geoz 51 July 2012

NEWSBREAKERS

CERN announces Higgs discovery

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have found a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson. The particle, postulated by Professor Peter Higg in 1964, is thought to be the key to origin of mass in matter. More detailed studies are now required to confirm the discovery and establish the particle's properties.

http://bit.ly/OmSQAO

Professor Iain Stewart to tour Australia

Professor Iain Stewart, the well known Scottish Professor of Geoscience Communication and television and radio documentary presenter, is coming to Australia for the 34th IGC. The recent screenings of the television series How Earth Made Us and How to Grow a Planet have proved popular with the public and to make the most of this the AusIMM, in collaboration with other Australian Geoscience Council member societies, has organised a series of public lectures across Australia.

Professor Stewart will present a free public lecture in Brisbane at the 34th IGC. It will be held in the Great Halls at the Brisbane Convention Centre Tuesday 7th August, 6.30 - 7.30 pm. Details can be found on the IGC website: http://www.34igc.org/.

The presentations organised by the AusIMM outside of Brisbane are:
• Sydney - 26th July: contact Ian Neuss (AIG NSW) - ian.neuss@bigpond.com
• Perth - 30th July: contact Michele Pigott (AIG WA Branch) - Michele.pigott1@gmail.com
• Townsville - 11th August:
contact Brigette Hendersonhall (Nth Qld AusIMM) - bdhendersonhall@optusnet.com.au
or Kaylene Camuti (AIG Qld Branch) - education@aig.org.au
• Cairns - 13th August: contact Rob Ryan (Far Nth Qld AusIMM) - grra1@bigpond.com

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: Third Tuesday of each month (Except January)
Jaeger Lecture Theatre, Jaeger Building (Building 61), Australian National University For more information: diane.jorgensen@ga.gov.au

New South Wales

Friday 13th July 2012
Associate Professor José Brilha, University of Minho (Portugal)
Challenges in Geoconservation - towards Science, Education and Geotourism
Education Seminar Room 325, Faculty of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney
Contact ian.percival@industry.nsw.gov.au for details.
Download the flyer here.

Queensland

2012 meeting dates to be advised
For more information: info@qld.gsa.org.au

South Australia

Thursday 19th July 2012
Associate Professor José Brilha, University of Minho (Portugal)
Challenges in Geoconservation - towards Science, Education and Geotourism
Mawson Theatre, University of Adelaide. 5.30 pm for 6.15 pm
Contact apetts@flindersmines.com.au for details.
Download the flyer here.

Thursday 23rd August 2012
GSA SA Division Annual Dinner and medal presentations
For more information: jim.jago@unisa.edu.au

Tasmania

2012 meeting dates to be advised
For more information: mduffett@mrt.tas.gov.au

December 2012
Tasmanian Geoscience Forum (jointly with AusIMM)
Strahan Village
For more information: mduffett@mrt.tas.gov.au

Victoria

Thursday 12th July 2012 in conjunction with the Royal Society of Victoria
Guy Holdgate gives the Annual A.W. Howitt Lecture
The Port Phillip Bay Story
For more information: secretary@vic.gsa.org.au

Thursday 26th July 2012
Nicole Cox
Title to be advised
For more information: secretary@vic.gsa.org.au

Western Australia

Regular meetings: First Wednesday of each month (except December and January)
Irish Club of WA, 61 Townshend Road, Subiaco, 5.30pm
For more information: info@wa.gsa.org.au

GSA EVENTS

The 34^thIGC - the largest geological event to be held in Australia!

This will be a truly global event, with more than 5,000 delegates expected from over 112 countries. Particularly large contingents are expected from China, Russia and Brazil. There will also be a contingent of delegates from across Africa supported by AusAID.

Important dates:
Standard congress registrations close July 15 and the late registration rate commences.
http://bit.ly/MJSC3B
Facebook link: http://on.fb.me/IxhFGK

Day registration for the IGC is now available. A discount applies for GSA members.
See http://bit.ly/mRHsZ0 for details.

GSA supports the AIG survey. You should too!

The AIG is currently conducting a survey of geoscientist employment in Australia. It is the latest in a series that have been conducted every six months since 2008. These surveys, shared with all interested parties, have provided valuable data that was used by AIG in conjunction with other industry groups to track the impact of the downturn in exploration and mining geoscience employment, and the subsequent recovery of employment as economic conditions improved.
The GSA encourages you to participate.
Just follow this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/222RFG7.

GSA membership

Membership with the GSA has many rewards and benefits. Is your membership current?
If in doubt, please contact the GSA office: info@gsa.org.au.

