GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF.WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
January 10,
1968
The
901st meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium at
8:00 P.M., Wednesday, January 10, 1968, with President Ralph Miller presiding.
President
Miller opened the meeting with remarks appropriate for beginning the nine
hundred series of meetings, and reminded the members that this was the year of
the Society's Diamond Jubilee.
Two
visitors were introduced: the towering head of the Colorado School of Mines -
and animal husbandry - Dr. Orlo Childs; and H. W. Straley, III, representing an undisclosed engineering
firm.
The
minutes of the 900th meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of Nicholas Lampiris,
of the U.S.G.S. and
A
memorial to Waldemar Schaller was presented by Joseph
Fahey.
The
President, realizing the importance of having the support of a hustling
Communications Committee, praised the out-going committee for a job well-done;
then introduced the now-hustling members of the incoming committee, chairmanned by Dennis Cox.
Other members include Rucker, Ketterer,
Randolph, Mixon, Reeves, Bailey.
Partly
in regard for the new meetings' Secretary, but also to achieve the warmth of
camaraderie, the President asked of those who chose to discuss a paper to
oblige the chair by first stating their names,
The
regular program followed:
Francis
Kohout, "Cyclic flow of saltwater in a coastal
aquifer - filmed experiment using time-lapse photography on a hydraulic
model," discussed by Miller and Guild.
Isidore
Adler, "Lunar geochemistry - analytical problems and solutions,"
discussed by Sato, Duke, Robertson, and Toulmin.
Dallas
Peck, "Formation of columnar joints in Kilauea lava lakes,
The
program for the next regular meeting was announced, as was an irregular meeting
to be held in the GSA Auditorium, 10:00 A.M., January 29, featuring Don Gorsline, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer.
Attendance
187. The meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m.
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
January 24,
1968
The
902nd meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium at
8:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 24, 1968, with President Ralph Miller presiding.
The
President stated that this meeting was the first to be arranged by the new
Committee on Communications.
The
Minutes of the 901st meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of the following from the
Geological Survey: John M. DeNoyer, Donald G. Hadley,
Michael W. Higgins, Lynn Glover, III, James D. Byerlee;
and the following from the American Geological Institute: David M. Delo, Ross L. Shipman, George R. Downs, Robert McAfee,
Jr., Beverly Barrow.
There
were two so-called "informal" communications:
Pete
Toulmin, thinly disguised as a good Samaritan representing the Finance
Committee, delivered a few well-chosen words about Group Hospitalization
Insurance. Then, having preempted the podium by ruse, he launched into a
walrus-like non sequitur which appeared to speak of many things. When he
accused the members of the Society's "high-powered" Awards Committee
of being mental cripples, however, it became clear that Toulmin was intending
to scribe even more deeply the battle line previously drawn between
paleontologists and geochemists. Seeking to obtain the recognition to which he
believes geochemists are entitled but never receive, Toulmin carried his
audience aloft on a remarkable flight through a Geochemical Aviary. There, a
selected suite of our feathered friends were aptly described as they roosted
and nested in their native habitats.
WHEREUPON:
E-an
Zen, having just been hushed by Toulmin and identified as an Eastern Smirk,
flapped onstage where he quickly assumed the starring role of Charlie Chan in a
new mystery thriller titled: The Case of the Purloined Pennsylvanian! Carefully sifting fossil evidence discovered
by chance in an old museum on Long Island, Chan and his faithful companion,
Inspector Mamay, deduced that the missing
Pennsylvanian was buried beneath several feet of concrete Freeway — in the
The
President called the attention of the new members to the delights of the
Society's Group Insurance Program; then repeated his request that those who
wish to discuss a paper to first state their names.
The
regular program followed:
Marvin
Lanphere, Irwin, and Hotz,
"Geochronologic studies in the
Harold
Thomas, "Hydrology of Central Tunisia;" discussed by Guild, the
Chair, and Nace.
Nicholas
Short, "The anatomy of a meteorite impact crater:
The
program for the next regular meeting was announced and the members were
reminded that AAPG Distinguished Lecturer Don Gorsline
would deliver a paper in the GSA Auditorium, 10:00 a.m., Monday January 29,
sponsored by the Society and
Attendance
109. The meeting adjourned at 10:03 p.m.
William
L. Newman,
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
February 14,
1968
The
903rd meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
February 14, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.
