The Tasmanian Geologist - Geological Society of Australia

TheTasmanianGeologistNewsletter of theTasmania DivisionJuly 2009NEXT TWO MEETINGS:Thursday 9 th JulyJoint meeting with PESA6.00 pmSchool of Earth SciencesLecture Theatre,University of TasmaniaSpeaker:Shalene McClureCoal Seam Gas Appraisal andImplementation Manager,Santos Ltd.Details inside__________________________________Thursday 30 th July6.00 pmSchool of Earth SciencesLecture Theatre,University of TasmaniaSpeaker:Dr Will HowardAntarctic Climate & EcosystemsCooperative Research CentreUniversity of TasmaniaOcean Acidification: TheOther CO 2 ImpactAbstract insideREFRESHMENTS AND DINNER:Drinks and savories will be served atbefore both meetings in the CODES tea-roomat 5.30 pm. All members and guests will bevery welcome – particularly students!After both meetings, members andguests will be invited to accompany the speakerto an informal dinner at a local restaurant.ALSO INSIDE“Geological Evolution of Tasmania”progress reportTwelvetrees MedalVacancies on committeeSelwyn SymposiumSGGMP and SGTSG conferencesThe Tasmanian Geologist, 26th h June 2009

Joint meeting with PetroleumExploration Society of AustraliaShalene McClureCoal seam gas is now a world scaleenergy resource. Shalene McClure’spresentation will outline Santos’s coal seam gasjourney. She will give a quick overview of thefundamentals of coal seam gas, summariseSantos coal seam gas acreage position and givea brief overview of Santos’ Gladstone LNGproject - the world’s first CSG to LNG project.Shalene McClure has spent 28 years inthe oil and gas industry, commencing hercareer as a geological drafter for CrusaderOil, in Brisbane. She graduated from theQueensland University of Technology with anhonours degree in Geology in 1995. Shalenehas worked for more than 13 years with Santos,firstly as a development geologist on SWQueensland oil and gas projects and in the coalseam gas group in Brisbane. Her interests aredevelopment geology, reserve determination inboth conventional and coal seam gas, andgeological modelling. Shalene is currentlyManager CSG Appraisal and Implementationfor Santos, and is the current Federal Presidentof PESA.“Geological Evolution ofTasmania”Edited by K. D. Corbett, P. G. Quilty & C.R.CalverThis long-awaited Geological Society ofAustralia Special Publication is nearingcompletion. All except four submissions areon track to meet the 30th June deadline, thevolume as a whole is now progressing toschedule, and compositing and layout areexpected by mid-October._____________________________________Ocean acidification:the other CO 2 impactDr. Will Howard(This research was published recently as aletter in “Nature”)Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 )added to the atmosphere is accumulating in andacidifying the global ocean, lowering both itscarbonate-ion concentration and its pH. Addingcarbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to the ocean alters thecarbonate chemistry and lowers pH, makingsurface waters more acidic and decreasing thecarbonate ions available to calcifiers for calciteand aragonite production. Both forms ofcalcium carbonate dissolve more easily underconditions of higher CO 2 , lower temperaturesand higher pressures due to depth. As theuptake rate of anthropogenic CO 2 is at amaximum in the Southern Ocean we have aunique opportunity to observe marinecalcifiers’ responses to changing carbonatechemistry. Laboratory experiments show thatdecreased ocean carbonate-ion concentrationsresult in reduced calcification rates in manymarine calcareous organism, and may causeecosystems shifts. Samples from modernsediment traps with Holocene sediments, showevidence for ~30 - 35 % reduction in shellweightsin Southern Ocean planktonicforaminifera since the industrial revolution.Sediment trap data also suggest a reduction incalcification of one morphotype of shelledpteropod (an aragonitic planktonic gastropod)over the past decade, consistent with thecontinuing lowering of aragonite saturation.These data represent some of the firstobservations of reduced calcification in modernplanktonic carbonate organisms. Sediment trapresults are consistent with reduced calcificationinduced by anthropogenic ocean acidificationand with the sensitivity indicated by correlatingSouthern Ocean sediment core shell-weightrecords with Antarctic ice core records ofatmospheric CO 2 over the past 150,000 years.Will Howard is a research scientist atthe Antarctic Climate & EcosystemsCooperative Research Centre in Hobart. Hiswork focuses on climate change, withparticular emphasis on ocean acidification andits impacts on the past, current, and futureThe Tasmanian Geologist, 26th h June 2009

