alive and well - Geological Society of Australia

The Geological Societyof Australia InctagNewsletter Number 164September 2012Gordon deliversthe Mawson Lecturesee p38GSA Awardssee p36Radioastronomy:bigger really is betterGSA recognisesGeoscience excellenceEngineering Geology:alive and well

The Australian GeologistNewsletter 164, September 2012Registered by Australia PostPublication No. PP243459/00091ISSN 0312 4711Managing Editor Sue FletcherTechnical Editor Bill BirchProduction Editor Kate Hawkins, Twofoot WordsSend contributions to tag@gsa.org.auCentral Business OfficeExecutive Director Sue FletcherSuite 61, 104 Bathurst Street,Sydney NSW 2000Telephone (02) 9290 2194Fax (02) 9290 2198Email info@gsa.org.auGSA website www.gsa.org.auFeature 1 p25James Dwight DanaThe bicentenary of the birth of theAmerican geologist James DwightDana is coming up early next yearFeature 2 p28The Square Kilometre ArrayIn radioastronomy, bigger reallyis betterDesign Alan Taylor, The Visible Word Pty LtdTypesetting Joan Taylor, The Visible Word Pty LtdPrinted by Ligare Pty LtdDistributed by Trade Mailing & Fulfilment Pty LtdSpecial Report p31Engineering GeologyAlive and well in Australia – butthere are gaps in educationF R O N T C O V E RWombarra rockfall(occurred 22:30 hrs,14 September 2010) in theHawkesbury Sandstone,northern suburbs ofWollongong. Photo takenfrom Lawrence Hargrave Drive.Image courtesy Phil Flentje.2 From the President3 GSA Member Categories24 Society UpdateBusiness ReportClimate Change PolicyLetters to the EditorGovernance Changes UpdateFrom the AJES Editor’s DeskEducation & OutreachStratigraphic ColumnHeritage Matters20 News from the Divisions22 News from the Specialist Groups23 News36 Awards41 Obituaries43 Cam Bryan’s Geojottings44 Tech Talk45 Books for Review46 Calendar47 Office Bearers48 Publishing Details

From the PresidentHello — let me introduce myself — I am Laurie Hutton,the incoming Federal President of the Geological Societyof Australia. Due to changes to the governance ofthe Geological Society to be finalised and implemented duringthe coming term, I will be the last Federal President appointedin this way — the end of an era! During my tenure as PresidentI will build on the excellent work done by preceding presidents.I would also like to thank Brad Pillans for his stewardship of theSociety over the last couple of years. I especially liked hisapproach to being inclusive of the different State Divisions andhis dialogue with the States during his tenureI graduated in geology from the University of Queenslandlast century (1972 to be exact) and completed Honours thefollowing year. For my Honours project I studied gossans in theLawn Hill Mineral Field and also compiled a geological map ofthe field. This was to be the start of a career of geologicalmapping. I began my studies during the nickel boom of theearly 1970s. However, by the time I graduated, the boom wasover and jobs were at a premium. Following several decades ofmapping, I completed a PhD at Queensland University ofTechnology working under Professor David Gust. I completedgeochemical and petrological studies in the Lolworth Batholith,and also a petrological and geochemical study of a Cambrianto Ordovician migmatite complex — the Fat Hen CreekComplex. My interests by this stage had changed and I beganto look at the broader picture of how these rocks fitted in to anational, and particularly into an eastern Australian, setting. Oflate, I have focused more strongly on compiling broad-picturenational and international models of geological development.I was fortunate to get a job at the Geological Survey ofQueensland (GSQ), which was looking for a geologist in theLawn Hill mapping project. Since starting in 1974 with the GSQI have been involved in mapping projects throughout the StateGSA andfacebookFor national news and eventsfollow the GSA on facebook:Geological Society of Australia— southeast Queensland, MountIsa, Atherton, Mount Coolon,Charters Towers and CentralQueensland (Connors Project) —giving me a broad appreciation ofthe geology of the State. My mainarea of interest at this time focusedon the petrology and geochemistryof granitic rocks.During my time with the Geological Survey, I have mappedin many areas of the State. However my main area of interesthas been in the Mount Isa Inlier, particularly the WesternSuccession between Mount Isa and Lawn Hill. I was involvedwith the 1:100 000-scale mapping during the 1970s, whichmade the Mount Isa terrain one of the best-mapped terrains inthe world — I am very proud of my involvement in thismapping.In 2000, I was involved in putting together the North WestQueensland Mineral Province Study — which is still highlyrelevant today. This study sparked my interest in theconstruction and use of time–space plots to understand thesignificance of an area in the broader geological setting on acontinental scale. I have subsequently managed a project toupdate the mapping of the inlier and produce a new NorthwestQueensland Mineral and Energy Province Study in 2011. Myfocus in the Mount Isa Inlier now lies with a mineral systemapproach to the mineralisation and to provide tools to assistwith exploration under cover for the next big discovery.Another area of interest I have pursued has been that ofgeological education. I have been a member of the QueenslandDivision Education Subcommittee for 20 years and have helpedto produce educational materials for schools. I currentlyorganise student medals for Grade 12 students State-wide andalso for final-year undergraduates at Queensland universities. Iam a participant in the CSIRO Scientists in Schools Program tohelp with Earth Science education. I hope to continue theseactivities over the next couple of years.During my tenure as Federal President I intend to follow thelead of Brad Pillans and visit each of the Divisions. I believethat through good communication we can all achieve the aimsof the Society. I look forward to speaking with each Divisionover the next 18 months and meeting with as many membersas possible.LAURIE HUTTONPresident2 |TAG September 2012

GSA Member CategoriesThe Society has different membershipcategories for members at differentstages of their careers. If you are a GSAmember and you will soon retire, pleasecontact the office so we can changeyour membership category to Retired.Student membership continues for theduration of your degree. You can thenmove to Graduate category for twoyears and then onto the full Membercategory.MemberMembers are usually graduates froma university or other tertiary institutionand who hold a major in EarthSciences. Members can be graduatesactively engaged in work relatingto the Earth Sciences. In specialcircumstances, the ExecutiveCommittee may approve applicantswho have been employed in a technicalaspect of Earth Science for at leastfive years, or applicants who haveundertaken and published research inthe Earth Sciences. Applicants normallyresident outside Australia are noteligible for this category, but areeligible for Associate Membership.Associate MemberAssociate Members are people over18 years old who can demonstrate agenuine interest in the Earth Sciences.A school or other non-commercialgroup may become an AssociateMember. This category also applies toapplicants who fulfil the requirementsof the Member category but normallyreside outside Australia.Retired MemberRetired Members have been Membersof the Society for at least ten years.Retired Members retain all privilegesand have the option of membershipwith or without the journal.Student MemberStudent Members are studying EarthSciences full-time or part-time at atertiary educational institution or asecondary school, and can provide certificationfrom their Head of Department.Graduate MemberGraduate Members are recently qualifiedEarth Scientists. This category isonly available for two years, normallycommencing immediately after applicantscomplete undergraduate studies.Joint MemberJoint Members are recognised partnersof an existing Member and fulfil all therequirements of the Member category.Joint Members have all Memberprivileges excluding the journal.Affiliates andCorrespondentsProfessionals in other disciplines whoare not eligible to join as Memberscan join Specialist Groups if they areemployed in, or genuinely interestedin, specialist areas of Earth Science.Applicants must satisfy the requirementsof their nominated specialistgroup. Affiliates are Australian residentsand Correspondents are non-Australianresidents.Honours StudentsEarth Science Honours Students areeligible for one year’s free membershipduring their Honours year.Not sure about your membershipcategory? Contact the GSA officeinfo@gsa.org.au or phone02 9290 2194.TAG September 2012| 3

Society UpdateBusiness ReportThe September TAG brings you columns from our regularcontributors, Letters to the Editor (much longer thanusual), comments on Society activities, Division updates,news and views — and a special report plus two features! Thefeature about James Dwight Dana looks at this prominent historicalgeologist and our second feature by Kirsten Gottschalklooks to the future and the technological changes and infinitepossibilities the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will bring toscience. This issue’s special report was inspired by the Special Reporton Engineering Geology by Greg McNally, published inTAG 163 (June 2012 issue).We also report on and celebrate GSA Award recipients (seepage 36). It was very pleasing to see Award recipients bring theirfamily and friends to the Awards night. These geologists, whoare our members and peers, were recognised for theircontributions to the Earth Sciences and the GSA. As well, AJESAwards were presented for peer-reviewed papers judged as thebest for that year, and for papers written by younger EarthScientists (keep your eyes peeled for their future contributions).No doubt some faces will be familiar and others may becomemore familiar in the future. Congratulations to all GSA Awardrecipients of National, Division and Specialist Group Awards andto recipients of AJES Awards — it is great to see you beingrecognised.Regrettably, with the plethora of awards the Society has,there was and possibly always could be insufficient time for thereading of citations.Annually, at Division award nights held around Australia,citations are read and the recipient has an opportunity to reply— replies are then usually followed by dinner and a vino or two.Division awards seem to have much more time for the ceremonythan at larger conferences, especially the InternationalGeological Congress (IGC).This issue also includes news … big news … the NationalRock Garden achieved Deductible Gift Recipient status and thewebsite is up and running at www.nationalrockgarden.org.au— and accepting donations! Visit the site, send us your feedbackand please bookmark the address as more rocks are added to theRock Listing page.Leading up to the 34th IGC, many GSA members, andmembers and employees of other Earth Science and Geoscienceorganisations and associations, put a huge effort intodeveloping a local IGC to be proud of. Whether it was organisingfield trips, presenting papers, authoring field guides, preparingabstracts, convening sessions, coordinating themes,representing their employers, ‘manning’ booths or listening tonew scientific research, all of you made the 34th IGC a congressto be proud of. The driving forcesbehind these events are thevolunteers. On behalf of manypeople, thank you for making the34th IGC so memorable. Also, aspecial thanks to the members assisting us on the GSA booth —as always these big conferences are a wonderful opportunity tomeet you and to hear your views. Please see photographs onpages 36 to 40. I have cheekily included a photo of myself froma pre-IGC event with Professor Iain Stewart at SydneyUniversity. I hope you don’t mind.Now to other GSA business. The June TAG included a lot ofinformation about potential governance changes and both theCouncil Meeting and the Annual General Meeting wereopportunities for further exchanges of ideas on this topic.I deliberately say ‘further’ because there has been a lot ofdialogue between the Divisions and Specialist GroupCommittees, the Executive Committee, Governance Committeeand legal advisors over the past two years. This issue includessome member feedback and additional legal advice, which wehope provides further and helpful clarification. Understandably,for members not on committees, there has been lessinformation coming to you, whereas feedback betweencommittees has provided a greater exchange of ideas.At each biennial conference many committees change. TheGSA now has a new Executive Committee and many SpecialistGroups have changed office bearers as well. There is somecontinuity as a small number of members serve for a second andthird term on a committee — but in other instances there is lesscontinuity. The committees with less continuity tend to struggleat times, so please feel free to contact me if you have anyqueries. Thank you to the outgoing GSA Executive Committeemembers and to all members working on the other committees.The contributions you have made to the GSA and to the EarthSciences over the previous years are valued by many members.The GSA will soon commence our annual membershiprenewal period. If you are changing your contact details,membership type or modifying a specialist group affiliationplease contact info@gsa.org.au to assist us with your renewal.Finally, please keep in mind the deadline for the Decemberissue is 26 October and remember the earlier we receive yourcontributions, the more likely you will be published. For allcontributions and enquiries please contact me attag@gsa.org.auSUE FLETCHERExecutive Director4 |TAG September 2012

New membersThe GSA welcomes the following new members to the Society.May you all have a long and beneficial association with the GSA.ACTM E M B E RCaroline PrevotGabrielle YatesNSWS T U D E N TLeeora Gubbay-NemesKimberley RobinsonJames SaundersNicola TurnerM E M B E RSeiw Wei GohGraham SmithQLDS T U D E N TDaniel JamesLaura KayeMatthew KindervaterAnannya MazumderKate McNamaraShoshannah O’ConnorZoe PetrovanskyAlison StearnesG R A D U AT ECaroline WoodsM E M B E RAndrew BassonSAS T U D E N TAlicia CarusoMatthew FargherSamuel Lutterdal-HuserGeorgia MatthewsMitchell NeumannIrraisha SorianoBenjamin Van Der HoekTASS T U D E N TLouise BlythStephanie CesileGisela Cobenas-BenitesFrancis CoulbourneChristopher HildrewTravis HolmesCeinwen PricePawan RaiWilliam RowlandsShane StanfieldJeffrey SteadmanJonathan TraynorM E M B E RRebecca CareyVICS T U D E N TRobert BarrattEstephany Marillo SialerLaura SpelbrinkM E M B E RRoger PowellWAS T U D E N TJianwei ZiMatthew HillHuiqing HuangErwann LebrunPhilip Pohlenz-SawJacinta RiedelZeng QingtaoM E M B E RAlessandra BaltAndrew MuncktonAndreas ScheibLost membersMail from the following members has been returned to the GSA,as all their contact details are out of date. If you know thesemembers and have their contact details, please emailinfo@gsa.org.au or call 02 9290 2194. Thanks in advancefor your assistance.Justin AndersonKaren AndersonNicole CoxMark DaviesGareth HendersonIlija JokicStephen ParkesTAG September 2012| 5

Society UpdateTowards a GSA Climate Change StatementIthank GSA Past President, Peter Legge, for his timely letter inthe last issue of TAG (TAG 163, June 2012) in which hesuggested a set of guiding principles, followed by commentstowards developing a GSA Climate Change Statement. Peter’swords echo those received from many GSA members, indicatinga strong preference for a science-based statement regardingclimate change, emphasising the contributions that Earth Sciencecan make to the public discussion.The statement should certainly emphasise that thegeological record contains unequivocal evidence of past climatechanges, including periods when global climate was bothsignificantly warmer and colder than the present. Furthermore,geological evidence demonstrates that Earth’s climate system isinherently and naturally variable over a variety of time-scales.Clearly, it is sensitive to a variety of factors including planetaryscale controls such as Solar and orbital variability and evenlarge impact events. Tectonics and plate movements areimportant because they have major influences on erosion,volcanism and ocean circulation, while Earth-specific factorssuch as biological feedbacks and atmospheric composition mustalso be considered. It follows, therefore, that a detailed,science-based understanding of the climate history of the Earth,based on the geological record, is essential to appreciate andquantitatively unravel the various sensitivites contributing toclimate variations both short-term and long-term. I describedsome of the elements of understanding past climate changesand their causes in my report on Quaternary climate change inTAG 158 (March 2011).At the time of writing, I am about to step down as GSAPresident and will take the lead in preparing a draft GSA ClimateChange Statement, based on member feedback received duringthe consultation period of the last several months. I sincerelyapologise that I have not yet completed a draft statement, butthe months leading up to the Society’s Council Meeting andAGM at the IGC in Brisbane have been an extremely busy periodfor me and the GSA Executive Committee. I hope that you willagree that it is far better to produce a carefully considered draftdocument than one that is rushed.BRAD PILLANSPast President, GSAISSUE COPY FINISHED INSERTSARTDECEMBER 2012 26 Oct 2 Nov 9 NovMARCH 2013 28 Jan 1 Feb 1 MarJUNE 2013 29 Apr 3 May 28 MaySEPTEMBER 2013 29 Jul 9 Aug 23 Aug6 |TAG September 2012