The
President opened the program by welcoming the numerous visitors - many of them
in town for the forthcoming meeting of the Northeast Section of GSA. "This
Society-sponsored meeting," President Miller announced, "will be held
at the Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D. C. February 15 to 17, with Meyer Rubin
serving as Chairman."
The
President further noted that Frank C. Whitmore had been appointed Chairman of
the Annual Meeting of GSA to be held in Washington, D. C. in 1971, an event to
be similarly hosted by the Society.
The
minutes of the 902nd meeting of the Society were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of the following from the Naval
Oceanographic Office: Donald A. Burns, Dennis K. Clark, Oscar K. Huh, Patrick
C. Martin, Edward J. Pastula, Jr., Robert R. Tittle, David R. Zinzer; and from
the Army Map Service: Tor H. Nilsen;
and from the Geological Survey: George A. Sellers, Esma
Y. Campbell, Theresa M. Sousa.
The
President announced the deaths of Sidney Paige and David Gallagher, both
members of the Society.
The
regular program was a "Symposium on the structure of the continental
margin of eastern
President
Miller introduced the panelists in turn as each presented a paper on various
features of the continental margin. During the introductory remarks, the Chair
appeared to disclaim any knowledge of the panelists' professional affiliations
and then – intermittently - proceeded to prove it.
Charles
L. Drake, Lament Geological Observatory, spearheaded the symposium by
summarizing the major tectonic features of the eastern margin. Displaying an
illustration showing the close refit of the continents as partial evidence for
drift, Drake scorned the use of a zipper, and instead adjusted the drape of the
torn continental fabric by buttoning Gibraltar into
Isidore Zietz, USGS, relying heavily on the currently popular
"nondata", described magnetic anomalies
throughout the entire margin, a vast region which he, on one occasion,
projected deep into the heart of
John
C. Reed, Jr., USGS, wasn't certain whether he was a Daniel in the lion's den or
an
Martin
F. Kane, USGS, restricted his discussion of rocks and their magnetic anomalies
to a region centering on the
The
open discussion that followed took the form of a series of dialogues between
panelists and various members of the audience. Exchanges were noted between:
Clifford Kaye and Kane, E-an Zen and Reed, Herbert Woodward and Reed, Michael
Fuller and Zietz, an unknown gentleman on the center
aisle and Zietz, Dennis Cox and Drake.
A
highlight of the discussion was a prologue monologue by William Dempsey. Dempsey finally got to the point, however,
and asked Zietz if the flat magnetic anomalies of the
ocean floor couldn't be caused by uniform polarization of basalt rather than
metamorphism. Zietz, caught in deep water and
treading rapidly to stay afloat, admitted he was merely a geophysicist, and
that his interpretation was based on opinions held by several eminent
geologists; then he casually dropped a few names. Reed quickly disassociated
himself from Zietz and his colleagues.
President
Miller thanked the panelists for a provocative evening; then announced the
program for the next regular meeting.
The
Attendance count was a hall-filling 346, but even this is believed to be a
minimum figure.
After
adjournment at 9:58 p.m. beer and pretzels were distributed in the auditorium's
outer chambers.
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
February 28,
1968
The
904th meeting (perhaps more appropriately called the PDQ meeting) of the
Society was held in the John Wesley Powell auditorium, February 28, 1968, at
8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.
One
visitor, Dr. Raymond Bisque, Colorado School of Mines, vas introduced and three
shy visitors were noticed: Jack Harrison and Jack Murphy, USGS, Denver: and Hal
Morris, USGS, Menlo Park.
The
minutes of the 903rd meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of the following from the
Maryland Geological Survey: William P. Crowley, Jonathan Edwards, Jr., and from
the CIA: Homer C. Talley, Jr., Richard C. Kellagher,
Bobby G. Shipp, John D. Walker, and Erwin J. Runge.
The
Secretary also announced that the NE Section of GSA was held at the
Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C., February 15 to 17.
President
Miller disclosed that he had been reading the Constitution and had learned the
Society is authorized to hold meetings in May. In recent years, the spring
series has ended in April. The desires of the membership were expressed in a
two-stage vote; Result: The Communications Committee will seek speakers for two
meetings in May.
A
Memorial to A. Nelson Sayre was presented by Lee McGuiness.
