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geoz 129 May 2016
NEWSBREAKERS
A 1.56-billion year old eukaryote fossil surprise
Macroscopic fossils with distinctive eukaryote features have been found in the lower Mesoproterozoic of China. This indicates multicellular life populated the marine biosphere at least a billion years before the Cambrian Explosion.
News report: http://tinyurl.com/jytwt9c
Research abstract: http://tinyurl.com/j5lk2ze
FROM THE DIVISIONS
Divisional information is regularly updated at http://gsa.junctionworld.com/events/divisionmeetings.html
Check this site for more recent information on the following events:
Australian Capital Territory
Regular meetings 2016: Third Tuesday of each month (Except January)
Jaeger Lecture Theatre, Jaeger Building (Building 61), Australian National University. 5.00pm for 5.30pm start.
For more information: patrick.carr@anu.edu.au
New South Wales
Thursday 9th June, 2016.
Dr David Och, Principal Engineering Geologist, Geotechnical Lead, Sydney Metro City & Southwest PBAJV, WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff.
Sydney Metro City & Southwest - exposing more geological unknowns
Download the flyer here.
Barbarian Room, The Rugby Club, Rugby Place (off 31 Pitt Street), Sydney. 5.30
Student Scholarships to Attend the Australian Earth Sciences Convention
Ten scholarships, each of $500, will be provided to students to help attend the AESC this June.
Requirements for Successful Application:
• The applicant must be currently enrolled as a student at any university
(or other educational institution) in NSW.
• Preference will be given to applicants presenting either a poster or oral presentation (or both)
at the convention. However, students who are not presenting may also apply but must be
currently enrolled in an earth science degree.
• If the applicant is already receiving financial assistance from a university or employer
they won't be able to apply for the scholarship.
• The applicant should be a member of the GSA. Student membership of the GSA is very cheap
and an application can be made along with the scholarship application.
How to apply:
Please email the following details to Carmen Braz at cbra4985@uni.sydney.edu.au:
• Name
• Institution
• Supervisors (or relevant contact)
• Title and abstract of talk (if not presenting, please provide a description of less than 200 words
of why you'd like to attend and why you should receive the scholarship)
• Contact details
The successful recipients will be asked to write a short article on their experience at the AESC 2016 for publication in TAG and the NSW division newsletter.
Queensland
Every Wednesday evening: GeoPub
Weekly Informal get-together for Explorers, Miners & other Geoscientists
O'Malleys Irish Pub - Basement Level, Wintergarden in the Queen Street Mall, Brisbane. 5.30 pm
South Australia
Thursday 4th June, 2016 Year: Ralph Tate Memorial Lecture
Vic Gostin
Joint meeting with the Field Geology Club of South Australia
Mawson Theatre, University of Adelaide. 7.00 pm
Thursday 21st July, 2016
GeoNight at the Pub: Discussion panel
How can we improve the AESC experience
Details TBA
Tasmania
2016 meeting dates to be advised
For more information: taryn.noble@utas.edu.au
Friday 17th June 2016
HyLogging Workshop
An exclusive 1-day workshop covering the principles and applications of hyperspectral core logging.
Proceeds from this workshop will go towards the establishment of the GSA Tasmania Student Travel Grant.
For more information contact Sean.Johnson@utas.edu.au
Victoria
Thursday 23rd June 2016: Howitt Lecture
Erin Matchan
Ar-Ar dating of volcanoes and Indigenous oral history
Royal Society lecture theatre, upstairs at 8 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, 7.00 pm - 8.00 pm
Thursday 28th July 2016
Dr Matthias Raab
CO2CRC Otway Project
Fritz Lowe Theatre, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, 5.30 pm for 6.15 pm
Geological Society of Australia, Victoria Division, Student Research Scholarships
The scholarship is valued at up to $500 for travel within Australia and $700 for travel outside
of Australia. The number of and value of the scholarships awarded each year is made at the
discretion of the GSA (Vic) committee. Funding will not be granted retrospectively and applicants are asked to submit forms no later
than 6 weeks prior to their trip to give the committee time to consider the application.
Follow this link for more information and the application form.
Western Australia
Wednesday 1st June 2016
Professor Kliti Grice, Curtin University
The evolution of life: It's preservation across ocean anoxic events (including major mass extinction events) from biomolecules and geomolecules to cellular remains
Irish Club of WA (Inc), 61 Townshend Rd, Subiaco, 5.30 pm for 6.00 pm
Friday 15th July 2016
Professor Paul Hoffman, Harvard University, Cambridge MA USA
Snowball Earth Short Course - FREE
Download the flyer here.