to “consolidate some of its printcollections and relocate or removelesser-used material from branches,” butI wonder if anybody outside the libraryhad any idea of the scale of this cull? Thelibrary claims that “[g]uidelines and policywere developed to assist staff with theprocesses of relocation and removal ofmaterial, and the processing of journals,”but an appropriate de-acquisition policydoes not appear to have been followedin this particular instance. The librarystatement further claims that “[t]heLibrary is making every effort to redressthese errors by working with the Facultyof Science and academic staff in theSchool of Earth Sciences to identify andre-acquire important titles,” but unfortunately,this was an irreplaceable collectionand no amount of remorse and belatedgood intentions will be able to rebuild it.The stable door is well and truly open.I am dismayed at the loss of this valuablecollection and I expect I will not be theonly member of the geological communityto feel this way.It is sadly ironic that the library isnamed the ‘Dorothy Hill Engineering andSciences Library’.TIM MUNSONDarwinDear Sir,Whilst reviewing the literature on thegeomorphology of Uluru (Ayers Rock) andKata Tjuta (the Olgas) for a new geologicalguide book, which has recently beenpublished by Geoscience Australia, (Sweetet al, 2012), it occurred to me that Uluru,Kata Tjuta and, for that matter, Mt Conner,which appear like islands in the desert,may, in fact, have been formed as islandsin a Cretaceous sea and that their presentshapes reflect this influence.A closer look at the geology of the regionshowed that the nearest outcrop ofCretaceous sediments occurs some 330 kmto the east of Mt Conner at Mt Rumbalara.The top of Mt Rumbalara, which containsflat-lying Cretaceous sediments, is aboutthe same height above sea level as thebases of Kata Tjuta, Uluru and Mt Conner.The topography between Mt Rumbalaraand Mt Conner, Uluru and Kata Tjuta isrelatively flat and shows no evidence ofany tectonic disturbance since theCretaceous, so the sea could have reachedmuch further to the west than the presentoutcrop distribution of Cretaceoussediments would indicate. It seemspossible that Mt Conner and further tothe west, Uluru and Kata Tjuta could haveformed as offshore islands in a shallowCretaceous sea.It was considered that this hypothesis wastoo speculative to be included in the guidebook. However, I do think it deserves moreattention, and would like to see moreresearch into this topic. Regretfully, mydays of dashing about in a four-wheeldrive are over, so I hope someone elsemay like to follow this up.Yours Sincerely,IAN CRICKR E F E R E N C E SSweet, IP, Stewart, AJ & Crick, IH, 2012. Uluru andKata Tjuta: a geological guide. Geoscience Australia,Canberra, 63 pp.This letter provides feedback on theprogress report of a Governance Committeethat appeared in the June 2012 issue ofTAG (TAG 163 p. 3–6). The committeesummarises proposed changes to GSAgovernance structure that closely resemblethose of the GSA–AIG [AustralasianInstitute of Geoscientists] mergerproposals that were mooted in 2009.Those proposals envisaged that themerged organisation was to be “governed”by a 12-person Board “elected by themembership at large” and responsible forits “strategic policy”. It is now proposedthat the GSA set up a 9-person “GoverningCouncil”, which “will have responsibilityfor the oversight of strategy, policy andgovernance of the Society” and will be “itsparamount decision-making body”.Many of the points I made in 2009(TAG 152, p. 5–7) in feedback on themerger scheme apply also to these newproposals. While the report proposes majorchanges to GSA governance it fails toexplain clearly why the existing governanceof the GSA is so unsatisfactory asto need major reconstruction, or whatfeatures of the proposed new governancemodel will serve the Society moreeffectively than the one currently in place.After declaring as a predetermined factthat the GSA “must change its governancearrangements” the proposed new model ispresented under the heading “EssentialChanges to GSA Governance; Election ofa Governing Council”. It then states thatcurrent arrangements “do not comply withmany of the mandatory requirements of[the] Associations Incorporation Act 1991”and in particular “do not provide for theelection and functioning of a GoverningCouncil;” and later “[a] new set of legallycompliant Rules is also required” —despite a statement on the GSA websitethat “[t]he Rules of the Geological Societyof Australia comply with the AustralianAssociations Incorporation Act (1991)”.I cannot find in the Australian AssociationsIncorporation Act 1991 (‘the Act’, availableat www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/1991-46/default.asp) any requirement that theGSA must provide for the election andfunctioning of a ‘Governing Council’:indeed, those words do not appear inthe Act. And if there is such a legalrequirement now, why were we beingurged to approve a merger model with a‘Board’ at the top only three years ago?The purposes of the legal advice thataccompanies the Governance Committee’sreport (TAG 163, p. 5) are stated toprovide all members of the GeologicalSociety of Australia with “1. A basicunderstanding of the mandatory legalrequirements imposed upon the Society bythe Associations Incorporations [sic]Act 1991” and “2. A summary of the legalrequirements of the Act not complied withby the current Rules of the Society.”But the wording of that second purposewould more accurately be worded as“2. A summary of amendments to theRules of the Society that would be requiredif the changes to the governance of theGSA proposed by the Governance Committeeare accepted.”This point can be illustrated by two itemsin the advice, under the heading“Mandatory Legal Requirements of theAct”. Under item “2. Powers of theGoverning Council:” it is asserted that“the Rules must clearly state the powers ofthe Governing Council,” while under item“8. Election of Governing Council:” it isasserted that “the Rules … must providefor the election ... of the GoverningCouncil”. As the words ‘GoverningCouncil’ are absent from the Act, and noGovernance Council exists within theGSA, the Society hardly needs legal adviceto tell it that the current Rules do notcomply with requirements that would onlyexist if the proposed governance changeswere accepted.The remaining two points of this letterreflect my personal experience of theGSA — and its governance — rather thanlegalistic analysis.8 |TAG September 2012

The first is that I take pride in mymembership of the Geological Society ofAustralia, and am not aware of anyshortcomings in the arrangements for itsgovernance that could not be rectified byminor adjustments. During my serviceat both Divisional and Federal levels,including a term as President, itsorganisational structure has alwaysappealed to me as admirably democratic.Its broad objective, clearly stated incurrent Rule 2, is well and economicallyworded. Our Society publishes a peerreviewedgeoscience journal (AJES) that isinternationally respected, and circulatesan informative newsletter (TAG). Itprovides for Earth Science conventionsaround Australia, and its Divisional andBranch structure enables States, Territoriesand significant local centres to organisewhatever other meetings and events thattheir initiatives generate. It provides anumbrella for the formation of SpecialistGroups, and also maintains an effectivelystaffed central administrative office.The second of my two final points is basedon a personal egalitarian philosophy, thatwithin any human group with a commonpurpose, power should be distributedwidely throughout its structure. I thereforenote with unease that recent proposals forgovernance changes have evolved fromthe present control of the GSA by aCouncil of some 30 persons, through a12-person ‘Board’ (of the 2009 mergerproposals), to a nine-person ‘GoverningCouncil’. I have already noted that the newbody “will have responsibility for theoversight of strategy, policy andgovernance of the Society” and will be“its paramount decision-making body”:this sounds to me like a massive transferof power to a small group at the top. TheByzantine complexity of the arrangementsfor election/appointment of members ofthe Governing Council is almost beyondbelief. Members should judge the meritof rotational Divisional appointees tothe Governing Council, in which eachDivision in turn has four consecutiveyears in which it has no GoverningCouncil representative, by comparisonwith the Australian Constitution. If anyonewere to suggest that the Constitutionshould be changed so that the Statestake rotational turns to appoint FederalMembers to the Australian Parliament, sothat each State in turn was deprived ofdirect representation in it for a number ofconsecutive years, the suggestion wouldbe, rightly, ridiculed. By analogy, the rightof all Divisions to have continuousrepresentation on the GSA Council is onethat should not be relinquished.ALEC TRENDALLWestern AustraliaI respond to the request for feedback onthe proposed rule changes of the GSA.(I deliberately refrain from using thepompous term ‘Governance Changes’).The current Rules have functioned remarkablywell over the 60-year-life of theSociety.I would be interested to learn why theyapparently complied with the AssociationsIncorporation Act 1991 in 2008 but nottoday (see ‘Rules’ on GSA website). Judgingfrom the Legal Memorandum(TAG 163 p. 5–6) the changes required caneasily be made to the existing Rules underwhich the Society operates.I have very grave concerns whether theproposed Governing Council is a bettermodel than the current Council andExecutive: it is certainly less democraticand inclusive. If we must vote for officers(which I doubt) I would prefer to vote forthe President, Secretary and Treasurermyself, rather than have a GoverningCouncil do that for me. Other societieshave had voting for these positionsfor many years. The downside is thatthis wastes a lot of talent: how manyunsuccessful candidates would wish to benominated a second time only to sufferfurther humiliation (most of us are notso thick-skinned as politicians)? A votingprocedure would be time-consuming andexpensive: the Society has better ways ofspending its resources.A second concern is with the proliferationof committees. I note that only theFinance and Risk Committee is actuallymentioned. It seems to me that thereis a risk of this committee being thetail that wags the dog, dictating thepurse strings in much the same way asFederal and State Treasurers do. Financeshould be an Executive Committeeresponsibility; any advisory bodies shouldbe subservient to that group and rightlynamed ‘sub-committees’.Finally, while there may be a need totinker with some of the Rules to satisfythe legal mind, I see no reason to changethe overall structure of the Society thathas served us well since its foundation.While I hate finishing with a cliché,nevertheless, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.AE COCKBAINSouth PerthCongratulationsRoss!Dr S Ross Taylor of theAustralian NationalUniversity was awardedthe 2012 ShoemakerDistinguished Lunar ScientistAward by the NASA LunarScience Institute. The awardrecognises Dr Taylor’s longhistory of dedication, Image courtesy Ross Taylor.innovation and scientificcontributions to the field of lunar science.TAG September 2012| 9

Should the members of the Society, as a whole, not considerthere to be justification for improvement to the processesand procedures of determining the composition, functioningand powers of the Governing Council (note to be read asequivalent to the “committee” as per the Act) that is a matterfor the members of the Society as a whole to determine.The existing Rules refer to a “Council” and although thatterm is not defined in the existing Rules the expression“Council” is used throughout the Rules and, in particular,Rule 16(a) with the intention of referring to that group ofpersons who would have the same powers, functions andobligations as those persons who comprise the “committee”referred to in the Act.Therefore, the expression “Governing Council” has beenchosen in communication material and in the proposed draftnew Rules so as to enable a distinction to be made between,and avoid confusion with, the functions, powers and role ofpersons serving on the “Executive Committee” as that termis referred to in the Rules and from all other references in theexisting Rules to the various other “committees” that can andhave been formed by the “Council” from time to time.Hence, all references to the expression “committee” in theAct should be read and construed as referring to the“Governing Council” for the purposes of communicationand interpreting the proposed draft amended Rules.The expression “committee” is defined in the Act to mean:“In relation to an association, means the committee of theassociation established under Section 60(1).”Section 16(d) of the Act specifies matters that are requiredto take place in order for an association to become incorporatedunder the Act, which states: “An association or a groupof five or more persons proposing to form and incorporate an associationmay, by resolution: (d) appoint at least 3 members ofthe association or of the group proposing to form and incorporatean association to be the inaugural members of the committee ofthe incorporated association if the application is successful.”Hence, by virtue of section 16(d), in order for an associationor group of 5 or more persons to validly incorporate underthe Act and indeed to remain incorporated under the Act,there must have been a resolution (ie a recorded vote)to approve the appointment of at least 3 members to formthe inaugural committee (ie in this case the GoverningCouncil).Section 60 of the Act states:“(1) An incorporated association must have a committee of atleast 3 members of the association.(2) The committee of an incorporated association has themanagement of the association.”Section 61 of the Act provides:“The inaugural members of the committee of an association incorporatedunder this Act are, unless the rules of the associationotherwise provide, taken to be:(a) For an incorporated association under section 19 – thepersons appointed under section 16(d):......”Therefore, by virtue of Section 16(d) and Section 61, it isa pre-condition that the composition of the committee(ie under the Rules, the “Governing Council”) at theestablishment of incorporation of the association and at alltimes thereafter by virtue of Section 60 be comprised of thosemembers of the Society who have been appointed by a validresolution of the members (ie by election). Any changes to thecomposition of the ‘committee’ (ie Governing Council) mustbe notified to the registrar-general pursuant to Section 62.The existing Rules provide for a complex and difficult interpretativeprocedure for the election of members of each of the‘Divisions’, ‘Specialist Groups’ or ‘Branches’, however, do notprovide any Rules for the nomination and election of membersto Governing Council (ie ‘committee’ as read in the Act).Hence regardless of what the Act provides, having a set ofRules for the election of members to each Division andSpecialist Group without rules for the election of personsto the Governing Council (again read as referring to ‘committee’)is of itself justification requiring correction at least.Although there is no requirement under the Act forparticipants of the Divisions, Specialist Groups or Branchesto have been elected, given that the existing Rules alreadydo so, the proposed draft Rules provide for the participantsof each Division to elect by simple majority resolution anominee of that Division as the Divisional Representativeon the Governing Council and such nomination is requiredto be endorsed by the Society in General Meeting.It is important to point out that it is the ratification of aparticular Division to have representation on the GoverningCouncil for the term of office set out in the Rules ratherthan the individual who is a participant in that Divisionso as to enable the particular Division to have differentparticipants of that Division representing the Division onthe Governing Council throughout the term.The purpose of the model proposed for the compositionof the Governing Council is to provide and ensure equalvoice, equal representation, clear transparency and objectivityfor the broad membership of the Society and notthose comprising the greatest in number of members of aparticular Division or Specialist Group to the disadvantageof smaller Divisions or smaller Specialist Groups.On behalf of the Governance CommitteeJim Ross, Brad Pillans, Laurie Hutton,Chris Yeats and Sue FletcherTAG September 2012| 11

Society UpdateFrom the AJES Hon Editor’s deskAJES Impact Factor 2011The two-year impact factor for AJES is 1.417 with a rankingof 80 out of 150 in the Geosciences Multidisciplinarysubject category. Although there has been some volatilityin AJES impact factors over the last 15 years, this is the thirdhighestimpact factor for this period. The two-year impact factorhas been greater than 1.0 every year since 1999.New simplified access to online AJESSeveral members have had difficulty accessing AJES online sowe have been working with Taylor and Francis publishers toprovide an easier process. The model we are moving to isSociety Member access. We envisage starting the roll-out ofthis access model in early October. Retired members are likelyto be contacted first. This model relies on each memberindividually authenticating their identity once and once only.After that is done, as long as a member is financial there willbe no interruption to online access.The GSA will communicate directlywith members during the roll-out ofthis different model.Upcoming in AJESTwo big thematic issues 59/5 (Archean evolution — YilgarnCraton: Guest editors Kevin F Cassidy and Stephen Wyche) and59/6 (Evolution and geodynamics of the Indo-Australian plate:Guest editors Myra Keep and Wouter P Schellart) were recentlypublished in time for the IGC. Issues 7 and 8 will includeresearch papers and discussion and replies although they willbe reduced in length to make up for the extra pages used inearlier issues. Early in 2013 we will publish an issue ongeological CO 2 storage, edited by Alex Golab and Sue Golding,with an introduction by Peter Cook. Some of the papers fromthis volume are already available on the AJES.AWARDSFollowing from the June issue (TAG 163), the remainingcitation for the DI Groves Award for volume 58 and forthe AB Edwards Awards for volumes 57 and 58 arepresented here. The FL Stillwell, DI Groves and AB EdwardsAwards were presented at the GSA Awards Presentation atthe IGC in Brisbane in August.AB Edwards Medal winnersIn the June issue (TAG 163), we announced the AB Edwards Medalfor the best paper in AJES Vol. 57 (2010) — A guide formineral exploration through the regolith in the Yilgarn Craton,Western Australia, by Ravi Anand and Charles Butt. We alsoannounced the winning paper in AJES Vol. 58 (2011) — A criticalreview of genesis modelling for the Hamersley BIF-hosted iron oresof Western Australia, by Richard Morris and Malcolm Kneebone. Inthis issue we publish the background to all the award winners andto Anand and Butt’s paper.Ravi AnandThe Yilgarn Craton is one of the world’s principal mineral provinces,with considerable resources of gold, nickel, bauxite and iron ore, aswell as lesser amounts of a wide range of other commodities.As such, it is a major target for exploration. However, as most of thecraton has been exposed to subaerial conditions since at least theLate Proterozoic, it has had a long history of weathering and erosionunder a wide variety of climatic conditions. This has resulted in awidespread and complex regolith cover. This diverse and extensiveregolith cover poses considerable difficulties for exploration — aswell as opportunities in terms of different sample media and thedevelopment of resources within the regolith itself. The developmentof appropriate geochemical exploration procedures has been thesubject of considerable research by government, universities andindustry for nearly 50 years. This guide attempts to summarise theresults of this research in a single, stand-alone document to assistmineral explorers. It provides a synthesis of the characteristics andevolution of the Yilgarn landscape and advice on appropriate strategiesand techniques for exploring through different types of cover,based on current knowledge and best practice. Because broadly similardeeply weathered regolith-dominated terrains occur elsewherein Australia and, indeed, in other continents, many of the principlesdiscussed here can be more widely applied.12 |TAG September 2012

The guide develops exploration strategies for gold, base metals,nickel and surficial uranium deposits within the context of theevolution of the landscape and regolith of the Yilgarn Craton. Inmany instances, this paper alone should provide the explorer with a‘one-stop shop’ with respect to the knowledge required to plan andexecute effective geochemical exploration strategies. However, thepaper has a comprehensive reference list if more detail is sought ona particular topic or for a particular area. The illustrations includephotographs of relevant regolith materials, real examples of mapsand sections as well as schematic block diagrams. The guide includesflow charts that demonstrate the process of regolith mapping andprocedures for selecting the optimum geochemical sampling strategyfor a particular area.The guide commences with a brief introduction to the geologyand principal ore deposits of the craton, followed by a descriptionof the development and characteristics of the regolith, and therelationship between regolith type and landforms. The Regolithsection provides a succinct and accessible summary of the vast bodyof research on this topic, and presents it as a coherent synthesis thatmust underpin any thinking about geochemical exploration in theYilgarn. The distribution, characteristics and use of the principalsample media are described. The regolith and landforms providea framework for empirical models that describe the processes ofgeochemical dispersion, based on numerous case histories and otherinvestigations, grouped according to the principal commodities.The models anticipate and summarise the surface expression ofmineralisation and include recommendations on explorationprocedures, such as sample selection, sampling interval, analysis anddata interpretation.Ravi Anand is a Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO and an AdjunctProfessor in regolith geology and geochemistry at Curtin University,Perth, Western Australia. In 1984, Ravi completed his PhD on weatheringprocesses at the University of Western Australia (UWA).He then became a postdoctoral fellow at UWA. He joined CSIRO in1987 as a Research Scientist in the Division of Mineralogy, carryingout research into methods of exploring for concealed mineraldeposits in Australia’s deeply weathered terrains. Ravi wasApplications Coordinator of the CRC for Landscape Evolution andMineral Exploration (1995–2001) and Program Leader of Program 2for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration (2001–2008).He has been a leader of industry-funded projects since 1990. Theseprojects have included multidisciplinary, multi-client projectsthrough Australian Mineral Industries Research Association Ltd(AMIRA) and projects with individual companies. The outcomes ofhis research have been major contributors to the discovery of manymineral deposits in deeply weathered terrains. Ravi has authoredover 220 publications and scientific reports and four monographsor journal issues. Recognition of Dr Anand’s achievement inregolith-geochemical research is demonstrated by awards andinvitations to international conferences and media releases.Charles ButtCharles Butt was appointed to CSIRO in 1971 after completing a PhDin Applied Geochemistry at Imperial College, London. His researchconcentrated on developing geochemical exploration procedures forgold, nickel, platinum group elements (PGE) and base metals indeeply weathered terrains. He also concentrated on the geology ofsecondary mineral deposits, particularly nickel laterites, supergenegold and calcrete uranium. He led a number of projects in regolithgeochemistry through AMIRA, was Program Leader and DeputyDirector for CRC LEME1 and Chief Scientist for CSIRO Explorationand Mining. Charles Butt was elected a Fellow of the AustralianAcademy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2004 andappointed a CSIRO Fellow in 2007. He retired in 2011 and is nowan Honorary Research Fellow with CSIRO Earth Science and ResourceEngineering.Richard MorrisRichard Morris has been a CSIRO Honorary Research Fellow sinceretiring in 1996. He gained a BSc in geology in 1958 at UWA parttimewhile working as ‘the lab boy’ in the Department of Geology.After graduating, Dick worked in the WA Department of Mines as amineralogist until 1970, before going into petrographic consulting ongossans, ores, mineral sands and regolith samples. A four-monthproject in 1972 with Wilf Ewers, head of the CSIRO WA Division ofMineralogy, introduced Morris to the complexities of Hamersleybanded iron formation (BIF) and its phosphorus distribution. Thisproject led to Wilf, a geochemist, inviting Dick in 1976 to be hispetrological assistant for two years in the inaugural CSIRO–AMIRA‘Phosphorus in Iron Ores of the Hamersley Province’ program. The twoyears became 18, with Morris taking over the program when Wilfretired in 1981. The overall project involved detailed BIF/orepetrographic and analytical studies, with allied research involvingmajor contributions from other CSIRO staff: RC Horwitz in joint fieldstudies, MR Thornber in electrochemical modelling and AB Fletcherin demonstrating enhanced solubility of quartz during ferrous–ferricreactions. AMIRA-funded collaborative research continued on ‘shales’in ore with LH Seet, asbestos in ores with Jiri Just, channel irondeposits (CID) with ER Ramanaidou, Indian iron ores, and finally aparallel study on detrital iron deposits (DID) that concluded theCSIRO–AMIRA program in 1994. In 1985 Morris completed anexternal PhD (UWA) on the BIF-hosted bedded iron deposits (BID) andwas awarded the GSA (WA) 1988 Gibb Maitland Medal for his ironore research.Malcolm KneeshawMalcolm Kneeshaw qualified with a BSc in Geology in 1965 fromthe University of Hull in the UK and is a Fellow of The AusIMM. Aftera brief exposure to iron ore at BHP’s Middleback operations, heworked in iron, nickel and manganese exploration for BHP MineralsExploration in the Pilbara and Yilgarn in the 1960s, including someTAG September 2012| 13