The
regular program followed:
Wilmot
H. Bradley, USGS, "Remarks on the occasion of GSW's
75th Anniversary", commented upon by Lee McGuiness. During a study, of the
Society's archives, Bradley discovered that a Program chairmen had
over-numbered by one a meeting held during the mid-1940’s and thus, for more
than two decades, the Society has been living in sin. But no attempt was made,
either by the chair or floor, to save the Society's reputation, and we shall
continue to live in sin. The chair, however, later divulged the nature of some
domestic problems that resulted from numbering personal checks with letters,
George
H. Chase, USGS, reported on "Aquifer geometry and geologic structure at
the National Reactor Testing Station,
Lincoln
E. Page, USGS, "Plutonic rocks of
The
President announced the program for March 13.
Attendance
136. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
March 13,
1968
The
905th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
March 13, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.
Four
visitors were introduced: Albert Marranzino and David
Grimes, USGS,
The
minutes of the 904th meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of Frank D. Spencer, U. S.
Geological Survey.
The
President informed the Society that the American Geological Institute would be
mailing out forms in the near future to be used in compiling the 1968 Register
of Scientific Personnel.
The
President further noted that the season of Science Fairs was upon us, and that
the Society traditionally supports these activities. He asked those who wished
to volunteer their services as judges at the forthcoming Fairs to contact
Wendell Cochrane, Chairman of the Public Service Committee.
The
regular program followed:
Patrick
T. Taylor, "Interpretation of the heat-flow pattern of the Sumatra
Trench," discussed by Gilbert.
John
Van N. Dorr II, "with hammer and camera through African Manganese,"
discussed by Guild (twice), Thayer, Roedder, and Fleischer. Describing certain
relationships among beds of chromite, Dorr sought to insert the term
"Bastard Seam" into the literature; whereupon, the guardian of
nomenclature, Judge Cohee, promptly rose to defend
the integrity of the Geologic Names Committee and, without recourse to a
quorum, disallowed the term.
Thomas
P. Thayer, "Igneous sediments from the mantle," a 20-minute formal
presentation followed by two informal communications and a lecture on
"basic" mineralogy and magma mechanics. The paper and supporting declamations , which
put the "squeeze on" a stratiform complex
of unknown composition in the mantle at unknown temperatures, pressures, and
viscosities, were discussed by Herz, Robertson,
Roedder, Dave Stewart (spelled HERB SHAW), Brown and Peck.
President
then reminded the Society of the opportunity to participate in Science Fair
activities, announced the program for the next meeting, thanked the speakers
for an informative evening, and adjourned the meeting at 9:46 p.m. Attendance
132.
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF.WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
March 27,
1968
The
906th meeting of the Society vas held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
March 27, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.
Two
visitors were introduced: Tom Cherry, Continental Oil Company, and Chris
Brooks, Carnegie Institution of Washington.
The
minutes of the 905th meeting were read and corrected. Tom Thayer caught the
Secretary confused in his beds, pointing out that the Bastard Seam described by
Dorr was not common manganese ore but, rather, a noble ferro-alloy-chromite.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of Allen E. DeWall,
U. S. Geological Survey and
The
Secretary also announced the apparent disappearance of two vital record books
from the Survey library: One containing minutes of the Council's activities
from January 1957 to March 1964, and one containing the Minutes of the
Society's regular meetings from January 1957 to January 1965.
The
President again stressed the opportunities offered Society members to serve as
Science Fair judges and asked those interested to contact Wendell Cochrane,
Chairman of the Public Service Committee.
The
regular program followed:
Gerhard
W. Leo, USGS, "Geology and geochronology of western Liberia," a
description of major tectonic segments and their ages which might be useful in
guiding the probable fit of South America and Africa prior to Continental drifting; discussed by
Thayer, Anderson, Reeves, Rosanski, Guild, and Herz.
Douglas
W. Rankin, USGS, "Magmatic activity and orogeny in the southern Blue Ridge," a chronologic
sequence of magmatic events, prefaced by an apology
for associating with Neuman, Hadley and Reed;
discussed by Zen (twice), Herz, Cohee,
Drake, Hart, and Guild.
Philip
W. Guild, USGS, "Metallotects of North
America," a subjective, if not philosophical approach to the problem of
ore-finding; discussed by the Chair, McKelvey (twice), Cox, Fleischer, Thayer, Weeks, Johnston,
Reeves, and Roedder. Foxy McKelvey, tasting the grape and finding it sour,
denounced metallotects on the grounds that the
concept was too general and too loose in scope and therefore useless as a
practical exploration tool. W. D. Johnston, Jr., a geopolitician
of some girth, rose to defend the concept by noting the dilemma of scale and
insisting that one must test new ideas and think global to achieve success.
