Marble Bar Chert - Geological Society of Australia

The Geological Society 

of Australia Inc 

tag 

Newsletter Number 151 

June 2009 

Marble Bar Chert: 

Early oxygenation of the Earth 

Special Report: 

Geoscientists remember Marysville 

Feature: The Yarragadee Aquifer 

Focus on greenfields: 

Regolith geology in research

The Australian Geologist 

Newsletter 151, June 2009 

Registered by Australia Post 

Publication No. PP243459/00091 

ISSN 0312 4711 

Managing Editor: Sue Fletcher 

Technical Editor: Bill Birch 

Production Editor: Heather Catchpole 

Send contributions to: tag@gsa.org.au 

22 From the President 

23 Report of the Merger Committee 

24 Editor’s Comment 

25 Society Update 

Central Business Office 

Executive Director: Sue Fletcher 

Suite 61, 104 Bathurst Street, 

Sydney NSW 2000 

Tel: (02) 9290 2194 

Fax: (02) 9290 2198 

Email: info@gsa.org.au 

GSA website: www.gsa.org.au 

Business Report 

Membership Update 

From the AJES Editor’s Desk 

Education & Outreach 

Stratigraphic Column 

Heritage Matters 

Data Metallogenica 

Design and typesetting The Visible Word Pty Ltd 

Printed by Ligare Pty Ltd 

Distributed by Trade Mailing & Fulfilment Pty Ltd 

Red and white banded chert 

at Marble Bar Pool in the east 

Pilbara. Geological mapping 

reveals that the 3460 millionyear-old 

Marble Bar Chert was 

deposited in a caldera setting 

across an area of at least 50 km x 

30 km; sedimentological evidence 

indicates water depths exceeding 

200 m. The layers of red chert 

(jasper) contain up to 10% 

hematite, whereas adjacent layers 

of white chert are almost entirely 

composed of silica. 

A detailed study of drill core 

from the chert (p 13 this issue) 

concluded that the hematite was 

a primary precipitate and not, as 

previously suggested, an oxidation 

product of Fe-rich minerals 

such as siderite. This new interpretation 

controversially suggests 

the existence of oxygenated 

seawater 1000 million years prior 

to Earth's generally accepted 

"great oxidation event". Image 

courtesy Professor Munetomo 

Nedachi, Department of Physics, 

Kagoshima University, Japan. 

13 News 

20 Feature: New water from old sources: case study of 

the south–west Yarragadee aquifer 

23 Special Report: Geoscientists remember Marysville 

26 In Focus: “Grassroots” and “greenfields”: 

regolith geology in teaching and research 

30 Awards 

32 Forum: Magma chambers and igneous 

net-veined complexes 

36 Book Reviews 

43 Letters to the Editor 

46 Calendar 

47 Office Bearers 

48 Publishing Details

From the President 

Bringing Earth Science to the forefront 

In early April I had the pleasure of meeting Australia’s Chief 

Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett. The meeting provided an 

opportunity to brief the Chief Scientist on key issues relevant 

to the Geological Society of Australia including: 1) the importance 

of including Earth and Environmental Science in the National 

Curriculum Board’s proposed National Science Curriculum; 

2) the need for a National Earth Science Research Strategy; and 

3) the need for a National Earth Science Expert Panel. 

1. The National Curriculum Board is currently preparing a 

document on the contents of a proposed National Science 

Curriculum, with the release of their deliberations expected sometime 

mid-year. The GSA made two submissions to the board, the 

preparation of which was expertly driven by Greg McNamara (see 

Greg’s report in TAG 150, p 10), who coordinates Education and 

Outreach for the Society. In these submissions, the GSA strongly 

supported the development of a National Science Curriculum 

covering all years from kindergarten through to high school. Our 

submissions stressed that Earth and Environmental Science must 

receive the same significant focus in classrooms as biology, 

chemistry and physics, given its critical role in understanding and 

combating the environmental, energy and economic crises that 

Australia and the world are now facing. 

The new curriculum will be a ‘make or break’ opportunity for 

Earth and Environmental Science to finally be given dedicated 

teaching time at Australian schools after decades of being largely 

ignored in order to make way for studies in the traditional sciences 

of biology, chemistry and physics. The GSA fully supports the need 

for students to be well-grounded in these sciences, but a solid 

grounding in Earth and Environmental Science is just as critical 

given the centre-stage role this discipline is now playing in 

combatting the major crises of the 21st century. The great success 

of Earth and Environment-type courses, which have been 

introduced recently in Western Australia and New South Wales 

(see Jim Ross’ reports in TAG 149 (p 31) and 150 (p 25)) demonstrates 

the need for such a course and the positive response it will 

receive if properly structured and implemented by the National 

Science Curriculum. 

2. I also highlighted to Professor Sackett the need for a National 

Geoscience Research Strategy to combat a continuing lack of 

government funding for undergraduate and postgraduate Earth 

Science places at Australia’s universities, a continuing lack of 

funding for Earth Science research, and an ongoing shortage of 

Earth Science graduates for industry and research (particularly 

during resource booms). As many of you are well aware, the 

industries centred around Earth Science generate billions of 

dollars in wealth for Australia each year. For example, the 

minerals and petroleum sector contributed 

about 10% of Australia’s GDP 

in 2007–2008. 

In its July 2008 submission to the 

Higher Education Review, the Australian Geoscience Council (AGC) 

stated: “Of Australia’s total commodity export income of $150 

billion forecast for 2007–2008, minerals and energy will account 

for 78%. In the 2004/05 financial year the Australian and State 

and Territory governments received taxes and royalties totalling 

$7.1 billion from the minerals sector and $8.1 billion from the oil 

and gas sector.” The AGC submission further pointed out that the 

number of dedicated Earth Science schools at Australian universities 

has nearly halved from 28 to 17 departments in 1990, and this 

decade the number of Earth Science students currently enrolled in 

Honours courses has more than halved. Between 1990 and 2007 

the number of academic teaching staff in Earth Sciences at 

Australian universities dropped from 220 to 170, and the Honours 

retention rate fell from 50% to 30%. 

This has already contributed – and will continue to contribute – 

to a serious shortage of Earth Science graduates in Australia, 

particularly during resource booms. This shortage is not of course 

limited to Australia but affects other countries too. For example, a 

recent report by the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences outlines 

the Human Resources needs in Earth Sciences in Canada, estimating 

the current work force composition and future challenges for 

Canadian Earth Science (www.geoscience.ca/CFES_HR_requirements_ 

Canadian_earth_sciences.pdf). The GSA believes that a National Earth 

Science Research Strategy is needed to combat the current shortfall 

in funding for Earth Science studies and research. 

3. The final point I raised with Professor Sackett concerned 

establishment of a National Earth Science Expert Panel to provide 

Federal, State and Territory governments with early warnings on 

potential Earth and Environmental issues. This panel of expert 

Earth Scientists would serve as an independent voice to provide 

scientifically-based warnings and recommendations on a wide 

range of Earth and Environmental problems to governments. It 

would focus on potential problems rather than current ones. 

The meeting with Professor Sackett was positive and she 

was genuinely interested in promoting Science in general and in 

better understanding the role of Earth Sciences within Australia 

in particular. 

PETER CAWOOD 

President 

2 | TAG June 2009

GSA–AIG merger negotiations 

The Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the 

Geological Society of Australia are proposing 

to merge and create a national body of some 

3600 members to represent the interests of Australian 

Earth Science. Since September 2008, the two merger 

committees have met on a regular basis to prepare a 

proposal for voting by their respective members. 

There is substantive agreement between the two negotiating 

committees on the key issues for an effective 

merger and both have the support of their respective 

national Executives to continue develop a model to 

present to their respective members for a vote. 

Components discussed include the possible structure, 

governance and functions of the merged entity. Late 

June/early July GSA members will receive an outline 

of the proposal, mechanisms for feedback by members, 

details on the process of integrating feedback into a 

revised proposal, and a timeline for voting and for 

commencement of the new merged organisation. 

The mission statement developed for the merged 

organisation is also forward looking: Our purpose is 

to promote Earth Science and support Earth Scientists in 

meeting the strategic needs of society. 

We will achieve this by: 

■ Encouraging excellence in Earth Science 

education, research and professional practice; 

■ Ensuring that Earth Science fully informs public 

policy; 

■ Raising community awareness and respect for Earth 

Science and its practitioners; and 

■ Improving the professional standing of Earth 

Scientists. 

The merged entity will represent the professional and 

learned interests of Australian Earth Scientists. The 

underlying driver for the merger is to enhance the 

current activities of both organisations for the benefit 

of all members. 

The merger committees are reviewing risks, structure 

governance, Code of Ethics and Professional Standards, 

membership categories and rates, capitation fees, awards 

and publications. Due diligence requires extensive legal 

and financial advice as well as substantial financial 

modelling. 

The merger negotiations and planning incorporates 

membership feedback in the early stages (June-July). 

The timing of further membership communication 

and voting will be subject to member feedback. 

For the merger to be undertaken, members of both 

societies have to provide approval. For the GSA this is 

75% of returning votes and for AIG it is 50%. It is 

proposed that the voting will occur in the latter half of 

this year and, if in favour, the two organisations would 

formally merge in the first half of 2010. These estimates 

depend on completion of a number of legal and 

financial actions and therefore may vary. 

The GSA has provided facilities for member feedback 

and comment – we hope you utilised these resources. 

The September issue of TAG will include another 

progress report. 

PETER CAWOOD, ANDREW GLEADOW, 

JON HRONSKY and JIM ROSS 

GSA Executive Merger Committee 

April 2009 

ISSUE COPY FINISHED INSERTS 

ART 

SEPTEMBER 2009 31 Jul 8 Aug 16 Aug 

DECEMBER 2009 30 Oct 3 Nov 10 Nov 

MARCH 2010 29 Jan 5 Feb 8 Mar 

JUNE 2010 30 Apr 5 May 25 May 

TAG June 2009 | 3

Editor’s Comment 

Over the past three years, TAG has been undergoing 

internal changes as I have been filling the role of 

Managing Editor (working behind the scenes) to 

develop and further nurture TAG with a number of people. TAG 

is not bereft of geological advice though: Bill Birch adopted the 

role of Technical Editor after stepping down as Editor in July 

2008. The role of Technical Editor lets Bill off the hook for 

writing a column each issue and Heather Catchpole does the 

work of Production Editor. If you’ve submitted to TAG, you’ve 

been liaising with Heather. While the model differs from the 

one we had a few years ago, it has evolved to keep up with the 

changing format and content of TAG. With the position 

of Technical Editor, the editorial team can ensure that TAG 

maintains the high quality of the news and information that 

it publishes. 

From time to time GSA members are invited to write a 

Guest Column: David Branagan (TAG 150) reminisced about the 

early days of TAG under his stewardship and the massive 

contribution Brenda Franklin made. David also reminded us of 

the Charles Darwin celebrations throughout the world in this 

year commemorating the anniversary of his birth and the 

publication of his seminal work. Mike Freeman (TAG 149) 

commented on the implications for town-planning, mining and 

conflict with home-owner aspirations and land zoning in his 

column: Case of science versus social aspirations. 

We will continue to invite Guest Columnists as part of 

the ongoing development of TAG in its role as a channel of 

communication for all members of the Geological Society. 

SUE FLETCHER 

Managing Editor, The Australian Geologist 

The Broken Hill Exploration 

Initiative Conference (BHEI2009) 

will be held in Broken Hill from 

29 September, 2009. BHEI2009 will 

showcase the extensive resource 

potential in the Curnamona Province 

and scientific advances within the 

economic catchment area of 

Broken Hill. 

Broken Hill 

Entertainment 

Centre 

29 September – 

1 October 

The geology of the Olary Domain — 

the Bimbowrie and Walparuta inliers, 

25–26 September 

Stratigraphy and mineralisation 

of the Broken Hill region, 


The Koonenberry Belt — 

an underexplored belt, 

2–4 October 

4 | TAG June 2009 Conference excursions: 

Continued innovations in 

technology, research and 

exploration — built upon a vast 

resource of quality data and 

geoscience — will provide the 

key to ‘Discovering the Future‘ 

of the Curnamona Province. 

The Broken Hill Exploration 

Initiative (BHEI) is a15-year 

collaboration between the NSW 

Department of Primary Industries, 

Primary Industries and Resources SA 

and Geoscience Australia. 

For further details contact: BHEI.info@dpi.nsw.gov.au Or www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/geological/bhei2009

SocietyUpdate 

Business Report 

Planning for the Australian Earth Sciences Convention 

2010 is now in full swing and this issue of TAG includes 

the first call for papers. The convention will be held 

4–8 July 2010 in Canberra. Earth systems: change, sustainability, 

vulnerability is the over-arching theme. The GSA has 

adopted the international standard of one oral paper per presenter, 

with a renewed focus on posters. Brad Pillans is the 

Chair, Brian Kennett is Scientific Program Director; Chris 

Pigram brings his expertise and experience to the convention, 

along with Clinton Foster and Michelle Cooper from 

Geoscience Australia. Monica Yeung from Gondwana 

Dreaming, Barry Frodham from FrOGTech, Allan Chivas from 

the University of Wollongong, and John Mavrogenes and Brad 

Opdyke from the ANU round out the core organising committee. 

At the time of publishing not all theme coordinators had 

been confirmed, and we were having discussions with additional 

people from AIG and industry — further details will be 

provided in September. 

The deadline for abstracts is 15 January 2010 — put this in 

your diary now! 

This issue of TAG covers many topics, including the feature 

from Phil Commander: New water from old sources: case study 

of the south-west Yarragadee aquifer (Phil was a keynote 

speaker at the AESC 2008). Stimulated by Jon Hronsky’s March 

article, Steve Hill contributes to the discussion on greenfields 

exploration in his article: Grassroots and greenfields: regolith 

geology in teaching and research. 

Graziella Caprarelli reminds us why we should be celebrating 

the International Year of Astronomy, taking us from the 

early days of Alfred Lothar Wegener in 1905 to the discovery in 

2008 of three planets orbiting the star HR 8799. 

Regular columns include an update from Tony Cockbain 

about the next issue of the Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 

(congratulations for the improved ranking); Cathy Brown 

writes of the importance of stratigraphic names, practices and 

descriptions; and Susan White comments on the role of 

documenting type sections. Arthur Hickman has contributed a 

report on his research: Oxygen on Earth 3460 million years ago, 

and the Geological Society of America provides an update 

on EarthTrek: Global Citizen Science Program. EarthTrek is an 

education and outreach program aimed to engage communities, 

scientists and partners to encourage participation in 

worldwide scientific research and activities. The Gravestone 

Project is a great opportunity to participate – anyone can do it 

from schools, to community groups or 

individuals. To find out more go to: 

http://goearthtrek.com/index.html 

As well as the GSA activities, local 

news, book reviews, and letters to the Editor, I’m confident you 

will find this issue of TAG a stimulating and worthy read: 

representative of GSA as a national organisation that encompasses 

a diversity of interests, but also has common ground (no 

pun intended!). 

Finally, this issue of TAG carries a special report on the 

Victorian fires, looking at Marysville with two different focuses, 

one from Vince Morand: The last field trip to Marysville for 

a while and from Bill Birch: Memories of Marysville. 

The GSA has been promoting Earth Science through submissions 

to government for the National Curriculum review 

and with media work. The GSA’s media release in April, Global 

crises must make Earth and Environmental Science a major 

focus of National Science Curriculum, attracted radio interest 

— more so in the eastern seaboard. To read all media releases 

in full go to: www.gsa.org.au/resources/media.html. 

At the time of writing we were massaging the media 

releases for the Earth Science showcase — a targeted media 

campaign highlighting the work of Earth Scientists in Australia 

across a variety of expertise, interests and research. I hope you 

managed to catch some of the media coverage. In addition to 

publishing and supporting members in their activities, the GSA 

seeks to actively raise the profile and contribution Earth 

Sciences makes to society. 

SUE FLETCHER 

Executive Director 

Congratulations 

Malcolm 

GSA Fellow and long-time GSA Member, Professor 

Malcolm McCulloch FAA, from the Australian 

National University, has been awarded the prestigious 

2009 Jaeger Medal for research in Earth 

Sciences. 

TAG June 2009 | 5

New members 

The GSA welcomes the 

following new members to 

the Society. May you all 

have a long and beneficial 

association with the GSA: 

ACT 

M EMBER 

Andrew Spate 

R ETIRED M EMBER 

Philip Brown 

HUNTER VALLEY 

M EMBER 

Steven Palmer 

NSW 

M EMBER 

Ambrose Ezenwa 

Rabin Choudhury 

Martin Young 

S TUDENT 

Ariel Astudillo 

Jay Jensen-Langford 

Michael Ostrowski 

Rhiannon McKeon 

Dayna McGeeney 

Nhan le Thanh Phu 

NT 

M EMBER 

James Sullivan 

JOINT MEMBER 

Jonathan Higgins 

QLD 

M EMBER 

Karolina Centkowski 

Norbert Timofte 

Todd Sercombe 

A SSOCIATE M EMBER 

Stephen Jensen 

SA 

M EMBER 

Biju Sebastian 

TAS 

M EMBER 

Jafar Taheri 

S TUDENT 

Robert Moye 

Tim Stubley 

Katherine Webb 

Kate Howie 

Jarrod Crew 

Mathew Ageneau 

Nichola McMillan 

Kate Miedecke 

Dominic Neyland 

Michael Gill 

Michelle Slater 

Carla Vincent 

Stephanie Howe 

Tanya Maksimovic 

Tania Hillman 

Sam Kruimink 

Emma Brown 

Simon Enman 

Alexandra Eastburn 

Norman Heckscher 

Simon Sullivan 

Markus Staudmann 

Michael Tomlin 

Chun Lai 

Ting Kor 

VIC 


Howard Mitchell 

S TUDENT 

Katrina Rast 

WA 

M EMBER 

Katrin Karner 

Eric Tohver 

Bradley Brown 

Dianne Tompkins 


Elijah Bada 

S TUDENT 

Louise Holbrook 

Daniel Townend 

Daniel Sully 

Aaron Benincasa 

James Thomson 

6 | TAG June 2009


From the AJES Hon Editor’s Desk 

Poetry and geology 

Icertainly stirred up a few poets with my remarks on poetry. 

Many thanks to those who sent me their poems, two of 

which have been published in past issues of TAG. I wonder 

whether we can persuade the Editor of TAG to set aside a Poets’ 

Corner; not for dead poets (who already have a society) as in 

Westminster Abbey, but for those amongst us who wish to 

share their joy in writing poetry on geological themes. 

Taking the geo out of geology 

No doubt many of you saw an article on the ‘Eureka machine’ 

that can work out the laws of nature by observing the world 

around it – the machine took only hours to come up with the 

basic laws of motion, a task that occupied Newton for years. 

According to the Guardian website for 3 April 2009, the 

developers at Cornell University say: “We've reached a point in 

science where there's a lot of data to deal with. It's not Newton 

looking at an apple, or Galileo looking at heavenly bodies any 

more, it's more complex than that…This takes the grunt out of 

science by sifting through data and looking for the laws that 

govern how something behaves.” 

We often hear those amongst us lamenting the decline of 

geological field work. Just think what we could do with the 

‘Eureka machine’. The data can be gathered by satellite (or from 

Google Earth) and fed into the machine which will come up 

with the answers and, presumably, write the ensuing paper in 

perfect English — and probably even review it and revise it all 

by itself. The geologist need never leave the office: in fact the 

office need not have windows (except for the Bill Gates’ type). 

Is this the future 

The existing machine is called Adam. The designers are already 

working on a second model called Eve. Quite poetic really! 

Review papers 

I have frequently mentioned that publishers consider that 

review papers sell journals. While we managed to get a number 

of such papers during the International Year of Planet Earth 

(see the list in TAG 149, p 7) the stream has now dried up. 

I always welcome reviews on any aspect of geoscience, so if 

any of you out there have one gestating in your mind, please 

get cracking and put it on paper and send it in. 

Journal ranking 

Many of you will be aware that last year the Minister for 

Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the 

Hon Kim Carr, announced plans for a 

new research quality and evaluation 

system — the Excellence in Research for 

Australia (ERA) initiative to be developed 

by the ARC. This will assess 

research quality within Australia's higher education institutions 

using a combination of indicators and expert review by 

committees comprising experienced, internationallyrecognised 

experts. The ERA initiative will use a range of 

indicators and other proxies to support the evaluation 

of research excellence. One of these indicators is disciplinespecific 

tiered outlet rankings. The ARC has consulted with 

the sector to assist with the development of research journal 

rankings, a subset of tiered outlet rankings. 

This has resulted in a journals being ranked as A*, A, B, C, 

with A* being the highest category. After some discussion AJES 

has been ranked in category A. A full list of ranked journals can 

be found at www.arc.gov.au/era/journal_list.htm 

Forthcoming papers and 

thematic issues 

M Hendrickx: ‘Carbonate-hosted asbestos occurrences in 

South Australia: review of geology and implications for 

mesothelioma’ 

RJ Korsch, CJ Adams, LP Black, DA Foster, GL Fraser, 

CG Murray, C Foudoulis and WL Griffin: ‘Geochronology and 

provenance of the Late Palaeozoic accretionary wedge and 

Gympie Terrane, New England Orogen, eastern Australia’ 

PG Lennox and R Offler: ‘Kinematic history of serpentinites in 

the faulted margins of the Hastings Block, New England 

Orogen, eastern Australia’ 

C Vérard: ‘Palaeomagnetic study of the Late Silurian–Early 

Devonian Mt Daubeny Formation from the Broken Hill area, 

New South Wales’ 

JJ Veevers: ‘Mid-Carboniferous Centralian uplift linked by U–Pb 

zircon chronology to the onset of Australian glaciation and 

glacio-eustasy’ 

Thematic issues 

Australian Cenozoic continental sediments; guest editors: 

JDA Clarke and CF Pain. 

Permian–Triassic mass extinction and subsequent recovery; 

guest editors: ZQ Chen, RJ Twitchett and J Tong. 

TONY COCKBAIN 

Hon Editor AJES 

TAG June 2009 | 7

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Education&Outreach 

The geoscience community responded effectively to the 

call for submissions from the National Curriculum Board 

(NCB) regarding the shape that a national curriculum 

and the science curriculum should take, sending in numerous 

submissions all more or less responding with the same message. In 

the previous TAG I reported on the GSA submission on ‘The shape 

of the national curriculum: a proposal for discussion’. A second 

submission was made late February on the specifics of the science 

curriculum. It was clear from the science framing paper that the 

NCB did not propose to radically change the pre-senior school 

curricula (Stages 1–3). However, their proposal for Year 11–12 

(Stage 4) was a cause for concern in as much as the suggested 

fourth subject in an expanded science curriculum was identified as 

Environmental Science. This in and of itself is not a bad thing, but 

the fact that it was not named Earth and Environmental Science 

rang alarm bells. 