Curtin University Bankwest Lecture Theater, Building 200A room 220 , 9.30 am to 3.30 pm
GSA EVENTS
AESC 2016: Avoid registering late
AESC 2016: Uncover Earth's Past to Discover Our Future
AESC 2016 is the place to extend your scientific education this year, network with colleagues and build on your professional development. You can explore the program in full or sample selected symposia and program elements.
Download the convention program here.
Themes
• Earth's Environment - Past to Present
• Tectonics of the Planet
• Deep Earth Geodynamics
• Mineral Endowment
Click here for a snapshot.
• Geoscience and Society
• Earth Science for Energy
Symposia
• The 40th Anniversary of Olympic Dam Symposium
Download the draft program here.
• AUSCOPE Symposium
Download the draft program here.
• Early-Mid Career Geoscientist Symposium
Download the draft program here.
• Sprigg Symposium: Earth's Evolving Climate
Download the draft program here.
• UNCOVER Symposium: The future of under cover exploration
Download the draft program here.
Registration
The AESC 2016 registration is now open. Click here for more information.
We look forward to seeing you in Adelaide in 2016.
Key Dates
Standard registration opened: 23 April 2016
Remember: Late registration fees apply 2 weeks out from the convention
Nuclear Energy Public Forum
Join us at the AESC 2016 Public Forum
• Monday, Monday 27th June 2016
• Time: 7.00pm
• Venue: Adelaide Convention Centre
• More details: http://aesc2016.gsa.org.au/public-forum/
• Chair: Michelle Cooper (GSA Governing Council and Executive Committee)
• Moderator: Dr Paul Willis (Director, RiAus)
• Panel:
Dr Vanessa Guthrie (MD/CEO Toro Energy),
Dr Tony Irwin (Technical Director, SMR Nuclear Technology),
Professor Ian Lowe (Griffith University)
Professor Barry Brook (University of Tasmania) and
Greg Ward (Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission).
Download the Public Forum flyer here.
UNCOVER Symposium: The future of under cover exploration
Australia's economy is supported through exploitation of natural resource wealth. Discovery of new deposits has not kept pace with depletion of these resources, the end result of depletion of easily discovered near-surface deposits.
UNCOVER is an industry-academia-government cooperation intended to drive a step change in mineral exploration discovery rates at greater depth and under cover. This vision requires the coming together of groups on a scale never before attempted. This symposium will showcase some of the early work focused on undercover exploration. Download the draft program here.
Post-conference UNCOVER workshop:
UNCOVER Isotope Geology: A window into crustal evolution, fertility and the geodynamics of Earth
This workshop is focused on exploring the strengths and limitations of modern isotope geology for characterising the Australian crust and its mineral systems.
http://tinyurl.com/hk2ke5l
Field trips
The Cenozoic Willunga Basin: from Australo-Antarctic Gulf to Sprigg Orogeny, from vines and wines to shining sea.
This excursion begins with the great unconformity on the northern margin, Eocene over Cryogenian, and ends at the southern end in the deformations of the late Neogene Sprigg Orogeny. It will be punctuated by the wining and lunching for which the McLaren Vale district is well known. We will walk the coastal section illustrating: (1) the onset of tectonic modernity, in which the Australo-Antarctic Gulf was subsumed in the Southern Ocean; (2) the steps in the Eocene-Oligocene transition to environmental modernity, that is, the critical interval in the greenhouse-icehouse transition; and (3) stratigraphic parallels in sequence stratigraphy and profound environmental shifts between a neritic section at ~60oS and the global ocean
Date: Saturday 2nd July 2016
Follow the link to this field trip's guide.
Read about all the field trips and workshops here.
aesc2016.gsa.org.au
26-30 June 2016, Adelaide Convention Centre
Like us on Facebook and stay informed about the AESC.
Palaeo Down Under 2
Australasian Palaeontologists (AAP) cordially invite all palaeontologists from Australia, New Zealand and around the world to participate in Palaeo Down Under 2 (PDU2) in Adelaide on 11 - 15 July, 2016.
Provisional list of Symposia:
• Ediacaran (ISES) and Cambrian (ISCS) Meeting
• Palaeontology from New Zealand
• Dinosaurs in Australia
• Cave Palaeontology
• Latest technologies applied to Palaeontology
• Palaeontological Illustration
• Palaeontological Heritage: Protection & Promotion
• Palaeontological Collection Managing & Curation
Post-conference fieldtrip to Lake Eyre Basin, 16-23 July 2016!
This desert camping-style excursion will focus exclusively on Cenozoic rocks and fossils in the arid Lake Eyre Basin.
http://tinyurl.com/jnod8zq
Visit http://www.pdu2.org/ to find out more about the conference and the pre- and post-conference field trips and to register your expression of interest in attending.
IN THE NEWS
Large earthquake shakes the Northern Territory
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake under the southwest corner of the Northern Territory was amongst the most powerful ever recorded in Australia. It had a felt radius of over 500km and joins the 1988 6.6 magnitude Tennant Creek earthquake on the short list of Australian intraplate earthquakes that have exceeded magnitude 6.