National Rock Garden newsletter now available

The National Rock Garden, launched at the 2010 Australian Earth Sciences Convention in Canberra, will have up to 100 large specimens of the country's most iconic rocks. Each specimen will weigh approximately 10–15 tonnes. To find out how you can contribute follow this link:
NationalRockGarden.pdf

To download the latest National Rock Garden newsletter just click this link.

If you would like to join the Friends of the National Rock Garden and receive newsletters and information directly by email please send a request to rockgarden@gsa.org.au

Image courtesy of Doug Finlayson

IN THE NEWS

No bones about it

A new study into the fine structure of dinosaur bone and modern mammal bone has revealed that the so called seasonal lag structures thought to indicate ectothermic physiology in some dinosaurs are also present in many modern mammals. This means that lag structures are of no use in discriminating ectotherms from endotherms and any dinosaurs labelled ectotherms on the basis of their bone structure will need to be reassessed.
News: http://bbc.in/MwTKIS
Abstract: http://bit.ly/Mq1TRN

Frozen poo gathers the moss

Ancient frozen penguin poo has been shown to be the modern food source for six different species of moss that live on the islands of East Antarctica. No penguins live on this site now but the moss beds are growing on the site of an Adelie penguin colony occupied 3,000 to 8,000 years ago.
http://bbc.in/O6TZc9

ON THE WEB

Seismometers in School

Why not put your local school on the global seismometer network? The Australian Seismometers in Schools program is a four-year project(2011-2014) funded by the Geophysical Education Observatory component of AuScope Australian Geophysical Observing System (AGOS) funded by the DIISRTE, under the Education Infrastructure Scheme.
The seismometer network will be complemented by an educational website allowing real time access by students to earthquake recordings from both local and global earthquakes. The portal will be designed to align with Australian educational syllabi at multiple teaching levels.
http://www.ausis.edu.au/

Seismic recording made at Melrose High School, Canberra, during the Canberra Quake of 20th April 2012.

Image courtesy of SIS.

A good reason to visit Canberra

Geoscience Australia celebrates National Science Week on Sunday, 19 August 2012 from 10am to 4pm with an Open Day that offers a diverse program of activities that showcase Geoscience Australia's wide range of work in the fields of petroleum, mineral, marine mapping, groundwater and natural-hazard research.
hhttp://bit.ly/roFtSI
Download brochure here.

IN THE MEDIA

The next best thing to being there

Mars as never seen before: NASA has released a panorama of 817 images taken from the Mars Exploration Rover. It shows the terrain that surrounded the rover while it was stationary for four months during the most recent Martian winter.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.
http://1.usa.gov/N0N5Z1

Biggest impact ever?

A three billion year old impact crater that was once 25 kilometres deep and 600 kilometres wide has been found in Greenland although the remains of it is only about 100 kilometres wide.
Research paper: http://bit.ly/LixMaZ
Media report: http://bit.ly/LVJZDq

AusIMM Bicentennial Gold Endowment 2013

The 2013 AusIMM Bicentennial Gold Education Endowment Fund is now open for applications. The Endowment was established from funds remaining from a successful gold conference in 1988. The Endowment is made annually, for the advancement of education and research in Earth Sciences to benefit Economic Geology in Australia. Prizes are awarded through a university to senior university students or researchers for:
•Scholarships for study and/or research in Australia in:
- Economic Geology
- Mineral Economics
•Technical Visits:
- Travel to conferences to deliver papers on aspects of Economic Geology in Australia
•Software development as applied to Economic Geology
•Environmental Geoscience as applied to the Exploration / Mining Industry

Those wishing to apply for an award under this Endowment should submit in writing a detailed proposal and justification for the financial support via email to:
The Director
Bicentennial Gold 88 Endowment
eef@ausimm.com.au
Applications close on Friday 28 September 2012
http://bit.ly/LEpr6A

What's in AJES

The Australian Journal of Earth Sciences online is available through the Taylor & Francis' website: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/taje20. It is very easy to navigate and use.

Volume 59 Issue No.5 Archean ore systems

Editors: Kevin Cassidy, Jon Hronsky and Stephen Wyche

S. Barnes, M. Van Kranendonk and I. Sonntag
Geochemical affinity and tectonic setting of basalts from the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Yilgarn Craton.

P. Duuring, W. Bleeker, S. W. Beresford, M. L. Fiorentini and N. M. Rosengren
Structural evolution of the Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt, Eastern Goldfields, Yilgarn Craton and implications for komatiite-hosted Ni sulfide exploration.

D. Mole, M. Fiorentini, N. Thebaud, C. McCuaig, K. Cassidy, C. Kirkland, M. Wingate, S. Romano, M. Doublier and E. Belousova
Spatio-temporal constraints on lithospheric development in the southwest-central Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia.