Language is a powerful tool, and given how effective the Earth 

and Environmental Science Year 11–12 subjects have been in New 

South Wales and Western Australia, the omission of the ‘Earth’ 

component from the title, in the opinion of all geoscience submissions 

to the NBC, was sending the wrong message. Not only would 

the omission mean students would not associate Earth Science 

with Environmental Science but neither would teachers nor the 

curriculum developers who will be writing the detailed structure 

and content for this course in the near future. 

I am pleased report that in the NCB’s recently published 

recommendations — The shape of the Australian curriculum: 

science — they have listened to our submissions, with the fourth 

Yr 11–12 science subject recommended as being named as Earth 

and Environmental Science. All other areas of the P–10 curriculum 

appear to have had their Earth Science components retained or 

expanded, although Stage 1 and 2 content is not specified. 

To read more visit the NCB website: www.ncb.org.au/default.asp 

Specific suggestions for a 

science curriculum 

The GSA-developed suggestions for the NCB with respect to all 23 

response points in the framing paper are detailed here in the 

executive summary: 

■ Any NCB recommendation to government leading to a more 

student-inquiry centred curriculum must be with the caveat that 

implementation can only follow adequate resourcing of all 

schools that ensures appropriate capacities exist for its delivery. 

■ The development of senior school science curriculum (Stage 4) 

must include the subject, Earth and Environmental Sciences 

(EES), with a strongly mandated Earth Sciences component along 

the lines of the model proposed by Earth 

Sciences Western Australia. 

■ In all Stage 4 non-EES science 

subjects there should be mandatory 

inclusion of Earth Science components 

such as Geophysics, Geochemistry, 

Biogeochemistry and Evolutionary/fossil biology. 

■ In the Stage 2 curriculum there should be explicit mention of 

'Earth materials' and the relationship between landscape and 

geology to enable teachers to recognise they can be used to 

deliver outcomes relevant to the big ideas of science. 

■ Stage 3 must retain the Earth and Space topic and include 

Plate Tectonics & the Dynamic Earth, Evolution (as seen through 

the rock record) and the 'geology' and formation of the Solar 

System as major concepts to be embraced by that topic. 

■ In any Stage 4 additional multidisciplinary science subject 

there must also be a mandatory Earth Science component to 

allow students only taking that science subject to also garner 

some appreciation of the contribution Earth Sciences makes 

to society. 

■ The NCB should convene an advisory body comprising 

personnel from Earth Science organisations to assist the NCB 

in its further deliberations on the specific details of all aspects 

of Stages 1–4 of the new curriculum, especially the Earth and 

Environmental Science subject. 

Appointing writers for the new courses is already underway with 

further consultation on the draft documents scheduled for 

January 2010. The NCB did note that the Earth and Environmental 

Science course should be developed in consultation with industry 

to ensure currency of content, scientific practice and direction. 

However, just how the content of this course is formulated 

remains to be seen. It is incumbent upon us now to face up to this 

challenge, and provide the course developers with the guidance 

needed to ensure the availability of a high-quality course once the 

States take this national curriculum on board. This is truly a 

pivotal moment in education history in Australia and it will impact 

on the Earth Sciences for generations to come. We need to be 

vigilant to ensure the impact is a beneficial one. 

GREG McNAMARA 

Education and Outreach 

Send all comments to Greg McNamara at 

outreach@gsa.org.au 

TAG June 2009 | 9


Stratigraphic Column 

Defined units: why aren’t there more 

In mid-April, the Australian Stratigraphic Units Database 

(ASUD), had 13 492 names recorded as current formal or 

reserved units, but only 4435 were defined or redefined. 

Including units no longer current, only 5514 have ever been 

defined or redefined. examples to add to the discussion. 

On a positive note, these numbers suggest that there is still 

a lot more to learn about Australian geology, if we can 

persuade the funding bodies to let us look at and write about 

what we find, but I suspect that quite a few of these units are 

well enough known that they could (and should) be defined 

now. Some of them probably have ‘definitions’ hidden away in 

theses, but these have no standing and are not very accessible. 

Naming a unit is a convenient shorthand way of referring to 

it, but if you name a unit, you have a responsibility to define it 

so that others know what you mean by it. There needs to be at 

least a good description of the unit published somewhere. 

Showing the extent of a unit on a map and giving it a brief 

description in a map legend is a start, but units often extend 

beyond standard map sheet or study areas, or beyond the 

boundaries of data sets, and there are limits to what can be 

said in a map legend. 

Defining a unit is really not as hard as most people seem to 

think. While there are some basic minimum issues to address, 

you don’t have to know everything there is to know about a 

unit before you can define it. What you do have to do is to 

identify a place (type locality/section), where others can go to 

see your unit and to say what distinguishes it from the 

surrounding materials, so that your intentions are clear. Some 

units are known only from drill core and geophysics, so the type 

sections and descriptions will obviously reflect this, but 

definitions are still possible. And, of course, unit definitions 

are not fixed in stone. Units can be redefined when new 

information on age, extent, lithology, boundary types or other 

data becomes available. 

Guidelines on defining lithostratigraphic units are available at: 

www.ga.gov.au/oracle/stratnames/defined.jsp and guidelines 

for igneous units are available at: 

www.ga.gov.au/oracle/stratnames/guide.jsp and a 

definition form is available at: 

www.ga.gov.au/oracle/stratnames/unit_definition.jsp. 

If your favourite publication doesn’t want to give you the space 

to publish whole definitions, they can be made widely available 

through the ASUD web pages, once approved by the relevant 

State Stratigraphy Subcommission. 

Other types of units 

Of course there are other kinds of geological units too, used in 

sequence stratigraphy and regolith–landform mapping for 

example, that we don’t have national guidelines for, although 

there are some common practices and discussion papers 

around. Brakel (2000) gives some guiding principles on 

sequence stratigraphy and Pain (2008) discusses regolith 

description and mapping. There is a long history of discussion 

on the use and misuse of stratigraphic principles in describing 

regolith and soil units from Brewer et al (1967) to Pain and 

Ollier (1996). Perhaps it is time to try again to seek consensus 

from the experts in these fields and produce some acceptable 

Australian guidelines for defining these units too. 

I welcome your feedback on these or any other 

stratigraphy-related issues. 

CATHY BROWN 

National Convenor, Australian Stratigraphy Commission 

c/- Geoscience Australia 

GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT, 2601 

cathy.brown@ga.gov.au or cathyeb@netspeed.com.au 

REFERENCES 

Brakel, AT, 2000, ‘Standard database entry of sequence stratigraphic units in AGSO’ 

AGSO Research Newletter 32, p 33–36. 

Brewer, R (Convener), 1967, ‘Soil stratigraphic units: the sub-committee for soil 

stratigraphic nomenclature’ Geological Society of Australia. 

Pain, CF, 2008, ‘Regolith description and mapping’ in Scott, KM, Pain, CF (Eds), 

Regolith science, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood p 281–305. 

Pain, CF, and Ollier, CD, 1996, ‘Regolith stratigraphy: principles and problems’ AGSO 

Journal of Geology & Geophysics 16(3), p 197–202. 

Speight, G, 1970, ‘Proposal for soil-stratigraphic units in the Australian 

Stratigraphic code’ Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 17(1), p 103–111. 

10 | TAG June 2009


Heritage Matters 

This is quite a short article as I am off to the Nullarbor 

to look for caves as I write this. However, I have been 

thinking about the role of type sections and type locations 

for some time. As many of you know, I currently work in a first-year 

course in Geology where the bulk of students are undertaking 

Biological Science majors. As a result, some discussion on issues 

around type specimens has arisen. Explaining how the geological 

community manages type sections and type locations has been an 

interesting exercise. Also, how do we document type sections and 

locations in terms of their significance 

As part of this discussion, one issue that came up recently was 

why we would bother to document all the type sections and locations 

in Victoria for the Victorian Geological Heritage Database. The 

enquirer was of the opinion that many were of limited significance 

and of only local importance. Also, the rationale was that the GSA 

Stratigraphic Commission and Geoscience Australia would record 

any such sites in the Stratigraphic Database. This all made me think. 

Was I just indulging in ‘busy work’, or are there really good reasons 

why we should document the geological significance of type 

sections and locations And how should geologists value such sites 

Type sections (and locations) are a key aspect of geology. They 

are the equivalent for us of the type specimens used by botanists 

and zoologists. Biologists describe details of a particular species 

using the type specimens as the benchmark description, but 

such specimens are kept for posterity in permanent collections, 

particularly in museums. If new ideas become available, these type 

specimens can be referred to. This has been very important with the 

advances in speciation, especially with respect to DNA technology 

and genetics. The existence of these type specimens is seen as of 

significance to the biological community. 

Although similar systems are in place for palaeontology and 

mineral documentation, many rock formations and groups and 

other geological features must rely on the type sections and 

locations. 

The Stratigraphic Column in TAG has discussed over the years 

many issues to do with nomenclature and documentation of type 

sections. Over time, there have been changes in the way these 

sections are documented and recorded. Unless access to the actual 

site is possible, it is difficult to relate new concepts of stratigraphy 

to the actual sites. 

Type sections cannot be stored in a permanent collection like 

biological specimens. The documentation of these type 

sections, as well as their significance, is thus a step towards their 

protection. Their protection is invaluable to future geologists, if the 

sites can be integrated into updated material. 

A few years ago I was involved in a geological heritage survey 

for a project looking at sites of significance on public land in 

northern Victoria, with the aim of identifying various sites of 

significance so that they could be better managed. One of the most 

widespread geological formations across northern Victoria is the 

Shepparton Formation. The type section at Kialla was very difficult 

to identify and locate, and any work on the sedimentology or 

stratigraphy of the Shepparton Formation is seriously hampered by 

the degraded nature of the site. The site is not spectacular, and the 

land manager concerned had no methods of identifying that this 

site was important. Geological significance statements are often 

the only way local land managers can see that the site has value. 

Therefore, the documenting of all the type sections and 

locations can have an important role. These sometimes may have 

local or regional significance rather than very high significance, 

such as State or national, but it is not just ‘busy work’. We cannot 

expect them to be always there if we do not draw attention to 

them. Biological type specimens are protected by being in museum 

collections; geological type sections do not have that luxury. 

SUSAN WHITE 

2010 

AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 

AWARDS FOR 

SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE 

Nominations are now invited for the 

HADDON FORRESTER KING MEDAL 

SPONSORED BY RIO TINTO 

for research in mineral exploration 

The Medal is one of the Academy’s 

prestigious career awards for life-long 

achievement and outstanding 

contribution to science. 

Criteria and application forms 

can be found at 

www.science.org.au/awards/haddon 

or contact awards@science.org.au 

for further information. 

Closing date 31 July 2009 

TAG June 2009 | 11


Data Metallogenica 

“ 

Merlin’s magic enchants Ivanhoe” declared The 

Australian newspaper on 22 April, confirming earlier 

reports that the Canadian-based explorer had discovered 

the world’s highest-grade molybdenum–rhenium 

deposit at its Merlin prospect in the Cloncurry mineral district 

of Queensland. Average grades at Merlin now appear to be an 

order of magnitude higher than those of the highest-grade 

existing molybdenum producers. Rhenium is used in superstrength 

aerospace alloys and molybdenum is a component of 

stainless steel and other alloys. Merlin is new, it is different, 

and it is very exciting. 

Importantly, detailed information was made available to 

Data Metallogenica in late March in the form of a presentation 

donated by Ivanhoe. The company, and in particular Doug 

Kirwin, executive vice-president of exploration, has long been 

strong and generous supporters of the Data Metallogenica 

vision. 

Also rating a significant mention this quarter are 

the Victorian goldfields. Formative in shaping the Australia 

character, as portrayed by ST Gill, the “artist of the goldfields”, 

they were also critical in financing early development of the 

fledgling nation. Gold rush fever was so strong in 1851 that 

about half of the men in Victoria were on the goldfields. By 

1858, at the height of the gold rush, Victoria held just over half 

the population of the entire country. 

The goldfields are well represented in Data Metallogenica, 

containing as it does 37 suites of rocks that span the goldfield 

regions, together with ever-growing supporting data. This last 

period saw addition of two major presentations donated by 

Bendigo Mining Ltd: (1) ‘Geology at Bendigo Mining’ with 

excellent graphics of mineralisation development, and 

(2) ‘Proving our approach’, moving on to detail current mine 

practice, illustrated by explicit photographs of mineralised reefs 

in underground exposure. History has not been neglected 

either; with permission, an excellent historical summary has 

been added, courtesy of the Bendigo Historical Society. 

Other significant new data in brief 

■ Ghana: Damang gold deposit – discovery history; 

■ Namibia: more data on uranium mineralisation and the 

Rossing deposit; 

■ Tanzania: nickel–PGE deposits in the Kabanga–Musongati– 

Kapalagulu belt; 

■ Ireland: more data on the Lisheen zinc–lead–silver deposit; 

■ Australia: deposits in the Cloncurry district, Queensland, 

including Merlin molybdenum–copper–gold; Amethyst Castle 

copper–gold; Swan copper–gold; Selwyn iron–copper–gold; 

and Mt Dore copper (gold–zinc); 

■ theses: seven full-text theses added for a total of 58 online. 

Zhaoshan Chang on the Empire Mine skarn deposit in Idaho, 

USA; Daniel Layton-Matthews on the Finlayson Lake V(H)MS 

deposit in the Yukon, Canada; Dan Olberg on the Gosowong 

gold deposit in Indonesia; Melissa Gregory on the Mt Isa 

district of Queensland; Thomas Monecke on the Waterloo 

V(H)MS deposit in Queensland; Robert Duncan on the Western 

Fold Belt of the Mt Isa district, Queensland; and Jan Peter on 

a comparison between the ancient and modern volcanic 

massive sulphide deposits of Windy Craggy in British 

Columbia, Canada and submarine ‘smoker’ deposits in 

the Guaymas Basin of the Gulf of California. 

As a Foundation Sponsor of Data Metallogenica, members of 

the Geological Society of Australia pay only $110 pa (inc GST) 

for an individual (personal) subscription, which is half price. 

Subscriptions support maintenance and development of the 

database. DM is not-for-profit so your contribution will help 

us to provide you with a better service and a faster growing 

database. 

For more information please contact: Alan Goode, DM Project 

Director (alan.goode@amira.com.au), or Kerry O’Sullivan, DM 

Project Manager (kerry.osullivan@amira.com.au), at AMIRA 

International. 

KERRY O’SULLIVAN 

DM Project Manager 

12 | TAG June 2009

NEWS 

Oxygen on Earth 3460 

million years ago 

The discovery of primary, syndepositional 

hematite in the 3460-Ma Marble Bar Chert 

Member of the Duffer Formation (Hoashi 

et al, Nature Geoscience, March 2009) has 

highlighted the need for more research 

into the oxygen content of the Archean 

atmosphere and oceans. The hematite forms 

up to 10% of jasper beds in the chert, and 

was precipitated when hydrothermal fluids 

mixed with oxygenated seawater. Evidence 

that water depths during deposition of the 

hematite exceeded 200 m appear to rule 

out hematite precipitation by photochemical 

reactions driven by ultraviolet radiation. 

This, combined with mapping evidence that 

the basin extended over an area at least 

50 km x 30 km, greatly increases the 

significance of the hematite. 

Archean oxygen 

Until a few years ago, it was widely accepted 

that the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans 

contained little or no oxygen at any time 

prior to the so-called “great oxidation event” 

between 2300 and 2200 Ma (Cloud, 1972; 

Holland, 2002). However, more recent 

research has indicated significant levels of 

free oxygen during the Neoarchean (Ohmoto 

et al, 2006; Anbar et al, 2007; Kaufman et al, 

2007; Kump and Barley, 2007; Kato et al, 

2009). Today, an increasing number of 

researchers are asking when significant 

levels of oxygen first appeared on a global 

scale, and if there was a progressive rise in 

oxygen over time. Any free oxygen in the 

Archean atmosphere and oceans was 

probably produced by photosynthetic 

organisms such as bacteria, and numerous 

researchers have reported evidence for 

organic carbon, microfossils and stromatolites 

(all interpreted as evidence of bacteria) 

back to about 3500 Ma. As oxygen was 

formed, some of it would have been removed 

by chemical sedimentation and reactions 

with volcanic gases; so did oxygen levels 

fluctuate through the Archean Finding 

robust answers to these questions will 

require studying rocks of many different 

ages, from different depositional environments, 

and from different parts of the world. 

The work by Hoashi et al (2009) will hopefully 

soon be followed by similar field-based 

geological and geochemical investigations. 

In June 2003, the first diamond drill hole of the Archean Biosphere Drilling Project (ABDP) 

was successfully completed at the ‘Jasper Deposit’, 4 km south-west of Marble Bar. Here, the 

Marble Bar Chert Member is 110 m thick, steeply dipping and stratigraphically overturned, 

and outcrops in a north-westerly striking ridge. Jasper beds which are exposed on top of the 

ridge were also intersected 200 m beneath the ridge. Image courtesy Arthur Hickman. 

Banded chert in the upper part of Marble Bar Chert Member, Marble Bar Pool. Bedding is 

almost vertical, providing a superb section through the member (way ‘up’ is right to left). 

Image courtesy Arthur Hickman. 

TAG June 2009 | 13

International geoscientific 

drilling project 

In June 2003, the Archean Biosphere Drilling 

Project (ABDP) commenced with a 260 m- 

deep diamond drill hole (ABDP #1) into the 

Marble Bar Chert Member, 4 km south-west 

from Marble Bar. The ABDP was the first 

of four projects in which the Geological 

Survey of Western Australia has facilitated 

geoscientific drilling by research teams from 

Japan, USA, France and Australia. In total, 

over 3000 m of drill core has been obtained, 

mainly from depths exceeding 100 m, to 

provide samples free from near-surface 

chemical and biological contamination, 

essential for research into Earth’s early life. 

The aims, methods, research teams and early 

results of the ABDP were summarized by 

Hickman (2005). In the case of ABDP #1, 

the primary objective was to determine if 

hematite, which together with silica forms 

the thousands of thin layers of jasper in the 

Marble Bar Chert Member (below and 

bottom p 13), extends below the range 

of present-day, near-surface oxidation. 

The drilling revealed that the hematite 

does continue to the deepest intersection of 

the chert, approximately 200 m below the 

present land surface. 

Outcrop geology of the 

Marble Bar Chert Member 

Exceptionally good exposures of the 100 m- 

thick Marble Bar Chert Member are easily 

accessible at Marble Bar Pool, 3 km westsouth-west 

of Marble Bar. Here, the chert is 

almost vertical (slightly overturned), and rock 

pavements in the bed of the Coongan River 

provide a complete stratigraphic section 

through the member. Although the ABDP #1 

drilling site is 2.5 km south-east of Marble Bar 

Pool, the drill core reveals an almost identical 

thickness and lithological section to the one 

mapped at the pool. At both localities, 

hematite-rich red chert (jasper) is largely 

restricted to the upper part of the member. 

Important relationships, visible in outcrop at 

Marble Bar Pool (Van Kranendonk et al, 2001, 

2006; Van Kranendonk, 2006; Hickman and 

Van Kranendonk, 2008), include the observations 

that where red chert is present, it is 

invariably intruded and replaced by white 

chert, and that veins, sheets, and breccia 

zones of blue-black chert intrude both red 

and white chert. Secondly, the discordant 

veins and breccia zones of blue-black chert 

terminate in the upper part of the member 

and do not intrude the overlying 3460 Ma 

Apex Basalt. In other words, all three chert 

types formed prior to 3460 Ma, during deposition 

and diagenesis of the member, and 

hematite is present in the oldest recognisable 

type of chert. 

Close-up view of alternating jasper and white chert layers (1–10 cm) in the Marble Bar 

Chert Member, Marble Bar Pool. White chert (silica and minor siderite) visibly replaces red 

chert (silica and hematite — shown here in grey) along the bedding, but at the abrupt 

contacts between the two chert types microbanding (sub-millimetre scale) is continuous, 

indicating in situ replacement of red chert by white chert. White chert locally protrudes into 

red chert across the microbanding, forming lobate and cuspate contacts. Cross-cutting 

veins are composed of quartz. Image courtesy Arthur Hickman. 

Age relations of hematite 

Outcrop evidence on the age of the hematite 

was supported by detailed microscopic studies 

of the core. Hoashi et al (2009) report 

that the hematite in the chert is present as 

extremely small crystals, commonly in clusters, 

that are concentrated to form red chert 

microbands. Where siderite is in close proximity 

to hematite, it forms euhedral crystals, 

some of which contain hematite inclusions. 

The siderite crystals show no evidence of 

oxidation, and the same is true for scattered 

pyrite crystals. Magnetite crystals are much 

larger than the hematite crystals, and 

commonly contain minute hematite particles. 

Hematite is never present on the faces of 

magnetite crystals, indicating that hematite 

did not form after magnetite. 

Depositional environment 

Based on geochemical and mineralogical data 

from the ABDP #1 drill core, Hoashi et al 

(2009) recognise five stratigraphic subdivisions 

in the member, which they refer to 

as “zones”. In the stratigraphically lowest zone 

(1), siderite is relatively common (locally up to 

36%), but hematite and magnetite are almost 

completely absent. In the central zones (2 and 

3), siderite is minor, and hematite and magnetite 

are almost absent. In the highest stratigraphic 

zones (4 and 5), hematite and 

magnetite are common (up to 10%), whereas 

siderite is minor (generally less than 0.5%). 

The interpretation of this vertical zonation is 

that the depositional environment changed 

from anoxic (siderite deposition) to oxic 

(hematite deposition). The Marble Bar Chert 

Member was deposited at the end of a major 

mafic–felsic volcanic cycle, when collapse of 

the underlying volcanic pile formed a series of 

hydrothermally active caldera basins (Hickman 

et al, in prep). Increasing subsidence, 

accompanied by erosion of caldera rims, 

caused early basins to eventually merge, 

forming a much larger, deep-water basin. In 

such an environment, minerals precipitated in 

the vicinity of hydrothermally active vents 

could suddenly change when the basin was 

flooded by water of a different composition. If 

the interpretation presented by Hoashi et al 

(2009) is correct, the later, more extensive, 

deep-water basin was oxygenated, and it was 

anoxic deposition that was more localised. 

Anyone interested in reading more on the 

debate over the composition of the Archean 

atmosphere is referred to a review by Ohmoto 

(2004). 

ARTHUR HICKMAN 

Geological Survey of Western Australia 

14 | TAG June 2009

REFERENCES 

Anbar, AD, et al, 2007, ‘A whiff of oxygen before the 

great oxidation event’ Science 317, p 1903–1906. 