Further, he expressed surprise that McKelvey, having established himself as one
of geology's great generalizers, could be so critical
of metallotects.
The
President announced the program for the April 10th meeting, which will take
place during the annual meetings of the American Geophysical Union. Then he thanked the speakers for a very
interesting program, and adjourned the meeting at 9:57 p.m.
Attendance
140.
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
April 10,
1968
The
907th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
April 10, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.
The
President extended a general welcome to visitors, most of whom were in town to
attend the American Geophysical Union meetings; and then announced that because
of the prevailing 10:00 curfew the minutes of the 906th meeting would not be
read (boos), that there would be no announcements nor informal communications
(boos and hisses), and that the customary beer and pretzels would not be served
(boos, hisses, and groans). He also stated that the papers would not be
discussed, and that the meeting would terminate sharply at 9:30, allowing the
members sufficient time to observe curfew regulations.
The
regular program followed:
Robert
L. Kovach, Stanford University, "Some magnetic and electrical experiments
on the San Andreas Fault,” a description of a magnetometer network centered
about the fault-riven Almaden
Winery; preliminary data suggest that magnetic variations may serve as an
earthquake pressage.
R.
R. Doell.(and G. B. Dalrymple),
"Paleomagnetic studies of the Valles Caldera and their contribution to ocean-floor
spreading," a report of the recent discovery in the Caldera of a magnetic
reversal event that took place about 750,000 years ago which solved a problem
of dating certain sea-floor events.
Frederick
J. Vine, Princeton University, "Aspects of ocean-floor spreading," a
review of evidence for periodic upwelling of material along the world's major
oceanic ridges, and the successful application of a random injection model.
Within
the final minute of allotted time, the President thanked the speakers and
invited them to return at a later date for full discussion of their papers. He
then called attention to the need for volunteers to judge Science Fairs.
The
meeting adjourned sharply at 9:30 p.m.
Attendance:
103.
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
April 24,
1968
The
908th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
April 24, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with Vice President Charles S. Denny presiding.
The
Vice President explained the absence of the President and Secretaries, who were
attending an AAPG meeting in
John
Huddle gave an informal communication on the biologic species of conodonts. Discussed by Whitmore and Peggy Appleman.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of Rosalind A. Tuthill, USGS.
Bruce
Martin, Dept. Water Resources, State of
Even
on invitation by the Vice President, Pete Toulmin had no informal comments.
The
regular program followed:
Cornelia
C. Cameron, USGS, "Relation of commercial quality of peat to bedrock and
geologic structure," discussed by Toulmin, Roedder, Sato, and Martin.
Charles
Milton, George Washington University, "New carbonate minerals from East
Africa," discussed by Roedder, Hanshaw, Zen,
Toulmin, Robertson, Weeks, Jones, Sato, and Barton.
R.
S. Fiske and W. T. Kinoshita, USGS, "Deformation studies on Kilauea
Volcano prior to the eruption of November 1967," discussed by Davis, Cox,
Stewart, Barton, Toulmin, Roedder, Zen, and Robertson.
The
meeting adjourned at 9:4l p.m. Attendance: 90.
Meyer
Rubin
Acting
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
May 8, 1968
The
909th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, May
8, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.
One
visitor was introduced: Dr. Elizabeth Wood, formerly of Bell Telephone
Laboratories.
The
minutes of the 908th meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced dismally that the two missing minutes books were still
missing.
The
Secretary then read the proposed changes and additions to the Society's by laws
which shall be voted on at the May 22nd meeting. Wendell Woodring
questioned the appropriateness of voting on proposed amendments at a regular
meeting, but was assured by the Chair that such procedures were in order.
There
was a plethora of informal communications:
James
Clark informed the Society that the Geology Department of Duke University was
compiling a much-needed directory of geologic research underway in the
Blair
Jones, bringing
Johannesh
Schroeder, having carefully probed the composition of Echinoid skeletons showed
how certain anatomical parts became selectively enriched in magnesium, to form calcic dolomites rather than magnesium calcites. "Spines and teeth", Stroder revealed, contain less magnesium carbonate than the
Epiphysis.
The
regular program followed:
Lucien
B. Platt,
Raymond
C. Douglas, USGS, "Morphologic studies of fusilinids
from the Lower Permian of West Pakistan", which described a method of
determining species by cranking physical characteristics into a computer;
discussed by Kinney and Roedder.