M. J. Pawley, M. T. D. Wingate, C. L. Kirkland, S. Wyche, C. E. Hall, S. S. Romano and M. P. Doublier
Adding pieces to the puzzle: episodic crustal growth and a new terrane in the northeast Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia.

N. Said, R. Kerrich, K. Cassidy and D. Champion
Characteristics and geodynamic setting of the 2.7 Ga Yilgarn heterogeneous plume and its interaction with continental lithosphere: Evidence from komatiitic-basalt and basalt geochemistry of the Eastern Yilgarn Craton.

N. Thebaud and S. Barnes
Geochemistry of komatiites in the Southern Cross Belt, Youanmi Terrane, Western Australia.

S. Wyche, C. L. Kirkland, A. Riganti, M. J. Pawley, E. Belousova and M. T. D. Wingate
Isotopic constraints on stratigraphy in the central and eastern Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia.

D. Wyman
Geochemical and Isotopic Characteristics of Youanmi Terrane Volcanism: The Role of Mantle Plumes and Subduction Tectonics in the western Yilgarn Craton.

I. Zibra
Syndeformational granite crystallisation along the Mount Magnet Greenstone Belt, Yilgarn Craton: evidence of large-scale magma-driven strain localization during Neoarchean times.

Coming up in TAG

September TAG deadline looms

The September TAG is well underway and the deadline for submissions is July 30! Highlights coming up include a discussion about the impact of the American geologist James Dwight Dana (it's the bicentenary of his birth next year), the latest GSA Award recipients and more. TAG publishes member contributions, so start writing but get it in before you head off to the IGC.

Follow the TAG link to submit material for 2012 editions or to find out more:
http://gsa.junctionworld.com/publications/tag.html or email tag@gsa.org.au

WHAT'S ON

DEADLINES:

34th IGC standard registration open until 15 July

Standard registration fees now apply. Late fees apply after 15 July
http://bit.ly/mRHsZ0

MoonBots 2012 Challenge Open for Registration until 15 July

but you need to have Phase One ready by then too!
http://bit.ly/KNgGnJ

Top performing students could earn a spot at the Australian Science Olympiad Summer School
http://bit.ly/JMqDld

Deadline for feedback on Earth and Environmental Science curriculum is 20 July
The same deadline applies for the other science and mathematics!

The more feedback the better!
http://bit.ly/luz9ot

NT Minerals summit – Early bird registration open until 29 July

The Last Frontier
http://bit.ly/IlGCIo

The Australian Innovation Challenge: Entries close 12 August

The Last Frontier
http://bit.ly/noGvfS

The seventh conference on Mine Closure, Brisbane, 25 – 27 September 2012

Early Bird registration closes 13 August 2012
http://bit.ly/KzuK6r

Geologi Short Film Competition 2012
enter a short film, up to three minutes long, which relates to Geoscience or Earth Science and people.

Entries close 24 August 2012
http://bit.ly/iLm1md

Top GeoShot 2012
Geoscience Australia's photo competition

Entries close 22 September 2012
http://bit.ly/L1Savk

The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Education Endowment Fund
Bicentennial Gold 88 Endowment 2013

Applications close Friday 28 September 2012
http://bit.ly/nxYtm2

EVENTS:

Central Australian Basin Symposium, Alice Springs, 16 – 17 July 2012

Petroleum potential: Conventional and Unconventional
http://bit.ly/uhkSJt

GeoParks in Australia, Melbourne, 27 July 2012

A way forward for Australia
Contact Joane McKnight for details

6th Biennial Sensitive High Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP) Workshop, Brisbane, 1-4 August 2012

Third Circular now available for download
http://bit.ly/oQQP1P

34th International Geological Congress, Brisbane, 5–10 August 2012

Unearthing our Past and Future
http://bit.ly/tdSlQY

Asian Current Research on Fluid Inclusions (ACROFI), Brisbane, 11–12 August 2012

Stay on after the IGC!
http://bit.ly/LDemgY

Open Day at Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 19 August 2012

Geoscience Australia celebrates National Science Week
http://bit.ly/roFtSI

ACG Open Pit Mining Seminar Series, Perth, 22 – 24 August 2012

Ground Support in Mining (Introduction) Short Course
http://bit.ly/Ide0Pc

AMEC summit, Perth, 4–6 September 2012

http://www.amecconvention.com.au/

NT Minerals summit, Darwin, 11 – 13 September 2012

The Last Frontier – Capitalising on Mining, Exploration and Career Opportunities in the Northern Territory
http://bit.ly/IlGCIo