Cloud, PE, 1972, ‘A working model for the primitive 

Earth’ American Journal of Science, 272, p 537–548. 

Hickman, AH, 2005, ‘Evidence of early life from international 

collaborative drilling in the Pilbara Craton’ 

Geological Survey of Western Australia Annual Review 

2004–05, p 27–32. 

Hickman, AH and Van Kranendonk, MJ, 2008, ‘Archean 

crustal evolution and mineralisation of the northern 

Pilbara Craton – a field guide’ Geological Survey of 

Western Australia, Record 2008/13, 79 pages. 

Hickman, AH, Van Kranendonk, MJ and Glikson, AY, in 

prep, ‘Geology of the Mount Edgar Dome, Pilbara 

Craton’ Geological Survey of Western Australia Report. 

Hoashi, M, et al, 2009, ‘Primary hematite formation in 

an oxygenated sea 3.46 billion years ago’ Nature 

Geoscience, advance online publication, March 15, 

2009, 6 pages. 

Holland, HD, 2002, ‘Volcanic gases, black smokers and 

the great oxidation event’ Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 

66, p 3811–3826. 

Kato, Y, et al, 2009, ‘Hematite formation by oxygenated 

groundwater more than 2.76 billion years ago’ 

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 278, p 40–49 

Kaufman, AJ, et al, 2007, ‘Late Archean biospheric 

oxygenation and atmospheric evolution’ Science 317, 

p 1900–1903. 

Kump, LR and Barley, ME, 2007, ‘Increased subaerial 

volcanism and the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.5 

billion years ago’ Nature 448, p 1033–1036. 

Ohmoto, H, 2004, ‘The Archaean atmosphere, 

hydrosphere and biosphere’ in The Precambrian Earth: 

tempos and events, PG Eriksson, W Altermann, 

DR Nelson, WU Mueller and O Catuneau (Eds), 

Elsevier, p 361–388. 

Ohmoto, H, et al, 2006, ‘Sulphur isotope evidence for 

an oxic Archean atmosphere’ Nature 442, p 908–911. 

Van Kranendonk, MJ, 2006, ‘Volcanic degassing, 

hydrothermal circulation and the flourishing of life on 

Earth: new evidence from the c. 3.46 Ga Warrawoona 

Group, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia’ Earth- 

Science Reviews 74(3–4), p 197–240. 

Van Kranendonk, MJ, Hickman, AH, Williams, IR and 

Nijman W, 2001, ‘Archaean geology of the East Pilbara 

granite–greenstone terrane Western Australia – a field 

guide’ Geological Survey of Western Australia, Record 

2001/9, 134 pages. 

Van Kranendonk, MJ, et al, 2001, ‘Archaean geology of 

the East Pilbara granite–greenstone terrane Western 

Australia – a field guide’ Geological Survey of Western 

Australia, Record 2001/9, 134 pages. 

New digital geological 

map of Australia 

A new digital surface geology dataset 

covering Australia at 1: 1 000 000 scale was 

released recently by Geoscience Australia. 

The digital map, which depicts geological 

units and structures seamlessly across 

State and Territory borders, will provide an 

invaluable baseline dataset for national and 

regional evaluation of resources, as well as 

for environmental management and land use 

decision-making. This national project was 

undertaken with the full cooperation of the 

Geological Surveys of each Australian State 

and the Northern Territory. The Surveys 

provided their most recent map data for the 

national compilation as well as their advice 

in resolving stratigraphic issues. 

The compilation of a seamless surface 

geology map of Australia at 1: 1 000 000 

scale commenced in 2001. Since then, more 

than 20 geologists, GIS technicians and 

stratigraphic indexers have combined their 

efforts to produce the most detailed, 

informative and consistent national geology 

coverage available. 

The new data replace the 1: 2 500 000 scale 

digital map published by Geoscience 

Australia in 1998. The improved standard of 

information in the new dataset is exemplified 

by an increase from 8000 to 247 000 

polygons, and the increase from 200 to 

around 5900 described geological units in 

the new data. 

Most of the new Australian geology dataset 

has been compiled from the most recent 

1: 250 000 scale mapping or regional 

compilation maps. In some areas where 

the 1: 250 000 maps were out of date, the 

compilers used 1: 100 000 and even 

1: 50 000 scale source maps. Although compiled 

from these detailed geological maps, all 

the national data have been simplified for 

use at 1: 1 000 000 scale. 

In the past, geological information often 

failed to match up across jurisdictional 

boundaries because of differences in data 

acquisition methods and geological 

interpretations that may have been published 

decades apart. An important and timeconsuming 

task for the compilation team 

was matching the geological information 

between more than 400 source maps. 

Considerable time was invested in resolving 

stratigraphic mismatches across map tile and 

jurisdictional boundaries. Sometimes satellite 

imagery and geophysical data, such as 

gamma-ray spectrometry and magnetics, 

were also used to resolve edge-matching 

discrepancies and to reposition poorlylocated 

geological data on the oldest maps. 

An overview of the new digital geology map of Australia. Image courtesy Geoscience 

Australia. 

TAG June 2009 | 15

The standardisation of unit classification and 

descriptions was also important for the 

unconsolidated regolith materials which 

cover a large proportion of the Australian 

continent. Regolith mapping has advanced 

considerably over the last few decades, 

particularly with the advent of remote 

sensing imagery. A simple standard scheme 

for regolith unit compilation, based largely 

on the classification of Grimes (in Wilford, 

Ed, BMR Record 1983/27), was used for the 

new national map. The new dataset contains 

comprehensive descriptions of around 5900 

lithostratigraphic units. These unit descriptions 

include a unique stratigraphic name 

and number which provides a link to the 

Australian Stratigraphic Units Database, 

which is the authoritative repository of 

Australian geological unit descriptions. 

Other geological attributes include a 

stratigraphic parent–child hierarchy, a text 

description of the unit, maximum and 

minimum ages, and lithological classifications. 

Faults and stratigraphic boundaries 

are also coded in the database. The dataset 

also includes comprehensive metadata 

describing the origins of the source data. 

The new data are designed primarily as a 

digital tool for GIS applications. It is not 

planned to issue a printed map — a paper 

map of Australia at 1: 1 000 000 scale would 

be almost four metres tall! 

The Australian geology data are also 

available to view on the OneGeology portal 

website (http://portal.onegeology.org/). 

This international project aims to provide 

national scale geology data freely via the 

internet for users across the world using 

agreed international digital data standards. 

The data is currently displayed as a Web Map 

Service (WMS) with the national geological 

coverage of many other nations. Geoscience 

Australia will be moving towards providing 

the data as a Web Feature Service (WFS) 

EarthTrek developer, Gary Lewis, measures 

gravestones in Brighton Cemetery, 

Melbourne. Image courtesy Gary Lewis. 

using the GeoSciML data standard (GeoScience 

Markup Language; Simons et al, 2008, 

Abstracts, 33rd International Geological 

Congress, Oslo) in the near future. 

The new digital map data is available for free 

download from the Geoscience Australia 

website in shapefile and ESRI export formats 

(www.ga.gov.au/minerals/research/national/ 

nat_maps/nat_geol_maps.jsp). 

OLLIE RAYMOND 

Geoscience Australia 

EarthTrek... 

the community being 

part of the solution! 

The Geological Society of Australia is a proud 

concept partner of a new global community 

science project called EarthTrek which is 

being developed by our sister society, 

the Geological Society of America, and 

organisations around the world. 

EarthTrek is a world-wide program in which 

people in the community can participate in 

real scientific projects led by scientists from 

a wide range of institutions. As individuals, 

families, clubs or school groups, people trek 

Gravestones in Norway. Image courtesy 

Gary Lewis. 

Gravestones in Arlington Cemetery, 

Washington, DC. Image courtesy 

Gary Lewis. 

out into their environment and participate by 

collecting data following the protocols set by 

the lead scientists. They then go and log 

those data online to add to the pool of 

knowledge being collected by other 

“EarthTrekkers” around the world. 

Scientists maintain contact with the project 

participants so each participant knows how 

their contribution is helping understand the 

problem or issue, and how the data will be 

used to make decisions in the future. 

Participants are also rewarded online for 

their contribution by statistics, certificates 

and other rewards. 

One EarthTrek project involves visiting and 

collecting data from graveyards around the 

globe. Participants will measure the thickness 

of marble gravestones, or the distance 

between marble and lead lettering, so that 

the scientists can create a world wide map 

of how gravestones are weathering over 

time. This information can provide insights 

into shifts in world pollution levels and 

climate change over time. 

Other projects being discussed with scientists 

include earthquake monitoring and measuring 

the size of hail stones. 

Participants can now sign up to EarthTrek 

(see www.goearthtrek.com/), and the first 

science projects will commence on 

1 July 2009. The first 1000 participants will 

receive a welcome package in the mail. 

GARY LEWIS 

Geological Society of America 

Celebrating the 

International 

Year of Astronomy 

"Scientists still do not … understand … that all 

Earth Sciences must contribute evidence 

toward unveiling the state of our planet in 

earlier times, and that the truth of the 

matter can only be reached by combining all 

this evidence. ...It is only by combining the 

information furnished by all the Earth 

Sciences that we can hope…to find the 

picture that sets out all the known facts in 

the best arrangement and that therefore has 

the highest degree of probability. Further, 

we have to be prepared always for the 

possibility that each new discovery, no matter 

what science furnishes it, may modify the 

conclusions we draw." Thus wrote Alfred 

Wegener in 1915 in his book The origin of 

continents and oceans. 

16 | TAG June 2009

Artist's conception of the multiple planet system around the star HR 8799, initially discovered with Gemini North adaptive optics images. 

Image courtesy Gemini Observatory, artwork by Lynette Cook. 

Alfred Lothar Wegener obtained a PhD in 

astronomy in 1905 from the University 

of Berlin, before starting a career as a 

geophysicist and meteorologist. His eclectic 

interests did not earn him many favours in 

academic circles, and he landed his first 

professorship only in 1924, at the University 

of Graz in Austria. Yet, it is precisely his 

ability to work across disciplines, fuelled by 

his interests in different fields of science, 

which allowed him to provide the first 

sensible explanation of the similarities 

between observed fauna, flora, geography 

and geology on the continents on the 

opposite sides of the Atlantic. 

Wegener postulated that the continents had 

been joined together in the geological past. 

His continental drift theory, first presented in 

1912, and formally published in 1915, was 

widely disregarded and actively opposed by 

the establishment of the day, possibly 

because of professional jealousy, but also 

because there were several problematic 

aspects in the theory, which was missing an 

explanation of the underlying causative 

mechanism of continental drift. The theory 

was vindicated – in its general lines – in the 

1950s and '60s, when scientific missions 

explored and mapped the ocean floor. 

Fast forward to 2009, the International Year 

of Astronomy. Similarities of method and 

scope link geology, the study of planet 

Earth, and astronomy: both are (mostly) 

observational sciences; both study processes 

spanning millions of years; both work within 

the frameworks of universal theories, the 

investigation of which requires confirmation 

by independent lines of evidence. It is 

therefore not surprising that a trained 

astronomer provided the first unifying model 

of the geological observations available at the 

time, although it could have easily been a 

trained geologist, for the very same reasons. 

Researchers in geology and astronomy 

require the ability to think about large 

spatial and temporal scale phenomena. 

Geologists' interpretations of rocks provide 

pictures of Earth as it was through time, 

from its formation 4.56 billion years ago to 

the present. Astronomers' detection of electromagnetic 

radiation from stars and galaxies 

light years away depicts the universe as it 

was millions of years ago. This historical 

dimension sets geology and astronomy apart 

from other sciences, and endows their practitioners 

with unique perspectives of nature. 

Knowledge and discoveries in Earth Science 

and astronomy reinforce and enrich each 

other. One of the most stunning scientific 

achievements of 2008 was the (confirmed) 

direct observation of three planetary objects 

orbiting star HR 8799, an approximately 

60-million-year-old star 1.5 times the mass 

of the Sun, in the constellation of Pegasus, 

about 128 light years from Earth 1 . The 

observations were made using the Keck and 

Gemini telescopes on the summit of Mauna 

Kea in Hawaii. That such far-reaching 

observations were possible because of the 

specific geological setting of the volcano, 

with its high elevation and relative isolation, 

adds poetic dimension to the discovery. 

The three planets orbiting HR 8799 are 

five to 10 times bigger than Jupiter, and 

their distances from the star range from 

24 to 68 AU. An accretionary disk lies about 

75 AU from the primary. The star itself has 

an unusual abundance of metals. This could 

be a larger version of our solar system, 

possibly comprising also small, undetected, 

terrestrial-type planets, orbiting closer to 

the star. It is a system presently in its early 

evolutionary stages, the study of which will 

advance our understanding of the early 

stages of our solar system, which in turn 

shaped the way Earth evolved. The fact that 

HR 8799 is a relatively close star offers 

opportunities for further direct observations, 

when we improve on the techniques used to 

observe the planets. The required methodological 

adjustments are sufficiently small to 

appear to be already within our grasp. The 

day in which humans will be able to set eye, 

albeit with the help of powerful telescopes, 

on another (very young) Earth, might be 

nearer than we could have ever imagined. 

Another example of the transdisciplinary 

impact on research from the recently 

published scientific literature is that of a 

petrological study of achondrites GRA 06128 

and 06129. These meteorites have andesitic 

bulk compositions, are ancient (~4.52 Ga) 

and originated in the asteroid belt 2 . That 

andesitic crust could form on asteroids 

indicates that magmas of the kind we 

normally associate with geodynamic 

processes, such as subduction or magma 

oceans, were already being produced by 

partial melting of volatile-rich chondritic 

material early in the history of the solar 

system. This is an important piece of 

geological evidence contributing to our 

understanding of the solar system. It also 

TAG June 2009 | 17

prompts us to work toward improving the 

methods astronomers use to determine the 

spectra of asteroids. 

Geology is a science of exploration. Geologists 

have investigated the most inaccessible 

places on Earth: the top of the highest 

mountains, the depths of the oceans, the 

coldest lands, the hottest deserts. A geologist 

landed on the Moon. Geoscientists are now 

actively involved in space missions to remote 

and different worlds. To research in the most 

varied fields and seek evidence from many 

disciplines is the ultimate thrill and the best 

chance to reach a unified understanding of 

nature. This is Wegener’s legacy, and in 

this spirit geoscientists celebrate the 

International Year of Astronomy. 

GRAZIELLA CAPRARELLI 

University of Technology, Sydney 

REFERENCES 

1 Marois et al, 2008, 'Direct Imaging of Multiple 

Planets Orbiting the Star HR 8799' Science, 322(5906), 

p 1348 

2 Day, James MD et al, 2009, 'Early formation of 

evolved asteroidal crust' Nature 457, p 179–182. 

Geotourism focus at 

Outback NSW conference 

At the end of March, the small outback town 

of Wentworth, NSW, hosted the second 

annual Outback NSW Tourism Conference. 

The town, better known for its location at 

the confluence of two of Australia’s greatest 

river systems, the Murray and the Darling, 

welcomed three leaders of Australian geotourism 

as keynote speakers, Ross Dowling, 

Joane McKnight and Bram Collins. 

Ross Dowling, Edith Cowan University's 

Foundation Professor and Head of Tourism, 

provided an overview to fascinated tourism 

operators of the scope of geotourism 

activities, featuring many iconic geotourism 

sites around the world. 

Geotourism gurus pictured at the NSW 

Outback Tourism Conference, from left to 

right: Ross Dowling, Joane McKnight and , 

Bram Collins, Wentworth, March 2009. 

Image courtesy Angus Robinson. 

Joane McKnight, the founder and director of 

the Kanawinka Geopark, described how 

Australia’s first Global Geopark was listed in 

June 2008, after having applied for UNESCO 

Global status in December 2006. Joane 

explained how this region now forms the 

keystone for further development of a 

national network of geoparks. Of particular 

geological interest, the volcanic region of the 

Kanawinka Geopark covers some 26 910 

square kilometres, extending as a continuous 

belt across Victoria and South Australia, and 

is the sixth largest volcanic plains area in the 

world. The detailed geoscientific assessment 

work of the University of Melbourne’s Bernie 

Joyce was a key factor in gaining global 

recognition for this significant contribution 

to the Australian geological heritage estate. 

Finally, Bram Collins, director of the famous 

Undara Lava Tubes Experience located in 

North Queensland, described how this cattlegrazing 

area has been converted into an 

exemplar of living geotourism and a major 

contributor to regional tourism. 

After the conference, delegates had the 

opportunity to visit nearby Lake Willandra 

within the Mungo National Park. This ancient 

lake (now completely dry), together with 

residual sediments and associated sand 

dunes, represents a unique geomorphological 

landform system within which a continual 

record of Aboriginal occupation over the past 

50 000 years is preserved. The site clearly 

demonstrates evidence of major changes in 

climate as well as fossil evidence of extinct 

megafauna. 

Next year, the conference moves to Lightning 

Ridge where no doubt the mining heritage 

aspect of geotourism will be particularly well 

demonstrated. 

ANGUS M ROBINSON 

Managing Partner, Leisure Solutions® 

Geologist Ross Dowling, Edith Cowan 

University's Foundation Professor 

and Head of Tourism, with a ‘Wall of China’ 

sedimentary remnant at Lake Willandra, 

Mungo National Park, NSW. Image courtesy 

Angus Robinson. 

Chief Scientist meets 

with GSA President 

The Chief Scientist Professor Penny Sackett 

met with Peter Cawood in Perth earlier in the 

year. This was an ideal opportunity to discuss 

the National Curriculum Board, the GSA’s 

recent submission and the importance of EES 

(Earth and Environmental Sciences). The GSA, 

AIG, and the AGC all made submissions to 

the National Curriculum Board. 

Chief Scientist Professor Penny Sackett and 

Peter Cawood. Image courtesy Lindy Brophy 

from the University of Western Australia. 

18 | TAG June 2009

7th International Association 

of Geomorphologists (IAG) Conference 

Be in Melbourne from 6–11 July 2009 for the 

7th IAG conference – ANZIAG – which will be on the theme 

‘Ancient Landscapes – Modern Perspectives’. 

For the first time in the history of the International Association 

of Geomorphologists the international conference will be held 

in the Southern Hemisphere, on an ancient piece of Gondwana. 

Topical sessions include: 

■ Southern Hemisphere/Gondwana geomorphology; 

■ river management; 

■ fire effects on geomorphology and environmental processes; 

■ coastal geomorphology and management; 

■ biogeomorphology; 

■ geomorphological impacts of armed conflict; 

∑ ... and many more. 

See the website for details: www.geomorphology2009.com/ 

The Geological Society of Australia Victoria Division 

invites you to the Selwyn Symposium 2009 

Thursday 24 September 2009 at the 

Fritz-Loewe Theatre, McCoy Building, 

Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne 

Origin of the 

Australian Highlands 

The apparently quiescent continent of 

Australia lies near the middle of a plate 

yet there are many mountain ranges and 

highlands, in particular along the eastern 

seaboard. The origin and timing of 

these enigmatic features have been 

subject to considerable debate, ever 

since Andrews* (1910) assigned a 

Pliocene (5–2 million year old) age to 

the south-eastern Highlands — the 

‘Kosciuszko Uplift event’. 

Some researchers suggest that most 

highland relief was present by the 

Cretaceous. Others believe Cainozoic 

uplift created most of the mountains. 

This symposium brings together leading 

researchers in thermochronology, 

geochronology, stratigraphy and geomorphology 

to discuss the timing and 

nature of uplift in south-east Australia. 

*Andrews E C, 1910, Journal of the Proc. 

Royal Soc. NSW 44, p 420–480 

Presenters: 

Mike Sandiford, Melbourne University 

(plenary address): 

Tectonic signals in an ancient 

landscape’ 

Max Brown, Canberra: 

Cenozoic tectonics and 

volcanism and major changes 

in drainage and divides in 

south-east Australia: the 

Shoalhaven catchment and 

other examples 

Ian Duddy, Geotrack International: 

Origin of the Australian highlands 

Andrew Gleadow, Melbourne University: 

Low temperature thermochronology 

and the origin of the 

south-east Australian highlands: 

seeing an elephant in the dark 

Paul Green, Geotrack International: 

Why are there mountains in 

south-eastern Australia, or 

Norway, or West Greenland, 

or Brazil, or Scotland, or . . . 

Guy Holdgate, Melbourne University: 

No mountains to snow on — 

palaeoenvironments of the deeplead 

valleys in a low-altitude 

peneplain — today’s Victoria's 

highlands 

Bernie Joyce, Melbourne University: 

The origin and development of 

the West Victorian Uplands: 

a different story to the rest of 

the Australian highlands 

Ian McDougall, ANU: 

Constraints on the evolution of 

the south-east Australian 

Highlands from K–Ar dating of 

basalts 

Cliff Ollier, University of Western Australia: 

Overseas analogues of eastern 

highland morphotectonics 

Colin Pain, Geoscience Australia: 

Morphology of the eastern 

highlands and implications for 

landscape evolution 

Ian Roach, ANU: 

Mesozoic–Cenozoic volcanism 

in eastern Australia and its 

implications for long-term 

landscape evolution 

Graham Taylor, Canberra University: 

Geomorphic evidence for highland 

movement from the Monaro 

and far north Queensland 

Fons Vandenberg, DPI Victoria: 

Evidence for major mid- 

Cretaceous uplift of the Eastern 

Uplands 

John Webb, Latrobe University: 

The significance of peneplains in 

the uplift history of the southeastern 

Australian Highlands 

Program: 

8.30 am Registration 

9.00–5.30 pm: The Selwyn Symposium — 

20 to 25 minute presentations from 

invited speakers with morning coffee, 

lunch and afternoon tea. 

6.30 pm Selwyn Lecture (free public 

lecture) at the JH Mitchell Theatre, 

Richard Berry Building, by Professor Cliff 

Ollier, University of Western Australia: 

Title: ‘Theories of the Earth and 

mountain building’ 

Cost for the Selwyn Symposium: 

Full delegate: $120.00 including GST 

Retired delegate: $50.00 including GST 

Student delegate: $20.00 including GST 

(cost includes: lunch, morning/afternoon 

tea, abstract volume) 

Contact: Stephen Gallagher 

(sjgall@unimelb.edu.au) or David 

Cantrill (David.Cantrill@rbg.vic.gov.au) 

for registration forms and further details. 

STEPHEN GALLAGHER 

TAG June 2009 | 19

Feature 

New water from old sources: case study 

of the south-west Yarragadee aquifer 

In 2001 and 2002, record low runoff to the catchments 

providing part of Perth’s public water supply stimulated a 

proposal to develop a new groundwater scheme large 

enough to replace the shortfall. Already some 60% of the city’s 

water supply was sourced from local groundwater, so attention 

focussed on the south-west Yarragadee aquifer, 200 km from 

Perth, as the nearest source capable of supplying 45 GL/a 

(Gigalitres per year) of drinking-quality groundwater. Moreover, 

the projected source was below the Blackwood Plateau, an area 

largely under State forest, and therefore not subject to future 

private development. 

