 2015The March TAG is in production and the copy deadline has passed. We want to share your local news and report on what matters to the geoscience community. The copy deadline for the June 2015 issue is 20 April 2015 If you are submitting a Feature or Special Report please send your article in as soon as possible and if you need information about word lengths and submitting contact: tag@gsa.org.au JOB VACANCIESAdvertising space now availableAdvertising positions are now available in Geoz. Be the first to advertise here. WHAT'S ON
GNSS futures - have your say Questionnaire: open now The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) and the University of Melbourne are conducting research on Initiating the Development of a Test Facility for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Positioning Validation. Call for Papers - Abstract deadline 2 March 2015 Design Methods in Underground Mining:
Geoscience Australia Public Talk, Canberra, 11am, 11 February 2015 Australian Groundwater Modelling School, Adelaide, 23 – 26 February 2015 An introduction to porphyry Cu-Au exploration, Orange NSW, 27 February – 5 March 2015 Download flyer here IOCG Deposits: The Cloncurry Experience, Cloncurry Nth QLD, 4 – 6 March 2015 2D/3D slope stability analysis for open pit mines short course, Perth, 6 March 2015 Follow this link for the flyer Emerging Technologies in Waste Management Seminar Series, Perth, 9 – 13 March 2015 Petroleum Economics Risk & Fiscal Analysis, Perth, 9 – 11 March 2015 Follow this link for the flyer Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference, Perth, 11 – 13 March 2015 Locate 15, Brisbane, 10 – 12 March 2015 2015 Australian Groundwater School and Field Trip, Adelaide, 16 – 20 March 2015 AGES, Alice Springs, 17 – 18 March 2015 Big Data, Inspiring Information and Strategic Knowledge, Perth, 23 March 2015 Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE Deposits, Perth, 26 March 2015 The Yilgarn, Perth, 30 – 31 March 2015 Introduction to Groundwater: Principles and Practices, Melbourne, 15 – 17 April 2015 Open Pit Slope Stability and Ground Support Seminar and associated courses, Brisbane, 14 – 17 April 2015 Advanced Techniques in Mining & Exploration Geology, Townsville, 20 – 28 April 2015 CRC Association annual conference, Canberra, 25 – 27 May 2015 CONTACTSHead Office
Suite 61, 104 Bathurst Street
www.gsa.org.au |
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