of the early exploration drilling in BHP’s then Robe River CIDtenements, and BID at Mt Whaleback. Moves to BHP’s iron oreoperations at Koolyanobbing and Yampi followed, before a return toMt Whaleback in 1970 as Senior Mine Geologist with Mt NewmanMining. This period saw the 1800-million-tonne Whaleback drilloutcompleted, with mine geology and quality-control duties set upunder the then Chief Geologist, Bill Willis. Bill was responsible forBHP’s joining the AMIRA–CSIRO iron ore program in 1976.From 1981 to 2004 as Chief Geologist Mt Newman Mining/Manager Geology BHP Iron Ore, Mal was responsible for allexploration, development and metallurgical sampling work in BHPBilliton’s Pilbara tenements, which from the mid-1980s led to thedevelopment of BHP Billiton’s satellite mines in the Newman area,and new operations at Yandi, Jimblebar, Yarrie and Area C. In 2004,he received the Gibb Maitland Medal for contributions to iron oregeoscience in WA. Mal would specifically like to record the able andprofessional assistance of Ilmar Tehnas, Doug Kepert and MarkPudovskis during this hectic period in evaluating, developing andunderstanding the Hamersley’s various BID, CID and DID. Sinceretiring from BHP in 2004, he occasionally acts as a consultant withCoffey Mining on iron ore projects and mines in the Pilbara, Yilgarn,Northern Territory and South Australia.The CSIRO–AMIRA 1976–1994 program owes its success to theforesight and hands-on leadership of Wilf Ewers, who initiated thepilot BIF–phosphorus study by Morris in 1972. He invited the variousHamersley iron ore companies to join CSIRO in a detailed comparableiron ore study, since the then-known low-phosphorus high-gradehematite ore resource was limited. The initial sponsors in 1976 werethe BHP Company Limited, Mt Newman Mining Co Pty Ltd andHamersley Iron Pty Ltd (through Hamersley Exploration), eventuallyincluding CRA, Robe River Associates and Hancock Prospecting. Closecollaboration between company senior geoscientists such as JohnEvans, Richard Harmsworth and Chris Robinson, and the CSIROresearchers, produced the results that retained the sponsors’ supportfrom 1976 to 1994.The partnership between geologist Mal Kneeshaw and microscopeoperator Dick Morris helped enhance many of the varied CSIROsponsor reports and journal papers, and led to the 2007 FL StilwellMedal for Morris and Ramanaidou on the genesis of the CID. ThisAB Edwards Award is a further example of that continuing partnership.Kneebone and Morris state, “Our paper is an attempt to bringsome objectivity to the clash between the supergene and thehydrothermal genetic model advocates. We are grateful to ourreviewers for their help, to AJES Editor Anita Andrew for herpainstaking work on the manuscript, and to the Specialist Group inEconomic Geology of the Geological Society of Australia forhonouring us with this prized medal.”14 |TAG September 2012

DI Groves Medal WinnerKatherine HowardThe 2011 DI Groves Award for the best paper published in theAustralian Journal of Earth Sciences, where the senior author iswithin 6 years of graduating from their undergraduate degree, hasbeen given to Katherine Howard (with co-authors, Hand, Barovich,Payne, Cutts and Belousova). The paper is entitled ‘U–Pb zircon,zircon Hf and whole rock Sm–Nd isotopic constraints on theevolution of Paleoproterozoic rocks in the northern Gawler Craton’.The DI Groves Award paper presents U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic datafrom zircons, whole rock Nd isotopes and geochemistry fromorthogneiss rock samples from drillcore in the northern GawlerCraton, southern Australia. The paper highlights similarities in thetiming of magmatism, sedimentary deposition and metamorphismbetween the northern Gawler Craton and the Arunta Province of theNorth Australian Craton, suggesting that the two regions may haveshared similar tectonic histories during mid to late Paleoproterozoictimes. The article also demonstrates that the northern Gawler Cratonis a suitable source region to the 1760–1700 Ma Paleoproterozoicbasin sequences deposited across the Gawler Craton and theCurnamona Province. This provides paleogeographic constraints forreconstruction models of southern Australia suggesting that thecomponents of the Gawler Craton and the Curnamona Province wereadjacent during the late Paleoproterozoic.Katherine Howard completed a Bachelor of Science with FirstClass Honours at the University of Adelaide in 2006. In 2007, shecommenced a PhD also at the University of Adelaide with supervisorsMartin Hand, Karin Barovich and Elena Belousova. Her PhD studyused geochemical, geochronological and isotopic analyses ofpredominantly drillcore samples to determine the tectonic settingof buried Proterozoic metasedimentary and igneous units fromthe Gawler Craton. These data were used to better constrainpaleogeographic reconstruction models for the development ofProterozoic Australia.Throughout her postgraduate studies, Katherine contributed toseven peer-reviewed journal papers (first author on five), andpresented six conference abstracts. She was awarded the Eric RuddMemorial Scholarship in 2008, and the best student talk award atAJES 2010 AND 2011 AWARD RECIPIENTS LEFT TO RIGHT:Erick Ramanaidou (accepting the AB Edwards Award on behalf of RC Morrisfor Volume 58/2011); Rob Hough (accepting AB Edwards Medal on behalf ofRavi Anand and Charles Butt for Volume 57/2010); Katherine Howard(DI Groves Award for Volume 58/2011); Cara Danis (DI Groves Award forVolume 57/2010), Chris Ferguson (FL Stillwell Award for Volume 57/2010);Anita Andrew (AJES Editor-in-Chief), Russell Korsh (AJES Editorial Board),Ross Cayley (FL Stillwell Award for Volume 58/2011).the GSA’s Specialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology PortMacquarie Conference in 2010. She was also named demonstratorof the year for 2009 for her assistance with undergraduate classesat the University of Adelaide.Katherine graduated from her PhD earlier this year. Her thesisis titled ‘Geotectonics in the Gawler Craton: constraints fromgeochemistry, U–Pb geochronology and Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotopes’.She is currently working as a Teaching Support Officer in the Schoolof Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide.Professor Martin Hand, Associate Professor Karin Barovich andAssociate Lecturer Justin Payne are members of the Centre forTectonics, Resources and Exploration (TRaX) and the School of Earthand Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide. Martin Hand isalso the Director of the South Australian Centre for GeothermalEnergy Research. Kathryn Cutts is currently a Postdoctoral Researcherwith the Department of Earth Sciences at Stellenbosch University,South Africa. Elena Belousova is currently a research fellow in theARC National Key Centre for Geochemical Evolution and Metallogenyof Continents (GEMOC) at Macquarie University.Q u izine BY TOR MENTOR(Answerson page 46.)There were three common medals awarded to those who fought in World War 1 — the 1914–1915 Star, the British WarMedal and the Victory Medal; they were known irreverently, as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. Many scientific societies awardmedals, although I doubt if they have irreverent nicknames. Can you say which society awards the following medalsand for what?1 Copley Medal2 Wollaston Medal3 WR Browne Medal4 Mawson Medal5 Polar Medal6 Priestley Medal7 Penrose Medal8 Robert Shackleton Award9 Public Welfare Medal10 Srinivasa Ramanujan MedalTAG September 2012| 15

Society UpdateEducation&OutreachIam writing this column on the eve of the 34th IGC to be heldin Brisbane 5–10 August 2012. There will be something in thisconference for everyone, including educators and thoseinterested in community outreach. A number of sessions inthe ‘Geoscience for Society’ theme will see presentations oneducational issues and social applications of geoscience globallyand I look forward to reporting on them in the next TAG. By thetime the next issue arrives in your mailbox the IGC may seem likea distant memory. However, the potential impact the conferencestands to make on the Australian community should not beunderestimated, although a fickle media — distracted as it willbe by the Olympics — can also see many good messages sinkwithout trace.Keeping the media in mind, I encourage all those who attendedthe IGC or who read about it with interest in the media to take thetime to reflect on how the different forms of media portrayedgeoscience during the event and the kind of coverage the IGC as awhole received. Various highlights, such as the public presentationby Professor Iain Stewart, might get better coverage although I aminterested to see what types of messages from deep within theconference get coverage and how well that coverage portrays thescience.Public support for science is crucial. Unless there is clearand vocal support from a broad cross-section of the community,incumbent and would-be politicians and the governmentsthey form may not support a real community need, such as theunequivocal funding and support of science, as much as mightotherwise be expected. In today’s world that public support iscommunicated through mainstream media mechanisms such asnewspapers, talk-back radio and Q&A-style television programs,although the impact of social media is ever-growing. It is temptingfor communities such as ours — the community of geoscienceprofessionals — which is populated to a great extent by an agingdemographic, to ignore these newer technologies, treating themas a passing fad. We do so at our peril.It is therefore incumbent on all of us, not just the media teamsemployed by professional societies, universities and industry, toensure the public gets the message: geoscience counts and withoutit our modern world would be an economically, socially andphysically poorer place. Saying this is easy — doing it is whatcounts, but is by no means easy. You should write to local andnational newspapers, call talk-back radio and put yourself forwardto be part of a Q&A-style TV audience if the opportunity arises.Also embrace the new media — not just during and immediatelyafter the IGC.We all know modern media has ashort attention span. Even the mostfantastic of stories to come out of theIGC will have a short run and mighteasily be passed over if other events,judged to be even more interesting, take the headlines at just thewrong moment. Herein lies the power of the new social mediaphenomenon. All of us can comment on the news, not just reador listen to it. It is also now evident that as the more traditionalforms of media seek to build new audiences within youngerdemographics and also cut costs by moving to more digital formsof delivery that they are sourcing news, commentary and ideas forfurther inquiry from social media of all kinds. This means thatwe can start to co-direct the content and mood of the mediacommentary but only if we participate.Consequently, as you read this some weeks after the IGCis done and dusted, I urge you to review how your IGC, yourgeoscience and your areas of interest were reported in all forms ofmedia and think about how you could engage with the new ageof 24/7 media and commentary. What ways could you keep yourgeoscience and areas of interest in the present with positive musthavemessages that will trickle out into multiple blogs, twitterfeeds and online media reports? We all know the importance ofwhat we do for the community at large. What we now also knowis that unless that community knows what we know, the chancesof the geosciences thriving in a world competing 24/7 for funding,government support and research facilities are limited. Thanks tothe social media revolution we now all have an opportunity toinfluence the direction society moves.GREG McNAMARAGeoscience Education and Outreach ServicesExecutive Officer of TESEPSend all comments to Greg McNamara atoutreach@gsa.org.au16 |TAG September 2012

Society UpdateStratigraphic ColumnTraditional names and other exceptions –sometimes confusingThe International Stratigraphic Guide (ISG) has severalclauses that allow the retention of lithostratigraphic unitnames that do not meet the current guidelines. Findingthese non-compliant names in the Australian Stratigraphic UnitsDatabase can sometimes create confusion about what iscurrently permitted, so I thought it would be worth discussingsome of these exceptions.One clause that was mainly applied when we first adopted theISG in 1978 was the provision to ‘preserve traditional and wellestablishednames’ (3.B.3.g.). This allowed the retention of namesthat did not include a geographic component, such as the Olderand Newer Volcanics of Victoria (now being replaced) and theSpirifer yassensis Limestone Member, New South Wales. This clausealso gave rise to some uncertainty about whether Tasmania’s‘Jurassic dolerite’ should be capitalised and considered a formalname or continue as an informal reference to all dolerite of thatage in Tasmania. Tasmanian Dolerite is the agreed name used inthe Surface Geology of Australia 1:1 000 000-scale datasets,although we are still lacking a formal definition.Other kinds of well-established names that were allowedto continue under this clause were those that did not use a lithologicalor other accepted term. The Widgiemooltha Dyke Suite isin this category because is uses a ‘form’ term — dyke — rather thana lithological term such as dolerite or gabbro. The Crystal BrookVolcanic Neck and the Bagstowe Ring Dyke Complex are otherexamples of unit names that use ‘form’ terms, and would not beaccepted as new names now.The more recent adoption of the International Union ofGeological Sciences (IUGS) ‘Classification of Igneous Rocks’, inconjunction with the ISG, is gradually seeing the replacement of‘Adamellite’ units, mostly with ‘Monzogranite’ units. However, insome areas the ‘traditional’ name has been retained until someonehas time to review the original name and unit definition.Another clause to do with the geographic component of unitnames is 3.B.3.a. This allows a stratigraphic unit to retain its namewhen a place name changes its spelling; for example KosciuskoGranite (place name now Kosciuszko) and the KombolgieSandstone (place name now Kambolgie). This also holds if the placename changes altogether; for example Violet Town, NSW changedto Tingira Heights in 1960s. In this case the decision to go aheadand change the Violet Town Conglomerate Member allowed theuse of Violet Town Volcanics in Victoria later on.Accepted indexing practice for the Australian StratigraphicUnits Database (ASUD) may also be a source of some confusion.All new names should be checked for suitability prior topublication. A simple way of doing this is to send an email tostratnames@ga.gov.au, which circulates proposed names toappropriate State and Territory representatives on the AustralianStratigraphy Commission. Nevertheless, some unsuitable namesslip through the cracks and get into print. The ASUD indexersrecord what is published, but do try to indicate if they know a nameis misspelt or does not meet the guidelines in other ways. Indexersdo this by recording the name as informal. Sadly some authors andreviewers fail to check the status or currency of units they readand write about.Regrettably there is also a backlog of published material awaitingindexing, so the database is not always as up-to-date as wewould like. However, the priority system aims to ensure that newmaps and significant State and Territory Survey publications areindexed as soon as possible after publication. The reservationprocess for new names also assists in getting approved names intothe database promptly. Although names are established bydefinition and publication, there can often be useful notes attachedto reserved name entries too.I hope this review of some of the exceptions to the namingconventions of the ISG helps in understanding some of the entriesin the ASUD, but questions are always welcome, as is advice onany updates that need to be made.CATHY BROWNNational Convener, Australian Stratigraphy Commissionc/- Geoscience AustraliaGPO Box 378, Canberra ACT 2601cathy.brown@ga.gov.au or cathyeb@netspeed.com.auOther Stratigraphy Commission contacts are available at:http://www.gsa.org.au/management/standing_committee.htmlor throughhttp://www.ga.gov.au/products-services/data-applications/reference-databases/stratigraphic-units.htmlTAG September 2012| 17

Society UpdateHeritage MattersThe past month has been an eventful time with ongoingwork by the Geotourism Subcommittee establishing linkswith the Australian National Landscapes programmanagers. The subcommittee also organised GSA-facilitated talksby José Brilha in Sydney and Adelaide, and worked on asubmission by GSA following the release of the AustralianHeritage Strategy public consultation paper.GSA NSW and SA Division talksby José BrilhaOn 13 and 19 July, in Sydney and Adelaide, respectively, ProfessorJosé Brilha, University of Minho (Portugal), and Editor-in-Chiefof Geoheritage, gave GSA-sponsored talks entitled ‘Challenges inGeoconservation — towards Science, Education and Geotourism’.In his talks, José outlined the aims of geoconservation in theidentification, protection and management of sites of geologicalheritage significance (ie, those exceptional occurrences ofgeodiversity with particular importance for science, educationand geotourism). José outlined how, during the last two decades,geoconservation has been developing as a new discipline in thegeosciences. Today, geoconservation is researched and developedin different institutions (universities, geological surveys andscientific associations) involving an increasing number of people.The study and characterisation of geosites now uses the samescientific approach taken in other geosciences, as the researchresults are published in journals and the subject matter ispresented in congresses all over the world.The first international journal fully dedicated to geoconservation— Geoheritage — was first published by Springer in2009 under the umbrella of the European Association forthe Conservation of the Geological Heritage (ProGEO). Theformalisation of geoheritage as a scientific discipline is alsoachieved through the publication of Master and PhD theses.Geological heritage involves multidisciplinary links in science, andwith society. The geopark concept based on the conservation ofgeological heritage is just one example of the latter. By promotinggeotourism activities, geoparks promote the sustainable developmentof local populations, taking into account also the biologicaland cultural resources of the territory. Under the auspices of theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO), the Global Geoparks Network (GGN), created in 2004,today includes almost 80 geoparks around the world.Globally, progress in geoconservation is occurring on anumber of fronts including:n strengthening geoconservation initiatives in international institutions— International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS),International Geophysical Union (IGU) and UNESCOn consolidating a global inventory of geosites withinternational scientific relevancen developing adequate legislation to protect geositesn reinforcing science-orientated decisions and science researchn growing sustainable global geopark networksn increasing the involvement of young peoplen promoting jobs creation.Following José’s talk to the SA Division, Bob Major (Chair GSASA Division Heritage Subcommittee) and Roma Schneider (FieldGeology Club of South Australia) kindly arranged an excursion toHallett Cove and Maslin Bay for José to view some superb sitesof geoheritage significance in South Australia.Australian Heritage Strategypublic consultation paperA public consultation paper was developed by the Department ofSustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communitiesfollowing consultation with various stakeholders. Discussionpoints and questions were provided for the community torespond to. GSA was consulted after the call for public commentwas made, after the Department commissioned Dr GraemeWorboys to write an essay entitled ‘Conserving Australia’sGeoheritage’.In his essay, Graeme concluded that “Australia’s geoheritageis part of our national heritage and part of what makes our countryspecial. It needs to be officially recognised, listed, adequatelyprotected and effectively managed and it needs to be celebratedas an integral part of the richness of being Australian.” The essaysummarised his findings as follows in the next paragraphs.The conservation of Australia’s geoheritage, an often nonrenewableresource and part of our national heritage, should beimproved through new collaborative whole-of-Australia partnerships,new research investments, the generation of newinformation, the generation of a National Geoheritage List andthe implementation of improved training, site protection andactive conservation management guided by a NationalGeoheritage Conservation Strategy. These improvements include:For gaps in geodiversity information1. The mapping of Australia’s geomorphology/landforms2. The development of a taxonomically correct and peerreviewedAustralian mineral species list and potentially a‘virtual’ e-National minerals collection3. The development of a taxonomically correct and peerreviewedAustralian fossil species list and potentially a ‘virtual’e-National fossil collection18 |TAG September 2012