News report: http://tinyurl.com/jocmtoy
Geoscience Australia reports: http://tinyurl.com/h7jx3lx
Pilbara rocks lower the Archaean air pressure
New research on vesicles in 2.7 billion year old lava flows suggests atmospheric pressure then was around half that of today and the atmosphere far thinner than previously thought. If correct this also means the atmosphere must have been rich in auxiliary greenhouse gases to keep the planet as warm as other data suggests.
News report: http://tinyurl.com/zlqsvu9
Research abstract: http://tinyurl.com/j3bpdsw
...speaking of Pilbara air:
Micrometeorites isolated from 2.7 billion year old Pilbara limestone contain oxidation products that suggests they were exposed to oxygen as they travelled through the upper atmosphere. This implies there was an oxygen-rich upper atmosphere in the Archaean contrary to previous notions that the upper atmosphere was oxygen-poor like the lower atmosphere at the time.
News report: http://tinyurl.com/j7xedmo
Research abstract: http://tinyurl.com/zcek2fz
ON THE WEB
Costa Rica under ash
A large eruption, the biggest in the last 6 years according to a local volcanologist, has seen ash reigning down on Costa Rica's capital city San Jose. Locals have been warned to wear masks and tight clothing and some schools were closed. Many flights were cancelled or diverted and hospitals reported an increase in patients with breathing difficulties and skin problems.
http://tinyurl.com/gvn3duf
Cryosat's swath processing gets better results
Cyrosat is the European Space Agency's orbiting platform dedicated to measuring the thickness of polar sea ice and monitoring changes in the ice sheets. A new data processing method that combines Cryosat's twin antennas in interferometric mode with swath processing reveals a line of additional elevation points. Ice sheets maps can now be produced that show more of the shape of a depression or valley, not simply the rim or ridge that surrounds it. This means ice-cap elevation and elevation changes can be mapped with an improved spatial resolution of about 500m.
http://tinyurl.com/jlo62tu
IN THE MEDIA
The NSW Minerals Council's Exceptional Young Woman in Mining Award announced
Phillipa Salm, a mining supervisor at Coal & Allied's Mount Thorley Warkworth open cut, was recently awarded the NSW Minerals Council's Exceptional Young Woman in Mining Award. Ms Salm holds a Bachelor of Mining Engineering from the University of New South Wales and grew up in the Hunter Valley. Her achievements in gaining the award include promoting the mining industry to the broader public including talking to students about career opportunities available to them in the industry.
http://tinyurl.com/hlfd5j9
Sydney's underbelly exposed
Sydney Metro is Australia's biggest public transport project. Geotechnical investigations are about to begin in May 2016 to support the Reference Design work for Sydney Metro City & Southwest with geotechnical investigations continuing out to Bankstown. Stage 2 of Sydney Metro City & Southwest project will extend metro rail from the city's northwest, under Sydney Harbour, through new stations in the CBD and southwest to Bankstown. As part of the Scoping and Definition design work essential geotechnical investigations including marine geophysical surveys (reflection, refraction, magnetics and sonar) west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and land-based investigation involving 27 boreholes have been undertaken. These boreholes were planned to target and intersect the rock formations of the Ashfield Shale, Mittagong Formation and Hawkesbury Sandstone, to assess the rock’s geomechanical properties, and in several boreholes in-situ stress tests were undertaken to measure in-situ stresses across Sydney. Inclined boreholes have also been undertaken to intersect known fault and dyke structures along the proposed Sydney Metro route.
Dr David Och, Principal Engineering Geologist, Geotechnical Lead, Sydney Metro City & Southwest PBAJV, WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff will deliver a talk on this project to the NSW Division of the GSA, Thursday June 9th at The Rugby Club - Sydney at 5.30pm, in which he will provide an insight into the drilling occurring across the Sydney Metro area and the exciting geological features unearthed.
Download the flyer here
Mars: The field trip continued ...
Nice view
Curiosity is on its way to Fracture Town, an outcrop with interesting potential. Here is one view along the way.
http://tinyurl.com/zwcf3xj
Image courtesy of: NASA/JPL-Caltech .
Second cycle of Martian seasons done
http://tinyurl.com/zoo9ovy
Flowing water on the boil on Mars
http://tinyurl.com/jk2kvyx
Martian tsunami
http://tinyurl.com/j98gwvg
Hubble snaps Mars
Image courtesy of NASA/ESA
http://tinyurl.com/je3vj2b
Funding for ExoMars uncertain
http://tinyurl.com/zpboyg4
More news from the solar system ...
