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geoz 53 August 2012
NEWSBREAKERS
MARS: The field trip!
After a nail biting 7 minutes of terror for ground controllers Curiosity landed on the surface of Mars and reported all is well. After such a stunning technical achievement the science will have to wait but the equipment is going through it paces and the field trip from Bradbury Landing to Mt Sharp has begun.
Video of the descent and landing:http://1.usa.gov/NffoWl
First panoramic image:http://1.usa.gov/NkOhqL
Mt Sharp:http://1.usa.gov/SfdXb6
First rock zapped: http://1.usa.gov/P7IXVe
First test drive (doing doughnuts): http://1.usa.gov/NffoWl
Next stop - Glenelg: http://bbc.in/Nnd0qB
Visit Curiosity on facebook and keep up to date with developments:https://www.facebook.com/MarsCuriosity
The 34th IGC was exciting too
While tension was rising at NASA as Curiosity approached its moment of glory nearly 6,000 geoscientists from 127 countries were assembling in Brisbane for 5 days of non-stop discussions. Every imaginable topic, including planetary geology and the Mars landing, was on the table and meetings of associations, commissions and specialist groups were all the go. Read more here.
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
Thursday 5th September 2012
Dr Gary Nichols
Stratigraphic analysis in continental basins, where sequence stratigraphy does not work
Biomedical Theatres, upper campus UNSW, 12.00 noon
Queensland
2012 meeting dates to be advised
For more information: info@qld.gsa.org.au
South Australia
GeoNight at the Pub
First Thursday of every month- starting 6th September 2012
Nibbles provided, drink specials on the night
The Griffith's Head, Grenfell Street, Adelaide (Front Bar), 5.30 pm to 7.30pm
apetts@flindersmines.com for more information
Thursday 20th September 2012
Kathryn Amos
Rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin- why these rivers are such an interesting analogue for ancient continental successions around the world
Mawson Theatre, University of Adelaide. 5.30 pm for 6.15 pm
Sunday 14th October 2012
SA Division Field Trip
Please see Newsletter for more details and preliminary itinerary
Thursday 18th October 2012
Myles Davies, DMITRE
The PACE drilling scheme with particular reference to holes with research potential
Mawson Theatre, University of Adelaide. 5.30 pm for 6.15 pm
Tasmania
2012 meeting dates to be advised
For more information: mduffett@mrt.tas.gov.au
6-7 December 2012
Tasmanian Geoscience Forum (jointly with Aus.IMM)
Strahan Village. For more information contact andrew.mcneill@utas.edu.au
Victoria
2012 meeting dates 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 34th IGC was a great success!
The 34th IGC was a truly global event, with nearly 6,000 delegates attending from 127 countries. Everyone attending would have their own personal highlight but the GSA had a few of its own too. The IGC coincided with the usual time for the GSA convention and was therefore a time for Executive Committee rotations to occur and for GSA medals to be awarded. A highlight for many were the public presentations, headlined by Professor Iain Stewart, but every sub-discipline had its stand-out presentations and posters. For some the highlight of each day was the Vale sand sculptures, central to the trade displays, but no matter what stood out for individuals all are agreed it was an outstanding success for all concerned. The organisers should be proud of their achievement and have clearly set the bar for future events. The 35th IGC will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2016.
AJES 2010 and 2011 award recipients with Anita Andrew, AJES Editor-in-Chief, and Russell Korsch, AJES Editorial Board.
Recipients from Left to Right: Erick Ramanaidou (accepting the A.B. Edwards Award on behalf of R.C Morris for Volume 58/2011), Rob Hough (accepting A.B. Edwards Medal on behalf of Ravi Anand and Charles Butt for Volume 57/2010), Katherine Howard (David I Groves Award for Volume 58/2011), Cara Danis (David I Groves Award for Volume 57/2010), Chris Ferguson (F. L. Stillwell Award for Volume 57/2010), Anita Andrew (Editor-in-Chief), Russell Korsch (AJES Editorial Board), Ross Cayley (F. L. Stillwell Award for Volume 58/2011).
Photo courtesy Graham Carr
GSA Award and Medal recipients with Laurie Hutton, GSA president.
Recipients from Left to Right: Richard (Dick) Glen (SW Carey Award), Wouter Schellart (ES Hills Award), Laurie Hutton (GSA President), Ray Twist (Joe Harms Award), John Foden, (WR Browne Award) and Roger Powell (AE Ringwood Medal).
... and introducing the incoming GSA Executive Committee:
Please welcome Laurie Hutton, incoming President, and all new and returning members of the executive committee. All positions are detailed on the GSA web site at: http://gsa.junctionworld.com/management/index.html
The National Rock Garden now has Deductible Gift Recipient status!
The National Rock Garden now qualifies for Deductible Gift Recipient status (DGR).
In other words, donations to the NRG are now tax deductible!
The National Rock Garden 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 to the NRG web site: http://www.nationalrockgarden.org.au/
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
IN THE NEWS
Pumice rafts into view
A submarine volcano erupted on July 19 and 20 sending pumice floating to the surface where it formed thick rafts visible from space. Satellite images taken weeks later reveal the rafts drifting amongst the Kermadec Islands, northeast of New Zealand.
http://1.usa.gov/MAOtm8
More about the eruption here.
Arctic sea ice hits rock bottom?