A national list of Australia’s geoheritage4. The development of Australia’s first peer-reviewed NationalGeoheritage List5. A National Geoheritage List that identifies the level ofsignificance, vulnerability, condition and trend in condition ofthe phenomenonThe protection of geoheritage sites6. The enhanced protection for geoheritage sites by legal andother means (where there is no current protection)The improved management ofgeoheritage sites7. The development of a National Geoheritage ConservationStrategy8. New geoheritage conservation management trainingintroduced to one or more Australian university for geologistsand other specialistsGlacial Pavement, Black Cliff, Hallett Cove, South Australia, 21 July 2012.Image courtesy Roma Schneider, Field Geology Club of SA.Community appreciation and thecelebration of geoheritage9. The celebration of Australia’s geoheritage through remarkablestories told by exceptional communicators through thebest mediums for all Australians.A full copy of the essay can be found athttp://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/strategy/documents.htmlIn total 96 submissions were received by the Department.Copies of most submissions can be accessed at:http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/strategy/publicsubmissions.htmlThe matters raised in the submissions are being considered bythe Department in the ongoing development of the AustralianHeritage Strategy.MARGARET BROCXConvenorStanding Committee for Geological Heritagegeoheritage@iinet.net.auTAG September 2012| 19

Newsfrom the DivisionsJoint GSA VictorianDivision – Royal Societyof Victoria AnnualHowitt LectureEvery winter the Geological Society of Australia(Victorian Division) and the Royal Society ofVictoria hold a lecture at the Royal Society inhonour of Alfred Howitt. Alfred Howitt is bestknown to the geological fraternity for hispioneering geological investigations of theDevonian of Gippsland. He also producedsignificant works on Eucalyptus of East Gippslandand famously led the recovery expeditionfor the Burke and Wills Expedition, travellingtwice to Coopers Creek. Howitt was also a keenobserver of Aboriginal peoples and producedsignificant works on the social fabric of Aboriginallife. It was therefore appropriate that thisyear’s Howitt Lecture was delivered by GuyHoldgate (Melbourne University) on the recenthistory of Port Phillip Bay. The lecture was heldon 12 July at the Royal Society headquarters.Guy drew together the threads from manydifferent surveys of Port Phillip Bay and thesedimentary successions encountered. Recentmultibeam seismic imaging of the bay floorreveals meandering river channels and it isthought that the bay began drying out aboutTOP: Investigating Cambrian volcanic-hosted massive sulfides rich in gold at the South Hercules mine,recently mined by MMG. Photo courtesy Ralph Bottrill.BOTTOM: On top of Mt Read, on a rare day where it’s not enshrouded in clouds, looking at Cape Sorellsome 40 km away. There used to be an old mining town here, reputed to be one of the highest, coldestand windiest towns in Australia, but there is little left of it now. View is over the Tyndall Valley and theHenty gold mine. Image courtesy Ralph Bottrill.2800 years ago, reaching a minimum extentsome 1000 years ago. This has some support incarbon dates of disconformity surfaces withinthe sedimentary successions. This accords withAboriginal oral tradition that has the bay dryand used as a hunting ground until a suddenflood event. Guy postulates that this flood wasan event rather than just postglacial sea-levelrise with the breach in the sand barrier at itsentrance releasing a flood of water into the bay,altering the landscapes of the area. The talkattracted a packed house and prompted lots ofquestions from the audience.DAVID CANTRILLExplore the Science –Science MeetsExploration at Strahan,7–8 December 2011The first Tasmanian Geoscience Forum, held inStrahan on 7–8 December 2011, was the largestgathering of Tasmanian geologists seen formany years. The two-day conference was a jointproduction between the Tasmanian branches ofthe GSA (main convenor Andrew McNeill) andThe AusIMM (main convenor Angela Lorrigan).Day 1 consisted of 15 technical talks promotingthe use of innovative scientific techniques inexploration. Most participants then enjoyed agenerous meal at the Strahan Village restaurant.Day 2 saw field trips to Renison (BluestoneMining) and Mt Read/Hercules (MMG) in themorning, where participants were treated tosensational weather conditions in this normallywintery alpine setting. In the afternoon, theyvisited the Venture Minerals Mt Lindsay coreshed and Hellyer/Fossey (Bass Metals).The conference was well-attended, hosting76 people. Sponsors were ALS, Bass Metals,Unity Mining, MMG, CODES and RogersExploration Services. The conference wasconsidered so successful that GSA and TheAusIMM are considering another event for theend of 2012 — details to be announced.Presentations from the conference are available.Contact Andrew McNeill(Andrew.McNeill@utas.edu.au) for details.MIKE VICARY(Editor: We apologise this report was notprinted in the June issue because ofcomputing issues.)20 |TAG September 2012

TAG September 2012| 21

Newsfrom the Specialist GroupsSpecialist Group inEconomic Geology (SGEG)The Specialist Group in Economic Geology (SGEG) is the largest SpecialistGroup of the GSA, with in excess of 500 members. However, in recentyears, the SGEG has been relatively inactive compared to other, smallerGSA Specialist Groups. Perhaps this is because the SGEG to some degree‘competes’ with international societies such as the Society of EconomicGeologists (SEG) and the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits(SGA), both of which are active in Australia. There is also the AustralasianInstitute of Geoscientists (AIG), which is arguably the peakrepresentative body for Australian geoscientists in the minerals industry.Nevertheless, the SGEG’s continued large membership base suggests thatthere is a role for the group in the GSA. It is clearly beneficial forthe Society to have a voice relevant to the minerals industry, whichemploys so many of our current and potential members in the broadergeoscientific community.The SGEG annually awards the AB Edwards Medal for the best paper inthe field of economic geology published in AJES of the previous year.Selection criteria include scientific impact and international relevance,discussion of novel concepts or ideas and the overall quality of the presentationin text and figures. The winning paper for Volume 57 (2010) isby RR Anand and CRM Butt ‘A guide for mineral exploration throughthe regolith in the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia’. The award for thebest paper in Volume 58 (2011) went to RC Morris and M Kneeshaw fortheir article ‘A critical review of genesis modelling for the HamersleyBIF-hosted iron ores of Western Australia’. Both awards were presentedduring the GSA Awards Ceremony at the 34th IGC in Brisbane in thefirst week of August and citations for both papers are provided in thecolumn ‘From the AJES Hon Editor’s desk’ in this issue of TAG.After almost a decade of tireless service as Chair of the SGEG, FrankBierlein stepped down from the role prior to the 34th IGC. Althoughscheduling issues prevented a general meeting of the SGEG during theconference, a handover of Executive duties was agreed between Frankand me. This will see the Executive Committee of the SGEG based atCSIRO in Perth for at least the next two years. I welcome input from allmembers of the SGEG on its future direction. With the help of RobHough, other colleagues at CSIRO, and the vibrant economic geologyresearch and minerals industry community in Western Australia, I’mconfident that we can reinvigorate the SGEG and once againdemonstrate the relevance of the GSA to the important field of economicgeology.CHRIS YEATSIncoming ChairSpecialist Group in Economic Geology (SGEG)chris.yeats@csiro.auSpecialist Group in Tectonics and Structural Geology (SGTSG) 2012post-conference field trip participants. Left to right — Antoinette Stryk,Nicole Cox, Laura Fox, Nasim Karazizaden, Ivan Zibra, David Moore, VinceMorand, Thomas Bell, Wolfgang Preiss, Brenton Crawford, Fabio Vergara,David Durney and Ross Cayley. Powers Lookout is a spectacular spot onUpper Devonian/Lower Carboniferous fluvial rocks that straddle the tectonicboundary between the Melbourne and Tabberabbera Zones in centralVictoria. Image courtesy Ross Cayley.22 |TAG September 2012

NEWSIn the news this issuen Chinaman Creek Limestonen National Rock Garden updaten IGCP FundingNational Rock Garden —Chinaman Creek LimestoneGSA Rock of the Month — September 2012This new TAG feature will highlight some of Australia’s most interestingrocks — rocks that are spectacular or scientifically, economically orculturally significant, and potentially likely to be featured in the NationalRock Garden (NRG). Please let us know if you think they should or shouldnot be included. The NRG is a project initiated by GSA to celebrate thegeological heritage of Australia, to build a unique and fascinatinggeoscience education facility for the 165 000+ school students from allover Australia that visit their national capital each year. The NRG aimsto promote the role that geology plays in the lives of all Australians.If you have a passion for or interest in the geosciences, or theeducation of our children, or have drawn a livelihood from industriesderived from our rocks, please help us establish a globally uniquecelebration of the geology of Australia in our nation’s capital.We have selected the Devonian Chinaman Creek Limestone from theBroken River Province of North Queensland as our first ‘Rock of theMonth’ because it is spectacular, acquirable and displays a significantcollection of fossils, many yet to be documented. Are there moreimportant Devonian fossiliferous limestones available that are equallyor more spectacular?The Chinaman Creek Limestone is a major component of the BrokenRiver Group that formed a broad shelfal succession in the northern partof the Graveyard Creek Subprovince, southwest of Greenvale in northQueensland. The formation is up to 790 m thick and consists largely ofclastic limestone intervals up to 250 m thick of very thick to thin-beddedcalcirudite and calcarenite and sporadic, thin interbeds of calcareousmudstone, siltstone and sandstone. More substantial siliciclasticintervals of lithic sandstone, siltstone and mudstone, and rareconglomerate up to 100 m thick are interlayered.Reefal limestone intervals up to 30 m thick and 2 km long are locallyrepresented in the unit, mainly in its lower parts. These are mainlystromatoporoid–heliolitid–rugose coral framestone, with prominentheads of the rugosans Endophyllum and Phillipsastraea in the upper andlower parts of the succession, respectively.Bioclastic components are largely of stromatoporoid or corallinedebris (with Amphipora characteristics), but fragments of crinoids,brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, ostracods and calcareous algae arealso represented. Corals and stromatoporoids are locally found in growthpositions and large valves of Stringocephalus and megalodont bivalvesare prominent in the upper part (Withnall, 2012).Devonian Chinaman Creek Limestone from north Qld, also featuring LindaMcClure, Marketing Manager, North Queensland Marble Pty Ltd. The limestoneis quarried near the old Pandanus Creek homestead and is being sawnon-site and transported to Townsville for shipment overseas. The companyspecialises in rare and unique ‘top end of the market’ dimension stones forthe international market. Image courtesy Rob Cameron (North QueenslandMarble Pty Ltd), 2012.Megalodont bivalves (superfamily Megalodontoidea) are unusualand very distinctive fossils of the middle Paleozoic to early Mesozoic.Many species are large and thick-shelled, and have great preservationpotential. So, it is surprising that, although these clams had a largelycosmopolitan distribution in the Silurian and Devonian and were locallyvery abundant, their taxonomy and paleoecology are poorly known. Theywere inclined mud resters, oriented with sagittal plane vertical, and grewpartly submerged in, or on top of, generally firm lime mud substrates,in tropical shallow water (de Freitas et al, 1993).Megalodont bivalves are predominant in the spectacular slab oflimestone shown in the photograph accompanying this article.Most of the specimens in the slab represent slices through the ‘beak’part of articulated shells, many still in growth position. Others showdifferent sections of the shell — still the ‘beak’ area but sliced moreobliquely so that a small part of the valves distal to the ‘beak’ are alsoshown (they look like spines). The shells were projecting at an angle fromthe sea-floor (hence the oblique sections) as the slab has been cut atan angle to bedding. Bits of sliced valve away from the thick beak regionshow as much thinner curved white lines (Henderson, 2012).JOHN BAINCurator NRGR E F E R E N C E Sde Freitas, Brunton and Bernecker 1993 Silurian Megalodont Bivalves of theCanadian Arctic and Australia: Paleoecology and Evolutionary Significance. Palaiosvol. 8, p. 450–464.Henderson, Bob (James Cook University) pers. comm. to Rob Cameron May 2012.Withnall, Ian (GSQ), pers. comm. July 2012.TAG September 2012| 23

NRG updateThe news is all good for the NRG.On Friday 3 August we were advised by the office of Assistant Treasurer(The Hon David Bradbury MP) that the National Rock Garden Trust’s applicationto be placed on the Register of Environmental Organisations had been approved,effective from 2 August 2012. This approval means that the NRG qualifies forDeductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status — in other words, donations to the NRGare now tax deductible!With the NRG having a display booth at the 34th International GeologicalCongress in Brisbane 5-10 August, news of DGR status could not have come ata better time. With nearly 6 000 attendees the IGC booth was a great way topublicise the NRG, both nationally and internationally. Cec Murray, from theQueensland Division, manned the booth throughout the week, with help fromBrad Pillans - many thanks, Cec.Also, the NRG website is now ‘live’ – please visitwww.nationalrockgarden.org.au and let us know what you think.The website will grow over time and will be the primary source of informationon the NRG. And feel free to make a donation!BRAD PILLANSGSA member Cec Murray at the National Rock Garden booth withrocks from around Australia (thanks to Geoscience Australia,Xstrata Copper Exploration, Kimberley Stone Zebra Rock Mine andthe Geological Survey of Queensland). Image courtesy Brad Pillans.IGCP funding – September 2012IGCP Australian participants: funding for conference attendance!!Each year the Australian Committee of the International GeoscienceProgram of UNESCO receives funding to support conference attendancefor Australian participants in International Geological CorrelationProgram (IGCP) projects. The grants range from $2000 to $4000.To apply, request an application form from the Chair of the Committee,Professor Patricia Vickers Rich (pat.rich@monash.edu). Successfulapplicants need to demonstrate that their attendance is directly linkedto the aims of one or more currently active IGCP projects with whichthey are associated.Please apply — application is not complex and turnaround time isgenerally no more than one month.24 |TAG September 2012

Feature 1Encounters with James Dwight DanaThe bicentenary of the birth of the American geologistJames Dwight Dana is coming up early next year —Dana was born on 12 February 1813 in Utica, New York.As we approach the year 2013, it seems fitting to celebrate theman and his achievements. This is appropriate in Australia for anumber of reasons, apart from his broad-ranging and insightfulcontributions to geology.First, Dana spent some time in Australia, albeit a mere threemonths, yet that was sufficient for him to make an impact onthe thinking surrounding a number of geological matters herein the mid-nineteenth century. Second, most geologists trainedin Australia have encountered Dana’s work as undergraduates.This encounter has been through his textbooks on mineralogyand crystallography, subjects that were an abiding passion forDana throughout his life. My own introduction to Dana was atthe very beginning of Geology 1 at University of WesternAustralia (UWA), and I have to confess that I struggled with thegeometry of crystal faces at that early stage of myundergraduate study!Dana’s System of Mineralogy, or more fully A System ofMineralogy, Including an Extended Treatise of Crystallography,was published in 1837 when he was just 24. It ran to foureditions in his lifetime, and many more after his death, with avariety of editors, including some by his son, Edward S Dana, andincluding some minor changes in title and content. My own copy(sadly now lost) was a 1957 edition of A Textbook of Mineralogy.The 23rd edition, Dana’s Manual of Mineral Science, waspublished in 2007. This contribution to mineralogy alone wouldhave ensured Dana a place in scientific history, but he was somuch more than a mineralogist!A perusal of his bibliography shows the breadth of hisinterests and learning, and of his willingness to venture into newareas, always with a considered and thorough, though sometimespatriotic, approach. Much of his output was published in theAmerican Journal of Science, in which he played a major rolethroughout his life as editor and business supporter. A quickglance at Dana’s bibliography reveals such gems as ‘On thetemperature limiting the distribution of corals’ (1844), ‘Thevolcanoes of the moon’ (1846), ‘The origin of continents’ (1847),‘Coral reefs and islands’ (1851), ‘The plan of development of thegeological history of North America’ (1856), ‘The classificationof Crustacean’ (1856) and ‘On the Appalachians and RockyMountains as time boundaries in geological history’ (1863).So the list goes on, right up to his Textbook of Geology, the4th edition of which was published just before his death in 1895.US Exploring ExpeditionIn a similar fashion to Charles Darwin, James Dana’s life workand thought were shaped by his participation, at a young age, ina major exploring expedition. The major influence on Dana’s workbegan with his participation in one of the grandest of allexploring expeditions. The United States Exploring Expedition(1838–1842, commonly known as the Ex.Ex. or the WilkesExpedition) was set up by the US Government to investigate theSouth Pacific, including venturing into the highest southernlatitudes in search of an Antarctic continent. Commerce andnationalism were pre-eminent among of the aims of thisexpedition, but the needs of science were also included. Theexpedition had a long gestation period, but naval and scientificstaff members were eventually appointed, with the imperiousand ambitious Charles Wilkes as Commander. Dana was namedMineralogist to the expedition, with the intention he shouldcover the whole field of geology. Other appointments included abotanist, naturalists and an ethnographer.On the expedition, Dana eventually covered not only hisdesignated field of expertise, but also much of the zoology, afterthe retirement of the naturalist Joseph Couthouy, who, like manyothers, didn’t get on with Wilkes. The expedition has been welldocumented — suffice it here to say that it achieved a range ofscientific and geographic discoveries, chief among them theestablishment of Antarctica as a single continent rather than aseries of unconnected islands. Unfortunately the venture is aswell remembered for its personal problems as for its geographicachievements. It was the soaring ambition of Wilkes — who hasbeen described as ‘narcissistic, domineering and insecure to thepoint of paranoia’, his treatment of his junior officers, and theloss of two of the expedition’s six vessels, which resulted in hiseventual court-martial.Dana was assigned to the sloop-of-war USS Peacock, one ofthe largest of the six vessels of the expedition, which sailed fromNorfolk, Virginia on 18 August 1838. During the voyage throughthe Atlantic and the Pacific, Dana spent much of his timecollecting, studying and illustrating Crustacea. If for nothing else,Dana could well be remembered for his work on the Crustacea,because his report on this group included the first description ofkrill — the species Euphausia superba Dana 1850 is now knownas a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem, and may in fact bethe most abundant animal species on the planet!But Dana was a geologist, and when opportunity afforded,he made excursions ashore, making geological observations andcollecting specimens. Surveys of many of the islands in thePacific provided him with opportunities to study both coral reefsand volcanic islands, subjects to which he was to return throughoutthe rest of his career.TAG September 2012| 25