The Yarragadee aquifer consists mainly of the Yarragadee 

Formation, a thick (up to 3000 m) Late Jurassic continental 

succession of mainly weakly-consolidated sandstone, and is the 

most widespread aquifer in the Perth Basin. Removal of the 

formation by erosion in the Early Cretaceous divided the 

Yarragadee into a two sections: a northern groundwater flow 

system, extending from near Geraldton, 400 km north of Perth, 

to the southern Perth area; and a southern flow system (now 

known as the SW Yarragadee) extending from Bunbury in WA’s 

south-western corner, to the south coast. Bunbury, Busselton, 

other small towns, the mineral sands industry and some horticultural 

projects use groundwater from the Yarragadee aquifer. 

The south-west 

Yarragadee aquifer 

underlies the Perth 

Basin 200–300 km 

south of Perth, and 

supplies water 

to local towns, 

industry and 

horticulture. 

The south-west Yarragadee occupies the central and eastern 

part of the southern Perth Basin, thickening eastwards to 

abut the Darling Fault. The aquifer is mainly confined, being 

overlain unconformably by the Early Cretaceous Leederville 

Formation, and also by Bunbury Basalt, which represents the 

post Neocomian break-up sequence. The Yarragadee is faultbounded 

to the west, abutting Permian and Triassic sediments 

which underlie the Leederville Formation. The Yarragadee 

Formation outcrops in a comparatively small area on the south 

of the Blackwood Plateau and in the valley of the Blackwood 

River, and also subcrops beneath the Quaternary superficial 

formations in small areas on the eastern parts of the Swan and 

Scott coastal plains. 

Exploration history 

Systematic regional groundwater exploration of the aquifer by 

the Geological Survey started in 1966 with the Quindalup boreline. 

From 1987–1990 the drilling of the Cowaramup and 

Karridale Lines culminated in the State’s deepest exploratory 

water bore, Karridale Line 7, still in fresh water within the 

Yarragadee at a total depth of 1681 metres. 

In 2003, an investigation by the Water Corporation was 

directed to defining the outcrop area to allow quantification of 

recharge and of leakage from the overlying Leederville aquifer, 

and to provide the basis for a groundwater flow model. Some 

12 km of drilling was undertaken, with the installation of 

The Yarragadee occupies the eastern part of the basin, and is 

overlain conformably by the Parmelia Formation, and unconformably 

by the Bunbury Basalt and Leederville Formation. 

20 | TAG June 2009

a) Subcrop of formations below the Bunbury Basalt and Leederville 

Formation. Outcrop and subcrop of Yarragadee Formation below 

the superficial formations shown in darker shading; 

b) potentiometric head; c) groundwater salinity and 

d) groundwater radiocarbon age all indicate direct recharge to 

the Yarragadee aquifer from rainfall on the outcrop area, and 

groundwater flow north towards Bunbury. 

The only exposure of Yarragadee Formation is about 0.8 m thick on 

the south bank of the Blackwood River, overlain by conglomeratic 

alluvium. Image courtesy Len Baddock. 

68 new sites with up to four bores at each site, to a maximum 

depth of 400 m. The network mainly filled the gap in knowledge 

between the previous Cowaramup and Karridale lines, and 

the Scott Coastal Plain bores. Drilling was preceded by the 

acquisition of new aeromagnetic survey (to map the basalt), 

and accompanied by a full reinterpretation of existing data, 

including gravity, seismic and petroleum-exploration-well data. 

The new drilling data enabled the Yarragadee to be subdivided 

into four units, of which Unit 3 (up to 800 m thick and 

mainly sandstone) is the main aquifer, overlain by more shaley 

Units 1 and 2. The stratigraphy of the Leederville Formation was 

also reinterpreted, with the erection of new members, giving a 

better hydrogeological framework. 

Direct recharge to the Yarragadee takes place from rainfall on 

the outcrop areas on the south of the Blackwood Plateau, where 

the water table reaches a maximum elevation of 45 m Australian 

Height Datum (AHD). The groundwater salinity in the recharge 

area is as low as 180 mg/L (Total Dissolved Salts), and progressively 

increases along the flow path to around 400 mg/L at Bunbury 

and Busselton, where it is used for public water supply. 

Radiocarbon dates for groundwater in the outcrop area of 

Yarragadee Units 2 and 3 are modern, and the apparent age 

progressively increases along the flow path to around 30 ka 

at Bunbury, consistent with the groundwater flow direction 

indicated by potentiometric head and groundwater salinity 

distributions. 

Results and constraints 

One of the unexpected results of the drilling was the discovery 

of unsaturated Yarragadee Formation below a perched water 

table in the overlying Leederville aquifer on the Blackwood 

Plateau. This occurs where the highly permeable Unit 3 underlies 

the Leederville, and where the formation contact is above 

+30 m AHD. This was an important finding, as it demonstrates 

that pumping Yarragadee Unit 3 cannot affect the surface 

environment on the plateau. 

TAG June 2009 | 21

was carried out, which provided a hydraulic conductivity 

for Unit 3, but the length of the test was limited by the 

environmental constraints of discharging the pumped water to 

Rosa Brook. The uncertainties in modelled drawdown meant 

that adaptive management would be required, with no 

guarantee from the start that the required abstraction could be 

met in the long term. 

Freshwater pools and flow in the Blackwood River are maintained 

in summer by discharge from the Yarragadee aquifer. 

Image courtesy the Department of Water. 

Quantifying the downward leakage from the Leederville 

into the underlying Yarragadee was recognised to be difficult at 

the start of the investigation. Radiocarbon dates at the base of 

the 200 m thick Leederville are relatively old, typically ranging 

from 6 ka to 10 ka, and indicating a low leakage rate. The 

watertable in the Leederville relates to the topography, with a 

strong downward head gradient except in incised drainage 

lines. This contrasts with the potentiometric head distribution 

in the Yarragadee, which is determined mainly by the outcrop 

which forms the area of direct recharge from rainfall. 

The major environmental constraint on using the 

Yarragadee was recognised at the outset of the investigation to 

be the discharge to the Blackwood River. The river is incised 

into the Yarragadee outcrop area, and the aquifer locally 

discharges to maintain fresh summer pools and river flow 

during the summer, when there is often no river flow entering 

the Perth Basin at Nannup. During the winter, the Blackwood is 

saline or brackish, the flow being derived from the wheatbelt to 

the east which is affected by dryland salinity. Yarragadeemaintained 

tributaries are refugia for freshwater fish during 

the first saline winter flows. There is up to nine metres of 

artesian head below the river, and maintenance of head is a 

constraint on available drawdown, since it would be deemed 

unacceptable for spring flow to cease due to groundwater 

abstraction, or to allow saline river flow to enter the aquifer. 

The conceptual understanding of the groundwater 

flow system was translated into an eight-layer MODFLOW 

groundwater flow model, calibrated against the observed 

potentiometric heads. The modelled direct recharge to the 

Yarragadee was 44 GL/a, and leakage from the Leederville 

around 100 GL/a. 

Normally, groundwater systems can be developed gradually, 

and the impacts monitored, as abstraction is progressively 

increased. In this case, pumping at full rate would be required 

at the outset. A major difficulty with the investigation was the 

inability to carry out long-term pumping tests. A two-week test 

Public opposition and 

future directions 

Opposition to the proposal to pipe water for Perth and the 

integrated scheme (which also supplies the goldfields) came 

from several areas; the environmental lobby presented doomsday 

scenarios of the forest dying, in spite of the proven 

disconnection of the Yarragadee from the surface, and this took 

the focus from the very real issues surrounding the 

maintenance of the Blackwood pools and associated tributaries 

and wetlands. Local groundwater users, both urban and 

agricultural, opposed the transfer of water to metropolitan 

Perth on the basis that it would reduce development options for 

the south-west. Public opposition culminated in a march of the 

‘Friends of the Yarragadee’ to Parliament House in Perth. 

Early on in the groundwater investigation, the decision to 

build Perth’s first desalination plant had been made, and the 

plant successfully built. Because of public opposition, and the 

inherent uncertainties of the groundwater flow modelling 

predictions, the State Government decided to forego the 

development of the south–west Yarragadee, and to build a 

second desalination plant. 

The development of large groundwater schemes will 

certainly be more difficult in future, and one of the negative 

aspects is that the public’s perception of the impacts of using 

the south-west Yarragadee are largely incorrect, in spite of the 

good science that was carried out. Another result is a more 

conservative and precautionary approach to allocation in the 

recently-released strategic water management plan. However, 

the legacy of a comprehensive network of monitoring bores will 

allow appreciation of the effects of abstraction and climate 

impacts. That network is currently being added to by the WA 

Department of Water with new Yarragadee monitoring bores. 

The investigation involved staff of the Water Corporation 

and Department of Water over a long period. The results of the 

investigation compiled by Water Corporation are now being 

consolidated into a groundwater bulletin by Department of 

Water, principally authored by Len Baddock, who has a long 

involvement with the hydrogeology of the area, both with 

GSWA and the Water Corporation. 

The Water Corporation’s December 2007 report on the 

Hydrogeological investigations and evaluation is available on 

the WA Department of Water website. 

PHILIP COMMANDER 

Philip has recently retired as Principal Hydrogeologist at 

the Department of Water after a 38-year career in the 

WA Public Service. 

22 | TAG June 2009

Special Report 

The last field trip to Marysville 

for a while 

The week leading up to what is now known as Black 

Saturday saw several GeoScience Victoria geologists 

and field staff working in the Marysville area. With us 

was Dr Jouni Vuollo, a visiting geologist from the Geological 

Survey of Finland. He was here to see how we capture field data 

and enter it into our database, and to show us the Finnish way 

of doing the same. 

We stayed at Marysville on the Monday and Tuesday nights. 

For those who don’t know Marysville, it is (or was) one of the 

more idyllic towns in Victoria, cradled in the mountains, 

surrounded by forest. The town had a range of motels, B & Bs, 

cafes, restaurants and quirky shops, plus plenty of trees and 

gardens. It was a good base for nearby destinations such as 

Lake Mountain, Cathedral Range and Cambarville (where some 

of Australia’s tallest mountain ash reside). Geologically, we 

were mainly looking at road cuttings with weathered 

Palaeozoic sandstone and mudstone (this is Victoria after all). 

We called in at the local Department of Sustainability and 

Environment office to check on the condition of roads and the 

bushfire situation. No fires were burning in the local area at the 

time. On the Monday afternoon we noticed a small fire on the 

Mt Gordon Range nearby, but it seemed to be out by the end of 

the day, so nothing to worry about there. 

On the Wednesday morning we left Marysville with Bruce 

Simons and Jouni going back to Melbourne via Heathcote, and 

the other two vehicles going north to the Yea–Alexandra area. 

Fons VandenBerg and Fran Parkhowell remained in that area till 

Friday, while Ken Sherry and I worked near Alexandra till midafternoon 

then went back to Melbourne. The day was uncomfortably 

hot, about 37 0 C, but not windy, and no fires were seen: 

the calm before the storm. We returned to Melbourne via the 

Maroondah Highway, a route that proved to be deadly only 

three days later. Many of the villages and hamlets we had 

passed through in the last three days were virtually destroyed 

on the Saturday. 

After spending the remainder of the very hot week traversing 

the Black Range, Fons and Fran returned to Melbourne by 

Friday, just in time as the weather bureau was issuing warnings 

that Saturday would be the worst fire day in Victoria’s history. 

Worse than Ash Wednesday 1983. This was dire warning indeed 

— catastrophic fires seemed inevitable. 

Saturday, as we know, turned out to be a horror day: 46 0 C 

in Melbourne (hottest on record), a fierce hot wind blowing out 

of the north, and by afternoon a yellow pall of smoke blanketing 

the city. I stayed indoors all day. It was not a day to be out 

in the bush. I didn’t hear any news until the 7 pm ABC TV news, 

which mentioned a big fire in the Kilmore–Wandong area, 

about 60 km north of Melbourne, and some other fires in the 

region, but nothing serious seemed to have happened. In fact, 

by then about 170 people had been killed across the State, but 

the news had not got onto the TV. 

Nevertheless, it seems that several people from Kinglake 

had called the local ABC radio station about 3.30 pm saying 

that the town of Kinglake was on fire. Odd that this information 

didn’t get to the TV news. Communication was clearly a 

problem on the day. 

In hindsight I should have been more vigilant, living in the 

north-eastern suburbs, as the fires were licking at the northeastern 

edges of Melbourne that afternoon. I was unaware of 

this till about 10 pm when a friend phoned and asked if I knew 

there were fires around Hurstbridge and St Andrews (just 

beyond the suburban fringe) and there were reports that 

14 people had been killed. 

I realised that I better get some info, so I logged onto the 

Country Fire Authority (CFA) website, as these communities are 

only 10 or 12 km from where I live. Luckily for Melbourne, a 

change in wind direction from north to west in the afternoon 

meant that the fires were moving away from Melbourne, but 

who can predict where and when an arsonist might strike This 

change in wind direction was accompanied by a strengthening 

in wind speed, which was not so lucky for the towns in its path. 

The CFA website listed over 100 fires across the State, ranging 

from extinguished to out of control, but even late on 

Saturday night they had no idea of the severity of the 

Kilmore–Kinglake fire, and the Marysville and Churchill fires. In 

fact I don’t recall seeing any fires at Marysville listed. 

On Sunday I read on an internet news site that Marysville 

had been virtually wiped off the map. This news gave me quite 

a shock. At first I didn’t think this was possible, it must be a 

news beat-up. But as photos came in during the Sunday and 

the following days it was clear that Marysville was pretty much 

destroyed, along with Kinglake and several villages north and 

east of Melbourne. We were among the last people to see 

Marysville before the conflagration. 

Looking at aerial photos of the devastated town we realised 

that the motel we stayed in was still standing, although possibly 

damaged, and also our favourite bakery. Most other buildings 

in the main street were now ash and wreckage: the shops 

and cafes we went to, the restaurants we dined at. I wonder 

how many people we met there — hotel staff, shop staff, 

people who worked in the petrol station, the DSE office — didn’t 

make it. 

TAG June 2009 | 23

Many people at GeoScience Victoria know people who 

escaped with nothing but their lives. My partner knew two 

couples who died at Kinglake. Fortunately nobody at GSV was 

directly affected, although a few people here were very close to 

the action. 

It is obvious that many people were completely unprepared 

and uninformed on Black Saturday. The best source of information 

on the fires is local ABC radio. But how many people listen 

to it How many people even know it exists, especially those 

who have been raised on a diet of commercial TV and radio 

Maybe comparisons with Ash Wednesday were lost on people 

too young to remember that event. 

There are implications for field geologists, with firestorms 

predicted to become more frequent with global warming. At 

GeoScience Victoria we have a policy of not working in forest 

areas on a total fire ban day, although we can work in open 

country or along major roads, as long as we keep in touch with 

DSE or Parks Victoria offices to be warned of any fires in the 

area. 

When it comes to extreme fire days, we don’t have a policy 

as yet. What if the Saturday weather had been predicted for the 

Tuesday or Wednesday when we were in the area My instinct 

would be to cancel or curtail a field trip that had an extreme fire 

day predicted. I wouldn’t be working on a day of 46 0 C anyway — 

I’d be too hot and bothered to do any useful work. Summer is 

the traditional field season in Victoria, but we may have to 

question whether it’s such a good time to be in the bush. The 

same questions will have to be asked in Tasmania and NSW. 

VINCE MORAND 

GeoScience Victoria 

Memories of Marysville 

When Marysville first entered my consciousness, on a family 

holiday during my childhood, I had no way of knowing how 

integral it would become to my geological career. Through the 

five or so decades since, the town seemed unchangeable, as did 

the thick forested highlands beyond it, and the majestic scarp of 

the Cathedral Range to its north. 

I was one of a group of five Melbourne University Honours 

students, including Andy Gleadow, who commenced our mapping 

of the incredible Cerberean Cauldron early in 1970. We had 

used ES Hills’ landmark 1932 paper, ‘The geology of Marysville’, 

to familiarise ourselves with the sequence of volcanic rocks 

exposed in cuttings up the road that led eastwards to the old 

gold town of Woods Point. Once up on the plateau, you could 

take the road to the ski resort of Lake Mountain, or continue 

through the old timber settlement of Cambarville, with its 

stands of immense mountain ash. We sampled the cuttings on 

Robleys Spur extensively and puzzled over the weird rocks on 

the plateau, in what Hills had termed the ‘hybrid zone’, where 

the Cerberean and Acheron cauldron sequences interfingered, 

and were affected by late granitic intrusions. 

Bill Birch pointing out the contact between the the Rubicon 

Rhyolite and the Robleys Spur Formation, Marysville to Cumberland 

Road, June 1980. Image courtesy Robin Gill. 

After Honours, I never completely lost touch with Marysville. 

It was the base for geological excursions, for both professional 

and amateur groups, and for taking interested international 

visitors on day trips to see how well an ancient cauldron 

subsidence complex was preserved. I recall the disbelief of one 

geologist that the coarsely recrystallised Lake Mountain 

Rhyodacite could possibly be a volcanic rock. Vivid in my 

memory are the tiger snakes basking on the conglomerate outcrops 

at our first excursion stop outside Marysville — two years 

in a row! The impressive Stephenson’s Falls, a short drive out of 

town, were the closest tourists got to a geological experience 

without knowing it, as the stream tumbled over the scarpforming 

Rubicon Rhyolite. 

It wasn’t just Marysville though. To get there you drove up 

the Black Spur out of Healesville, through the iconic layered 

forest of tree fern and mountain ash, to perhaps have a coffee 

break in the village of Narbethong. If you were bypassing 

Marysville, you proceeded northwards with the Cathedral Range 

on your right, through the townships of Buxton and Taggerty. 

Behind the range’s rocky heights were the hard-to-find 

exposures of ES Hill’s Devonian fish beds, within the volcanic 

sequence in the southern part of the Blue Range. If you 

detoured to the Cathedral Range State Park, almost always you 

could hear or see lyrebirds. 

24 | TAG June 2009

View of the Cerberean Highlands and the Cathedral Range, looking south from the position where Eugene von Guerard painted his 1863 

landscape (compare this with the cover of Geology of Victoria SP23). Nearly all of this country was burnt in the fires of February 2009. 

Image courtesy Bill Birch. 

All these places I’ve mentioned are within the boundaries of 

the devastating firestorms that began on Saturday 7 February. 

Marysville and Narbethong were destroyed, Buxton and 

Taggerty came close, with the loss of over 40 lives, but the 

Black Spur forest seems to have escaped destruction. You can 

get some idea of the extent of the fires from Eugene von 

Guerard’s classic 1863 landscape painting on the cover of 

Geology of Victoria (GSA Special Publication 23). Almost the 

entire vista has been burnt. Looking southwards, to the right of 

the scarp, is the broad valley of the Acheron River, now largely 

cleared for farming. Taggerty, Buxton and Narbethong are 

in this valley, while Marysville is tucked in behind the low 

wooded hills in the far distance. With the wind change, the 

fires swept up the slopes of the Cathedral Range and onto the 

Cerberean plateau to the left, eventually burning as far to the 

north-east as Mt Torbreck, the highest point, before being 

checked by much-needed rain a week or so later. 

I haven’t been back since the fires. Perhaps I will wait until 

winter and spring rains have brought some green back to the 

forests. They won’t restore the lives or the towns that have 

been lost, but they will begin to help soften the landscape and 

restore some peace of mind. The rocks around Marysville, of 

course, like memories, will endure. 

BILL BIRCH 

Museum Victoria 

TAG June 2009 | 25

In Focus 

“Grassroots” and “greenfields”: regolith geology in 

teaching and research 

Recent articles in TAG have focused on both the insecurities 

of geology education at "grassroots" levels as well 

as the greater need for exploration efforts in "greenfields" 

areas. 

A teaching and research program in regolith geology at the 

University of Adelaide addresses some of these issues at the 

grassroots levels and in greenfields areas both literally and 

metaphorically. Although Australia is a regolith-dominated continent, 

regolith geology has not been a traditional part of 

geology courses at universities. At the University of Adelaide, 

regolith geology is part of the undergraduate program from first 

year through to Honours levels. This program includes 

the topics of hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry, lowtemperature 

geochemistry, landscape evolution, pedology and 

geohazards, and integrates field trips within the local Adelaide 

region, Kangaroo Island, Barrier Ranges and the northern 

Flinders Ranges – Lake Frome Plains. 

Student numbers across this program have continued to 

increase in recent years. In general, courses that may have had 

30 or so students in them four years ago now have more than 

double the enrolments with some exceeding or approaching 100 

enrolments. Enrolments in the second year Landscape Processes 

and Environments II course have increased to over 100 students 

for the past two years, meaning that there have now been over 

100 students a year camping under the stars, mapping regolith 

and sampling soils and trees on the Fowlers Gap fieldtrip for this 

course. 

Mineral Exploration Under Cover Honours field-course in the northern 

Flinders Ranges: Honours students Miki Jennings and Deanne 

Gallasch sampling ants and nest soils on Radium Ridge. Image 

courtesy Steve Hill. 

The reasons for the major increase in student enrolments are 

probably varied but a few factors appear to have prevailed. The 

increased enrolments are as part of the revamped teaching 

program and subsequent increased enrolments in geology at the 

University of Adelaide. Increased local media and geology 

stories in national shows such as ABC TV's Catalyst 

(eg www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2008/03/06/2179694.htm) 

have raised attention to the demand and applications in the 

minerals industry. Although the demand from the minerals 

industry has recently decreased, student enrolments have not 

declined. Very important here has been the demonstration of 

the diversity of knowledge and applications in geology, including 

mineral exploration and mining, as well as environmental 

geology and research applications. 

Many students with multi-disciplinary backgrounds, such as 

in biology and chemistry, are specifically attracted to regolith 

geology, where they can realise the potential to contribute to 

the science because of their multi-disciplinary perspective. The 

close interaction with industry has also provided the potential 

for students to use Honours projects as a ‘foot in the door’ 

with particular companies, and provided valuable industry 

experience. 

Minerals exploration through cover 

Industry uptake of these students has been high and many 

accounts from ex-students claim that their regolith geology 

skills and knowledge have helped them keep their job during 

industry's recent economic constraints. A major part of the 

success of the teaching and research programs has included 

recent breakthroughs in the use of the biogeochemistry of 

Australian flora and fauna for mineral exploration under cover 

and its integration with a framework of regolith-landform 

mapping and landscape history. 