ocean. He is interested in the ocean carboncycle and the responses of marine ecosystemsto climate change. His research draws on theinsights into climate change that can beinferred from ocean sediment records as abaseline for pre-industrial conditions and as atool for understanding the impacts of largemagnitudeclimate changes of the scaleanticipated in the coming centuries. Hisexpertise is in palaeoecology and lowtemperatureisotopic geochemistry.He is originally from the USA, with aPh.D in Geological Sciences from BrownUniversity in Providence, Rhode Island. Hewas a U.S. Department of Energy GlobalChange Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow, atLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory ofColumbia University, Palisades, New York,from 1992-93. Then he was a lecturer inoceanography at the Sea EducationAssociation, Woods Hole, Massachusetts from1994-1995, before joining the AntarcticCooperative Research Centre in Hobart in1996.GSA Tas. Division Committee(2009-10)elected at AGM, 30th April 2009Thank you for your confidence in the 2008-09office-bearers and committee! However, withtwo members retiring we have vacancies forcommittee members. If you are able to assistin running your society, please contact theChairman or Secretary!Chairman: Dr Nick DireenTel 0413 030612ndireen@frogtech.com.auSecretary: Dr Andrew McNeillC/- CODES, University of TasmaniaPrivate Bag 79Hobart 7001Tel: 03 62262487Fax: 03 62267662andrew.mcneill@utas.edu.auTreasurer: Dr Peter McGoldrickCommittee Members:Dr Ron BerryDr Garry DavidsonDr Mark DuffettMr John Everard (newsletter editor)jeverard@mrt.tas.gov.auMr Michael Vicary------------------------------------------------------W. H. Twelvetrees MedalMembers at the AGM on 30 th Aprilapproved the inauguration of a medal to beawarded at the discretion of the TasmanianDivision of the GSA, usually annually, torecognize either: important contributions to the EarthSciences with Tasmania (includingMacquarie Island); or outstanding contributions to EarthSciences while resident in Tasmania.Contributions shall be considered to includemeritorious feats of geological exploration inTasmania or elsewhere; significant publishedworks; or meritorious service to the EarthSciences.Two or more members of the Societywill be able to nominate a member for theaward by submitting to the DivisionalCommittee the name of the candidate,biographical data, and a citation in about 300words describing the candidate’s work and itssignificance. Nominations will be valid for upto five years after the nomination date. Themedal may be awarded posthumously if thecandidate was alive at the time of nomination.The medal commemorates the eminentTasmanian government geologist, WilliamHarper Twelvetrees (1848 – 1919). Design andcasting is being planned and a call fornominations for the inaugural award will bemade in due course.------------------------------------------------------MembershipNew members(full)G Lear, R. Elkington, JB Grant.New student membersLeiszl Cuison, Andrea Agangi, MichaelGill, Nichola McMillan, Kate Miedecke, TimStubley, Katherine Webb, Dominic Neyland,Mathew Ageneau, Carla Vincent, Ting Kor,Chun Lai, Stephanie Howe, Simon Sullivan,Markus Staubmann, Michael Tomlin, NormanHeckscher, Alexandra Eastburn, Simon Enman,Emma Brown, Kate Howie, Tania Hillman,Tanya Maksimovic, Sam Kruimink, MichelleSlater, Jarrod Crew.TransfersJ Wellard (from Tas Div. to Qld Div.)------------------------------------------------------The Tasmanian Geologist, 26th h June 2009

SELWYN SYMPOSIUMOrigin of the AustralianHighlandsSponsored by the GSA Victorian DivisionThursday 24th September 2009Fritz-Loewe Theatre, McCoy Building, EarthSciences, The University of MelbourneThe apparently quiescent continent ofAustralia lies near the middle of a plate yet there aremany mountain ranges and highlands, in particularalong the eastern seaboard. The origin and timing ofthese enigmatic features has been subject toconsiderable debate, ever since Andrews* (1910)assigned a Pliocene (5-2 million year old) age to theSoutheastern Highlands - the “Kosciuszko Upliftevent”. Some researchers suggest that mosthighland relief was present by the Cretaceous.Others believe Cainozoic uplift created most of themountains. This symposium brings together leadingresearchers in thermochronology, geochronology,stratigraphy and geomorphology to discuss thetiming and nature of uplift in southeast Australia.*Andrews E.C., 1910. Proc. Royal Soc. NSW 44,420-480.Program:8.30 am Registration9.00-5.30 pm The Selwyn Symposium: 20- to 25minute presentations from invited speakers.6.30 pm Selwyn Lecture (free public lecture) @ theJH Michell theatre - Richard Berry Buildingby Professor Cliff Ollier, University of WesternAustralia, “Theories of the Earth and MountainBuilding”8:15 pm Selwyn Dinner at University House, TheUniversity of MelbourneCost:Full delegate @ $120.00 including GSTRetired delegate @ $50.00 including GSTStudent delegate @ $20.00 including GST(Cost includes: Lunch, morning/afternoon tea,abstract volume)For further information, see the Victorian Junenewsletter on the GSA website____________________________________SGGMPSpecialist Group in Geochemistry,Mineralogy and PetrologyKangaroo Island8 th to 13 th November 2009Following previous highly successfulmeetings in western Victoria, Port Macquarie(NSW) and Dunedin (NZ), the biannual SGGMPconference will be held at the Acacia Hotel,Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Invited speakerswill give 20 minute talks with ample time fordiscussion. Afternoon poster sessions will beassociated with short introductory presentations bythe other attendees. Field excursions will beintegrated into the programme and will examine thestunning migmatites and other records of theDelamerian Orogeny in South Australia, and willinvolve winery visits.Places are limited, so please register yourinterest early. Student bursaries will be available.For more detailed information see:http://sggmp.gsa.org.au/events.html______________________________________SGTSGSpecialist Group in Tectonics andStructural GeologyField ConferencePort Macquarie, NSW1 st -5 th February 2010The venue will be “The Glasshouse” in thecentre of Port Macquarie, on the NSW mid-northcoast.In keeping with the SGTSG aims, fieldtrips are a fundamental part of the meeting. PortMacquarie is well placed for exploring the NewEngland Fold Belt on a pre- or post-conferencefield trip. The mid-conference field trip will explorethe blueschist and eclogite facies rocks of PortMacquarie. The SGTSG also plans to run pre- orpost-conference field trips to New Caledonia andNewZealand subject to sufficient numbers.The SGTSG will offer generous studentbursaries to help with travel costs, to SGTSGStudent Members who contribute a talk or poster.Please email the SGTSG chair (Nathan Daczko,SGTSG@gsa.org.au) stating your member numberand attach your submitted abstract.Fee structure (before 15 th October):• SGTSG Member $525• SGTSG Student Member $125• Non-Member $650• Student Non-Member $525Early Bird registration and submission ofabstracts close on 15 th October.For further information seehttp://www.sgtsg.gsa.org.au______________________________________Geological Society of Australia website:www.gsa.org.au______________________________________The Tasmanian Geologist, 26th h June 2009