Dana in AustraliaIn November 1839 the ships of the expedition entered SydneyHarbour. The flagship USS Vincennes and the Peacock, with Danaon board, arrived unexpectedly off Port Jackson, slipping into theharbour unannounced and without escort. The corps of civilianscientists aboard the Peacock was not destined to make the nextleg of the voyage, which was Wilkes’s second exploratory attempton the Antarctic landmass. They were instead left in New SouthWales, with orders to rendezvous in New Zealand. This reflectedWilkes’s distrust of this civilian component, being much awarethat he could not impose on them the strict naval discipline thatwas his forte. Dana, however, looked forward to his enforced stayin the colony, feeling that he could “gratify, but partially, thecuriosity, from a geological point of view, which so strange a landmay well excite.”Dana soon met the Reverend WB Clarke — recently arrived inthe colony — and who was eventually to be dubbed the ‘Fatherof Australian Geology’. Taking a coastal steamer to Wollongong,Dana met Clarke there, and together they explored the Illawarradistrict. They made detailed studies of the stratigraphy of bothcoastal and inland sequences. However, the most memorable ofDana’s investigations rests with his study of the factors shapingthe surface of the Earth — an issue distinguished by a greatfluidity of thinking at the time. Dana was a supporter of ‘fluvialism’— the idea that rivers carve out the valleys in which theyrest, rather than merely occupy valleys pre-formed by fissuringof the Earth. His view on the origin of the steep-sided KangarooValley was one that at first agreed with Darwin’s hypothesis, thatthe valleys, and others in the Blue Mountains, were essentiallyarms of the sea. In his report of the expedition’s geology, however,published in 1849, Dana argued that running water was theshaping agent of the valleys, and that the winding inlets of thecoast were ancient stream-cut valleys drowned by risingsea-level.A particularly heated issue of geological concern in theAustralian colony at this time was the age of the coal measuresequences. This had become an area of serious conflict (see TomVallance’s detailed documentation) with the major protagonists,WB Clarke and Frederick McCoy, adopting entrenched anddivergent positions. Clarke, although he appears to have been themore flexible of the two, considered strata beneath the coalysequences to be conformable, and the entire sequence to beDevonian or Early Carboniferous in age. McCoy, later appointedChair of Natural History at the University of Melbourne, claimedan unconformity to exist between the sequences, and that thecoals were of ‘oolitic’ age — that is, much younger than those ofEurope. Dana, in his travels in the Illawarra with Clarke, and withothers in the Hunter region, lent towards a conformable view.When his notes on the geology of New South Wales werepublished in the expedition reports in 1849, Dana concluded, onthe basis of field evidence and on previously collected fossils,that an Upper Carboniferous or Lower Permian age for the coalswas most likely — an estimate close to present thinking, althoughthe story is complex. In 1882 Dana was awarded the ClarkeMedal by the Royal Society Of New South Wales.Global synthesesand the Divine CreatorThe US Exploring Expedition returned to Sydney from Antarcticain March 1840, and Dana rejoined the Peacock. This vessel,carrying the scientific corps, returned to the USA to map partsof the west coast, but was wrecked at the mouth of the ColumbiaRiver. Although all hands were saved, many reports and scientificresults of the expedition were lost. In 1842, Dana establishedhimself first in Washington, later in New Haven, where the preparationand writing of the massive scientific reports were tooccupy him for the next 13 years. Many short articles on a varietyof subjects also appeared during this time, although many of thetopics that later engaged him are foreshadowed in the reports.Prominent among these was his interest in volcanic islands andcoral reefs. In some senses he felt that Darwin had pre-emptedhim here, but Dana pushed understanding of these linkedphenomena much further. Dana added information to Darwin’sobservations about factors controlling reef growth, andimportantly, in the case of volcanic islands, showed the ageprogression and subsidence of islands within linear chains in thePacific by noting the state of erosion of individual islands.James Dwight Dana. Image courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery.26 |TAG September 2012

It was no doubt his experience with the US ExploringExpedition that sparked Dana’s drive towards grand geologicalsyntheses. He recognised early in his career the fundamentaldifferences between continents and ocean basins, believing bothto be permanent features of the globe. The principal mechanismdriving the formation of such features as the linear volcanicchains of the ocean basins and the mountain chains borderingthe continents — especially the Americas — Dana accepted, inaccordance with widely held beliefs of the time, to be thecontraction of a cooling Earth. The continents, largely free ofvolcanoes, he believed to have cooled first, and must bepermanent. Ocean basins, with depressed topography and activevolcanoes, must have been the chief focus of cooling andcontraction. Their subsidence would have caused lateral pressureand uplift of the continental margins to form mountain chains.His concept of geosynclines described the infilling of a downward-bucklingzone with thick sediment derived fromcomplementary upbuckling. In the words of Bob Dott (1997),Dana was thus able to consider the accretion of continentalNorth America as a perfect example of this process, but it alsorevealed ‘God’s plan of creation’ better than any other continent.The essential features of his thinking on continental accretionlingered, particularly in North America right up to the advent ofplate tectonics.This welding of a theory of global evolution with divineplanning is characteristic of much of Dana’s writing; he is describedas returning again and again to refine and extend his theoryfor the evolution of the globe “under divine direction … to fitit for a new age — the Age of Mind.” His religious views stemmedfrom a puritanical upbringing, and they never left him. He hasbeen described as ‘torn between his piety and his science’, onlybelatedly accepting Darwin’s theory of biological evolution, andthen only partially. TH Huxley is reputed to have remarked thatDana wrote “with one eye on fact and the other on Genesis.”Dana the musicianHis life-long engagement with Christianity provided Dana withanother outlet for his creative energy. He was an able musician,playing piano, flute and guitar. He is known to have written a56-page songbook that contained a nativity sequence, as well assongs about his personal life, and a number of songs aboutAntarctica. The US Geological Survey has celebrated Dana themusician with performances of his Antarctic songs given at opendays in the 1840s style.It was through his music that I had my second encounter withDana. In 2011 the School of Music at the Australian NationalUniversity organised a conference Antarctica: Music, Sounds andCultural Connections, a cross-disciplinary meeting designed tobring the arts and sciences together. I had been reading theaccounts of the Wilkes Expedition and chanced across a long epicpoem, Thulia: a tale of the Antarctic. This was written by one JamesCroxall Palmer, the young assistant surgeon to the expedition anda fellow traveller on the Peacock with James Dana. This poem,which runs to some 42 pages, tells of the struggles of the FlyingFish, a New York harbour boat and one of the tiniest ships in theexpedition’s fleet. It gives a vivid overall impression of the trialsendured by the whole expedition. Palmer, who went on to enjoya stellar career in medicine, managed to get the poem publishedin 1843, the year after the expedition’s return to the USA, preemptingWilkes’s own account of the venture. But what intriguedme in reading this account was to discover that none other thanJames Dwight Dana had set verses in the poem to guitar music!I was able to present this story at the conference, and thusintroduce Dana as artist as well as scientist.Further readingCuriously, there does not appear to be any recent comprehensivebiography of Dana, although there is one, apparently unpublished,PhD thesis. The most detailed chronological accountI have been able to find is that of Louis Pirsson (1919). A briefbut valuable summary is given by James Natland (2003). However,scholarly articles continue to appear, dealing both with hisscience and with the impact of his science on contemporarythinking, its links to the cultures of the Pacific, and his visit toAustralia. These encompass Dana’s influence in developinggeology as a profession, and his somewhat patriotic view of theNorth American continent as a geological ideal, with reinforcingby the Divine Creator. His reports and books, however, areavailable in many academic libraries. The selective reference listbelow provides further reading.ELIZABETH M TRUSWELLR E F E R E N C E SDana, JD 1849. ‘Geology’ United States Exploring Expedition 1838–1842, Volume IX.C Sherman, Philadelphia.Dana, JD 1852–1855. ‘Crustacea’ United States Exploring Expedition 1838–1842,Volumes XIII–XIV. C Sherman, Philadelphia.Dana, JD 1875. Corals and Coral Islands. Sampson Low, Marston Low & Searle,London.Dott, RH 1997. ‘James Dwight Dana’s old tectonics — global contraction underdivine direction’ American Journal of Science 297, 283–311.Igler, D 2010. ‘On coral reefs, volcanoes, Gods, and patriotic geology; or, JamesDwight Dana assembles the Pacific Basin’ Pacific Historical Review, 79, 23–49.Mozley, A 1964. ‘James Dwight Dana in New South Wales, 1839–1840’ RoyalSociety of New South Wales 97, 185–191.Mozley, A 1966. ‘Dana, James Dwight (1813–1895)’ Australian Dictionary ofBiography, Volume 1 (MUP), http://adb.anu.edu au/biography/dana-james-dwight-1953/text2347Natland, J H 2003. ‘Rock Stars. James Dwight Dana (1813–1895): Mineralogist,Zoologist, Geologist, Explorer’ GSA Today, February, 20–21.Newell, J 1997. ‘James Dwight Dana and the emergence of professional geology inthe United States’ American Journal of Science, 297, 273–282.Palmer, J C 1843. Thulia: a tale of the Antarctic. Samuel Colman, New York.Pirsson, L V 1919. ‘Biographical Memoir of James Dwight Dana’ US NationalAcademy of Sciences. Biographical memoirs Volume IX. 41–92.Prendergast, M L 1978. ‘James Dwight Dana: the life and thought of an Americanscientist.’ PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.Vallance, T G 1981. The fuss about coal. In D J and S C M Carr (eds), Plants andMan in Australia. Academic Press, Sydney, pp. 136–176.TAG September 2012| 27

Feature 2The Square Kilometre Array is on its way“The Sun, with all those planets revolving around it anddependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as ifit had nothing else in the Universe to do.”In this way Galileo Galilei commented that although the Earthwas no longer to be considered the centre of the Universe, dailylife would go on much as before.Much has changed in the four hundred or so years sinceGalileo turned the newly invented telescope toward the night skyfor the first time. He saw and recorded 20 times more stars thanhad ever been seen with the naked eye. He saw mountains onthe Moon, the bright specks of light revealing the major moonsof Jupiter and the phases of Venus as the planet appeared tochange from a wispy crescent to a filling sphere.From that time onwards, we have built larger and more complextelescopes providing us with an increasingly better ‘eye onthe sky’ to look further out into the Universe.21st Century time machinesThere are two ways for us to look back in time from Earth: wecan either dig through the layers of the Earth’s crust to look atthe geological record of the passing of time, or we can look outinto space. As a consequence of the vastness of space and thefact that light takes time to travel over those vast distances,simply looking far away gives us a glimpse into the past. Build abig enough telescope and you can collect light from the firstgeneration of stars, see the first galaxies to form, and maybe evensee all the way back to just after the Big Bang that began ourUniverse.The SKA telescope aims to do just that — be large enough,and therefore sensitive enough, to see all those things and more.Light comes in many typesBeyond the familiar visible light there are many other types of‘light’ that are invisible to our unaided eyes. This invisible lighttraverses the Universe as a spectrum of waves. At one end of thescale we begin with tightly packed gamma rays and X-raysradiating out from some of the most energetic of objects in theUniverse — objects such as black holes and neutron stars. As wedial in to the next band of frequencies we approach the morefamiliar territory of ultra-violet and visible light.As we slide further along the spectrum the energy andfrequency of waves diminish as the length of the waves, knownas the wavelength, increases. Further tweaking of theelectromagnetic dial takes us beyond the visible and into theinfrared (the basis of night-vision goggles). Next we enter therealm of microwaves and finally the longest waves of all withwavelengths ranging from millimetres to kilometres in length,the domain of radio waves.Radio astronomy is bornThe rather prestigious title of the ‘Father of radio astronomy’ isbestowed on Karl Jansky, a US physicist who in 1932 was workingfor Bell Labs with the seemingly innocuous task of eliminating astatic ‘hiss’ interfering with early overseas telephone communications.Eventually Jansky determined that the hiss wasn’t somethingon Earth within his control, but was in fact a signalemanating from the centre of the Milky Way, and so the scienceof radio astronomy was born. Today most Australians are familiarwith radio astronomy through the CSIRO Parkes radio telescopethat helped bring us the footage of Neil Armstrong’s first stepson the Moon, a story told by that much-loved film ‘The Dish’.Full-size replica of the first radio telescope, built by Karl Jansky and now at the National Radio Astronomical Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia.Image public domain via Wikimedia Commons.28 |TAG September 2012

Radio waves are suited to the study of the cosmos fora number of reasons. Radio waves, as for visible light, penetratethe Earth’s atmosphere whereas radiation at most other wavelengthsis absorbed. The long wavelengths of radio waves can alsopenetrate cosmic dust, allowing astronomers to look into regionssuch as the centre of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, or the heartof a distant nebula where stars are being born. Therefore radioastronomy affords a more comprehensive view of the cosmos.Bigger really is betterThe snag of course is that the further objects are away, the harderthey are for us to detect and for their structures to be resolved.The bigger the telescope, the better our view of the cosmos andthe further back in time our scientists can peer. In the early1990s, astronomers pondering the next big thing calculated thata radio telescope with a collecting area of one square kilometrewould allow observations of the infant Universe. Clearly animpossibly cumbersome structure to build and manipulate as asingle radio dish to scan the sky, but luckily there is a way toachieve this collecting area through a technique known as‘interferometry’.The premise behind this technique is to build a series of moremodestly sized radio telescopes and join them by fibre optics towork together as one giant telescope. The concept is similar toinsect eyes, where the separate components are wired up to givea continuous image. Hence the concept of a Square KilometreArray (SKA) was born over 20 years ago.The biggest of the lotThe SKA will be made up of about 3 000 dish-shaped antennas(similar to Parkes, except these are 15 m wide), which are goodat detailed study of smaller regions of space. It will also have twoother novel radio telescope designs called Aperture Arrays, whichhave very good views of large sections of the sky at once. Whenfinished, the SKA will have more than 2.5 million Aperture Arrayantennas.Earlier this year, a decision on the SKA’s location wasannounced, ending a many-year process to choose betweenprospective sites in Southern Africa and Australia–NZ. The finaldecision was a win–win, with the dish-shaped antennas of theSKA to be built in Africa and the lower frequency collectingAperture Arrays to be built in Australia and New Zealand.This decision plays to the strengths of both locations, andrecognises the large amount of work happening in Australia andNew Zealand to develop the technology that will be needed forthe low-frequency portions of the SKA. Aperture-Array-styletelescopes are a new type of radio telescope that is onlyjust beginning to be possible on a large scale, whereas dishtechnology has been around for a very long time (which the51-year-old Parkes Observatory can attest to!)Window to the UniverseWhen complete in 2024, and in fact along the way as well, theSKA will be capable of some incredible science. It will revealsecrets about ‘big issues’ such as the evolution of the Universe;The Parkes radio telescope viewed from the visitors’ area. Image publicdomain via Wikimedia Commons.how galaxies form, evolve and die; and the nature of the earlyUniverse. It is a time that astronomers refer to as the Dark Ages.Not the pre-Medieval times in our history books but a Universeyet to form stars and which is therefore invisible to our opticaltelescopes. The SKA will literally detect the first light from thefirst stars to ‘switch on’ in the Universe. Other insights includeprobing the fundamental laws of physics, beyond the laws ofNewton, Einstein or quantum physics and the search for‘signatures’ of life through the detection of molecules such asmethane. Then of course comes the discovery of the unknownand the unexpected, equivalent to the discoveries about livingthings seen through the first microscopes.As fascinating as such observations are, the SKA is also likelyto have more direct benefits for us Earth-bound beings. Of coursewe cannot predict what these might be, although judging by therecent record of radio astronomy, it is likely to pack quite a punch.Thanks to the brilliance of Australian CSIRO radio astronomerDr John O’Sullivan, radio astronomy has already brought theworld WiFi. Other discoveries stemming from radio astronomyinclude sophisticated medical imaging techniques and satellitenavigation to guide our car journeys.TAG September 2012| 29