With about five weeks still to go the extent of Arctic sea ice coverage is already one of the lowest on record and is tracking below the 2007 record low daily ice extents. A huge cyclonic event in the Arctic in early August has complicated studies but it is unclear if this has accelerated the melting or not.
http://bit.ly/HmzGN
ON THE WEB
Soputan Volcano from space
Indonesia's Soputan Volcano remains vegetation free on slopes close to the summit due to its frequent eruptions. Despite the tropical climate, it is clear from false-colour satellite images that numerous pyroclastic events have not only prevented colonising vegetation but have also burned through forests that have established on its flanks in recent years.
http://1.usa.gov/Ociys6
Antarctic hot property in the Eocene
A well-dated record of early Eocene Antarctic sediments indicates the climate in lowland settings along the Wilkes Land coast (at a palaeolatitude of about 70° south) supported a diverse, near-tropical forest including palm trees. Data indicates winters were warmer than 10°C and essentially frost-free despite polar darkness at that latitude.
Nature article: http://bit.ly/MRL2sl
News report: http://bbc.in/PmEoVr
IN THE MEDIA
Geoscience Australia launches a impressive new book
The 34th IGC was also the scene of the launch of the impressive new book: Shaping a Nation: A Geology of Australia edited by Richard Blewett. This impressive book is the story of a continent's geological evolution as seen through the lens of human impacts. Exploring the geology, resources and landscapes of Australia, it reveals how these have helped to shape this nation's society, environment and wealth. A free PDF version is available on the ANU E Press website. Printed copies are available for $70.00 AUD including GST (plus shipping) from the Geoscience Australia Sales Centre.
http://bit.ly/NFZuSZ
More big bones surface in Alberta
The fossilised remains of a large ceratopsian dinosaur have been unearthed in Alberta, Canada. This has aroused considerable interest amongst palaeontologists as Triceratops is well known from Montana, further south in the USA, but is not well represented in the more northerly faunas.
http://bit.ly/QWuWt0
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.6
Thematic issue: The evolution and geodynamics of the Indo-Australian Plate
Guest editors: Myra Keep and Wouter Schellart
M. Keep and W. Schellart
Introduction to the thematic issue on the evolution and dynamics of the Indo-Australian plate.
S. Fishwick, and N. Rawlinson
3-D structure of the Australian lithosphere from evolving seismic datasets.
R. Hall and I. Sevastjanova
Australian crust in Indonesia.
A. Replumaz, V. Vignon, V. Regard, J. Martinod and N. Guerrero
East-West shortening in a North-South convergence, example of the NW Himalayan syntaxis.
A. Benincasa, M. Keep and D. Haig
A restraining bend in a young collisional margin: Mount Mundo Perdido, East Timor.
J. Bourget, R. B. Ainsworth, G. Backé and M. Keep
Tectonic evolution of the northern Bonaparte Basin: impact on continental shelf architecture and sediment distribution during the Pleistocene.
G. Lister, L. White, S. Hart and M. Forster
Ripping and tearing the rolling-back New Hebrides slab.
R P. Durance, M. A. Jandamec, T.J. Falloon and I. A. Nicholls
Magmagenesis within the Hunter Ridge Rift Zone resolved from olivine-hosted melt inclusion and geochemical modelling with insights from geodynamic models.
W.P. Schellart and W. Spakman
Mantle constraints on the plate tectonic evolution of the Tonga-Kermadec-Hikurangi subduction zone and the South Fiji Basin region.
N. Mortimer, P. Gans, F. Hauff and D.H.N. Barker
Paleocene MORB and OIB from the Resolution Ridge, Tasman Sea.
P. Li, G. Rosenbaum, and D. Rubatto
Triassic asymmetric subduction rollback in the southern New England Orogen (eastern Australia): the end of the Hunter-Bowen orogeny.
Coming up in TAG
September TAG
The next TAG is packed with features. The first looks at prominent historical geologist James Dwight Dana and the second, by Kirsten Gottschalk, looks to the future and the technological changes and the infinite possibilities the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will bring to science. This issue's special report was inspired by the Special Report on Engineering Geology by Greg McNally, published in TAG 163, June 2012 issue.
TAG publishes member contributions, it is never too early to send in your articles:
http://gsa.junctionworld.com/publications/tag.html or email tag@gsa.org.au
WHAT'S ON
DEADLINES:
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
Earth Science Week 2012
What are you doing for Earth Science Week? 14-20 October 2012
http://bit.ly/NN3qPn
EVENTS:
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
Australian National Conference on Resources and Energy 2012, Canberra, 18 – 19 September 2012
The seventh conference on Mine Closure, Brisbane, 25 – 27 September 2012
Earth Science Week, 14 – 20 October 2012
Mines and Money Australia, Sydney, 15 – 17 October 2012
Australian Resources Conference & Trade Show, Perth, 12 – 14 November 2012
Joint SSA and NZSSS Soil Science Conference, Hobart, 2 – 7 December 2012
http://www.soilscience2012.com/
9th SA Exploration and Mining Conference, Adelaide, 7 December 2012
Contact caroline.forbes@adelaide.edu.au for more information
CONTACTS
Head Office
Suite 61, 104 Bathurst Street
Sydney NSW 2000
ph 02-9290 2194
fax 02-9290 2198
www.gsa.org.au
Executive
Divisions
Specialist
Groups
The Australian Journal
of Earth Sciences (AJES)
The Australian
Geologist (TAG)
Education and Outreach
Publicity
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