Roedder, suspected of having geochemical tendencies, tried to provoke
paleontologist Douglas into reviving an old feud by admitting that although
geochemists were adept at black-box methods, the paleontologists were now
guilty of using the biggest, most costly box of all - the computer. Douglas
refused to take the bait.
P.
R. Vogt and E. D. Scheider, U. S. Naval Oceanographic
Office, "Discontinuities in the history-of sea floor spreading,” in which
sadness was expressed that contemporary researchers appear to ignore the
concepts of Wegener and other early proponents of
Continental Drift; discussed by Robertson, Bisque, and Benson.
The
meeting adjourned at 10:02 p.m.
Attendance
118.
William
L. Newman,
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
May 22, 1968
The
910th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium, May
22, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.
As
the meeting opened, Ebraham Shekarchi
reported that a vehicle was limiting egress from the Cosmos Club's parking lot.
One of the evening's speakers hastened to move his vehicle from an area
appropriately marked. "Reserved for Speakers".
One
visitor was introduced: Michael Loughridge [Lockbridge?] , U.S. Naval
Oceanographic Office.
The
minutes of the 909th meeting were read and approved, as corrected by
parliamentarian Wendell Woodring.
President
Miller called attention to a document that had been distributed to all members
present which listed the council-approved changes and additions to the
Society's By-Laws. A move to adopt the proposed changes and additions was
seconded and the subsequent voice vote was essentially yea - except that a
"Hack" broke the silence to register a single nay.
The
regular program followed:
Jules
D. Friedman, USGS, "Infrared surveys of the neovolcanic
median zone of Iceland", an illuminating view of the plumbing systems of Surtsey and her companion volcanoes as scanned by an
orbiting satellite; discussed by Toulmin (twice) and Roedder.
Harry
E. LeGrande, USGS, "Classification of hydrogeologic settings - a type", which described
similar "solution peneplains" that have
developed on dissimilar rocks, namely the chalk belt of Alabama-Mississippi and
the gabbro terrain of North Carolina; discussed by Warren.
Larry
H. Heflin, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, "Undermining
Washington - engineering geology for the transit system", a progress
report on Greater Washington's subway and a review of the rocks and structures
likely to be encountered and the constraints they impose; discussed by Reed, Withington, and Toulmin.
The
President thanked the speakers for the informative meeting which concluded the
Spring Series. Wishing all a happy
summer, he adjourned the meeting at 9:44 p.m.
Attendance:
70,
William
L. Newman,
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
October 9,
1968
The
911th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
October 9, 1968, at 8:00 p.m., with President Ralph Miller presiding.
The
President opened the first meeting of the Fall Series with a warm welcome and
hoped all had a profitable summer.
The
following visitors were introduced to the Society: Bill Carmen USGS, Marquette,
Michigan; Theodore K. Chamberlain, Univ. of Hawaii, and Ocean Science and
Engineering, Bethesda; Tony Erlank, Capetown, South Africa; and a contingent from the
Geological Survey's Publications Div; John Eric; Mel Haines; Pete Dilonardo; and Dick Kidwell. Noted at the meeting was Dale
Jackson of the USGS, Menlo Park, California office.
The
minutes of the 910th meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership in the Society of the following:
Julian W. Feiss, USGS; Theodore K. Chamberlain,
University of Hawaii and Ocean Science and Engineering; Richard P. Sheldon,
USGS; Michael S. Loughridge, U. S. Naval
Oceanographic Office.
The
President sadly announced that nearly 100 members had not paid their dues.
He
further announced the appointment of an Ad Hoc Committee, with E-an Zen
Chairman, which will spearhead the preparation of earth science project
descriptions for use by student scientists.
An
informal communication by Ellis Yochelson featured a
pictorial review of the beginning and tragic conclusion of the XXIII
International Geological Congress held in trouble-torn Prague, Czechoslovakia.
The
regular program followed:
Thomas
G. Gibson, USGS, -"Some tectonic aspects of the Atlantic Coastal Plane and
Shelf", a description of the various depositional environments that
affected sedimentation during the Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods; discussed by
the Chair.
Camilla
A. Scott, USGS, - "Geologic Maps and the Three Color Printing
Process", a lucid resumé of map printing
problems and - when the need for economy is pitted against the demand for
excellence - their imaginative solutions; discussed by Life enthusiast, the
other Bob Neuman.