Three dishes of ASKAP at the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory, WA.Image courtesy of the Department of Commerce, Western Australia.A tile of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Each antenna is about 50 cmhigh. Image courtesy Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker, International Centre for RadioAstronomy Research (ICRAR).Finding the pathUntil SKA construction begins in 2016, astronomers andengineers will continue to concentrate on the two precursortelescopes under construction at the Australian SKA core site,the Murchison Radioastronomy Observatory in WA. One is theCSIRO’s Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). Consisting of36 dish antennas 12-m-wide ASKAP is a proving ground forSKA technology with its novel ‘radio cameras’ as well as beingone of the fastest telescopes to survey the sky. It will becompletely operational in 2013.The other precursor is the Murchison Widefield Array(MWA), a pathfinder to the low-frequency Aperture Arrays ofthe SKA that will be dotted from the SKA’s Australian core inthe Murchison all the way over to New Zealand. The MWA’sunique design has no moving parts and relies on computingpower to point the telescope to different sections of sky. Lookinglike metal spiders about 50 cm high, the MWA’s 4096antennas are spread over a region about 3 km wide. It will lookfor changing ‘blips’ called transient sources, observe Solarweather in space and look for some of the earliest signalsproduced in the Universe. The MWA will start full scienceoperations sometime in the next six months.It’s often said within science that ‘we’re at the dawn of newdiscoveries’, although this time it couldn’t be truer. The SKA andits precursors will increase our capacity to observe the Universeby an unheard-of amount in the history of astronomy, and themost exciting things it will discover are probably things wecan’t even imagine today. It’s an exciting time to be around!KIRSTEN GOTTSCHALK30 |TAG September 2012

Special ReportEngineering geology in Australia —alive and wellIt was nice to see engineering geology get a mention in thelast issue of TAG (Engineering Geology: a loss of identity problem— by Greg McNally, TAG 163). But after reading the articlewe would, if we didn’t know any better, have come away thinkingthis was a discipline on its last legs, fixed in the past, about togo the same way as a house on quick clay. However, based onour recent experience, engineering geology is actually thriving inAustralia, and contrary to Greg’s somewhat bleak assessment, thefuture of the practice looks exceedingly bright. The underlyingacademic training on the other hand is in dire straits.In his article, Greg raises many good points. In particular weagree that the recent tendency of some government agencies towithhold geological interpretation reports from contractors andtenderers out of fear of expensive legal claims needs someattention. Geological interpretation reports are a key output ofany ground investigation, and provide the rationale for thedesign. But the inherent uncertainty in geology opens the doorto contractual claims.The advent of alliance-style contracts, which spread the risksbetween parties, provides an effective means of dealing with thisuncertainty. These contracts are increasingly used where thegeology is a major risk. What to do about the storage anddissemination of the large amount of geological information obtainedfor construction projects, currently held by consultanciesand government departments, is also a significant issue. Of issuealso is the state of training of engineering geologists, and we saymore about these below.We found much of Greg’s article underplayed many positivedevelopments in engineering geology and did not gel with ourown experience; hence we felt an expanded point of view wouldbe worth the attention of TAG readers.Australian Geomechanics SocietyGreg suggests that there is no equivalent in Australia to theEngineering Group of the Geological Society of London. However,since the early 1970s the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS)has filled this niche.The following extract from the AGS web site helps to demonstratewhy it is relevant to engineering geologists in Australia.There is little mystery to us why it better represents our professionalinterests, and when it comes to deciding where dollars arespent on professional memberships, there is little wonder why,for some engineering geologists, the AGS wins out over the GSA.While the third author (PF) let his membership of the GSA lapseover 10 years ago, he has maintained his AGS membership.The Australian Geomechanics Society was founded in 1970.Its origins lie in the National Committee of Soil Mechanics of theInstitution of Engineers, Australia [established in 1953] and thecall for a corresponding society in rock mechanics. In 1973 thesociety was expanded to include the third discipline of engineeringgeology and has remained substantially unchanged since thatdate.The society is affiliated with:n the International Society for Soil Mechanics and GeotechnicalEngineering (ISSMGE)n the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM)n the International Association of Engineering Geology andthe Environment (IAEG).The AGS is jointly sponsored by the Institution of EngineersAustralia and the Australasian Institute of Mining andMetallurgy. (From http://australiangeomechanics.org/overview/)Publications and dataGreg laments the lack of articles dealing with engineering geologyin AJES, stating that there has not been “more than a handful ofpapers”. Based on our experience, however, there are many morethan a handful that are of interest to engineering geologists —but perhaps our definition of engineering geology is a littlebroader, reflecting the increased diversity of tasks we do now,compared to 20 years ago. The main forum for professional andacademic papers dealing with Engineering Geology in Australiahas for some time been the AGS journal Australian Geomechanics.Most engineering geologists in Australia publish their work here.Articles of international significance tend to be published inhigher profile journals such as Engineering Geology, Bulletin ofthe International Association of Engineering Geology and EnvironmentalEarth Sciences. Australian Geomechanics regularlypublishes special interest issues with articles focusing onparticular regions or subjects. For example, the March 2012edition focused on the Illawarra region of NSW. These specialeditions have largely replaced books like the Engineering Geologyof the Sydney Region (1985), which was also published by the AGS.Greg rightly indicates that there is no obligation on the partof consultancies to share clients’ borehole data. The notion, however,that the results of such investigations are not shared, issimply not true, as many papers in Australian Geomechanicsdemonstrate. Another avenue for sharing information is themonthly AGS meetings held in all capital cities and the ANZGeomechanics Conferences held every four yearsTAG September 2012| 31

(see http://anz2012.com.au/), which feature many papers byengineering geologists. The recent IGC in Brisbane also featureda specific theme on engineering geology with many invitedpapers, not to mention many associated themes.Where have the engineeringgeologists gone?McNally rightly points out that in Australia there was a migrationof engineering geologists from government geological surveysand public works authorities into private consultancies throughthe 1980s. There is a growing potential for State governmentsurveys to re-engage with the discipline, especially in the areaof overseeing the collation of the vast collection of privateindustry and government borehole data mentioned above. Thiscould be accounted for in the same way as mineral explorationdata, with data passed on to Surveys for collation and archiving,perhaps as a condition of development. Surveys could also havea major role in the development of detailed (3D) engineeringgeology maps for our major cities that could be derived fromthose data. For example, look out for the brand new ViewingVictoria’s Groundwater web site (http://www.vvg.org.au/), amost recent product of the University of Ballarat and the StateGovernment of Victoria.These days most engineering geologists in Australia areemployed by major consulting firms such as Coffey Geotechnics,Golder, PSM, GHD, ARUP, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Worley Parsons,SMEC and SKM to name a few. These firms include both specialistgeotechnical consultancies that are large employers of engineeringgeologists and geotechnical engineers (eg, Coffey, Golder)and multidisciplinary firms that typically have smallergeo-technical groups principally to support their otherdisciplines. All these companies advertise their prowess in thefield and there is high competition in the industry for work. Thenotion that engineering geologists in these firms would identifythemselves as ‘engineers’, as Greg suggests, does not match withour experience. Most would rather cut off an arm than remove‘geologist’ from their titles. Indeed such a situation would likelylead to legal action unless appropriate engineering qualificationswere actually held.Wombarra rockfall (occurred 22:30 hrs, 14 September 2010) in the Hawkesbury Sandstone, northern suburbs of Wollongong. Photo taken from Lawrence HargraveDrive. Image courtesy Sarath Fernando.32 |TAG September 2012

Cross-section through the GreatEscarpment north of Wollongongthat illustrates the landforms,geology and slope retreat rates(from Wilson et al, 2005).A detailed understandingof the coastal geology andgeomorphology was critical in theconstruction of the Sea Cliff Bridgenorth of Wollongong.A smaller number of engineering geologists continue to workfor government authorities such as State government transportdepartments. However in our experience these positions arecontinuing their long-term decline as more of this work isoutsourced to private consultancies. The hollowing out ofgeological experience from government departments needed tooversee and appropriately manage such outsourcing is wellbeyond the scope of this article. It is an issue likely to be ofconcern in the near future if the trend continues.TeachingOne fundamental grass roots element of engineering geology —academic teaching — is on death row. Over the past decade therehas been a flood of overseas-trained engineering geologists toAustralia (particularly from the UK and to a lesser extent fromNZ) to satisfy demand in the industry that cannot be addressedlocally. Many of these geologists have undergraduate training inengineering geology and geotechnical engineering. This differsfrom our experience in Australian universities where engineeringgeology hardly rated a mention, and was certainly never a coursecomponent.The presence of the discipline in universities in Australia, andin many other countries around the world, is essentially now nonexistent.Greg McNally’s own departure from the School ofApplied Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW)was a final sad blow (and he is sadly missed in that role, althoughfortunately not lost to the industry). The School ofCivil Engineering at UNSW still offers the popular Master ofEngineering Science degree and is at least one small source ofsome engineering geology training, although most graduateswould come from the engineering side. The AGS runs ‘Geologyfor Engineers’ and ‘Engineering Geology’ continuing professionaldevelopment (CPD) courses in alternating years. This stemmedfrom the pioneering work of David Stapledon, and was taken upby Alan Moon and Fred Baynes. It is now run by Fred Baynes,Mark Eggers and Phil Flentje. These eight-day field courses arealways fully subscribed well in advance. There are others inacademia who run other short courses here and there (and thereis not space here to list them all) although in general it is truethat the discipline does not have a place in Australian academiatoday and this is a very sad state of affairs. There is a fledglinggroup developing a nebulous epistemic Engineering GeologyGroup that will work towards restoring this imbalance. Interestcould be directed towards Flentje.An identity problem?What does an engineeringgeologist do these days?The nature of the work is very broad, increasingly so, reflectingthe diversity of clients and broad nature of projects. Unlike otherapplied specialities of geology, engineering geologists can findthemselves working practically anywhere and therefore must beable to draw on their knowledge of all disciplines of geology.Engineering geology remains founded on building an understandingof the geology of a site, including its ancient and recenthistory, to build an awareness of the geological influences onproposed engineering works, and to clearly pass this informationon to geotechnical and civil engineers and others for use indetailed design. The multidisciplinary work can include geologicaland geomorphological mapping, management of geotechnicalinvestigations, engineering characterisation of rocks and soilslikely to be encountered, identification of any materialsdeleterious to the proposed work and how they should bemanaged (eg, acid rock and soils, or natural occurrences ofasbestos), aquifer investigations and management, carbonsequestration, coal seam gas issues, assessment of potential slopestability issues and the means to address and or mitigate them,examining and assessing the hydrogeology of the site and itseffect on proposed development, undertaking informedinvestigations of the impact of climate variability and our myriadof terrains, landslide risk management and the myriad ofTAG September 2012| 33

Remote sensed data is becoming increasing important in landslide studies.The image shows an airborne laser scan hillshade model from an area nearPicton, NSW, showing numerous landslides (100-m squares).associated tasks, mining (pit slope, underground and subsidence)related assessments, linear (road, rail, pipeline, communicationlines) asset management and performance monitoring. Thejob does not stop at investigation and continues throughconstruction and future maintenance.As Greg notes, many experienced engineering geologists arealso involved in design and through-life support. Work mightrange from input into the design of slope stabilisation measuresfor a rock cutting or natural cliff where understanding themechanics of failure is a key input to designing an appropriatesolution, to input into the design of retaining structures, drainagemeasures, structures in areas affected by severe earthquakes,dealing with the construction on soft soils, design of sea wallsand revetments, and the myriad needs of the mining sector outsidemineral exploration and resource management. Thatgeologists are prepared to get involved in design can only leadto better outcomes as geologists are best placed to understandthe geological influences at play. This is not an identity problembut an opportunity.LicensingIn order to work in some jurisdictions, engineering geologistsrequire similar licensing as engineers. No such compulsoryregistration system exists in Australia as exists in the USA — forinstance with the Association of Engineering Geologists. Howeverthe Registered Professional Geoscientist (RPGeo) accreditationoffered by the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) is growingin acceptance as a proxy license, and the number of engineeringgeologists taking advantage of the system is growing. At leastone local council in Sydney and some government departmentsrequire an RPGeo accreditation in order for an engineeringgeologist to provide advice on landslides. It is unfortunate thatthe GSA has not joined with AIG in helping to maintain thesystem. The opportunity to do so was perhaps lost following therecent failure of the proposed merger of the two organisations.In contrast, the Geological Society (UK) has long maintained itsown chartership program for geological professionals.Technological changeGreg suggests the field has not changed much in 40 years beyonddigital cameras, improvements in core recovery, sober drillers andmore female geologists. Here are a few more areas we think haveseen improvements over the past 20 years.34 |TAG September 2012

Andrew Hunter undertaking a cliff inspection at Warragamba Dam in 2011.Engineering geologists remain closely involved in working on dams. Upgradesto spillways on a number of dams along the east coast were a significant sourceof work over the past decade. One of these featured heavily in the press lastyear as fuse plugs in the auxiliary spillway at the Wivenhoe Dam came closeto triggering during last year’s Brisbane floods.The field of landslide risk assessment, a core engineering geologytask, has experienced significant change since the late 1990swhen Australia experienced its worst landslides in terms of deathsat Gracetown and Thredbo. The AGS was and continues to be atthe forefront of developing guidelines for landslide risk managementin Australia (see http://lrm.australiangeomechanics.org/).The development of landslide inventories and susceptibilityzoning studies is becoming widespread. The NSW Roads andMaritime Services has been a world leader in developing a systemof qualitative slope risk assessment for its road system, which isrecognised internationally and is currently being adopted by anumber of Australian States. Methods for investigating, monitoringand managing landslides have also undergoneconsiderable change, with improvements in ground and structuralmonitoring capabilities, communication technology and of coursethe internet now allowing the development of real-timemonitoring of structures, subsurface and surface groundmovements, groundwater and rainfall. The continuous monitoringrecord this allows is of huge benefit to engineering and assetmanagers, while the continuous data record is a gold mine forthe analysis of performance in, for example, the assessment oflandslide frequency.There has been considerable improvement in the use ofcomputer software to model rockfall and landslide (debris flow)behaviour. GIS and associated computer software has provideda means to manage vast quantities of data and bettercommunicate surface and subsurface conditions to engineers,asset managers and others in planning and management rolesacross many fields. GIS is the platform to spatially assess climatevariability and sea-level rise. GIS also facilitates the storage ofcorporate data, making it so much harder for it to be lost,forgotten and ignored.Satellite, airborne and ground-based imagery and geophysicaldata are gathered and used to assist in regional and localgeological studies. Ground-penetrating radar is regularly used toassess fill embankments for shallow voids. Airborne laser scan(ALS) or lidar technology and photogrammetry have been furtherimproved to better assess the influence of geological structuresin pit and cutting design and this is also widely used in landslidestudies.In short, engineering geology is moving in strides asinternational technological developments abound, while itremains firmly underpinned by a sound understanding of regionaland local geology. Engineering geologists actually make greatgeologists. Engineering geology is a fantastic profession thatallows practitioners to live in major cities and urban centres ratherthan remote mining camps and the fly-in, fly-out lifestyle. Thereare also many opportunities for local and international travel.We hope we have expanded on Greg’s early comments andincreased the awareness of the field we are immersed in and arevery passionate about. We believe engineering geology is thrivingacross Australia, BUT at its grass roots there are major gaps ineducation and training. If we don’t act now, the discipline is indanger of evaporating before our very eyes.MARC HENDRICKXMarc Hendrickx and Associates Pty LtdANDREW HUNTERCoffey Geotechnics Pty LtdPHIL FLENTJEUniversity of WollongongR E F E R E N C E S A N D L I N K SAustralian Geomechanics http://australiangeomechanics.org/Australian Geomechanics Landslide Risk Managementhttp://lrm.australiangeomechanics.org/Australian Geomechanics Journal http://australiangeomechanics.org/journal/Australian Institute of Geoscientists Registered Professional Geoscientist(RPGeo) programhttp://aig.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=97Coffey Geotechnics Pty Ltdhttp://www.coffey.com/our-businesses/coffey-geotechnics/coffey-geotechnics/about-usMarc Hendrickx and Associates Pty Ltd www.marchgeo.comUniversity of Wollongong Landslide Research Teamhttp://www.uow.edu.au/eng/research/landslide/index.htmlWilson R, Moon A, Hendrickx M, Stewart I 2005. Application of quantitative riskassessment to the Lawrence Hargrave Drive Project, New South Wales. InternationalConference on Landslide Risk Management, Vancouver, Canada May 2005. JointTechnical Committee on Landslides and Engineered Slopes, JTC-1, in association withVancouver Geotechnical Society. Proceedings of the International Conference onLandslide Risk Management/18th Annual Vancouver Geotechnical SocietySymposium, Vancouver. 31 May to 4 June.TAG September 2012| 35

AwardsGSA MEDALSThe Geological Society of Australiaawarded the following medals during the34th International Geological Congress inBrisbane.All photographs taken at the GSA and AJESAwards and Mawson Lecture are courtesy ofGraham Carr.AE Ringwood MedalA new medal of the Societyawarded to a person whohas made exceptionalresearch advances inthe knowledge offundamental Earthprocesses, especially throughstudies involving petrology and geochemistryand who is recognised internationally for thestature of that contribution. The medal isawarded at the Australian Earth SciencesConventions, to be followed by the RingwoodKeynote Address by the medalists.WR Brown MedalA medal awardedat the Australian GeologicalConvention to aperson distinguishedfor contributions to thegeological sciences inAustralia.SW Carey MedalA medal awarded at theAustralian GeologicalConvention to a persondistinguished in thefield of tectonics(sensu lato).ES Hills MedalA medal of the Society awarded at the AustralianEarth Sciences Conventions to a young(