At the 4th year level, the University of Adelaide offers a 

course in Mineral Exploration Under Cover, where a major 

emphasis is on the application of regolith geology for mineral 

exploration programs. This course is run as a one-week module 

within the Mineral Council of Australia's Minerals Tertiary 

Education Council (MTEC) Honours program. The fieldcourse 

had 24 enrolments in 2008 and is set to have up to 50 in 2009, 

making it the largest of all of the MTEC Honours courses in the 

nation. The course is conducted in the spectacular 

Arkaroola–Beverley area of the northern Flinders Ranges – Lake 

Frome plains, and includes fieldwork at the Four Mile uranium 

prospect and a visit to the Beverley Uranium Mine (Hill and 

Hore, in press). 

26 | TAG June 2009

Honours students also conduct research projects within the 

field of regolith geology. From 2003 to 2009, 32 Honours 

students conduct research projects in regolith geology at the 

University of Adelaide. In recent years, there have been projects 

in the Beverley–Four Mile area, Tunkillia Au prospect, Broken 

Hill–Pinnacles, Tibooburra–Thomson Orogen region, and the 

Hillside Cu–Au prospect near Ardrossan. An outline of 

extensions of this program into PhD research is given in the 

following section. 

The regolith geology research program 

The regolith geology research program at the University of 

Adelaide has been largely developed from the core party investment 

in the Cooperative Research Centre for Landscapes 

Environment and Mineral Exploration (CRC LEME) up to June 

2008. Since 2003, there have been 21 PhD students enrolled in 

regolith research programs. The research emphasis has mainly 

been mineral exploration under cover using regolith-landform 

mapping and landscape-history techniques. 

Some research projects have also had environmental 

geoscience applications, particularly using geophysics for 

groundwater characterisation and management. Research 

funding has largely been through CRC LEME, as well as the 

university and one-on-one projects with mineral exploration 

companies and government, such as Primary Industries and 

Resources South Australia (PIRSA) and NSW Department of 

Primary Industry (NSW DPI). The research has involved Honours 

and PhD students along with their academic supervisors and 

external collaborators. 

Major research advances have been made in understanding 

the ability of flora and fauna biogeochemistry to express 

underlying geological substrates, such as buried mineralisation. 

In Australia, sedimentary cover is widespread and abundant, 

and has provided a major challenge for traditional geochemical 

exploration approaches, such as soil and stream sediment 

sampling. The basic principle of using biota for mineral 

exploration is that living organisms are an integral part of the 

landscape and as such are able to provide a biogeochemical 

expression of their landscape setting, including the geological 

substrate. The most obvious and widely adopted approach uses 

plant biogeochemistry for mineral exploration. This exploits 

processes where plant roots take in metals and trace elements 

from the ground and transfer these within the plant, including 

plant organs (eg leaves, twigs, bark, fruit, flowers) that may be 

readily sampled at the land surface. 

Geochemical variations between different geological 

substrates can provide different amounts of metals and trace 

elements for plants to take up, and therefore the plants growing 

over these substrates may have different biogeochemical 

compositions. In the simplest cases, substrates that contain 

more of particular metals or trace elements are more likely to 

support plants that contain more of these elements. In extreme 

cases, these substrates may include mineralisation and 

PhD student fieldwork in the Tanami: Nathan Reid and Anna Petts 

sampling vegetation and termitaria at Newmont's Titania 

prospect. Image courtesy Steve Hill. 

therefore provide plants with metals and trace elements 

associated with the particular mineralisation system, and 

therefore express buried mineralisation in the plant tissues. 

Animals and microorganisms can have equivalent relationships 

with their geological substrate, particularly through 

burrowing and uptake, as well as by grazing on plants. Minerals 

exploration programs can exploit these interactions by taking 

samples of animal faeces and soil-based microorganisms and 

relating these to the underlying geological substrates in the 

search for mineral deposits. 

Research projects have been conducted in major geological 

provinces including: Curnamona Province (Hill and Hill, 2003; 

Hill, 2004; Hill et al, 2005; Fabris et al, 2008), Gawler Craton 

(Lowrey and Hill, 2006; Sheard et al, 2008), Mt Painter-Lake 

Frome plains (Neimanis and Hill, 2006; Neimanis et al, 2007; 

Hill, 2008; Hill et al, 2008b), Thomson Orogen near Tibooburra 

(Hill et al, 2008a) , and the Tanami (Petts and Hill, 2007; Reid 

et al, 2008). Highlights of this research have involved the 

development of sampling and sample-preparation methodology, 

and the constraint of environmental variables, such as 

climate and landscape position, in influencing biogeochemical 

results (eg Hulme and Hill, 2004). This has involved the 

biogeochemical characterisation of over 50 Australian native 

plant species from across Australia, many of which are now 

being widely adopted in mineral exploration programs (Hill and 

Hill, 2003). 

TAG June 2009 | 27

Overcoming the challenges of sampling the upper parts of cathedral termitaria at Titania. Image courtesy Steve Hill. 

This initial research contributed to the discovery of the 

buried Perseverance Lode extending from near the Pinnacles 

Mine, near Broken Hill, using river red gum biogeochemistry 

(Hill, 2004; Hulme and Hill, 2003). Deep-rooted plants such as 

spinifex are also becoming widely used in arid Australia (Reid 

et al, 2008; in press). The use of fauna in biogeochemical 

exploration programs has included termitaria sampling in 

northern Australia (Petts and Hill, 2007; Petts et al, in press); 

meat ants in semi-arid southern Australia (Jennings et al, 2007); 

and macropod (kangaroo and wallaby) scats for regional 

exploration surveys (Hill, 2004; McMahon and Hill, 2007). 

Industry uptake of this exploration approach, as well as 

employment for graduates with skills and knowledge in this 

field, have been strong. Since 2003, over 20 companies and 

government departments have used biogeochemistry 

techniques for mineral exploration, whereas prior to this, it was 

difficult to identify any mineral exploration companies in 

Australia that were regularly using these techniques. 

It is obviously important to maintain and further develop 

this regolith geology teaching and research program. In hindsight, 

it has demonstrated the value of the Federal 

Government’s CRC Program as an investment seed for establishing 

a non-traditional geology field at a university. Some of the 

challenges yet to be faced include adequately servicing the 

needs and providing the teaching quality for increased student 

numbers, particularly on fieldtrips where the costs have more 

than doubled due to increased enrolments. At the Honours and 

PhD research levels, it appears that increased industry awareness 

and demand for these skills and knowledge has translated 

into more reliable one-on-one industry funding and support for 

student projects. Similarly, industry investment and support into 

Honours-level teaching programs such as the Minerals Tertiary 

Education Council (MTEC) have also been extremely valuable 

and important for extending the impact of this program beyond 

a single university. 

STEVE HILL 

Geology and Geophysics, University of Adelaide 

REFERENCES 

Fabris, AJ, et al, 2008, ‘A guide for mineral exploration through the regolith in the 

Curnamona Province, South Australia’ CRC LEME Explorers' Guide Series (edited by 

D Garnett, G Govett and L Worrall). CRC LEME, Perth 

Hill, SM and Hill, LJ, 2003, ‘Some important plant characteristics and assay 

overviews for biogeochemical surveys in western NSW’ In: Roach, IC (Ed), Advances 

in Regolith, CRC LEME, p 187–192 

Hill, SM, 2004, ‘Biogeochemical sampling media for regional-to prospect-scale mineral 

exploration in regolith-dominated terrains of the Curnamona Province and 

adjacent areas in western NSW and eastern SA’ In: Roach, IC (Ed), Regolith 2004, 

CRC LEME, p 128–133 

Hill, SM, 2008, ‘A regolith and landscape evolution framework for mineral exploration 

under cover in the northern Flinders Ranges–Frome Embayment, South 

Australia’ In: Geological Society of Australia and the Australian Institute of 

Geoscientists, Australian Earth Sciences Convention (AESC) 2008. New Generation 

Advances in Geoscience, Abstracts No 89, p 135 

Hill, SM, et al, 2008, ‘A guide for mineral exploration through and within the 

regolith in the south-western Thomson Orogen, NSW’ CRC LEME Explorers' Guide 

Series (edited by D Garnett, G Govett and L Worrall). CRC LEME, Perth 

Hill, SM and Hore, SB, in press, ‘Northern Flinders Ranges–Lake Frome plains 

uranium exploration under cover: new geological insights through collaboration’ 

MESA Journal 

Hill, SM, et al, 2008, ‘Uranium in animals, vegetables and minerals: the biological 

expression of uranium for mineral exploration under cover’ AusIMM International 

Uranium Conference 2008 Abstracts Volume, p 89–90 

Hill, SM and Roach, IC, 2005, ‘Regolith-landforms of northern Lake Paddock, 

Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, western NSW’ In: Roach, I C (Ed) Regolith 

2005 — ten years of CRC LEME, CRC LEME, Perth, p 139–145 

28 | TAG June 2009

Hill, SM and Roach, IC, 2006, Sandstone Paddock 1: 12 500 regolith-landform map, 

2008a, Hotel Paddock 1: 12 5000 regolith-landform map, 2008b, ‘Connors Paddock 

1: 12 5000 regolith-landform map, CRC LEME (maps available at 

http://crcleme.org.au/Pubs/regmaps.html) 

Hill, SM and Roach, IC, 2008c, ‘Fowlers Gap regolith field class’, national undergraduate 

regolith geology school lecture notes and reading material, CRC LEME 

Open File Report, 236 

Hill, SM, et al, 2004 ‘A collaborative undergraduate field school for regolith geoscience 

at Fowlers Gap, western NSW: 2004 a regolith odyssey’ In: Roach, IC (Ed), 

Regolith 2004, CRC LEME, p 134–139 

Hill, SM, et al, 2005, ‘Flying doctor Ag–Pb–Zn prospect, Northern Leases, Borken 

Hill. In: CRM Butt, et al, (Eds), Regolith Expression of Australian Ore Systems: A 

compilation of geochemical case histories and conceptual models. p 146–148, CRC 

LEME Monograph, Perth. 

Hulme, KA, and Hill, SM, 2003, ‘River red gums as a biogeochemical sampling medium 

in mineral exploration and environmental chemistry programs in the 

Curnamona Craton and adjacent regions of NSW and SA’. In: Roach, IC (Ed), 

Advances in Regolith, CRC LEME, p 205–210 

Hulme, KA and Hill, SM, 2004, Seasonal element variations of Eucalyptus camaldulensis 

biogeochemistry and implications for mineral exploration: an example from 

Teilta, Curnamona Province, western NSW, In: Roach, IC (ed), Regolith 2004, CRC 

LEME, pp 151-156 

Jennings, MF, et al, 2007, ‘Biogeochemical trace element cycling over the Four Mile 

West uranium mineralisation by invertebrate soil biota’ In Cooper, BJ and Keeling, 

JL (Eds), 5th Sprigg Symposium, November 2007: Regolith Mineral Deposits and 

Environment, Geological Society of Australia Abstracts No 87, p 34–37 

Lowrey, JR and Hill, SM, 2006, ‘Plant biogeochemistry of Au-mineralisation buried 

by an aeolian dunefield: Tunkillia SA’ In: R W Fitzpatrick and P Shand (Eds) Regolith 

2006 — Consolidation and Dispersion of Ideas, CRC LEME, Perth, p 217–220 

McMahon, JMP, and Hill, SM, 2007, ‘Biogeochemical and geochemical expressions 

of uranium prospectivity across the Four Mile Creek catchment, South Australia’ In 

Cooper, BJ and Keeling, JL (Eds), 5th Sprigg Symposium, November 2007: Regolith 

Mineral Deposits and Environment, Geological Society of Australia Abstracts No 87, 

p 54–58 

Neimanis, MJ and Hill, SM, 2006 ‘Plant biogeochemical expression of uranium mineralisation 

in Australia: research outline and preliminary results’ In: RW Fitzpatrick 

and P Shand (Eds) Regolith 2006 — Consolidation and Dispersion of Ideas, CRC 

LEME, Perth, p 256–259 

Neimanis, M, Hill, SM and Hore, S, 2007 ‘Plant biogeochemical expression of the 

Four Mile Uranium Mineralisation, Frome Embayment, South Australia’ In Cooper, 

BJ and Keeling, JL (Eds), 5th Sprigg Symposium, November 2007: Regolith Mineral 

Deposits and Environment, Geological Society of Australia Abstracts No 87, p 59–61 

Petts, AE and Hill, SM, 2007 ‘Termitaria as regolith and landscape attributes: a case 

study from Titania Au-prospect, NT’ In Cooper, BJ and Keeling, JL (Eds), 5th Sprigg 

Symposium, November 2007: Regolith Mineral Deposits and Environment, 

Geological Society of Australia Abstracts No 87, p 62–66 

Petts, A, et al, in press, ‘Termite species variations and significance for termitaria 

biogeochemistry: towards a robust approach for mineral exploration’ Geochemistry 

Exploration Environment Analysis 

Reid, N, et al, 2008, ‘Spinifex biogeochemical expressions of buried gold 

mineralisation: the great mineral exploration penetrator of transported regolith’ 

Applied Geochemistry, 23, p 76–84 

Reid, N, et al, in press, ‘Vegetation biogeochemical expression of buried 

Au-mineralisation in semi-arid northern Australia: penetration of transported cover 

at the Titania Gold Prospect, Tanami Desert Australia’ Geochemistry Exploration 

Environment Analysis 

Roach, IC and Hill, SM, 2007 South Sandstone Paddock 1: 12 500 

Regolith–Landform Map CRC LEME 

Sheard, MJ, et al, 2008, ‘A guide for mineral exploration through the regolith in the 

Central Gawler Craton, South Australia’ CRC LEME Explorers' Guide Series (edited by 

D Garnett, G Govett and L Worrall), CRC LEME, Perth 

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2009 Groundwater Short Courses & Workshops 

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Groundwater will be an enduring gauge of this generation’s 

intelligence in water and land management 

3 rd NZ Groundwater Modelling School: 

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TAG June 2009 | 29

FL Stillwell Award 2008 

Nominees 

NG Direen, HMJ Stagg, PA Symonds and JB Colwell, 

‘Architecture of volcanic rifted margins: new insights from the 

Exmouth–Gascoyne margin, Western Australia’ 55, 341–363 

AD Heap and PT Harris, ‘Geomorphology of the Australian 

margin and adjacent seafloor’ 55, 555–585 

GR Holdgate, MW Wallace, SJ Gallagher, BE Wagstaff and 

D Moore, ‘No mountains to snow on: major post-Eocene 

uplift of the East Victoria Highlands; evidence from Cenozoic 

deposits’ 55, 211–234 

I Metcalfe, RS Nicoll and RJ Willink, ‘Conodonts from the 

Permian–Triassic transition in Australia and position of the 

Permian–Triassic boundary’ 55, 365–377 

W Potma, PA Roberts, PM Schaubs, HA Sheldon, Y Zhang, 

BE Hobbs and A Ord, ‘Predictive targeting in Australian 

orogenic-gold systems at the deposit to district scale using 

numerical modelling’ 55, 101–122 

PM Vasconcelos, KM Knesel, BE Cohen and JA Heim, 

‘Geochronology of the Australian Cenozoic: a history of 

tectonic and igneous activity, weathering, erosion, and 

sedimentation’ 55, 865–914 

Award 

The Stillwell Award for the best paper published in the 

Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 55 for 2008 has 

been given to Andrew Heap and Peter Harris for their paper 

‘Geomorphology of the Australian margin and adjacent seafloor’ 

(AJES 55, 555–585). 

Citation 

The 2008 Stillwell Award paper presents, for the first time, the 

distribution of seafloor geomorphic features on the Australian 

margin, including two areas of extended continental shelf, 

based on a systematic mapping study of the most up-to-date 

high-resolution bathymetry data ever compiled for Australia. 

The paper contains a quantification of the distribution and areal 

extents of 21 geomorphic features, and also includes a discussion 

of the composition of the Australian margin compared with 

other continents. A total of 6702 individual geomorphic 

features were mapped, and the data reveal that the Australian 

margin is over-represented in continental slope and marginal 

plateaus. Significantly, marginal plateaus on the Australian 

margin cover 20% of all the marginal plateaus in the world. 

Although the research presented in the paper is largely 

aimed at supporting resource management by being used as a 

starting point to infer broad-scale seafloor habitat types, it is 

also has wider application as a valuable teaching aid for the 

make up and geological history of Australia. The Award paper is 

the result of collaboration between the federal Departments of 

Resources, Energy and Tourism, and Environment, Water, 

Heritage and the Arts, and is an indication of the support the 

Australian Commonwealth Government provides for marine 

geoscience research in Australia. 

Andrew Heap is currently the project leader of the Seabed 

Mapping and Characterisation project in the Marine and Coastal 

Environment Group, Geoscience Australia. This project provides 

fundamental geoscience information for Australia's seafloor and 

coordinates the delivery of products to the Commonwealth 

Government in support of the management of Australia’s nonliving 

and living marine resources. Andrew’s main role in the 

project is to lead research examining the interrelationships 

between geoscience, oceanography and biology in the context 

30 | TAG June 2009

of spatial modelling and process studies. Andrew received his 

PhD in marine geology from James Cook University in 2000. 

Joining GA in the same year he has since developed a national 

classification of 974 of Australia’s estuaries based on mapping 

their geomorphology, created a national seabed classification 

based on mapping the geomorphic features on Australia’s 

margin, and helped discover a new coral reef province in the 

Gulf of Carpentaria. 

Peter Harris has worked as a marine geologist in Australia 

since 1985. For the last six years he has been Group Leader for 

GA’s Marine and Coastal Environment Group, which presently 

employs 50 staff working in seven project areas. Previously, he 

was leader of the Paleoenvironment Program at the Antarctic 

CRC in Hobart from 1994–2003 and before that a Senior 

Lecturer at the University of Sydney. Peter completed a BSc at 

the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, and a PhD on the 

evolution of macrotidal estuaries at the University of Wales in 

Swansea, UK. He was awarded the first Bureau of Mineral 

Resources Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1985. His research interests 

include the paleoenvironments and physical sedimentology 

of the Australian and Antarctic margins and the application of 

marine geology to environmental management in Australia. 

David I Groves Award 2008 

Winner 

The David I Groves Award for the best paper published in the 

Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 55, for 2008 by a 

senior author less than five years after graduating with a 

BSc (Hons) degree in Earth Sciences has been given to Justin 

Payne, the senior author of the paper ‘Temporal constraints on 

the timing of high-grade metamorphism in the northern Gawler 

Craton: implications for assembly of the Australian Proterozoic’ 

(AJES 55, 623–640), written jointly with Martin Hand, Karen 

Barovich and Ben Wade. 

Citation 

The David I Groves Award paper investigates the timing of upper 

amphibolite–granulite-grade metamorphism in the northern 

Gawler Craton, South Australia. This research was undertaken in 

the course of Justin Payne’s PhD studies. The results of this 

study provide the first constraints on the age of orogenesis in a 

large area of unexposed Proterozoic crystalline basement in 

northern South Australia. In doing so, the study has further 

expanded the known areal extent of the ~1.73–1.69 Ga Kimban 

orogenic event and strengthened arguments for the coherence 

of the Gawler Craton at ~1.7 Ga. This contrasts with a number 

of previously proposed models for the evolution of the Gawler 

Craton and Proterozoic Australia and highlights the importance 

of understanding the nature of ~1.7 Ga orogenesis in the 

amalgamation of Proterozoic Australia and Antarctica. 

Justin Payne obtained his PhD from the University of 

Adelaide in 2008. His PhD research focused on utilising 

geochemistry, isotope geochemistry and geochronology to 

refine the Palaeoproerozoic tectonothermal evolution of the 

Gawler Craton, South Australia. This work led to reassessment of 

palaeotectonic reconstruction models for the growth and 

amalgamation of Australia and East Antarctica during the 

Proterozoic. He is currently working at GEMOC, Macquarie 

University as an ICP-MS geochemist involved in technique 

development for geochronological and geochemical applications 

of (Laser Ablation-) ICP-MS. Martin Hand is an Associate 

Professor in metamorphic geology and tectonics at the 

University of Adelaide. His research focuses on using a multidisciplinary 

approach to solve fundamental and applied Earth 

Science problems relating to all aspects of crustal growth and 

evolution. Reflecting this, he has established and leads the 

Continental Evolution Research Group at the University 

of Adelaide to encourage and promote the integration of 

geological, geochemical and geophysical techniques to solve 

a wide range of Earth Science problems, including crustal 

reworking, supercontinent evolution and geothermal energy 

exploration targetting. 

Karin Barovich is a senior lecturer in geology and geophysics 

at the University of Adelaide. Her current research focuses on 

Precambrian geology and crustal evolution with the goal of 

improving our understanding of the processes by which the 

continental crust has separated from the mantle and 

the processes which have affected the chemical growth and 

stability of this crust. This research relies heavily on accurate 

geochronological studies (primarily U–Pb mineral ages) 

combined with whole-rock elemental (major and trace 

elements) and isotopic data (U–Pb, Rb–Sr, and Sm–Nd) that can 

be used to trace the overall evolutionary path of individual 

crustal segments. 

Ben Wade is a geologist by training and electron 

microscopist by practice. He obtained his PhD in geology from 

the University of Adelaide in 2006, predominantly involving the 

application of U–Pb geochronology and Nd–Sr isotopes in 

deconvoluting the tectonic history of the Musgrave Province in 

central Australia. Following a short stint of postdoctoral 

studies, he is now employed as a microscopist at Adelaide 

Microscopy, with activities including maintaining the laser 

ablation and solution ICP-MS instruments, along with SEM 

and TEM. 

TAG June 2009 | 31

FORUM 

Speculations on magma chambers, magma mingling, 

and igneous net-veined complexes 

Idle thoughts of a 

retired geologist 

holidaying in south-west 

Western Australia 

These musings are my tribute to the 

inspirational work of the eminent British 

geologist, George PL Walker, FRS, who died in 

January 2005. I greatly benefited during the 

early 1960s from many stimulating discussions 

on geological matters with George 

while camping with him in Iceland (eg, Blake 

et al, 1965, Walker and Blake, 1966). Since 

that time I have spent nearly 40 years as a 

research scientist engaged in regional 

geological mapping of mainly hard-rock 

terranes. I was stimulated to write this 

article while on holiday in January 2009 in 

the Albany and Esperance regions of Western 

Australia, where there are magnificent 

exposures of extensive early Precambrian 

net-veined complexes in which I think 

magma mingling has taken place. These 

exposures are shown on current geological 

maps published by the Geological Survey of 

Western Australia as mainly heterogeneous 

and xenolithic granite, gneiss, and migmatite. 

Magma is the primary source for all igneous 

and most other rocks now exposed at the 

surface. Its properties affect all geological 

interpretations involving igneous processes. 

During its crystallisation, a process which 

in large intrusions may take many millions 

of years to complete, magma remains 

partly fluid. Any substantial intrusion now 

consisting of crystalline igneous rocks can 

be regarded as a fossil magma chamber. 