Norman
Herz, USGS, - "Anorthosites,
continental drift and the origin of the earth-moon system," a provoking
discussion of the distribution patterns of massif-type anorthosite
belts coupled with age data that cluster around 1.3 billion years, all
suggesting an earth-shaking heat pulse; spiritedly discussed by Dale Jackson, Lanci Bengtz, Stan Hart, Don Lindsley (twice), Herb Shaw, an unknown gentleman on center
aisle - possibly a geochemist -, Ed Roedder, Marvin Lanphere,
Dave Stewart, and a serious question by Montis Klepper.
President
Miller thanked the speakers, announced the next meeting and adjourned at 9:50.
Attendances
201.
William
L. Newman
Sec'y
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
October 23,
1968
The
912th Meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
October 23, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.
The
following visitors were introduced: Lyle
W. Newman, Sandia Corporation, Albuquerque; Prof.
John Hansen, Univ. of Copenhagen; Leif Lorborg,
Danish Atomic Energy Commission Research Establishment Riso;
Abraham Vromen, Israel Mining Industries; Jack Gair, USGS, Marquette, Michigan.
The
minutes of the 911th meeting were read and approved.
A
Memorial to Carl H. Dane was presented by George Cohee.
The
President reminded the members that GSW is sponsoring the Geological Society of
America's Annual Meeting to be held in Washington, D.C., in 1971. Then, with a keen regard for the passage of
geologic time, he confided to those members young enough to be interested that
the Society would also sponsor the Annual Meeting of the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists in 1977.
The
President further announced that a special lecture by Prof. John J. Prucha, Chairman of the Dept. of Geology, Syracuse Univ.
and participant in AAPG's Distinguished Lecture
Series, would be held in the GSA Auditorium at 10:00 a.m. on November 21. The lecture, sponsored jointly by the Society
and George Washington University, is titled: "Sedimentary Rock Deformation
related to structure in the Basement."
Reviewing
the need for more write-ups of projects suitable for young earth-science
students to undertake, the President solicited the help of the Society. Any
ideas generated should be sent to E-an Zen.
The
regular program followed:
Irving
Breger, J. C. Chandler, and Peter Zubovic,
USGS: "Infrared study of structural H2O in Heulandite
and Clinoptilolite", which described a neat
method for determining the water content in tiny amounts of two minerals;
discussed by E-an Zen, Dan Appleman, Ed Roedder, Jack Van Dorr, and Moto Sato.
Peter
F. Bermel, USGS, "Antarctic mapping — dog teams
to satellites", a pictorial review of a topographer's way of life in the
south polar regions; discussed by the Chair and Philip Guild.
Richard
S. Fiske, USGS, "The 1967-68 eruption of Kilauea Volcano - first color
motion pictures", a dramatic documentary of the numerous phases of
eruption in Halemaumau Fire Pit; discussed by Ed
Roedder, Henry Warrens Frank Davis, and Dennis Cox.
The
President announced that the next meeting would be held on November 13.
The
meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Attendance
210.
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
November 13,
1968
The
913th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
November 13, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with Vice-president Charles Denny Presiding.
Vice
President Denny noted that the President and Secretaries had taken the occasion
of the GSA's Annual Meeting in Mexico City to vacation south of the border.
Distinguished
visitor Herbert Hawkes was recognized by the Chair.
The minutes of the 912th meeting were read and approved as corrected by Walt Ketterer.
The
Acting Secretary announced the election to membership in the Society of the
following: Herbert W. Blodget, National Aeronautics
and Space Admin.; Vernon J. Henry, National Science Foundation and Univ. of
Ga.; William F. Cannon, USGS; Jacob E. Gair, USGS;
Judith Ann Boreman, USGS; R. Philip Benson, Silver
Spring, Md.; William L. Emerick, USGS; Robert B.
Fraser, USGS; John G. Vedder, USGS.
And
still another plea was made for the return of the two missing books of the
Society's minutes.
The
Vice-President announced the death of John P. Creel.
The
Nominating Committee's slate of Society officers for 1969 was announced as
follows:
For
President Montis R. Klepper
For First V.P. Frank
C. Whitmore, Jr.
For Second V.P. Francis
R. Boyd, Jr.
For Secretary (meetings) William
D. Carter
For Secretary (council) William
L. Newman
For Treasurer Wilna B. Wright
For Counselors Wendell
Cochran
Douglas
W. Rankin
James
B. Rucker
For
representative to Washington Academy of Sciences: Ralph L. Miller
The
Vice-President reminded the members that an AAPG Distinguished Lecture by John
J. Prucha would be held in the Auditorium at 10:00
a.m., on November 21.