AJES AWARDSAnita Andrew, AJES Editor-in-Chiefpresented the following AJES Awards.FL Stillwell AwardThe FL Stillwell Award is a medal awarded tothe author or authors of the best paper ofthe year in the Australian Journal of EarthScience, judged by the Editorial Board. Thisaward is supported by the Stillwell Bequest.Frank Leslie Stillwell, FAA, was a geologist incharge of the Mineragraphic Section of CSIR(later CSIRO) from 1929 to 1953.Chris Ferguson accepting the FL Stillwell Awardfor Volume 57/2010.DI Groves AwardA medal award for the best paper publishedin the Australian Journal of Earth Sciences bya young author, who must be the seniorauthor: the eligibility criterion is that thesenior author, at the time of submission,must have had a first degree in any relevantscience for less than six years (ie theemphasis is on 'young' in experience, ratherthan young in age). The award may be madeannually.Cara Danis accepting the DI Groves Awardfor Volume 57/2010.AB Edwards MedalThe AB Edwards Medalis awarded on anannual basis for thebest paper on aspectsof economic geologypublished in theAustralian Journal of EarthSciences. The award recognises importantwork in economic geology research in abroad sense (eg. exploration geochemistry,ore deposit genesis and modelling, structuralanalysis of mineral systems, hydrothermal,magmatic and alluvial ore deposits). Thepurpose of the award is to encouragescientists to publish their work in theAustralian Journal of Earth Sciences andconsider the journal an appropriate forum todisseminate research findings and conceptsrelevant to economic geology.Once a year and after publication of acomplete volume of the Australian Journal ofEarth Sciences, the executive and nonexecutivemembers of the SGEG Committeedetermine eligible articles and from these, thetop three finalists are selected and ranked bymajority vote. The selection criteria include:(1) novelty(2) potential international impact(3) quality of presentation and organisation(4) quality of interpretation and conclusions.Chris Yeats, Chair of the Specialist Group inEconomic Geology presented the followingAB Edwards Awards.Rob Houghaccepting theAB EdwardsAward on behalfof Ravi Anandand Charles Buttfor Volume57/2010.Erick Ramanaidouaccepting theAB EdwardsAward on behalfof RC Morris forVolume 58/2011.Ross Cayley accepting the FL Stillwell Awardfor Volume 58/2011.Katherine Howard accepting the DI GrovesAward for Volume 58/2011.TAG September 2012| 37

As well as speaking at the 34th International Geological Congress, Professor Iain Stewart undertook anational public lecture tour. Iain Stewart and Sue Fletcher at Sydney University.South Australian members John Foden, Kevin Wills and Katherine Howard enjoying themselves.Mawson LectureAustralian Academyof Science 2012Professor Gordon S Lister, The AustralianNational University, winner of the MawsonMedal for research into the Earth Sciencesgave the Mawson Lecture as part of the IGCat the GSA Awards function.Abstract — Whither themountains: an odysseyAs a young geologist, in 1975, I was transplantedto The Netherlands. There the writingsof Van Bemmelen in Geologie en Mijnbouwcaught my eye. Unwittingly I began a journeythat was to lead me on the same paths as mypredecessors, tied my life to a fascination withMediterranean geology, and to endeavoursthat inexorably lead towards a substantialmodification of the plate tectonics paradigm.Before the theory of plate tectonics assumeddominance, Sam Warren Carey and ReinoutWillem Van Bemmelen, both pre-eminenttectonicists of the day, were hot on the trail interms of developing an understanding of theenigmatic curved mountain belts we nowroutinely refer to as ‘oroclines’ [a term used byCarey in 1955]. Van Bemmelen in particularrecognized a paradoxical aspect in the impliedpatterns of uplift and subsidence associatedwith the cores of these structures. Hesuggested that gravity drove nappes northwardand southward, on either side of the AlboranSea. His Undation Hypothesis was set out toexplain how this could have happened,requiring first a massive uplift and then evengreater subsidence in the orocline core.Here, in the 2012 Mawson Lecture, I will resolvethis paradox, in modern geodynamic terms,discussing the tectonic evolution of four famousoroclines: a) the arc of the western Alps,between France and Italy; b) the Carpathian Arc,in Poland, Ukraine and Romania; c) the BandaArc in Indonesia; and d) the Gibraltar Arcbetween Spain and Morocco.GORDON LISTERRaymond Twist with his family at the Awards function.38 |TAG September 2012

GSA President, Laurie Hutton at the Awards function.A Canadian Mountie was seen with delegates.Image courtesy Sue Fletcher.Icons of geology: Professor Brian Skinner and Peter Howard with their partnersat the Awards function.India will host the 36th International GeologicalCongress in 2020. Image courtesy Sue Fletcher.Anita Andrew, AJES Editor-in-Chief,presenting AJES Awards.Delegates conferring on the program. Image courtesy Sue Fletcher.TAG September 2012| 39

Principal sponsor Vale exhibited a large booth with sand sculptures that changed dailyGSA member and Chair of the PlanetaryGeosciences Group, Graziella Caprarelli.Photo courtesy Sue Fletcher.GSA member and Treasurer of the NSWDivision, Dane Burkett at the GSA booth.Photo courtesy Sue Fletcher.Sinéad Moran at the GSA booth.Photo courtesy Sue Fletcher.Geological Survey of New South Wales attracted many delegates. Image courtesySue Fletcher.Gordon Lister delivering the Mawson Lecture.40 |TAG September 2012

O B I T U A R I E SVale Robin Elliott1928–2012Robin several years ago (datenot known).Robin Elliott, a well-known Australianpetroleum geologist, died peacefully inhis sleep at his home in Roleystone on15 May 2012. He was almost 84.Robin Maitland Lloyd Elliott wasborn in Perth on 25 May 1928. He grewup on his father’s Tallering sheep stationin the Lower Murchison district. Thisexposed him to bush conditions and ledto his keen interest in the outback.His primary education was initially bycorrespondence and subsequently atWoodbridge in Guildford. He developedan interest in geology during his secondaryeducation at Christchurch Grammar School, where the headmaster(Reverend LR Jupp) taught geology and put together a good mineral androck collection.In 1945, after completing his schooling, Robin spent a year workingon Tallering before entering the Kalgoorlie School of Mines, and thenUWA. He completed a BSc in geology in 1951.Robin joined West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET) in 1952,working initially as an exploration geologist mapping in the CanningBasin. After the Rough Range oil discovery in 1953 he joined Jim Parryin detailed mapping of the Rough Range Anticline. The Rough Rangediscovery aroused enormous enthusiasm, resulting in major oil andmineral exploration throughout Australia, even though subsequentdrilling showed that the discovery was uneconomicRobin was involved in mapping the Grant Range Anticline, selectingthe site for WAPET’s first test well in the Canning Basin, Grant RangeNo 1. In 1954 he participated in geological mapping of the StansmoreRange in a remote part of the Great Sandy Desert, south of Balgo. Thiswas regarded as a rather dangerous mission because of the presence ofso-called ‘troublesome natives’ in the area. The Police issued him with arevolver and ammunition for personal protection. In fact the party neversighted any nomadic Aboriginal people and returned the revolver,unused, to the Police.In 1964, more than 10 years after the Rough Range discovery,WAPET found oil and gas at Yardarino in the Perth Basin and oil atBarrow Island in the Carnarvon Basin. The Yardarino discovery led todevelopment of the Dongara Gasfield, while the Barrow Island findresulted in development of the Barrow Island Oilfield, still the largestoilfield to have been found in Western Australia. Robin had by thenmoved into well-site geology and was promoted to the position ofsupervising well-site geologist.The development of the Barrow Island field was a highlightof Robin’s career. Production drilling involved the completion of aproduction well every three days, resulting in an unprecedented volumeof samples, core and electric logs for analysis under his direction.Robin moved to Melbourne in 1971 to become Managing Directorof Allstates Mining Finance Ltd, advising A C Goode & Co on mineraland petroleum exploration. He returned to oil exploration in 1977, joiningthe Oil and Gas Division of the Victorian Department of Mineralsand Energy as Senior Geologist. In 1997 and 1998 he was Chairman ofthe Victoria–Tasmania Branch of the Petroleum Exploration Society ofAustralia. In 1980 he was appointed as General Manager and ExplorationManager of Mincorp Oil Pty Ltd, and became involved in many jointventures throughout Australia.Robin was very active in the Geological Society of Australia, beinga Foundation Member and Fellow of the Society. He was Chairman ofthe Western Australian Division in 1964 and 1970, Chairman of theVictorian Division in 1974 and Federal Treasurer in 1978–1980.When Mincorp was taken over by the Bell Group in 1984, Robinreturned to his homeland of Western Australia to take up a position asSenior Geologist in the Geological Survey of WA. In that position he wasresponsible for the appraisal of petroleum tenement applications andwork commitments throughout the State and its offshore areas. Heretired from the position in 1988, taking up a small rural property inRoleystone, 35 km southeast of Perth, where he and his wife Jacquelinegrew roses, vegetables and fruit trees, and played tennis on their owncourt. He assisted in several voluntary organisations in the area,including the Araluen Botanic Park and the Churchman’s BushlandGroup.Robin Elliott is survived by his wife Jacqueline (née Hanrahan),six children and eight grandsons.PHILLIP PLAYFORDRobin with oil from WAPET’s Yardarino No 1 well. Image takenin 1964.TAG September 2012| 41

Vale Patrick J Coleman1926–2011Patrick Coleman died at home on 22 May 2011. He wasabout to turn 85.Patrick Coleman entered the University of WesternAustralia (UWA) as an undergraduate in the Faculty ofScience, majoring in Geology in 1944. He graduatedwith First Class Honours in April 1948 after workingon foraminifera from the subsurface of the Perth Basin(published as an article in the Journal of the RoyalSociety of Western Australia in 1952). He was born inNarrogin on 30 May 1926 and was educated ina convent in Manjimup. He won a High SchoolScholarship to St Ildephonsus College at New Norcia.I first met Patrick when he was a young-lookingHonours student in 1946 at the time that Basil Balmeand I returned from the Services. It is an indication ofthe almost familial atmosphere of the Department ofGeology in those days that I remember hearingProfessor E de C Clarke saying to the Secretary how fortunate it wasthat Patrick and Basil were attracted to such charming girls as Marjorieand Helen: each pair later became life partners.After obtaining Honours, Patrick worked as an Assistant Micropaleontologistwith the Australasian Petroleum Company in Port Moresby,Papua New Guinea under Martin Glaessner. This introduced him to hislife-long consuming research interest in the Western Pacific. He returnedto UWA in 1949 to begin a PhD on Permian Brachiopoda from WesternAustralia, which he completed in 1953 (and published as BMRBulletin 40 in 1957). Patrick was the first PhD graduate in Geology fromUWA. While in the early stages of his PhD in 1950 he joined the teachingstaff of the University of Sydney as Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer (from1957). He married Marjorie in 1955. After ten years in Sydney theyreturned to Perth and Patrick became Senior Lecturer and then Readerat the Department of Geology, UWA. He was responsible for allpaleontological courses offered in the Department (with the exceptionof palynology) and also taught geological mapping and tectonics untilhis retirement in 1984. He succeeded Brian Glenister, who had goneto Iowa, and was eventually succeeded by David Haig, a formerQueenslander, who also had experience in New Guinea.After Patrick completed his PhD, his main research interests turnedto the Western Pacific island arcs and young orogenic belts. He was amajor contributor to Sydney University’s geological mapping of theBritish Solomon Islands in the 1950s and continued this work during the1960s from UWA. Patrick used both his micropaleontological andstratigraphic mapping skills, and his growing fascination with platetectonics, to determine the geological history of these islands. His mostoutstanding paleontological contribution after his PhD was a descriptionof the Cenozoic larger (complex) foraminifera that he was using to placethe shallow-water carbonates of the Solomon Islands into a stratigraphiccontext (published in 1963 in Micropaleontology 9, 1–38). As well aspublishing on the geology of particular islands in the Solomons, heproduced landmark reviews on island arcs (Earth Science Reviews 11,47–80), plate boundaries (with Gordon Packham in Earth ScienceReviews 12, 197–233 and with HF Ryan in Marine and PetroleumGeology 9, 89–97), subduction withoutvolcanism (with LW Kroenke in Geo-MarineLetters 1, 129–134) and tsunamis as geologicalagents (Journal of the Geological Society ofAustralia 15, 267–273). He edited The WesternPacific: island arcs, marginal seas, geochemistry(1973, UWA press). Papers in Nature includedrecognition of the Solomon Islands as an islandarc (211, 1249–1251), determination of the ageof basal schists in the Solomon Islands (withJR Richards and others, 211, 1251–1252)and some very innovative thoughts on thedistribution of the green turtle in relation tosea-floor spreading in the Pacific (249,128–130). In recognition of Patrick’s work onthe Western Pacific, the University of Sydneyawarded him a Doctor of Science in 1977.In retirement, Patrick continued his work on the Western Pacific, mainlyconcerned with reviews of the mineral and petroleum prospects ofvarious islands of the Melanesian Arc, collaborating with GeoscienceAustralia (and its predecessor the Australian Geological SurveyOrganisation), the East–West Center in Honolulu, the Circum-PacificCouncil of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Geological Survey of PapuaNew Guinea and the Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory.It is impossible to describe Patrick’s mannerisms and traits in a fewwords. Scott Fitzgerald described ‘personality’ as an unbroken series ofsuccessful gestures. I remember recalling this one day after Patrick hadbeen away for a few weeks. We had been speaking seriously for sometime, when he suddenly said, “I have an urgent message” and rushed upto someone passing. I then saw him interrupt that conversation withgreat energy to catch someone else, and then he moved on to another.Socially, he had made up for his earlier absence in a few minutes. Thesebursts of energy were characteristic, which is not to deny his generallymore thoughtful and reflective manner.I found that as the leader of student field parties he combinedinstruction with humour and exhortation, often with a wry expressionsuggesting that he didn’t expect perfection from the group that he wastalking to, but that he wanted them to do their best anyway. He wasentertaining and got results.Patrick was fascinated by music, art and the natural environment,and he enjoyed farming. But of all his varied interests, family life washis main influence. He collapsed suddenly at home when nearing theage of 85 while with Marjorie.A moving account by his son Nick can be found athttp://www.nickcoleman.org/blog/index.cgi?post=dad!201105221630!generalJOHN GLOVER42 |TAG September 2012

Cam Bryan’s GeojottingsA picture is worth a thousand wordsHow true! Except when your audience does not speakEnglish as their first language. I recall talking about thegeology of an area to a group of Chinese geologists andwhen the first slide came up I said, “A picture is worth a thousandwords.” That stopped the presentation for five minutes while theydiscussed what this phrase meant. I could only continue after acolleague had the wit to say ‘Confucius says, “a picture is wortha thousand words”’, whereupon the Chinese geologists all grinnedand nodded to one another — by which time I had forgotten whatthousand words had been saved by the picture.I was brought up to think that the camera cannot lie. One ofthe earliest uses of this phrase can be found in the Ohio newspaperThe Sandusky Register, February 1895: “He looked up fromthe proof at me and said: ‘Good Lord! Do I look like that?’ ‘Thecamera doesn’t lie about such things,’ I replied.” Nowadays welook at all photographs and wonder how many lies they aretelling us: what has been left out, added, changed. Photoshophas a lot to answer for! In Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore,Buttercup sings: “Things are seldom what they seem/ Skim milkmasquerades as cream ...” So we must beware — perhapsthe camera is lying, but on the other hand, perhaps we are notlooking closely enough.One example is the classic Hutton’s Unconformity on the Isleof Arran in Scotland. For many years the significance of a phreaticcalcrete hardpan between Lower Carboniferous sedimentaryrocks and steeply dipping Dalradian (Neoproterozoic–Cambrian)metamorphic rocks was not recognised. More recently the classiclocality has been reinterpreted as a double unconformity withthe hardpan being developed in Late Devonian times above theunconformity and disconformably overlain by the LowerCarboniferous rocks.A map is worth many thousand words. Whenever I look at amap I am reminded of the Earl of Warwick’s remarks about booksin Shaw’s play St Joan: “Now this is what I call workmanship.There is nothing on earth more exquisite than a bonny book, withwell-placed columns of rich black writing in beautiful borders,and illuminated pictures cunningly inset. But nowadays, insteadof looking at books, people read them.” Indeed, while a ‘bonny’map can be a joy to look at, it must also be read to extract allthe information recorded on it. But this also applies to photographsand diagrams. A picture ‘may be worth a thousand words’but it still has to be read, not just looked at.Maps, any map, but particularly geological maps, are surelywhere art and science come together: here we have the sciencein the units distinguished and the art in depicting them in amanner that enables the reader to easily understand what thegeologist is trying to get across.In a recent issue of TAG (TAG 162, March 2012, p. 30–32)David Branagan asked “Geological maps — have they had theirday?” I look forward to reading Letters to the Editor on this topic.For my part I am sure they will always be with us. As Davidemphasised, a geological map is a depiction of the geology asunderstood at the time it was prepared; it will change as more isknown about the geology, with new observations, new ideas andnew interpretations. The digitising of geological maps — as manyState geological surveys are doing — results in the ability to getmaps of any area of interest. Avoiding the irritation of having tojoin maps together (how many times has the area we wanted tolook at been on the boundary of two or more maps sheets?) isbut one advantage of the computer age in which we live. Anotheris the ability to zoom in on any area in a map. The iGeology app(reviewed in Tech Talk, this issue) illustrates these features withgeological maps of the UK.While geological maps often show lots of detail, there can beproblems with figures (line drawings and diagrams) that canshow too much detail. Quite often we crowd line drawings in aneffort to show everything! We can understand the figure, but thereader often cannot see the wood for the trees. This is particularlytrue with diagrams prepared for slides to accompany a talk. Withthe diagram on the screen only for a short time it is very hardfor the audience to take in everything at a glance. I recall aninternational conference where one member of the audience hadbrought a pair of binoculars to view some of the slides, whichwere so cluttered with detail and small printing that they werevirtually useless. PowerPoint visuals are a little better althoughthe tendency to add detail by sliding items in from left and rightas the presentation progresses can end up with a very confusingimage. The KISS principle is important for all such visual aids.There is a bit more latitude in diagrams prepared forpublication as the reader can pore over them at leisure and comeback to them when in doubt. Nevertheless, the diagram thatmeans everything to the author may not be so clear to the reader.A picture may indeed be worth a thousand words, but unlessthe details of the image are chosen as carefully as you wouldchoose a thousand words, it may be better to show (and say)nothing!TAG September 2012| 43