Indian shuttle launched
http://tinyurl.com/j7m2yb5
Topographic map of Mercury released
http://tinyurl.com/jutowbz
Galileo 13 and 14 launched
http://tinyurl.com/zn5u7jt
Ultraviolet stars reveal Pluto's atmosphere
http://tinyurl.com/jdgpcom
Transit of Mercury well recorded
http://tinyurl.com/gtvm3ny
... and elsewhere ...
100 more Earth-like planets and counting
http://tinyurl.com/zpsonuf
What's in AJES
The 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!
Note: The publication of AJES 62/8 was delayed but is now available on-line. The print copies should arrive in the next week or so.
Volume 63 No.2
Review: T. P. Mernagh, E. N. Bastrakov, S. Jaireth, P. de Caritat, P. M. English, and J. D. A. Clarke
Australian salt lakes and associated mineral systems.
N. Kharazizadeh, W.P. Schellart, J.C. Duarte and M. Hall
The variation of crustal stretching and different modes of rifting along the Australian southern continental margin.
E. L. Matchan, E. B. Joyce, and D. Phillips
A new 40Ar/39Ar eruption age for the Mount Widderin volcano, Newer Volcanic Province, Australia, with implications for eruption frequency in the region.
J. D. Clemens and M. A. Elburg
Possible spatial variability in the Selwyn Block of central Victoria: evidence from Late Devonian felsic igneous rocks.
J. L. Awange, B. Palancz, R. Lewis, T. Lovas, B. Heck and Y. Fukuda
An algebraic solution of maximum likelihood function in case of Gaussian mixture distribution.
L. Zhou, X. Pang, L. Wu, L. Kuang, F. Jiang, H. Pang, J. Peng and R. Yu
Critical conditions for tight oil charging and delineation of effective oil source rocks in Lucaogou Formation, Jimusar Sag, Junggar Basin, northwest China.
F-L. Li and W-S. Li
Controlling factors for dawsonite diagenesis: A case study of the Binnan Region in Dongying Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China.
Follow this link to see the most recent papers published on-line.
Coming up in TAG
Have you got editorial for the September issue of TAG?
The June issue is at the printer and that means you missed inclusion of your article. You can always send your news item early and we will include in the September issue of TAG. The September deadline is 22 July. 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 VACANCIES
Advertising space now available
Advertising positions are now available in Geoz.
Word length: 40-50 words (the shorter the more effective) plus link to a web site.
Text and a small logo linking to your online advert or business.
Logo a maximum of 180 pixels wide x 90 pixels high.
Adverts will run in Geoz for two issues.
Fee: $150.00
For more information: info@gsa.org.au
WHAT'S ON
DEADLINES:
Call for Papers - Abstract deadline May 30 2016
Geotourism workshop: Ecotourism Australia's Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference
Hobart 21-23 November 2016
Fostering Innovation - Sustaining Excellence
http://tinyurl.com/zhjgw5z
EVENTS:
Contaminated Land Conference (Regional), Dubbo, 31 May 2016
Hydrothermal activity in the Eastern Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea: A natural laboratory, or the birthplace of a new industry? Newcastle, 31 May 2016
Download flyer here.
Influencing the uptake of sensor data in emergency management, Canberra, 1 June 2016
Workshop on Australia's Ni-Cu-PGE mineral potential - new data, new targets, Perth, 10 June 2016
HyLogger workshop, Hobart, 17 June 2016
For more information contact Sean.Johnson@utas.edu.au.
Download flyer here.
AESC 2016, Adelaide, 26 – 30 June 2016
Uncover Earth's Past to Discover Our Future
http://www.aesc2016.gsa.org.au.
UNCOVER Isotope Geology, Adelaide, 1 July 2016
A window into crustal evolution, fertility and the geodynamics of Earth
Move2016 Software Training, Melbourne, 5 – 15 July 2016
GSA Association of Australasian Palaeontologists, Adelaide, 11 – 15 July 2016
Palaeo Down Under 2
>Snowball Earth Short Course - FREE, Perth, 15 July 2016
Download the flyer here.
Introduction to Groundwater: Principles and Practices, Brisbane, 27 – 29 July 2016
Brownfields Exploration: Deep and Meaningful, Kalgoorlie, 30 – 31 July 2016
35th International Geological Congress, Cape Town South Africa, 24 August – 4 September 2016
5th International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation, Gold Coast, 5 – 9 September 2016
13th International Nickel-Copper-PGE Symposium, Perth, 5 – 9 September 2016
CONTACTS
Head Office
Suite 8, Level 2,
141 Peats Ferry Road
Hornsby NSW 2077
ph 02-9290 2194
fax 02-9290 2198
www.gsa.org.au
Governing Council and Executive Committee
Divisions
Specialist
Groups
The Australian Journal
of Earth Sciences (AJES)
The Australian
Geologist (TAG)
Education and Outreach
Publicity
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