25 - 29 August 2008

All JSC classes are canceled on Monday, 25 Aug 2008 between 10:30 and 1:00 p.m. for Opening Convocation. The first full meeting of this class will be on Wednesday, 27 Aug 2008.

On Wednesday, September 3^rd, JSC will be offering a Large Van Driver Training class. The class will meet at 9:00 a.m. in the Multi-Media Room (LLC). Register for this class by contacting Susan Rothschild (phone 635-1208) by the end of the day Wednesday, 27 Aug 2008. If you plan to take this course, then you must pre-register for this class. We will need drivers for the field geology course.

Compute the values of the magnetic field in any area using the NOAA site.

Excerpts from the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1982):

• Accuracy: in exact conformity with a standard or with the truth.
• Precision: degree of refinement in measurement; definite; exact.

Assignment (due 27 Aug 08): List ten significant features that must be included on a topographic map. Include an appropriate title, typed name and date.
end of assignment

Assignment (due 1 Sep 08): Describe the methodology required to develop a topographic map of the region surrounding Lower Pond on the campus of JSC. The only equipment that may be used for this project is a clinometer-compass, a stick, and maybe a straw. A poster board will be supplied for your final map. This is to be a paper co-authored with your partner, typed, and presented in professional form.
end of assignment

Consider purchasing an all-weather 'Rite in the Rain' pen. Order other geological field supplies can be purchased from Miners, Inc.

The first activity is to develop a topographic map of Lower Pond on the campus of JSC. Our initial discussions indicated that a good topographic map should have the following features:   

Learn about UTM grids at the USGS site or at a site maintained by John Carnes. Convert UTM to latitude and longitude, or vice versa, at the The National Geodetic Survey Information Services Branch of NOAA, or try an applet written by C. Mummery.

Get information about topographic map symbols from the USGS site.

Assignment (due 8 Sep 08): First draft of topographic map.

Assignment (due 15 Sep 08): Final draft of topographic map.

General comments about the first assignment (ten significant features that must be included on a topographic map):

• Avoid use of the slash.
• Use either a period or a parenthesis when numbering (but not both).
• Do not start a sentence with a number (unless it is written out fully).
• Use hyphens (-) and long dashes (–) appropriately (and not as bullets).
• Title should be informative.
• List was not intended to be instructions on how to read a topographic map.
• Cite references using a proper format.

Friday's session was devoted to the deliniation of the boundaries for the topographic map activitiy, introduced the concept of pace, use of the compass, and developed an initial plan to map Lower Pond.

1 - 5 September 2008

In-class assignment (Monday): Map scale activity.

Discussed the approach (methodology) to making maps, reviewed trigonemetry, and was exposed to the '=radians(x)' function in Excel for work with angles.

Assignment (due 5 Sep 08): Countour line activity (the same assignment that was started during class).

8 - 12 September 2008

Homework returned and discussed; first draft of maps reviewed; first use of GPS and UTM coordinates.

Click here for a paper related to the NYGSA field trip: McLelland, et al., 2004. Direct dating of Adirondack massif anorthosite by U-Pb SHRIMP analysis of igneous zircon: implications for AMCG complexes. The Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 116, p. 1299.

Assignment (due 17 Sep 08): Read the paper by McLelland et al. (2004) and type three questions related to the content of the paper for which you would like additional information.

In-class quiz given on Wednesday.

15 - 19 September 2008

Tues: Introduced the concept of stereonets and the projection of three-dimensional data.

Wed: Reviewed metamorphic rocks.

Fri: Field work at French Hill.

22 - 26 September 2008

SHRIMP and TIMS

Papers related to the NYGSA trip:

• Friday – McLelland: Anorthosites and related rocks.
• Saturday – Crespi and Underwood: Transpressional deformation in Taconic slates and its relation to basement architecture. See the following papers:
  1. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2006AM/finalprogram/abstract_110672.htm
  2. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2006NE/finalprogram/abstract_100085.htm
  3. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/abstract_118024.htm
  4. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005NE/finalprogram/abstract_82980.htm
  5. http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007AM/finalprogram/abstract_128569.htm
  6. http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0738979
     
• Sunday – Peck and Bailey: Origin of the Lewis Wollastonite deposit.
• NYGSA schedule of events.
• NYGSA 2008 home page.
• Weather report for Lake George, NY

29 September - 2 October 2008

News about old greenstones.

Assignment (due 20 Oct 08; note extended deadline): Critique the topographic map activity.

This week was a pre-break sick week; sorry.

6 - 10 October 2008

Fall break – be careful and have fun.

13 - 17 October 2008

Assignment (due 20 Oct 08; note extended deadline): Critique the topographic map activity.

We will start off the week with stereonets; plan to work in the field on Friday.

The Vermont Geological Society is having our Fall Field Trip on 25 Oct 08 – let's plan on going.

Assignment (due 15 Oct 08): Complete the stereonet questions as described in class today (Questions 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8; starting on page 102).

Assignment (due 17 Oct 08): Answer Question 3 from the in-class mapping activity.

Scheme for recording orientation data:

• For planar features use strike: 0-180º and dip 0-90º; dip direction
  Example for a planar measurment: 125/45NE
• For linear features use bearing: 0-360º and plunge: 0-90º (always plunges in the direction of the bearing)
  Example for linear features: 125/45

  Note that strike and bearing are three-digit numbers; dip and plunge are two-digit numbers.