Mafic magmas crystallise at much higher 

temperatures and are much more fluid (less 

viscous) than normal felsic magmas. 

Therefore mafic magma, on cooling, will 

solidify and crystallise while adjacent felsic 

magma is still fluid. Felsic magmas, having 

lower melting temperatures, can be expected 

to become superheated, and thereby 

rendered more fluid, by hotter adjacent 

mafic magmas. In contrast, most sedimentary 

and metamorphic rocks have much higher 

melting temperatures than any magma. 

Magma mingling takes place in intrusions 

(magma chambers) when voluminous 

magmas of contrasting compositions, 

eg felsic and mafic, come together and 

crystallise to form net-veined complexes. In 

these complexes, the more mafic components 

typically occur as rounded pillow-like bodies 

or partly angular pillow fragments enclosed 

in felsic rock (typically granite). Contacts 

between mafic pillows and adjacent felsic 

rock suggest a liquid-to-liquid relationship. 

The mafic components are commonly 

intricately veined by the felsic material, but 

never vice versa. This may indicate that they 

had solidified before becoming veined by 

highly fluid (superheated) felsic magma. 

ABOVE: Net-veined complex in the Torndirrup 

National Park near Natural Bridge, Albany 

Image courtesy David Blake. 

RIGHT: Features attributed to magma mingling 

in net-veined complex in the Torndirrup 

National Park near Natural Bridge, Albany. 


32 | TAG June 2009

Net-veined complex in Bay of Islands National Park near Esperance. Image courtesy David Blake. 

My geological career has involved the 

recognition of numerous net-veined 

complexes ranging in age from Tertiary to 

Archaean in many parts of Australia, including 

the highly mineralised East Kimberley 

(Blake and Hoatson, 1993) and Mount Isa 

(Blake, 1987) regions, and also in Europe 

(Blake et al, 1965), North America and China. 

The formation of net-veined complexes by 

injections of mafic magma into felsic magma 

can be considered somewhat analogous to 

the extrusion of mafic magma under water. 

In both cases, the mafic magma solidifies as 

pillows and pillow breccias (eg Walker and 

Blake 1966). 

Superheating of felsic magma by mafic 

magma may be much more widespread than 

is generally supposed, especially in netveined 

complexes, where it could account for 

the common development of hybrid rocks 

attributable to chemical mixing and for 

abundant felsic veinlets indicative of highlyfluid, 

felsic magma. Perhaps superheating of 

felsic magma by mafic magma may help 

trigger some volcanic eruptions, such as 

those resulting in the emission of major 

ignimbrites. Of course, any effects of 

superheating, like all geological factors, will 

depend on the temperature, pressure, and 

time involved. 

The net-veined complexes in the Albany and 

Esperance areas are shown on recently 

published geological maps as mainly 

heterogenous and xenolithic granite, foliated 

granite, gneiss, and migmatite. They cover 

many hundreds of square kilometres and are 

surrounded by medium to coarse-grained 

leucocratic granite containing euhedral 

feldspar phenocrysts, like many of the 

granites exposed in the Yilgarn Block to the 

north, eg, at Wave Rock and near Kalgoorlie 

and Norseman. The granites are generally 

foliated, but may not be significantly 

recrystallised or deformed, as the feldspar 

phenocrysts in them appear to be typically 

igneous (magmatic) in character. Perhaps the 

foliations were imposed before the granites 

had become solid rock. 

These net-veined complexes contain a wide 

variety of igneous rocks that have crystallised 

directly from magma, and also other 

heterogeneous rocks with textures suggestive 

of hybridisation and partial assimilation. 

I suggest that these complexes represent 

magma chambers that have had histories 

involving many separate magma-mingling 

events. The availability of felsic and mafic 

magmas over long periods during the 

Precambrian in this part of Western Australia 

is indicated not only by the many fossil 

magma chambers evident, but also by the 

abundant felsic and mafic volcanic rocks 

exposed in the greenstone belts of the 

Eastern Goldfields. 

D H BLAKE 

Do you know 

these 

geologists 

Hint: Location is Gippsland, Victoria, 

February 1965. (See page 45) 

TAG June 2009 | 33

REFERENCES 

Blake, DH, 1987, ‘Geology of the 

Mount Isa Inlier and environs, 

Queensland and Northern Territory’ 

Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology 

& Geophysics, Bulletin 225 

Blake, DH, Elwell, RWD, Gibson, IL, 

Skelhorn, RR, & Walker, GPL, 1965, 

‘Some relationships resulting from the 

intimate association of acid and basic 

magma’ Quarterly Journal of the 

Geological Society of London, Vol 121, 

p 31–49 

Blake, DH, and Hoatson, DM, 1993, 

‘Granite, gabbro, and migmatite field 

relationships in the Proterozoic 

Lamboo Complex of the East 

Kimberley region, Western Australia’ 

AQGSO Journal of Australian Geology 

& Geophysics, Vol 14/4, p 319–310 

Walker, GPL, and Blake, DH, 1966, ‘The 

formation of a palagonite breccia 

mass beneath a valley glacier in 

Iceland’ Quarterly Journal of the 

Geological Society of London, Vol 122, 

p 45–61 

Features attributed to magma mingling in net-veined complex 

in Cape Le Grand National Park, near Esperance. 


A few more teasers to exercise 

the brain in 2009 

1. Most of us are accustomed to reading about D1, D2, F1, F2 etc, 

but what are H1, H2, H3 and H4 

2. With what concept do you associate the names Airy, Pratt and 

Heiskanen 

3. What was the Tetrahedral Hypothesis and who introduced it 

4. Which is the odd one out: Udden, Wentworth, Phi, Shand. 

5. At one time every new igneous rock was given a new name. 

What is an Ailsite, which comes from Ailsa Craig in Scotland and 

is used for making curling stones 

6. What do the following abbreviations stand for: AMU, AAS, ATO 

7. ‘King Zog Can't Sit Down Because Princess Elisabeth Has 

Removed Grandfather’s Armchair’ is a mnemonic for the zonal 

scheme used in the British Carboniferous. You might like to work 

them out. But, of more relevance to Australia, do you know of 

similar mnenonics for any of the Australia zonal/stage schemes (I 

could use them in a future Geoquiz!) 

8. Roadian, Rupelian, Rhaetian and Riphean are stage names in 

which Periods 

9. In this year of celebrating Charles Darwin, what is a ’darwin’ 

10. Why should the date 18 November 1929 be important to 

sedimentologists 

BY TOR MENTOR Answers on page 44 

34 | TAG June 2009 GEOQuiz

Coming soon in an 

AJES near you 

Amongst the many contributions geology can make 

in its service to society is in the field of health. In 

his paper ‘Carbonate-hosted asbestos occurrences in 

South Australia: review of geology and implications 

for mesothelioma’ Marc Hendrickx reviews the 

stratigraphic units in South Australia that have the 

potential for carbonate-hosted asbestos. The known 

asbestos occurrences are small, low grade and commonly 

weathered, and account for

Book Reviews 

Building stone decay from 

diagnosis to conservation 

R Prikryl and BJ Smith (Eds) 

Geological Society of London Special Publication 271 

2007 

330 pages 

If you are seeking reference to Australian geology 

or to works done by Australian geologists, this 

handsome volume from the Geological Society of 

London is not for you. However, this laudable 

compilation of 29 papers from a special session 

of the European Geosciences Union General 

Assembly, held in Vienna in April 2005, does 

provide a different perspective on major issues, 

as well as several new approaches to geological 

problems that are worthy to entertain. 

Take, for example, the paper by CM Grossi and 

P Brimblecombe, entitled ‘Effect of long-term 

changes in air pollution and climate on the decay 

and blackening of European stone buildings’. This 

contribution traces the past history and likely 

future history of pollution and temperature change 

on building stone. It provides an example of how 

hard stone could be used anywhere in the world to 

monitor environmental change. Throughout human 

history, fuel type, air pollution and climate have 

changed, and so has the damage to (or perception 

of damage to) stone buildings. Grossi and 

Brimblecombe rightly argue that geologists are able 

to record this transformation in rocks. 

In general, this volume considers the human use 

of a wide variety of natural stone ranging through 

sandstones, marbles, granites, limestones, tuffs 

and serpentinites, and the effects on them of wetting/drying, 

temperature change and atmospheric 

dust. It is also cross disciplinary, in that it covers 

topics in geology and architecture, specifically 

natural weathering processes and human-induced 

stone decay. Techniques such as decay mapping 

are utilised that have not been widely applied to 

the Australian situation, despite their obvious 

applicability. 

Overall, the papers are arranged in six sections: 

● inventorying built heritage and its raw materials; 

● patterns and monitoring of decay; 

● processes of decay; 

● salt decay testing; 

● record of decay in rock properties; 

● performance in use and conservation. 

In an introductory paper, Czech geologist, Richard 

Přikryl, argues for the establishment of “lithotheques”, 

libraries of building stone samples with 

analytical and historical data. In the Czech 

Republic this involves thousands of samples. 

Again there is no parallel in Australia and thus is 

a subject worthy of appraisal here. 

Subjects that would be considered unusual by 

Australian geologists are also discussed here. For 

example Vazquez-Clavo et al review the nature 

of coatings or patinas, applied to building stones 

for centuries in Spain, as traditional methods of 

providing conservation and protection. Such 

patinas are of great current interest for 

sustainability reasons. 

Some new technologies that could have much 

wider application are also introduced, specifically 

X-ray computerised tomography (CT) and neutron 

tomography, in a paper by Vlassenbroek et al. 

The former technique is utilised to visualise the 

internal structure of natural stone and yield 

information on pore size distribution. Recently 

developed neutron tomography is also introduced 

as a visualisation technique for fluids inside 

porous materials. Such techniques surely have 

a wider application in geology. 

With few exceptions, the contributors to this 

volume range across much of Europe with the 

largest number of researchers from Germany, the 

United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. All papers are in 

English. As a consequence this volume is also an 

excellent reference source on the widely scattered 

literature on building stone from these countries. 

This volume is well presented, well edited and has 

a useful index. It would have benefitted from 

more colour images. For example, trying to appreciate 

“soft orange” from “intensive orange” colour 

in black and white images of granites (on p 49) is 

rather difficult. Some of the other images should 

have been larger, for example, illustrating sandstone 

from Strasbourg Cathedral on p 168 in a 

3.5 cm x 2.5 cm image requires some reader 

imagination. Despite these minor failings, this is 

an excellent and thoughtful compilation of 

articles and one worthy of a prominent place 

on my bookshelf. 

BARRY COOPER 

Burnside, South Australia 

The relationship between 

damage and localization 

H Lewis and GD Couples (Eds) 

Geological Society of London Special Publication 289 

2007 

247 pages 

ISBN 978-1-86239-236-6 

This book is strictly for those interested, 

experienced and expert in higher-level rock 

mechanics, rock physics, and related fields. As to 

reservoir rock considerations, reference was made 

to hydrocarbons but not to ore mineralisation 

systems! Having frequently complained in earlier 

and recent book reviews in TAG and other journals 

(eg International Journal of General Systems in 

2005 to 2009 issues), I am pleased to see that this 

book refers to the more modern concepts/theories 

of self-organisation, attractors, continuum, 

scalar-variation, complexity, non-linear, and feedback. 

However, why were the theories of chaos, 

order/disorder, fuzzy logic, uncertainty, hierarchy, 

among others, ignored — especially fractal 

geometry (see below)! 

After a fine introduction by the editors, the 

following topics are covered: damage and 

localisation: two key concepts in rock deformation 

studies (a useful overview, of course); mechanics 

of fault distribution localised in high-porosity 

sands; strain localisation in geomaterials; progression 

from damage to localisation displacement 

observed in laboratory testing of porous rocks; 

microscale damage evolution in compacting 

sandstone; grain-size and geothermal-gradient 

influences on the ductile-to-brittle transition in 

arenaceous sedimentary rocks: implications for 

fault structure and fluid flow; fracture geometry, 

laboratory studies; permeability of fault rocks in a 

tectonic area using pressure-cycling tests; insights 

into faulting process from numerous 

simulations of rock-layer bending; improved 

seismic identification of inter-fault damage 

via linked geomechanics–seismic approach; 

localisation processes in a coupled hydrogeomechanical 

sensitive fractured system; and 

proximity to a critical point: evidence from and 

implications for hydrocarbon reservoirs. No doubt, 

the book is both theoretical and applied/practical 

in its offering — all for the expert/specialist! 

36 | TAG June 2009

As with all my reviewed Special Publications of 

this Society, this book is again well written, and 

well edited. For this conclusion’s specific reasons, 

see the comments in my earlier reviews in TAG 

and in other published book reviews. For instance, 

the editors’ introduction is again a must to obtain 

a good overview of the ‘damage and localisation’ 

phenomena and a summary of all the book’s 

contributions! 

My earlier book review of Fossil earthquakerelated 

pseudotachylites (TAG 148, p 39) proffers 

a topical context for the damage/localisation 

geo-rock-mechanical fracture products. The rather 

natural question arises as to whether the two 

schools of research can eventually combine their 

efforts And to what extent can those studying 

the ‘Deformation and gravity change’ phenomena 

be correlated with the other two research 

approaches (see Letter in TAG 146, p 37). In this 

structural-geology context (plus damage and 

localisation), the question naturally arises as to 

why fractal theories were not applied – see, 

among many others, Fractals and chaos in geology 

and geophysics by DF Turcotte (1997, Cambridge 

University Press). 

KARL H WOLF 

Mesozoic sub-continental 

lithospheric thinning 

under eastern Asia 

MG Zhang, BF Windley, TM, Kusky, QR Meng (Eds) 

Geological Society Special Publication 280 

The Geological Society, London 

2007 

The eastern margin of Asia is characterised by 

widespread intraplate magmatism, which various 

lines of evidence show can be attributed to 

tectono-thermal events beginning in the Early 

Mesozoic (~208 Ma) and probably continuing to 

present day (Pirajno et al, 2008). These events are 

particularly well studied in the North China 

Craton, where a NNE-trending gravity lineament 

marks the boundary between thick lithosphere to 

the west and thin lithosphere to the east. 

To the east of the gravity lineament, where the 

crust and lithosphere are thinner, there is high 

heat flow and the Bouguer anomalies are from 

zero to slightly positive. This region is also 

seismically active, and there are low-velocity 

and high-conductivity anomalies which have been 

interpreted to be associated with fluids. Xenoliths 

carried by Ordovician kimberlites and lamproites 

and by Cenozoic basalts provide valuable information 

on depths of the crust–mantle boundary and 

the thermal structure of the lithosphere to a 

depth of up to 250 km (O’Reilly et al, 2001). 

Thus, to the west of the gravity lineament, the 

Archaean lithospheric keel is about 200 km thick 

with low heat flow, whereas to the east, high heat 

flow is associated with a lithosphere that is only 

55 to 120 km thick. Clearly, there was substantial 

and rapid removal or erosion of the lithospheric 

keel. This phenomenon is manifested by widespread 

magmatic activity, encompassing a wide 

range of granitoid types, mafic-ultramafic intrusions, 

bimodal volcanism, rifting and basin formation 

hosting major gas and hydrocarbon resources 

and world-class mineral systems. 

The Geological Society London Special Publication 

No 280 addresses this theme under the following 

topics: Precambrian–Palaeozoic history and 

framework (introduction); magmatism and 

geochemistry; structure and tectonics; basin 

evolution; geophysical constraints; mineralisation 

and models. It contains 18 papers and 154 figures 

in 352 pages. A brief overview of the articles in 

this book is presented below. 

In the introduction, Kusky, Windley and Zhai discuss 

the “de-cratonisation” of the North China 

Craton, and suggest that subduction systems, at 

various stages between 300 Ma and 100 Ma, 

resulted in hydration and weakening of the subcontinental 

lithospheric mantle and its subsequent 

detachment. This in turn resulted in the upwelling 

of asthenosphere, followed by intrusive activity 

and associated metallogenesis. 

Zhang reviews the spatial and temporal 

distribution and relationships of the Mesozoic 

mafic magmatism and volcanism in the North 

China Craton. Huang, Li and Yang examine the 

geochemistry of Yanshanian mafic rocks in the 

North China Craton. A model of lithospheric 

thinning and delamination is proposed to explain 

the geochemical features of these mafic rocks. 

Fan, Guo, Wang and Zhang use major and trace 

element data and Sr–Nd isotopic signatures to 

study the nature of mafic magmatism in different 

tectonic units from the eastern North China 

Craton. Guo, Fan, Li and Li, also using geochemical 

and isotopic data, focus on mafic volcanic rocks 

that erupted on the northern margin of the North 

China Craton. Chen, Zhai and Tian look at both 

intrusive and extrusive rocks, ranging in age from 

180 to 120 Ma, and peaking at 135–127 Ma. 

These authors consider this surge of Mesozoic 

magmatism to be genetically linked with 

upwelling asthenospheric mantle in a back-arc 

extensional setting. 

Lin, Faure, Monié and Wang report on the tectonic 

and structural evolution of eastern China, recognising 

extensional events with the formation of 

half-graben basins and metamorphic core complexes 

accompanied by the intrusion of granitic 

plutons. Similarly, Li, Kusky, Zhao, Wu, Liu, Sun 

and Wang examine metamorphic core complexes 

in the eastern part of the North China Craton, and 

are able to identify deformation events associated 

with shear zones and strike-slip faults. Shao, He 

and Zhang consider the Yanshanian as an intracontinental 

orogen characterised by uplift of tectonic 

blocks and the formation in the Cretaceous 

of basin structures in which sedimentary and 

volcanic rocks accumulated. Cope and Graham 

study in detail the facies and geometry of 

sedimentary basins in the Yanshan fold-and-thrust 

belt in the Liaoning region. 

Miao, Zhang, Fan and Liu work on the tectonic 

evolution of the Inner Mongolia-Daxingangling 

orogen, which is mainly defined by dismembered 

ophiolitic blocks. The ophiolitic rocks enable the 

recognition of the Ondor Sum and the Hegenshan 

oceanic basins, separated by a magmatic arc. The 

closure of these basins took place in the Triassic, 

which is coeval with the timing of the 

Yangtze–North China Craton collision. Basin fill 

sequences provide a good record of tectonic 

evolution and Li, Li, Zheng, and Han report on 

two basin systems, one from the Yansha–Liaoxi 

region and the other from southern Hefei, in the 

northern and southern margins of the North China 

Craton, respectively. 

Hu, Fu, Yang, Yuan and Wang use vitrinite 

reflectance from basin Mesozoic sedimentary 

successions to reconstruct palaeo-temperatures 

gradients and heat flow. They find that temperature 

and heat flow were higher in the Cretaceous 

than in the Triassic and present day. Gravity and 

seismic tomography data for the Yellow Sea 

enabled Hao, Xu, Suh, Xu, Liu, Zhang and Dai to 

identify a major dextral strike-slip fault zone (East 

Marginal Fault of the Yellow Sea), defining the 

eastern margin of the Yangtze Craton. Chang, Liu, 

Zhai and Wang construct slices of 3D seismic 

velocity images for various depths and find that 

the spatial distribution of gold deposits coincides 

with zones of high velocity. 

Fan, Hu, Yang and Zhai examine the gold 

metallogeny of the Jiaodong peninsula, where 

TAG June 2009 | 37

world-class ore deposits account for more than 

25% of the gold resources of China. Although 

admittedly a biased opinion, I must lament the 

fact that this is the only paper dealing with mineral 

systems, which are not only economically 

important in the North China Craton, but have a 

direct relationship with the Yanshanian 

tectono–thermal event that constitutes the topic 

of Special Publication 280. The authors suggest 

that ore fluids are of magmatic origin, effectively 

throwing out previous ideas that considered the 

Jiaodong gold lodes as orogenic. 

Deng, Zhou, Flower, Su, Zhai, Liu, Zhao, Zhao, 

Zhou and Wu explore the current models that 

attempt to explain the lithospheric thinning of the 

North China Craton, namely thermal erosion and 

delamination of lithospheric mantle. Kusky, 

Windley and Zhai conclude Special Publication 

280 with a paper in which they review the tectonic 

models of the loss of the continental root of 

the North China Craton discussed therein and in 

the literature. The authors again emphasise the 

critical role of water introduced by subduction 

zones, which surrounded the craton on at least 

three sides, resulting in the “hydro-weakening” of 

the lithosphere. 

Special Publication 280 is a very good update of 

the phenomenon of lithospheric thinning and 

“de-cratonisation” of the eastern part of the 

North China Craton. The collection of papers in 

the volume nicely covers all aspects of the 

Mesozoic to Cenozoic tectono-thermal events 

associated with the loss of lithospheric keel of a 

Precambrian cratonic block. 

FRANCO PIRAJNO 

Geological Survey of Western Australia; 

School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, 

University of Western Australia 

REFERENCES 

O'Reilly SY, Griffin, WL, Djomani, YHP, Morgan, P, 

2001, ‘Are lithospheres forever Tracking changes in 

subcontinental lithospheric mantle through time’ 

GSA Today, Vol 11, p 4–10. 

Pirajno, F, Ernst, RE, Borisenko, AS, Fedoseev, G, 

Naumov, EA, 2008, ‘Intraplate magmatism in Central 

Asia and associated metallogeny’ Ore Geology 

Reviews, doi: 10.1016/j.oregeolrev.2008.10.003. 

The Neoproterozoic 

Timanide Orogen of 

Eastern Baltica 

DG Gee and V Pease (Eds) 

Geological Society, London Memoir 30 

2004 

255 pages 

This volume represents the outcome of cooperation 

between western European and Russian scientists 

within the framework of the EUROPROBE 

program. It was conceived during EUROPROBE’s 

investigations into the dynamic evolution of the 

Palaeozoic Uralide Orogen and relationships 

northwards into the Eurasian high Arctic. 

The Timanide Orogen has been the subject of 

many recent and ongoing investigations. It is 

located in the Yiman Range of north-western 

From the Geological Society Publishing House 

NEW 

•ISBN: 978-1-86239-269-4 

•April 2009 

•360 pages 

•Hardback 

•Prices: 

List: 

£95.00/US$190.00 

GSL: 

£47.50/US$95.00 

AAPG/SEPM/GSA/RAS/ 

EFG/PESGB/TMS: 

£57.00/US$114.00 

• Special Publication 310 

Geology and Religion: A History of Harmony and Hostility 

By M. Kölbl-Ebert 

For thousands of years, religious ideas have shaped the thoughts and actions of human beings. Many of the 

early geological concepts were initially developed within this context. The long-standing relationship 

between geology and religious thought, which has been sometimes indifferent, sometimes fruitful and 

sometimes full of conflict, is discussed from a historical point of view. This relationship continues into the 

present. Although Christian fundamentalists attack evolution and related palaeontological findings as well 

as the geological evidence for the age of the Earth, mainstream theologians strive for a fruitful dialogue 

between science and religion. Much of what is written and discussed today can only be understood within 

the historical perspective. 