Tech TalkiGeology – British Geological SurveyAvailable free from the iTunes App Store, theiGeology application is described as ‘Interactivegeological mapping of the UK’. It is designed forboth the iPhone and iPad.Essentially, the app will produce a geological mapfor anywhere in the UK. You can type in alocation and the map will be drawn on thescreen. You can then zoom in or out in the usualway. Zooming in gives you very detailed largescalemaps with contour lines. Clicking on aparticular unit on the map produces a windowtelling you what formation it is. If you wantfurther details you are sent to the BritishGeological Survey (BGS) Lexicon of named rockunits. The details shown in the lexicon varydepending on the scale of the map — zoomingout merely gives the age. When zooming in youare given a lot of information including typesection of the rock unit and a number ofreferences. One interesting feature is that youcan select William Smith’s map of 1815 as anoverlay. When you look at small-scale maps aslider appears on the screen so you can see theWilliam Smith map as an overlay on the moremodern map. It is fascinating to see howaccurately Smith portrayed the geology ofthe UK.As well as the maps, there is a news button thatleads you to a list of the latest news from theBGS website. Among the items mentioned when Iwrote this review were ‘Quantitative groundwatermaps for Africa’, ‘Fracking and earthquakehazard’ and ‘Heat energy beneath Glasgow’. Thenews items also include a diary section offorthcoming events in the UK with which BGS isassociated.While this app will be mainly of interest topeople living in the UK, I was keen to review itfor TAG in the hope that our own geologicalsurveys might take up the challenge of producingsimilar apps for each State and Territory, andnationally.TONY COCKBAINgeoedit@arach.net.auAJES QUIZAJES Publisher, Taylor and Francis,supported the AJES quiz at the IGC withan iPad prize for the quiz.Want to earnadditional income?1 What will be the themecolour for AJES in 2013?(use the real colour names)a Magenta, b Turquoisec Orange, d Royal blue2 2013 is a significant milestonefor the AJES and itsprevious titles – whatanniversary is it?3 Who was awarded theWR Browne Medal for theGSA in 2010?Anita Andrew andAJES IPad prizewinner Mel Jones.You can testyour AJESknowledge(Answers onPage 46.)4 How many individuals havebeen editor since the start ofJournal of the GeologicalSociety of Australia?a 12, b 13, c 14, d 155 What is currently the mostcited paper in AJES?6 What is currently the mostread paper in AJES?7 When did the AustralianJournal of Earth Sciencesbegin publishing 8 issuesper year?8 What is the five yearimpact factor for AJES?The GSA is looking for members ineach state to sell advertising space inTAG and Geoz.Members will receive a percentage ofeach advertisement sold in TAG.Contact Sue at sue@gsa.org.au formore information.Peter Day, Fellow of the Geological Society ofSouth Africa, is seeking contact with ChrisSmith, whom he knew in South Africa in1971, on the Free State Gold Mines, in thetown of Welkom. Chris moved to Australiaand worked on diamond exploration, basedin Perth until he relocated to the Melbourneoffice of CRA in about the 1990s. If youknow Chris Smith’s contact details, couldyou please ask him to contact Peter Day?Peter Day’s email address is:ptrday7@gmail.com44 |TAG September 2012

Books for reviewPlease contact the Geological Society of Australia BusinessOffice (info@gsa.org.au) if you would like to review any of thefollowing publications.New publicationsUluru and Kata-Tjuta: a geological guideIP Sweet, AJ Stewart & IH Crickwww.ga.gov.au/products-services/publications.htmlShaping a Nation: A Geology of AustraliaRS Blewett (ed)www.ga.gov.au/products-services/publications/shaping-anation.htmlHot Deserts: engineering, geology andgeomorphologyMJ Walkerwww.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshopGeological Field TechniquesAngela L Colehttp://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/A Colour Guide: geomaterials underthe microscopeJeremy P Inghamwww.mansonpublishing.comMinerals, Metals and Sustainability:meeting future material needsWJ Rankinwww.publish.csiro.auClean Energy, Climate and CarbonPeter J Cookwww.publish.csiro.auSPE24 Slope Engineering for Mountain RoadsGJ Hearnwww.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshopAustralia’s Fossil Heritage: A Catalogue ofImportant Australian Fossil SitesThe Australian Heritage Council, CSIRO PublishingThe Mystery of the Giant CrystalsA film by Javier TruebaWritten and Presented by Juan Manuel García RuizMadrid Scientific FilmsRe-advertisedEssays in Honour of Frederico WaldemarLange Pioneer of Brazilian MicropaleontologyContinentEP Bosetti, Y Grahn, JHG MeloGeomechanics Applied to the PetroleumIndustryJean-Francis NauroyFrom the Geological Society of LondonThe following books are published by the Geological Society ofLondon, www.geolsoc.org.uk/bookshop but are available fromthe GSA for review, contact info@gsa.org.auSP303 Biogeochemical Controls onPalaeoceanographic Environmental ProxiesWEN Austin and RH JamesSP313 Underground Gas StorageDJ Evans and RA ChadwickSP293 Metasomatism in Oceanic andContinental Lithospheric MantleM Coltorti and M GregoireSP324 Thermochronological Methods: frompalaeotemperature constraints to landscapeevolution modelsF Lisker, B Ventura & UA GlasmacherSP337 Petrological Evolution of the EuropeanLithospheric MantleM Coltori, H Downes, M Gregorie & SY O’ReillySP341 Evolution of the Levant Margin &Western Arabia PlatformC Homberg & M BachmannSP343 Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Saurians:A Historical PerspectiveRTJ Moody, E Buffetaut, D Naish & DM MartillSP358 Comparing the Geological and FossilRecordsAJ McGowan & AB SmithSP359 Geology of the Earthquake SourceÅ Fagerengm, VG Toy & JV RowlandSP360 Deformation Mechanisms, Rheologyand Tectonics Microstructures, Mechanics andAnisotropyDJ Prior, EH Rutter & DJ TathamSP361 Natural Hazards in the Asia-PacificRegion: recent advances and emerging conceptsJP Terry & J GoffSP362 Military Aspects of HydrogeologyEPF Rose & JD MatherSP363 Salt Tectonics, Sediments andProspectivityGI Alsop, SG Archer, AJ Hartley, NT Grant & R HodgkinsonSP365 Palaeoproterozoic of IndiaR Mazumder & D SahaTAG September 2012| 45

Calendar201215-17 OctoberMines and Money Australia 2012Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney20 OctoberPichi 50 A celebration of 50 years of University of Adelaideundergraduate geological mapping at Pichi Richi PassPichi Richi Park, Flinders Ranges, South Australia4-7 November2012 GSA Annual Meeting - Geosciences:Investing in the FutureCharlotte, North Carolina USA12-14 NovemberAustralian Resources Conference and Trade Show 2012Perth, WAAJES QUIZAnswers(From page 44.)1 Turquoise2 60th3 Tony Cockbain4 Twelve1954–1958 MF Glaessner1958–1964 D Hill1964–1969 DA Brown1969–1973 JE Glover1973–1976 KA Towney1976–1979 DA Brown1979–1980 JF Truswell1980–1984 RH Vernon1984–1986 RW LeMaitre1986–1990 JR Roberts1990–1993 B Jones1993–2010 AE Cockbain2010– AS AndrewNote: Brown did it twice - a trick question.5 Currently, Metcalfe AJES 43, 605-623, 19966 Currently, Anand & Butt AJES 57,1015-1114, 2010)7 20078 1.3407 DecemberSouth Australian Exploration and Mining ConferenceAdelaide, South Australia12-16 NovemberSD2012 Asia Pacific ConferenceGrand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok, Thailand7 December26th International Applied Geochemistry Symposium:incorporating the New Zealand Geothermal Workshop,Rotorua, New Zealandwww.gns.cri.nz/iags2-7 DecemberJoint SSA and NZSSS Soil Science ConferenceWrest Point Hotel and Convention Centre, Hobart, TasmaniaDecemberTasmanian Geoscience Forum(jointly with AusIMM)Strahan VillageQuizine ANSWERS (From page 15.)1 Awarded by the Royal Society for outstandingachievements in research in any branch of science,the award alternates between the physical sciencesand the biological sciences.2 The highest award of the Geological Society ofLondon (the medal was originally made of palladium,which Wollaston discovered in 1803).3 Awarded by the Geological Society of Australia forcontributions to the geological sciences in Australia.4 Awarded by the Australian Academy of Science foroutstanding contributions to Earth Science in Australia.5 Awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdomnow only to British subjects for their extreme humanendeavours in Arctic and Antarctic conditions, or toexpedition members and those permanently staffedAntarctic bases for their contribution to the acquisitionof knowledge of Polar regions.6 Awarded by the American Chemical Society fordistinguished service in the field of chemistry.7 Awarded by the Geological Society of America tothose who advance the study of geoscience.8 Awarded by the Geological Society of Africa foroutstanding Precambrian research in Africa.9 The most prestigious award of the US NationalAcademy of Sciences to honour extraordinary use ofscience for the public good.10 Awarded by the Indian National Science Academyfor work in the mathematical sciences.46 |TAG September 2012

Geological Society of Australia Inc. Office Bearers 2012/2013MEMBERS OF COUNCILAND EXECUTIVEPresidentLaurie HuttonDepartment of Natural Resources andMines (DNRM)Vice PresidentIan GrahamUniversity of New South WalesSecretaryLinda GlassTreasurerDavid TrezisePast PresidentBrad PillansAustralian National UniversityHon EditorAustralian Journal of Earth SciencesAnita AndrewCOUNCILLORS OF THEEXECUTIVE DIVISIONMichelle CooperGeoscience AustraliaNick DireenFrOGTechKaty EvansCurtin UniversityJohn RogersAustralian National UniversityChristine EdgooseNTGS – Dept. Primary Industries,Fisheries & MinesJohn GreenfieldDept. of Industry and Investment -Primary Industries & EnergySTANDING COMMITTEESGeological HeritageNational ConvenorMargaret BrocxAustralian StratigraphyCommissionNational ConvenorCathy BrownSTATE CONVENORSACT, External TerritoriesAlbert BrakelNew South WalesLawrence SherwinGeological Survey of New South WalesNorthern TerritoryTim MunsonNorthern Territory Geological SurveyQueenslandIan WithnallGeological Survey of QueenslandSouth AustraliaWayne CowleyPrimary Industries & ResourcesSouth AustraliaTasmaniaStephen ForsythVictoriaFons VandenBergWestern AustraliaRoger HockingGeological Survey of Western AustraliaDIVISIONS ANDBRANCHESAustralian Capital TerritoryChair: John RogersAustralian National UniversitySecretary: Eva PappGeoscience AustraliaNew South Waleswww.nsw.gsa.org.auChair: Ian GrahamUniversity of New South WalesSecretary: Dioni CendonANSTONorthern TerritoryChair: Christine EdgooseNorthern Territory Geological SurveySecretary: Jo WhelanNorthern Territory Geological SurveyQueenslandwww.qld.gsa.org.auChair: Ian WithnallGeological Survey of QueenslandSecretary: Friedrich von GnielinskiGeological Survey of QueenslandSouth Australiawww.sa.gsa.org.auChair: Kevin WillsSecretary: Anna PettsUniversity of South AustraliaTasmaniaChair: Garry DavidsonCODESSecretary: Mark DuffettMineral Resources TasmaniaVictoriawww.vic.gsa.org.auChair: David CantrillRoyal Botanic GardensSecretary: Adele SeymonGeoScience VictoriaWestern Australiawww.wa.gsa.org.auChair: Katy EvansCurtin UniversityBroken Hill BranchChair: Barney StevensGeological Survey of New South WalesSecretary: Kingsley MillsHunter Valley BranchChair: John GreenfieldGeological Survey of New South WalesSecretary: Phil GilmoreGeological Survey of New South WalesSPECIALIST GROUPSApplied Geochemistry SpecialistGroup (SGAG)www.sgag.gsa.org.auChair: Louisa LawranceSecretary: Craig RuglessAssociation of AustralasianPalaeontologists (AAP)www.es.mq.edu.au/mucep/aap/indexPresident: Gregory E. WebbUniversity of QueenslandVice-President: Jim JagoUniversity of AdelaideSecretary Gilbert PriceUniversity of QueenslandAustralasian Sedimentologists Group(ASG)Chair: Bradley OpdykeAustralian National UniversitySecretary: Sarah TynanAustralian National UniversityCoal Geology (CGG)www.cgg.gsa.org.auChair: James BeestonSecretary: Joan EsterleEarth Sciences History Group (ESHG)www.vic.gsa.org.au/eshg.htmChair: Peter DunnSecretary: John BlockleyEconomic Geology Specialist Groupsgeg.gsa.org.auChair:Chris YeatsCSIROSecretary: Rob HoughCSIROEnvironmental Engineering& Hydrogeology Specialist Group(EEHSG)Chair: Ken LawrieGeoscience AustraliaSecretary: Steven LewisGeoscience AustraliaGeochemistry, Mineralogy &Petrology Specialist Group(SGGMP)www.gsa.org.au/specialgroups/sggmp.htmlChair: Hugh O'NeillAustralian National UniversitySecretary: Greg YaxleyAustralian National UniversityGeological Education (SGE)Chair: Greg McNamaraGeoscience Education& Outreach ServicesPlanetary Geoscience SpecialistGroup (SGPG)Chair: Graziella CaprarelliUniversity of TechnologySolid Earth Geophysics SpecialistGroup (SGSEG)www.gsa.org.au/specialgroups/sgseg.htmlChair: Nick RawlinsonGeoscience AustraliaSecretary: Richard ChoppingGeoscience AustraliaTectonics & Structural GeologySpecialist Group (SGTSG)www.sgtsg.gsa.org.auChair: Gordon ListerAustralian National UniversitySecretary: Richard BlewettGeoscience AustraliaVolcanology (LAVA)www.es.mq.edu.au/geology/volcan/hmpg.htmlChair: Rick SquireMonash UniversitySecretary: Karin OrthUniversity of TasmaniaTAG September 2012| 47

The Australian GeologistBackground InformationThe Australian Geologist (TAG) is a quarterly member magazine which includes society news,conference details, special reports, feature articles, book reviews and other items of interest to EarthScientists. Each issue has a long shelf-life and is read by more than 3000 geologists, geophysicists,palaeontologists, hydrologists, geochemists, cartographers and geoscience educators from Australiaand around the world.Schedule and Deadlines for 2012/2013I S S U E CO P Y FI N I S H E D A R T IN S E R T SDecember 2012 26 October 2 November 9 NovemberMarch 2013 28 January 1 February 1 MarchJune 2013 29 April 3 May 28 MaySeptember 2013 29 July 9 August 23 AugustArtworkMaterial can be supplied electronically via Email or mail CD (MAC or PC). The advertisements orphotographs can be sent as jpeg, eps or tiff. Word files are not accepted as finished art (pleaseconvert to pdf). Do not embed logos, images/pictures in Word documents. If artwork cannot besupplied in any of the preferred formats listed above, an additional production/typesetting feewill be charged. Material must be minimum of 300 dpi for JPEG, EPS or TIFF formats. Logotypesor line symbols 800dpi or larger, eps or tiff. If advertisements are two colour, black plus one spotcolour, please supply as black and magenta. If finished art is to be provided for the advertisingmaterial supply by the copy deadline (see above). CDs will be returned upon request only. Pleasecontact the Geological Society of Australia for more information or to discuss other options.Advertising Rates and SizesFull colour advertising is available for inside-front and inside-back covers as well as the middlespread. Advance bookings are essential for colour advertising. Spot colour for other pages isavailable on request. Basic rates quoted are for finished art supplied in one of the file formatsspecified above. Discount rates apply where the same material is run in two issues within a calendaryear. 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 TYPESETTINGFull Page250mm deep x 180mm wide (Type area)Full page Trim 275mm x 210mm plus 5mm BleedColour $1350 $1280 $tbaSpot colour Price on requestBlack and White $750 $703 $tba1/4 Page 125mm deep x 88mm wideBlack and White $200 $180 $tba1/2 Page Horizontal 125mm deep x 180mm wideBlack and White $375 $350 $tba1/3 Page Horizontal 80mm deep x 180mm wideBlack and White $290 $270 $tba2 Column Horizontal 125mm deep x 119mm wide(3 Column Page) Black and White $410 $390 $tba1 Column Vertical 250mm deep x 57mm wide(3 Column Page) Black and White $410 $390 $tbaINSERTS (as supplied) P E R I S S U EP E R I S S U EA4 size $1285 $1180Colour Advertorials or Feature ArticlesThree 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 IncSuite 61, 104 Bathurst St, Sydney NSW 2000Tel: 02 9290 2194 Fax: (02) 9290 2198 Email: info@gsa.org.auPublishing DetailsGENERAL NOTEThe Australian Geologist (TAG) is published by the Geological Society ofAustralia Inc four times a year, March, June, September and December.COPYRIGHTThe Publication is copyright by the GSA Inc unless specifically statedotherwise. However, material in this issue may be photocopied by individualsfor research or classroom use. Permission is also granted to useshort articles, quotes, figures, tables, etc, for publication in scientificbooks and journals or in other scientific newsletters provided acknowledgementis made. For permission for any other use or publication oflonger articles please contact the Honorary Editor.Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyrightholders of material in this publication. If any rights have been omitted,apologies are offered.The Geological Society of Australia Inc is a learned Society. TheAustralian Geologist is published by the Geological Society of AustraliaInc, to provide information for the members and a forum for theexpression of their professional interests and opinions. Observations,interpretations and opinions published herein are the responsibility ofthe contributors and are not necessarily supported by the GeologicalSociety of Australia Inc or the Hon Editor.While the Hon Editor and the Geological Society of Australia Inchave taken all reasonable precautions and made all reasonable effortsto ensure the accuracy of material contained in this publication theaforesaid make no warranties, expressed or implied with respect to anyof the material contained herein.BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCEAdvertising/Membership: All business enquiries and correspondencerelating to advertising space, inserts and/or subscription matters,should be addressed to the Business Manager of the Society.EDITORIAL MATTERSContributions: All editorial enquiries or contributions should be sent totag@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 afile greater than 3MB it would be appreciated if they could be copiedto CD and forwarded to the Hon Editor. Short clearly typedcontributions (up to ~1000 words) are accepted, should a member beunable to send an email. The editor reserves the right to reject, reviseand change text editorially.Photographs: Cover photograph submissions should preferably bedigital taken at a resolution greater than 300dpi. Web resolutionimages and colour prints (unless exceptional) are not of sufficientquality for full colour printing.Colour transparencies are also acceptable. Photographs for articlesmay be prints, slides or digital images; they may be black and whiteand colour.Back issues are available for sale at $5 plus postage andhandling. To order email publications@gsa.org.au48 |TAG September 2012