The
regular program followed:
Julian
Feiss, Department of the Interior: "Utilization
of geothermal power in Japan;" a pictorial tour of Japan's rapidly growing
geothermal power industry; discussed by Tom Thayer, Charles Hunt, Bob Weeks,
Harold Kirkemo, and Don Peterson.
Frank
E, Senftle, USGS: "Use of Californium for
mineral exploration by in situ neutron activation," a compact neutron
source currently wholesaling at $450 billion per gram; discussed by Pete
Toulmin (twice), Dennis Cox, Charles Warren, The Chair, Doug Kinney, Dick
Sheldon (twice), and Julian Feiss.
Gilbert
Corwin, USGS: “Sea Floor spreading: review, critique and a suggestion",
climaxed with a graphical moving exhibit -live and in color; discussed by Gene
Robertson, Tom Thayer (4 minutes), and E-an Zen.
The
Vice President announced that the next meeting followed by the Annual Meeting
would be held December 11.
The
meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. Attendance: 81
William
C. Prinz
2nd
Substitute Acting Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
December 11,
1968
The
914th meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell Auditorium,
December 11, 1968, at 8:00 p.m. with President Ralph Miller presiding.
President
Miller extended a general welcome to the numerous ladies in the audience, who
represented a significant proportion of the distaff side of the membership.
One
visitor was introduced: David Herrick of Penn State.
The
minutes of the 913th meeting were read and approved.
The
Secretary announced the election to membership of the following: Rodney J.
Caruso, U.S. Army, Ft. Myer, Virginia; Zolpkly
[previous name was illegible] Whiteman, Washington, D.C.; William H. Pinson,
Goddard Space Flight Center; Richard B. Loring,
George Washington University; Herbert E. Hawkes, Jr.,
Washington, D.C.; John D. Gassaway, Naval Research Laboratory.
The
President noted that Dr. John J. Prucha, AAPG
Distinguished Lecturer did present a paper titled "Sedimentary Rock
Deformation Related to Structure in the Basement" at 10:00 A.M. on
November 21, 1968, in the GSA auditorium.
The
Chair announced that the Earth Science project write-ups were completed and the
package transmitted to the Washington Joint Board of Education for inclusion in
their forthcoming publication.
The
Chair further announced that plans for preparing a geologic guide to the
Greater Washington area were underway with John C. Reed, Jr., in charge.
The
President turned the Chair over to Vice-President Charles Denny who introduced
the speaker of the evening by noting that President Miller's birthplace was
near Bethlehem. While the audience pondered the ramifications of that
disclosure, President Miller delivered his Presidential address titled:
"The Cumberland Overthrust Block, 1968".
Attendance:
169 The meeting adjourned at 9:01 pm
William
L. Newman
Secretary
GEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SECRETARY'S REPORT
76th Annual
Meeting
December 11, 1968
The
76th Annual Meeting of the Society was held in the John Wesley Powell
Auditorium, Wednesday evening, December 11, 1968, at 9:25 p.m., with President
Ralph Miller presiding.
The
Minutes of the 75th Annual Meeting were read by Meetings Secretary Bill Newman.
The
Annual Report of the Secretaries was read by Council Secretary Bill Oliver.
The
Treasurer's Report as of December 11, 1968 was presented by Treasurer Wilna Wright. Total receipts from all sources plus $358.34
cash balance, $4,071.34; total expenditures were $3,670.37; the net cash
balance as of December 11, 1968, is $400.97. The Endowment Fund stands at
$2,790.65, giving total net assets at the year's end of $3,191.62. The net
increase in assets over 1967 is $173.30.
The
Auditing Committee's report was presented by Robert Weeks, Chairman. The
Treasurer's books were found to be in excellent shape with individual items of
income and expenditures correctly summarized and all monies where they
belonged. The Committee commended the Treasurer "on the condition and
order of all pertinent materials."
The
Report of the Finance Committee was presented by Chairman Priestly Toulmin. The
wide-ranging interests of the Committee were reflected in Toulmin's
customary rambling report. First, he spoke glibly about the delights of the
Society's Insurance Program, imparting the news that a dependent child -if in
school - may be covered under the Family Plan until age 25. Then he darkly warned that inflation of
medical costs would no doubt cause a rise in premium rates. He also noted
increases in Society expenditures, notably the higher cost of printing, addressing
and mailing services and mounting rental charges by the Cosmos Club. To
conserve the Society's fiscal resources, he recommended, among other things,
the elimination of May meetings, and the use of keg beer instead of canned
beer. He was pleased to note that the recent increase in dues produced only a
small spurt of resignations. Toulmin then paid tribute to Carle Dane, whose
knowledge and experience are sorely missed by the Committee.