This book considers the development of geology from mythological approaches towards the European 

Enlightenment, biblical or geological Flood and the age of the Earth, geology within ‘religious’ organizations, 

biographical case studies of geological clerics and religious geologists, religion and evolution, and historical 

aspects of creationism and its motives. 

Online bookshop code: 

SP310 

Postage: UK: +5% (£4.00 minimum) Europe: +15% (£8.00 minimum) Rest of world: +15% (£12.50 minimum) All prices and postage valid until 31 December 2009. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery of in stock items in the UK. 

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Please order from: Geological Society Publishing House, Unit 7 Brassmill Enterprise Centre, Brassmill Lane, Bath BA1 3JN, UK Tel: +44 (0)1225 445046 Fax: +44 (0)1225 442836 

Email: sales@geolsoc.org.uk Online bookshop: www.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshop Society Web Site: www.geolsoc.org.uk 

For full details see the Online Bookshop: 

www.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshop 

The Geological Society’s Lyell Collection: journals, Special Publications and 

books online. For more information visit www.geolsoc.org.uk/LyellCollection 

38 | TAG June 2009

Russia, which separates the Far European Craton 

from the Pechora Basin and Polar Urals. The 

orogen extends over 3000 km, from the southern 

Ural Mountains of Kazakhstan to the Varangar 

Peninsula of northernmost Norway, thus 

influencing a huge region of north-western 

Russia. 

The studies presented in the book have been 

structured to provide an introductory overview 

and the volume covers a number of topics that 

can be broadly divided into the following areas: 

the pre-Timanian passive margin deposits of the 

northern and north-eastern flanks of the East 

European Craton; the magmatic, metamorphic 

and structural evolution of the orogen across the 

Timan Mountain and Pechora Basin regions to the 

Ural Mountains; the post-Timanian platform 

successions; the northern extension of the orogen 

toward Novaya and Zemlya. This is reflected in 

the titles to the five sections which comprise the 

volume: pre-orogenic successions and foreland 

basins; Timanide fold-and-thrust belt; Timanide 

hinterland; post-Timanian Palaeozoic platform 

successions; regional relationships and 

correlations. 

The book is a synthesis of ideas and introductory 

papers reflecting current progress into understanding 

the Timanide Orogeny. Although a lot 

of work has been done historically, much of this 

previous information has been inaccessible as it 

was published in Russian. This volume circumvents 

this to a large degree by presenting papers by 

Russian and western European workers in English. 

As such, it is really an introductory text into the 

Timanide Orogen and points the reader toward 

ongoing and future research. Many of the papers 

cited in the reference lists are accessible in 

English although a moderate number of publications 

are cited in each contribution (the number 

of Russian references predictably increases when 

the authors are Russian). 

The papers comprising the volume are typically 

10 to 15 pages long. All of the figures are black 

and white but are generally of good quality. Some 

papers do have fairly average maps, however, 

with different rock-types that have very similar 

patterns, which makes it difficult to discern the 

individual units. As an aside, I’ve never quite 

understood why people can’t seem to realise that 

they are writing and illustrating for other people, 

not themselves, and that figures should be clear 

and appealing to the eye. Rubbish figures often 

impart the reader with an impression of a rubbish 

paper when this may not be the case. 

An understanding of the Timanide Orogen is still 

in its infancy and this book serves as a first step 

into the geology as it is known now. The topics 

are fairly general and the reader would need to 

delve into the reference lists for more detail. 

Given the introductory nature of the text it would 

have been nice to see an overarching paper on 

the general geology of the Timanide Orogen in 

addition to the three-page introduction. 

Regardless, it is still a useful volume for people 

dipping their toe in the geology of this region for 

the first time. 

Overall, the book meets the high standards of the 

Geological Society. It is well presented and the 

information included is up to date and well 

organised. However, the topic is quite specific and 

I would recommend it only for people working in 

the area, as there is not much that is applicable 

for any other regions in terms of processes, 

structure, or geology. The exception would be for 

workers in the far eastern portion of the 

Caledonides. 

In summary, a well-organised, introductory work 

for people with interests specific to the Timanide 

Orogeny. There is nothing to be gained with 

regard to information on tectonic processes or ore 

deposits. Little reference is given to other orogenic 

belts by way of comparison and all of the datagathering 

techniques described are very routine. 

All in all a very non-controversial volume specific 

to one part of the globe and not worth purchasing 

unless the reader has particular interests to the 

Timanide Orogen. 

BRETT DAVIS 

Consolidated Minerals Ltd 

Rock star: 

the story of Reg Sprigg – 

an outback legend 

Kristin Weidenbach 

East Street Publications, Hindmarsh, South Australia 

2008 

351pages, illustrated 

This affectionate book by Reg Sprigg’s daughterin-law, 

well-known for her previous book, 

Mailman of the Birdsville Track, has built upon 

Sprigg’s two autobiographical books; Geology is 

fun and A geologist strikes out, supplemented by 

material from the copious letters and notes made 

by Reg over the years. (As one who knew Reg 

I trust I will be excused for referring to him thus 

during this short review.) 

The book opens with a chapter on Reg’s early life, 

and his enthusiasm for geology as a teenager, 

fostered at age 10 by a retired Broken Hill 

miner, who gave him some interesting mineral 

specimens. This led him finally to matriculate with 

the first place in the State in geology, having 

carried out his final geology study at a school 

which had dropped the subject. 

Reg had already been helped by CT Madigan with 

his enthusiastic mineral, rock and fossil collecting, 

but the university was to be the setting for a 

love–hate relationship with the redoubtable 

Sir Douglas Mawson, honoured ultimately by Reg 

with a monument at Arkaroola. 

Through this contact, it was thus almost 

inevitable that Reg would become involved in the 

search for and development of uranium in South 

Australia. Reg’s involvement with uranium is 

covered in two chapters, the search for uranium 

during WWII, and the later development work at 

Radium Hill, for which he received only grudging 

acknowledgement. 

These two chapters are separated by the interesting 

and important story of the discovery of the 

extraordinary Ediacaran fauna, which came about 

during Reg’s uranium searches, and the rather 

dismissive reaction this discovery received for at 

least 10 years. The adoption of an Ediacaran 

Period was in progress at the time of Reg’s death, 

and became officially accepted in 2004. 

The geological mapping carried out by Reg and his 

colleagues of the Geological Survey of South 

Australia in the early 1950s was a follow-up of 

the nine months overseas travel Reg undertook on 

behalf of the Department of Mines in 1948. The 

author, naturally enough, concentrates on Reg’s 

meeting in Scotland with Griselda and the consequent 

romance. This followed Reg’s divorce from 

his first wife, whose affair is discreetly handled. 

While the pressure and extent of travel are 

stressed in the book, the story here is rather too 

compressed, giving the broad itinerary, but we 

learn little of the geologists Reg met with overseas. 

These meetings, I believe, had a significant 

effect on the approach to geological mapping 

which Reg undertook on his return to the SA 

Geological Survey, supported, as he then was, by 

Ben Dickinson, Director of the Department of 

Mines. This was the beginning of the 1: 250 000- 

scale geological sheet mapping in Australia, which 

was taken up a little later by the then Bureau of 

TAG June 2009 | 39

Mineral Resources (BMR), followed in turn by the 

other State Geological Surveys. This had possibly 

the most far-reaching consequences for practical 

Australian geology. 

The story then moves to private industry, Reg’s 

formation of Geosurveys in 1954, a move 

prompted by the highly-publicised Rough Range 

oil discovery, and then linked with oil exploration 

in association with Santos, and later Bridge Oil. 

This period, for the next 18 years or so, saw Reg 

and his enthusiastic team working in the Simpson 

Desert, much of south-west Queensland, rather 

disastrously in Turkey, and also in the coastal 

region of south-east South Australia. 

The coastal work caused Reg to become involved 

in off-shore exploration, something which caused 

him to form the South Australian Oceanographic 

Research Institute, paying much of the cost of the 

Institute’s vessel, re-affirming his earlier work on 

the existence of very deep off-shore canons, and 

seeing him and his colleagues become accomplished 

aqualung divers. Throughout the book, 

the author rightly pays tribute to many of Reg’s 

enthusiastic staff, and in so doing does not 

underplay the strain on family lives for many 

geologists who become entranced by the 

attraction of geology. 

Reg was, perhaps, at times, his own worst enemy, as 

indicated in his reaction to the rejection of his doctoral 

thesis, which was (and still is) acknowledged 

by many as a seminal work on the Adelaide 

Geosyncline, and which probably merely needed 

some tidying. However, by this time Reg had already 

moved on to the next challenge. From comments of 

various colleagues it seems his ideas were always 

inclined to rush ahead of his writing, and no doubt 

some of his research papers, as originally written, 

benefited from good editorial work by others. 

A minor error puts Reg’s attendance at the 

formation of the Geological Society of Australia in 

Sydney in 1952. This was at the ANZAAS meeting, 

1951, in Brisbane. However Reg probably also 

attended the Sydney ANZAAS meeting in 1952 

when the Society’s draft constitution was adopted. 

There are also a few infelicities (eg ‘he and 

Mawson’; ‘on he’; ‘handsome cab’) in an otherwise 

nicely moving text. I think a few more detailed 

maps would benefit the casual reader. 

A slight disappointment is the quality of reproduction 

of some photos, (except for two doublesided 

pages of plates) partly the result of the 

quality of the paper used for the book. The quality 

certainly affects the reproduction of the fascinating 

Ediacaran fauna. 

While not a ‘scholarly book’, lacking footnotes or 

specific references to particular sources, there is a 

reasonably full bibliography (although WN Hoerr’s 

Clipped Wings…giving some details of CT 

Madigan’s life (another biography in the waiting) 

is missed). 

This book is a delightful read, in places a real 

‘page-turner’ and a fine tribute to an outstanding 

geologist and a ‘modern pioneer’, a relatively pugnacious 

fighter for his ideas who was not afraid to 

put his money where his mouth was, and work for 

what he believed in, and in the process succeeding 

well beyond what might have been expected. 

It seems only yesterday, but it is more than 14 

years since Reg Sprigg died. Similarly, only a short 

time before that my wife and I were enjoying his 

company on a delightful, but sadly too brief visit 

to Arkaroola — the sanctuary that he and his wife 

‘carved‘ out of the harsh landscape of the northern 

Flinders Ranges that they loved so well. A 

recent art show touring the country was the work 

of seven or eight well-known artists following the 

Hans Heysen Trail. It was fascinating to see how 

each of the artists had been affected by their visit 

to the Northern Flinders Ranges and particularly 

to Arkaroola. Reg would have been delighted to 

see the various paintings of Mt Griselda. I’m sure, 

if he were still alive, more than one of these 

works would now be gracing the walls at 

Arkaroola. While others might argue about his 

achievements, Reg possibly felt that Arkaroola, a 

conservation area in a challenging region of 

Australia, deserved the greatest credit. Although 

he died in Scotland, his ashes were scattered over 

the geological home he loved best. 

This review could only briefly touch on a few 

aspects of the life and achievements of this 

remarkable man. I can only recommend that you 

read the book and see what was accomplished in 

the relatively recent past. Reg Sprigg was one who 

revelled in being paid to doing his hobby ‘geology’. 

Read and enjoy. 

DAVID BRANAGAN 

Sydney 

The role of women in the 

history of geology 

CV Burek and B Higgs (Eds) 

Geological Society of London Special Publications 281 

2007 

342 pages 

ISBN 978-1-86239-227-4 

Price £85.00 

This book originated from a conference in London 

in 2005. The content mainly covers women in the 

UK and Ireland with contributions from Australia, 

Russia and North America. Papers range over the 

period from the late 1700s through to the present. 

The book covers a diverse list of roles that women 

entered including academic positions, museum curator, 

illustrator, research assistant and companion. 

The book contains an introductory chapter and 

21 papers which are grouped roughly into themes. 

The first papers cover more general topics, such 

as women in higher education; those working in 

geological and natural history museums, British 

Quaternary science, and in different countries 

such as Ireland and Australia; and problems 

associated with travelling to undertake fieldwork. 

The more engaging stories are in the second group 

of papers, which present the work of individual 

women. The early life of Marie Stopes as a 

successful palaeobotanist is one of the more 

compelling stories. Stopes reassessed the 

taxonomy of the flora of Fern Ledges of Saint 

John, New Brunswick. Her detailed work proved 

they were not Devonian in age but Pennsylvanian. 

Of course, her later controversial work on birth 

control and her famous sex manual are briefly 

mentioned. One can only wonder how different 

the world would have been if she had remained a 

palaeobotanist. 

The paper on women in Geological and Natural 

History Museums breaks the roles they played into 

two groups. The first group, working from 1900 to 

the 1930s, acted as the wife/sister/daughter and 

the museum assistant (paid or unpaid). The second 

group date from the 1920s to the 1950s, and 

included academics, research scientists and 

women that used museums for research. One 

woman who did gain employment at the British 

Museum (History Natural) was Helen Muir-Wood. 

40 | TAG June 2009

She initially joined in a part-time role and by 

1923 was in charge of the brachiopod collection. 

Muir-Wood was made permanent in 1936, finally 

reaching Deputy Keeper in 1955, just five years 

before she retired. 

S Turner has contributed a thoroughly-researched 

review which is aptly titled: ‘Invincible but mostly 

invisible: Australian women’s contribution to 

Australian geology and palaeontology’. Australia 

has had many great contributors in geosciences, 

such as Irene Crespin, Joan Crockford, Isabel 

Cookson, Germaine Joplin, Nellie Ludbrook, 

Dorothy Hill and Mary Wade. Some, such as 

Dorothy Hill, have been acknowledged and 

extensively discussed elsewhere. The strength 

of this paper is that other significant, but less 

well-known workers are recognised, such as 

Elizabeth Ripper, Lucy Hosking and Ida Brown. 

The paper by C Bureck and M Kölbl-Ebert 

describes the historical problems of women 

undertaking fieldwork. It highlights how they 

dealt with problems of decency, chaperones and 

the clothes of the period. Photographs of both 

ladies and gentlemen on field trips show the 

correct attire of the day, shirt and tie for men and 

long skirts and large hats for women. Present-day 

collectors and geologists should be thankful for 

modern work clothes and to have escaped the 

limitations such clothes would have placed on 

them. 

Any female geologist who has worked for any 

time in the field will relate to the comments 

found in this book. It is sad that a book has to be 

written covering the bias there was and still is in 

the geological world. Reading this book made this 

reviewer recall some of the incidents of sexist 

treatment that occurred during my own career. 

What these stories tell is how women adapted 

through time and managed to overcome 

difficulties put in their way and find success 

in their own fields. 

Everyone interested in the history of geology 

should read the book. Hopefully it will encourage 

other women to exchange their geological hammers 

for pens and write about more female pioneers 

of geology. Certainly female geologists 

starting their career should read it to understand 

the foundations laid by the women that preceded 

them. It is the first volume of its kind and makes 

a sound starting point as a reference for this 

subject. The Geological Society of London is to 

be commended for adding this to their excellent 

series of Special Publications. 

SUSAN PARFREY 

Geosciences, Queensland Museum 

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To: Alison Tucker, Marketing Executive, Unit 7, Brassmill Lane, Enterprise Centre, Brassmill Lane, Bath BAI 3JN UK 

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By M. Kölbl-Ebert 

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TAG June 2009 | 41

Books for reviews 

Please contact the Geological Society of Australia Business 

Office (info@gsa.org.au) if you would like to review any of the 

following publications. 

New for June 2009 

Cores and core logging for geoscientists 

(2009 new edition) 

Graham A Blackbourn 

www.whittlespublishing.com 

From the Geological Society of London 

www.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshop 

GSL Memoir No 33, The Gregory Rift Valley and 

Neogene–Recent volcanoes of Northern Tanzania 

JB Dawson 

1001 million Saharan nights: petroleum geology 

of Southern Libya DVD 

Seven Continents Science Productions 

S Luning, N Fello, J Craig, D Le Heron, S Lubeseder, S Schulz, 

G Pyke, A Dunford and Y Abutarruma 

The geology of central Europe — volume 1 

T McCann 

The geology of central Europe —- volume 2 

T McCann 

SP288 Climate change and groundwater 

W Dragoni and BS Sukhija 

SP293 Metasomatism in oceanic 

and continental lithospheric mantle 

M Coltorti and M Gregoire 

SP294 West Gondwana 

RJ Pankhurst, RAJ Trouw, BB de Brito Neves and MJ de Wit 

SP295 Fishes and the break-up of Pangea 

L Cavin, A Longbottom and M Richter 

SP296 Landscape evolution: denudation, climate 

and tectonics over different time and space scales 

K Gallagher, S J Jones and J Wainwright 

SP297 The boundaries of the West African craton 

N Ennih and J-P Liegeois 

SP298 Tectonic aspects of the 

Alpine–Dinaride–Carpathian system 

S Siegesmund, B Fugenschuh and N Froitzheim 

SP299 The internal structure of fault zones: 

implications for mechanical and fluid-flow properties 

CAJ Wibberley, W Kurz, J Imber, RE Holdsworth and C Collettini 

SP302 Structure and emplacement of high-level 

magmatic systems 

K Thomson and N Petford 

SP303 Biogeochemical controls on 

palaeoceanographic environmental proxies 

WEN Austin and RH James 

SP304 Dynamics of crustal magma transfer, 

storage and differentiation 

C Annen, GF Zellmer 

SP305 Communicating environmental geoscience 

DGE Liverman, CPG Pereira, B Marker 

SP306 The nature and origin of compression 

in passive margins 

H Johnson, AG Dore, RW Gatliff, RE Holdsworth, ER Lundin, 

JD Ritchie 

SP307 Fluid motions in volcanic conduits 

SJ Lane and JS Gilbert 

SP308 Geodynamic evolution of East Antarctica 

M Satish-Kumar, Y Motoyoshi, Y Osanai, Y Hiroi and K Shiraishi 

SP309 The future of geological modelling in 

hydrocarbon development 

A Robinson, P Griffiths, S Price, J Hegre and A Muggeridge 

Re-advertised 

Mining and the environment; from ore to metal 

K Spitz and J Trudinger 

Taylor & Francis / CRC Press / Balkems 

www.crcpress.com / www.balkema.nl 

The evolution of clastic sedimentology 

H Okada and AJ Kenyon-Smith 

www.inbooks.com.au 

The following books are published by the Geological Society of 

London, www.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshop but are available from 

the GSA for review, contact info@gsa.org.au 

SP244 Submarine slope systems: processes 

and products 

DM Hodgson and SS Flint 

SP257 Geomaterials in cultural heritage 

M Maggetti and B Messiga 

SP264 Compositional data analysis in the 

geosciences 

A Buccianti, G Mateu-Figueras and V Pawlowsky-Glahn 

SP276 Economic and palaeoceanographic 

significance of contourite deposits 

AR Viana and M Rebesco 

SP277 Seismic geomorphology 

RJ Davies, HW Posamentier, LJ Wood and JA Cartwright 

Key issues in petroleum geology: stratigraphy 

P Copestake, J Gregory and JM Pearce 

42 | TAG June 2009

Letters to the Editor 

Greenfields exploration 

and “pre-competitive data” 

Jon Hronsky and colleagues ('The case for a 

greenfields renaissance', TAG, March 2009, 

p 29–31) provide a welcome and refreshing view 

on the future of mineral exploration. I congratulate 

them on their position and the implicit move 

away from the oft-repeated (and I believe flawed) 

view that Australia is a mature exploration environment 

lacking opportunities, and that greenfields 

exploration is and has been commercially 

ineffective. Their bullet point recommendations 

include flow-through shares but also emphasise 

management changes needed in industry; we 

would do well to take these on board. However, 

relevant to greenfields exploration Hronsky et al 

omit mention of Federal and State government 

policy on exploration data and intellectual capital. 

The current policy framework for funding geoscience 

research and data collection was set out 

in the 2002–2003 Mineral Exploration Action 

Agenda. The policy was strongly influenced by 

three companies, WMC Resources, Placer Dome 

and Sons of Gwalia. At that time these companies 

and many of their peers were moving or had 

moved away from greenfields exploration (greenfields 

exploration is defined here as pre- to earlyresource 

exploration distant to existing mining 

infrastructure.) 

The gap left was to be filled by government activity 

with increased geoscientific data collection 

and research. This has become known as “precompetitive 

data”. CRCs and CSIRO, but mostly 

GA and the State Surveys, acquire regional data 

including that over terrains that had not previously 

been recognised as prospective. Recent 

“pre-competitive data” and government research 

programmes have brought together some excellent 

scientists and yielded numerous impressive 

products. But, as shown by Hronsky et al (their 

greenfields vs brownfields $ exploration graph), 

the period 2002 onward of “pre-competitive data” 

has been synchronous with record low industry 

expenditure on greenfields exploration. This low 

is despite the period being coincident with a 

mining boom. Importantly, “pre-competitive data” 

has failed to galvanise the mineral industry. 

To achieve a sustainable minerals industry, 

Australia needs greenfields exploration to find new 

reserves to replace those that are mined. This is 

more important for some commodities such as 

gold, and less so for others such as coal. In the 

interests of Australian greenfields exploration, 

I suggest that the time is ripe for an evolution 

beyond “pre-competitive data”. I note that “precompetitive 

data” whilst a popular phrase with 

ministers of past governments Federal and State, is 

a term that is now in decline, perhaps because its 

meaning is ambiguous. The argument for “precompetitive 

data” is to make Australia competitive! 

Whilst not a contradiction itself; the logic is not 

straightforward. The phrase “pre-competitive” is 

too easily seen as “un-commercial”, enabling the 

collection of vast amounts of data over geographically 

wide areas, but without immediate commercial 

aims. An example would be the running of 

aeromagnetic surveys at 400 m line spacing. This 

spacing is simply too wide for anything but the 

most regional view, it is not a spacing industry 

commonly uses, as it lacks the detail required to 

recognise prospective anomalies and map structures. 

In place of “pre-competitive data”, I suggest 

similar scientific programs but on a commercial 

model not unlike that of the governmentsupported 

drilling programs of South Australia, 

and now followed by Victoria. Programs should 

be joint ventures between the government 

institution(s) and one or more private companies 

with shared costs. Despite their importance, 

juniors and service providers have had only minor 

influence on government policy. There are about 

750 resource juniors on the ASX and perhaps 

some of these should be the preferred partners. 

The target areas should be selected jointly and 

designed to test prospectiveness critically. The 

survey area and data-collection parameters should 

be dictated by the need to fully assess a target, 

rather than spreading a budget evenly to ensure 

complete geographic coverage. There should of 

course be a reasonable expectation that the 

industry partners would conduct detailed followup 

exploration after a successful survey. 

There are ore bodies out there, some beneath 

regolith and cover sequences, and others buried 

beneath misleading and unverified company data. 

Their discovery will grow Australia, but greenfields 

exploration should not be the domain of 

government, nor can industry ignore the wealth 

of quality data available. Greenfields exploration 

needs to be commercially savvy and a partnership 

of government and private enterprise. 

JULIAN R VEARNCOMBE 

Vearncombe & Associates Pty Ltd 


Boom bust boom 

The Australian minerals exploration industry – as 

its practitioners have known it – has come to pass. 

In fact, the death knell was sounded in the late 

1990s, though it wasn’t obvious at the time. 

As society began rebuilding after WWII, the 

demand for raw materials gradually escalated until 

it outstripped supply, thereby rendering the mining 

business highly profitable. The industry was 

undoubtedly cyclical, as evidenced by the various 

booms: uranium in the 1950s; nickel and iron ore 

in the 1960s; nickel, uranium and coal in the 1970s; 

followed by gold in the 1980s and early 1990s; and 

then all commodities in the early 2000s. 

Starting in the 1960s, Australia began needing 

geologists to find resources, as well as engineers to 

exploit them. Mining companies were at the forefront 

of wealth creation and enthusiastically hired 

all specialist graduates from the various schools 

of mines, technical colleges and universities. 

The reasoning was straightforward: successful 

companies were run by people with engineering 

backgrounds and an engineer’s discipline requires 

a sound base on which to build an enduring 

structure; in this instance, knowledge. 

Whilst prospecting entrepreneurs made some individual 

discoveries, well-funded companies made 

others. The bigger resources were subsequently harvested 

by a few and then developed into export 

operations. The lineage of the architects and drivers 

of these enterprises can be traced back to the discovery 

of the Broken Hill lead–zinc lodes in 1883. 

But the business paradigm began changing in the 

early 1990s with financiers replacing an aging 

TAG June 2009 | 43

generation of experienced mining men. Two things 

happened: resource operations were effectively 

consolidated into an oligopoly and exploration was 

abandoned. Suddenly, the raising of risk capital on 

the stock exchange became limited to modest 

amounts that precluded the formation of the most 

critical component: the foundational knowledge 

base. Unsurprisingly, discoveries slowed to a trickle. 

The increased amplitude and volatility of the mining/exploration 

business cycle has produced a 

drifting away of seasoned professionals who still 

have mortgages to pay and families to feed. For 

most, emigration acquires its own permanence and 

so subsequent booms sire progressively more 

chronic skill shortages. By fixating on instant gratification, 

the bottom line and quarterly performance 

reviews, the long-term viability of resource 

producers has been compromised by the very same 

players behind the current global financial crisis. 

But further down the track, why should dedicated 

professionals risk all by returning to the industry 

to make that next discovery A smaller number of 

hardy souls with indomitable spirits will undoubtedly 

report for duty along with the next crop of 

rosy-cheeked graduates, but their fate is written in 

the stones: in the blink of an eye they will be 

consumed by a voracious, glassy-eyed omnivore. 

BOHDAN (BOB) BURBAN 

Remembering the fires 

In February this year I, with the rest of Australia, 

became only too well aware of the tragic events in 

Marysville and elsewhere in Victoria resulting from 

bushfires and firestorms. The number of people 

who perished in the town is 45 out of a population 

of just over 500 and the town, as such, hardly 

exists any more. 

Perhaps as a reminder to TAG readers, it may be 

worth recalling much better times in Marysville 

when, in December 1997, the Specialist Group on 

Tectonics and Structural Geology combined with 

the Specialist Group in Solid Earth Geophysics and 

IGCP to run a very productive and successful 

three-day symposium in Marysville, on themes 

associated with improving our knowledge of 

Australia's crustal architecture. 

Let us not forget this town in its days, months and 

years of need ahead. 

DOUG FINLAYSON 

Canberra, 23 February 2009 

Musings on poetry 

and geology 

I thoroughly enjoyed the musings on poetry and 

geology but was a little disappointed that our own 

geological poet has not been recognised. Andrew 

Glikson has written two books of poems. At one 

stage I owned both but sadly, with all my moving, 

one has been lost and I cannot find Gondwana 

Dreaming. However, I still have Dreaming a 

Uni/Verse with its many poems relevant to areas in 

Australia that influenced the geological thinking of 

both Andrew and me. One of my favourites is dedicated 

to the great explorer, Ernest Giles and is 

entitled Champ de Mars, a reference to a sandy 

plain in the midst of the central Australian Giles 

Complex. 

Baked in the sun I dormantly lie still 

A secret valley of one hundred hills 

Ancient route of kangaroos and native trackers 

Ages preceding Ernest Giles last traverse 

1874 years since Christ's birth I was found 

A name, after some Parisian parade ground 

Where you rehearse deadly war games I should shun 

For ages yet I'll keep baking in the sun 

Eons past your last defeat in battle 

My dreamtime snake will sound a fatal rattle. 

Andrew Glikson 

If any geoscientists have an interest in matters 

literary, I suggest they get hold of some of 

Andrew's poems and enjoy the marriage of science 

and art. 

ALAN MOORE 

GEOQuiz ANSWERS 

(From page 34) 

1. H1 to 4 are the clocks built by John 

Harrison between 1730 and 1759 in the 

search for a marine chronometer that would 

accurately enable the determination of a 

ship’s longitude. 

2. Isostasy. 

3. Lothian Green’s Tetrahedral Hypothesis 

tried to account for the distribution of continents 

and oceans. He suggested that a 

sphere (a regular figure with the greatest 

volume) would shrink to become a tetrahedron 

(a regular figure with the smallest volume) 

with the oceans on the face of the 

tetrahedron and the continents on the edges 

and corners. 

4. Shand, the others are all associated with 

sediment grainsize scales. 

5. Riebeckite microgranite. 

6. Atomic mass unit, Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, 

Australian Taxation Office. 

7. (K) Cleistopora, (Z) Zaphrentis, 

(C) Caninia, (S) Seminula, 

(D) Dibunophyllum, (B) Beyrichoceras, 

(P) Posidonia, (E) Eumorphoceras, 

(H) Homoceras, (R) Reticuloceras, 

(G) Gastrioceras, (A) Anthracoceras. 

8. Permian, Oligocene, Triassic and 

Proterozoic. 

9. A darwin is a unit of evolutionary change, 

defined by JBS Haldane in 1949 to be an e- 

fold (about 2.718) change in a trait over one 

million years. 

10. This is the date of the magnitude 7.2 

Grand Banks earthquake that released an 

offshore landslide and a turbidity current 

which flowed down the continental slope to 

the abyssal plain, cutting trans-Atlantic 

telegraph cables along the way. 

44 | TAG June 2009

TAG apologises... 

TAG 150, p 23: The article Tsunami hazard and mitigation in 

Australia by Barry Drummond, Trevor Dhu and Jane Sexton that 

appeared in the March edition contained satellite images of the tsunami 

of 26 December 2004 both before and during the impacting of a 

beach in Sri Lanka. This image was not submitted by the authors as part 

of the article. 

The caption to the figure contains an error. It refers to the epicentre 

being “30 km under the seabed and approximately 250 km southsouth-west 

of Banda Aceh.” It should have referred to the hypocentre. 

The epicentre is the location on the surface above the hypocentre, or 

focus. 

The authors of the article point out that this raises an important point 

about epicentres, hypocentres and the positions of the faults that rupture 

during earthquakes. For small earthquakes, hypocentres are good 

estimators of the positions of the fault rupture. Actually, hypocentres 

are the locations where fault rupture starts, but for large earthquakes 

the rupture continues along the fault at an often measurable speed and 

direction, such as in the Solomon Islands example provided in the article. 

In a paper in Nature, Ishii et al (2004) showed that the rupture on 

26 December 2004 continued for over 10 minutes, and propagated over 

1000 km to the north from the epicentre. 

REFERENCE: Ishii M, Shearer P M, Houston H, and Vidale JE, 2005, 

‘Extent, duration and speed of the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake 

imaged by the Hi-Net array’ Nature 435, p 933–936. 

TAG 150, p 20: The caption for figure showing the path of the 

South Magnetic Pole referred to the “principle point where the Earth’s 

magnetic field is vertically upwards”. The correct term is the "principal 

point". Many thanks to Andrew Milne for pointing out these errors. 

Know your geologist... 

Several people who appeared in the ‘Know your geologist’ section in 

the March issue (p 41) were identified incorrectly. TAG apologises for 

the error. Many thanks to Dave Ransom who provided the following 

information regarding the photo: 

“The person identified as Chris Herbert is actually Chris Wilson, 

Professor of Geology at the University of Melbourne. The man with the 

dog was a field assistant and horse manager, George someone, who 

worked with Chris, Ed and myself, and who carried two skittle bottles 

of beer around in a hessian sack for lunch. 

The others I can’t remember, but Ed probably would. One was probably a 

suave Pom surveyor, Ian someone, who had a taste for Black Russian and 

Gaulloise cigarettes and also for Mateus Rose, which he introduced to us 

uncultured colonials. Brought back memories for me.” 

Know your Geologist . . . 

Did you know them 

(From page 33) 

This photograph was taken in February 1965 by the late Alfred A Baker, who was curator of the Melbourne University 

Geology Department collections. It depicts Tom Darragh on the left and John Talent on the right beside an opalised 

log of wood on a basalt plain near Gillingall, Gippsland. Tom was then a demonstrator at Melbourne University 

Geology Department, but the following month started as Curator of Fossils at the National Museum of Victoria, and 

John was a Senior Geologist with the Geological Survey of Victoria, but later Professor in the Earth Sciences 

Department at Macquarie University. John was leader of a party of palaeontologists on a tour through East Gippsland, 

which came together during a visit to Victoria by Art Boucot, the well known Middle Palaeozoic brachiopod palaeontologist. 

The group was shown over the Middle Palaeozoic formations that John had been researching. Text by Tom 

Darragh, photo courtesy Bill Birch (Museum Victoria collection). 

Please send your ‘Know your Geologist’ to 

tag@gsa.org.au for the September issue. 

TAG June 2009 | 45

Calendar 

2009 

27 June–8 July 

International Union of Geodesy 

and Geophysics (IUGG) 2011 

Earth on the Edge: 

Science for a Sustainable Planet 

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition 

Centre Melbourne, Australia 

www.iugg2011.com/ 

6–11 July 

7th International Conference 

on Geomorphology (ANZIAG) 

Melbourne, Victoria 

www.geomorphology2009.com/ 

geomorphology2009@tourhosts.com.au 

13–14 August 

NSW Mineral Exploration 

& Investment 2009 Conference 

Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney 

This major biennial two day conference 

will feature the latest information on: 

exploration initiatives; project development, 

and investment opportunities. 

Email: meetings@tmm.com.au 

17–20 August 

Society for Geology Applied to 

Mineral Deposits (SGA 2009) 

Townsville, QLD 

http://sga2009.jcu.edu.au/ 

sga2009@jcu.edu.au 


Fourth International 

Conference on Mine Closure 

ACG Australian Centre for Geomechanics 

Perth, WA 

www.mineclosure2009.com/ 

24 September 

Selwyn Symposium 2009 

The Geological Society of Australia 

(Victoria Division) 

Origin of the Australian Highlands 

Selwyn Lecture: Professor Cliff Ollier 


Joint 61st ICCP– 

26th TSOP Meeting 

Advances in Organic Petrology and 

Organic Geochemistry 

Gramado/Porto Alegre, Brazil 

International Committee for Coal and 

Organic Petrology (ICCP), The Society for 

Organic Petrology (TSOP) 

www.ufrgs.br/ICCP_TSOP_2009/ 

29 September–1 October 

Broken Hill Exploration 

Initiative 2009 - BHEI 

Broken Hill Entertainment Centre, NSW 

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/minerals/geological/ 

bhei2009 

18–21 October 

Geological Society of America 

Annual Meeting 

Portland, Oregon USA 

meetings@geosociety.org 


First World Young Earth 

Scientists Congress 

Young Earth Scientists for Society 

Beijing, China 

www.yescongress2009.org/ 


Minerals Council of Australia’s 

SD09 Conference 

Adelaide Convention Centre 

Email: events@minerals.org.au 

www.sd09.com.au 

8–13 November 

SGGMP – 

Kangaroo Island 2009 

http://sggmp.gsa.org.au/events.html 

2010 

1-5 February 

Specialist Group in Tectonics 

& Structural Geology 

Biannual field conference 

The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie, NSW 

www.sgtsg.gsa.org.au 

5 February 

6th International Brachiopod 

Congress 

Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC 

www.deakin.edu.au/conferences/ibc/ 

6–9 April 

13th Quadrennial Iagod 

Symposium 

Giant Ore Deposits down-under 

Adelaide, SA 

www.iagod.info/ 

20–22 April 

Caving 2010: Second 

International Symposiym on 

Block and Sublevel Caving 

ACG Australian Centre for Geomechanics 

Perth, WA 

www.caving2010.com/ 

4–8 July 

Australian Earth Sciences 

Convention 2010 

Canberra Convention Centre, ACT 


5th International Archean 

Symposium 

Perth, WA 

www.5ias.org/ 

6–8 October 

The Bowen Basin Symposium 

Yeppoon, QLD 

For more information go to 

www.gsa.org.au/events/calendar.html 

46 | TAG June 2009

Geological Society of Australia Inc. Office Bearers 2009 

MEMBERS OF COUNCIL 

AND EXECUTIVE 

President 

Peter Cawood 


Vice President 

Brad Pillans 

Australian National University 

Secretary 

Myra Keep 

School of Earth & Geographical Sciences 

Treasurer 

Fons VandenBerg 


Past President 

Andy Gleadow 

University of Melbourne 

Hon Editor 

Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 

Tony Cockbain 

COUNCILLORS OF THE 

EXECUTIVE DIVISION 

Administration Officer 

Dr Simon Turner 

GEMOC 

Co-opted Members 

Jenny Bevan 

E de C Clarke Earth Science Museum 

Allan Collins 

University of Adelaide 

Jon Hronsky 

Western Mining Services, LLC 

Russell Korsch 


Marc Norman 


Jim Ross 

Ian Scrimgeour 

NT Geological Survey 

Gregg Webb 

Qld University of Technology 

Chris Yeats 

CSIRO Australia 

STANDING COMMITTEES 

Geological Heritage 

National Convenor 

Susan White 

Australian Stratigraphy 

Commission 

National Convenor and 

External Territories Convenor 

Cathy Brown 


STATE CONVENORS 

ACT 

Albert Brakel 

New South Wales 

Lawrence Sherwin 

Geological Survey of New South Wales 

Northern Territory 

Pierre Kruse 

Northern Territory Geological Survey 

Queensland 

Ian Withnall 

Geological Survey of Queensland 

South Australia 

Wayne Cowley 

Primary Industries & Resources 


Tasmania 

Stephen Forsyth 

Mineral Resources Tasmania 

Victoria 

Fons VandenBerg 



Roger Hocking 

Geological Survey of Western Australia 

DIVISIONS AND 

BRANCHES 

Australian Capital Territory 

Chair: Brad Opdyke 


Secretary: Michelle Cooper 

New South Wales 

www.nsw.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Ron Vernon 

Macquarie University 

Secretary: Craig O’Neill 

Dept of Earth & Planetary Science, 


Northern Territory 

Chair: Christine Edgoose 


Secretary: Linda Glass 


Queensland 

www.qld.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Gregg Webb 

Queensland University of Technology 


www.sa.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Patrick Lyons 

Lincoln Minerals Ltd 

Secretary: Jim Jago 

University of South Australia 

Tasmania 

Chair: Nick Direen 

FrOG Tech 

Secretary: Andrew McNeill 

CODES 

Victoria 

www.vic.gsa.org.au 

Chair: David Cantrill 

National Herbarium of Victoria 

Secretary: Adele Seymon 



www.wa.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Chris Yeats 

CSIRO Exploration & Mining 

Secretary: Katy Evans 

Curtin University 

Broken Hill Branch 

Chair: Barney Stevens 


Secretary: Kingsley Mills 

Hunter Valley Branch 

Chair: John Greenfield 


Secretary: Phil Gilmore 


SPECIALIST GROUPS 

Applied Geochemistry Specialist 

Group (SGAG) 

www.sgag.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Louisa Lawrance 

Secretary: Craig Rugless 

Association of Australasian 

Palaeontologists (AAP) 

www.es.mq.edu.au/mucep/aap/index 

Chair: Glenn Brock 

Department of Earth and Planetary 

Sciences 

Secretary: John Paterson 

University of New England 

Australasian Sedimentologists Group 

(ASG) 

Chair: Bradley Opdyke 


Secretary: Sarah Tynan 


Coal Geology (CGG) 

www.cgg.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Wes Nichols 

Secretary: Mark Biggs 

Earth Sciences History Group (ESHG) 

www.vic.gsa.org.au/eshg.htm 

Chair: Peter Dunn 

Secretary: John Blockley 

Economic Geology Specialist Group 

sgeg.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Frank Bierlein 


Secretary: Oliver Kreuzer 


Environmental Engineering & 

Hydrogeology Specialist Group 

(EEHSG) 

Chair: Ken Lawrie 


Secretary: Vanessa Wong 

Geochemistry, Mineralogy & 

Petrology Specialist Group 

(SGGMP) 

www.gsa.org.au/specialgroups/ 

sggmp.html 

Chair: Chris Clark 


Secretary: Nick Timms 


Geological Education (SGE) 

Chair: Greg McNamara 

Geoscience Education & Outreach 

Services 

Planetary Geoscience Specialist 

Group (SGPG) 

Chair: Graziella Caprarelli 

University of Technology 

Solid Earth Geophysics Specialist 

Group (SGSEG) 

www.gsa.org.au/specialgroups/sgseg. 

html 

Chair: Brian Kennett 


Secretary: Bruce Goleby 


Tectonics & Structural Geology 

Specialist Group (SGTSG) 

www.sgtsg.gsa.org.au 

Chair: Nathan Daczko 


Secretary: Cameron Quinn 

Geological Survey of NSW 

Volcanology (LAVA) 

www.es.mq.edu.au/geology/volcan/ 

hmpg.htm 

Chair: Rick Squire 

Monash University 

Secretary: Karin Orth 

Monash University 

TAG June 2009 | 47

Publishing Details 

The Australian Geologist 

48 | TAG June 2009 Background Information 

GENERAL NOTE 

The Australian Geologist (TAG) a quarterly member magazine which includes society news, 

conference details, special reports, feature articles, book reviews and other items of interest to Earth 

Scientists. Each issue has a long shelf-life and is read by more than 3,000 geologists, geophysicists, 

palaeontologists, hydrologists, geochemists, cartographers and geoscience educators from Australia 

and around the world. 

COPYRIGHT 

Schedule and Deadlines for 2009/2010 

I SSUE C OPY F INISHED ART I NSERTS 

September 2009 31 July 8 August 16 August 

December 2009 30 October 3 November 10 November 

March 2010 29 January 5 February 8 March 

June 2010 30 April 5 May 25 May 

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Material can be supplied electronically via Email (if attachments, total to less than 2Mb) or mail 

CD (MAC or PC). The advertisements or photographs can be sent as jpeg, eps or tiff. Word files 

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Word documents. If artwork cannot be supplied in any of the preferred formats listed above, an 

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returned upon request only. Please contact the Geological Society of Australia for more 

information or to discuss other options. 

Advertising Rates and Sizes 

Full colour advertising is available for inside-front and inside-back covers as well as the middle 

spread. Advance bookings are essential for colour advertising. Spot colour for other pages is 

available on request. Basic rates quoted are for finished art supplied in one of the file formats 

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year. Where typesetting is required, only one typesetting fee is charged for multiple advertisements. 

Please note that an additional 10% GST applies to all advertising. 

DETAILS 1 ISSUE 2 ISSUES TYPESETTING 

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250mm deep x 180mm wide (Type area) 

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EDITORIAL MATTERS 

Colour $1,350 $1,280 $tba 

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1/2 Page Vertical 250mm deep x 88mm wide 


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(3 Column Page) Black and White $410 $390 $tba 

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INSERTS (as supplied) PER ISSUE 

PER ISSUE 

A4 size $1,285 $1,180 

Colour Advertorials or Feature Articles 

Three to four page colour advertorials are accepted at a negotiable cost. 

It is requested however that these articles have a geological theme. 

Black and White Advertorials Cost negotiable. 

Contact Sue Fletcher, Executive Director Geological Society of Australia Inc 

Suite 706, 301 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 

Tel: 02 9290 2194 Fax: (02) 9290 2198 Email: info@gsa.org.au 

The Australian Geologist is published by the Geological Society of 

Australia Inc four times a year, March, June, September and December. 

The Publication is copyright by the GSA Inc unless specifically stated 

otherwise. However, material in this issue may be photocopied by individuals 

for research or classroom use. Permission is also granted to use 

short articles, quotes, figures, tables, etc, for publication in scientific 

books and journals or in other scientific newsletters provided acknowledgement 

is made. For permission for any other use or publication of 

longer articles please contact the Honorary Editor. 

Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright 

holders of material in this publication. If any rights have been omitted, 

apologies are offered. 

The Geological Society of Australia Inc is a learned Society. The 

Australian Geologist is published by the Geological Society of Australia 

Inc, to provide information for the members and a forum for the 

expression of their professional interests and opinions. Observations, 

interpretations and opinions published herein are the responsibility of 

the contributors and are not necessarily supported by the Geological 

Society of Australia Inc or the Hon Editor. 

While the Hon Editor and the Geological Society of Australia Inc 

have taken all reasonable precautions and made all reasonable efforts 

to ensure the accuracy of material contained in this publication the 

aforesaid make no warranties, expressed or implied with respect to any 

of the material contained herein. 

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 

Advertising/Membership: All business enquiries and correspondence 

relating to advertising space, inserts and/or subscription matters, 

should be addressed to the Business Manager of the Society. 

Contributions: All editorial enquiries or contributions should be sent to 

tag@gsa.org.au or mailed to the GSA business office. 

Contributions are preferred as email. MS WORD documents for PC 

(or compatible) are the preferred file attachment. Photos, maps, etc, 

should be submitted as separate files and saved as either a .tif .pdf or 

.jpg at a resolution greater than 300 dpi. If contributors produce a 

file greater than 3MB it would be appreciated if they could be copied 

to CD and forwarded to the Hon Editor. Short clearly typed 

contributions (up to ~1000 words) are accepted, should a member be 

unable to send an email. The editor reserves the right to reject, revise 

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Photographs: Cover photograph submissions should preferably be 

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Colour transparencies are also acceptable. Photographs for articles 

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Marble Bar Chert - Geological Society of Australia

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