The
Public Service Committee's report was presented by Chairman Wendell Cochrane.
Cochrane reviewed the Society's involvement in Earth Science education
throughout the Greater Washington area and noted that GSW members were serving
as judges of earth science projects In science fairs; that several members were
assisting in science course work in the public schools and in certain colleges;
and that GSW is cooperating with the Joint Board on Science Education by active
participation and by direct financial aid.
The
Awards Committee Report was presented by Chairman Josh Tracey, supported by Ed
Roedder and Bill Joyner. First prize for the best paper of the year, consisting
of a silver bowl, with the names of past and present winners engraved upon it -
plus a $25 check - was given to Dick Fiske for his dramatic documentary of
"The 1967-68 eruption of Kilauea Volcano - first color motion
pictures." Second prize of $10 went to Doug Rankin for "Magmatic activity and orogeny in
the Southern Blue Ridge."
The
requirements for the Great Dane award, presented for the "best informal
communication of the year, were stretched to the utmost when the award went to
Bill Newman, the Meetings Secretary, who appeared to excel in not presenting
informal communications. Chairman Tracey did say some kind words about the
quality of the minutes, however.
President
Miller then called upon the Chairman of the Sleeping Bear award for his
presentation. The call, however, yielded Bruce Hanshaw
- a real sleeper! Mumbling nonsense, Hanshaw struck G flat on the piano and the real Sleeping
Bear staggered out from his hastily constructed pallette
of twigs and leaves at the rear of the stage. Mounting the stage in full bed
gear, aptly colored in washed-out puce, the Bruin shouted, "Quality must
be restored to this award!"
Then,
admitting that the year was sadly deficient in spontaneous humor, he nailed Herz for his cryptic remark: "One point (meaning 1.3
billion years ago) is a lot of data."
Zietz,
customarily a runner-up for assorted prizes, was singled out for his annual
"promise to keep it short!" and his admission that he "had lots
of data on slides that can't be shown."
Then
running out of names ending in Z, Bruin clawed on Thayer who had put the
"squeeze on an unknown stratiform complex at
unknown temperatures and pressures"; then he pounced on Reed who, feeling
short-sheeted, complained that the area he was asked to discuss was only
"half as vast" as Izzy's.
At
this moment Bruin was presented a pair of Bear Paws that grasped a flask of
sipping whiskey. "Another good
thing from the Bear Paws," he observed slyly; then glanced around the hall
to see if HE was listening.
The
Vince McKelvey-Bill Johnston Poste and Riposte over
Phil Guild's metallotects was reexposed
for consideration. McKelvey's charge that the concept
was not based on any known scientific method but was instead, the result of
excessive generalization, drew from Johnston his complete astonishment that
McKelvey - of all people - should object to excessive generalizations. But both
candidates for the award were rejected on the grounds that they both meant what
they said. "The Committee was seeking
the, 'guileless' comments," said Bruin.
Suddenly
breaking precedent by attacking the President, Bruin noted the Chair's penchant
for proving he was completely unfamiliar with the various speakers'
professional affiliations. Also noted was the Chair's clear announcement that
the next meeting would be held on the second February in Wednesday!
Bruin
then removed his headgear to expose the leering face of Dave Stewart, the
Society's perennial candidate for the Sleeping Bear Award, and the full impact
of magnificent irony was felt throughout the hall. The President, tossing his
own hat in the ring as a serious contender, had eliminated his closest rival
for the award "by appointing him Chairman of the Committee, thus forcing
him to present the cup to he who did the appointing. Handing President Miller
the cup, Steward" muttered, "Anyway, I got to hold it briefly!"
The
annual election of officers and councilors followed. The official slate was
presented; it was moved and seconded that nominations be closed, and the
officers and councilors were elected by acclamation.
The
Chair thanked the Communications Committee for a highly successful year and
singled out Dennis Cox for kudos.
Then
he passed out more of the same to the various councilors whom he identified by
name.
The
new officers were introduced by the President and a transfer of gavels was
made.
There
was a rough reading of the rough minutes.
The
meeting adjourned at 10:35 p.m. Attendance: 168.
William
L. Newman
Secretary