  Equivalencies for a bearing/plunge: 125/45 is the same as S55ºE/45; the homework states 45/S55ºE L

Assignment (due 20 Oct 08): Answer all questions from the in-class mapping activity. Type complete answers where appropriate, write-out the equations, draw the appropriate triangles, completely label all figures, and show all work.

20 - 24 October 2008

Assignment (due 27 Oct 08): Answer the map questions related to the Land of Oz mapping assignment (the map is not online).

Cross-sections

The location and length of a cross-section must be clearly located on the map. A cross-section without vertical exaggeration (VE) depicts realistic topography and realistic geology (most likely, the apparent dip of the structure). No VE means that the horizontal scale is equal to the vertical scale. Use the horizontal scale (bar scale or ratio scale) as a basis for determining the vertical scale. Graph paper will help...

 

Wednesday: Reviewed of 20 Oct 08 homework and administered Quiz 2.

Friday: Fieldwork at French Hill; meet in B102 at 8:55 a.m.

Saturday: Fieldwork associated with the Vermont Geological Society; meet in the Bentley Parking Lot at 8:00 a.m.; we will return about 6:00 p.m.

27 - 31 October 2008

Assignment (due 31 Oct 08): Answer all questions regarding stereonet use.

Monday: review Quiz 2, discuss stereonet assignment (above), and build structure models.

Wednesday: make thin sections, use the Michel Levy chart, and use the petrographic microscope or look here – please meet in the rock lab.

Assignment (due 7 Nov 08): Have one thin section ground down and polished to 30 microns (m). Submit the thin section by 3:00 on Friday afternoon.

Friday: fieldwork on French Hill – please meet in the rock lab. If the ground is still covered in snow, then we will work in the rock lab and in Bentley 102.

Click here to use a strike and dip modeling tool.

2 - 7 November 2008

Monday and Wednesday: Work in rock lab.

Friday: fieldwork on French Hill – please meet in the rock lab.

10 - 14 November 2008

Monday: parasitic folds, rock fabrics, ductile features, and brittle features.

Wednesday: use of the petrographic microscope – please meet in the rock lab. See an index of minerals in thin section. You may also explore the largest mineral database and mineralogical reference website on the Internet; go directly to epidote or actinolite.

Friday: fieldwork on French Hill – please meet in the rock lab (and bring rain gear).

Assignment (due 21 Nov 08): Have two additional thin sections ground down and polished to 30 microns (m). Submit the thin sections by 9:00 a.m. on Friday. A total of three thin sections, of different rocks from the French Hill mapping area are required for this course.

17 - 21 November 2008

Assignment (Final draft due on Wednesday, 10 Dec 08, at the start of class):

Use the following rubric for the final draft of the manuscript. The manuscript should represent a compilation of the field, classroom, and laboratory work conducted in relation to the French Hill Greenstone mapping project.

Some issues to consider when writing:

• First and foremost: separate observations from interpretations.
• Use the referencing guidelines for figures, ideas gleaned from others, direct quotes from others, and reference style for the citation list.
• Consider creating subheadings in the paper to help organize your thoughts. At this time you may have subheadings without subsequent text, however, it will remind you of where you need to focus your energy. Furthermore, as thoughts arise in the content area of the subheading, you have a place to write them down. Organize your paper.
• The following definitions of thesis statements and abstracts come from the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (1979):
  • Thesis: A proposition laid down or stated, esp. as a theme to be discussed and proved, or to be maintained against attack.
  • Abstract: A smaller quantity containing the virtue of the power of the greater. A summary or epitome of a statement or document. To make an abstract of; to summarize, epitomize; to abridge.
  • Epitome: A brief statement of the chief points in a literary work. A summary or a condensed account of anything; a compendium of a subject.
• Define an acronym before first use. For example, although not necessarily a true statement: The French Hill Greenstone (FHG) occurs as patchy lenses within the Hazen's Notch, Fayston, and Ottauqueche Formations in Johnson, VT. The FHG is commonly phyllitic in texture, green in color, and contains chlorite, muscovite, epidote, actinolite, and quartz (Figure 1).
• Use the International System (SI) of units (meters) not standard units (feet). SI units are expected in scientific papers.
• Be quantitative.
• Please underline sample numbers to help distinguish them from location numbers.
• Refer the reader to the appropriate figure at the appropriate time in the text. 
• Use page numbers.

Click here for a scanned image of field slips B3, B4, C3, and C4.

Relevant papers:

Coish, R. A., 1997. Rift and ocean floor volcanism from the late Proterozoic and early Paleozoic of the Vermont Appalachians. Geological Society of America Memoir 191:129-145.

Coish, R. A., F.S. Fleming, M. Larsen, R. Poyner, and J. Seibert, 1985. Early rift history of the proto-Atlantic ocean: Geochemical evidence from metavolcanic rocks in Vermont. American Journal of Science 285:351-378.

Coish, R. A., D. A. Perry, C. D. Anderson, and D. Bailey, 1986. Metavolcanic rocks from the Stowe Formation, Vermont: Remnants of ridge and intraplate volcanism in the Iapetus ocean. American Journal of Science 286:1-28.

Doolan , B., 1996. The Geology of Vermont. Rocks and Minerals 71:218-225.

Kim, J., R. A. Coish, M. Evans, and G. Dick, 2003. Supra-subduction zone extensional magmatism in Vermont and adjacent Quebec: Implications for early Paleozoic Appalachian tectonics. Geological Society of America Bulletin 115(12):1552-1569.

Stanley, R. S. and N. M. Ratcliffe, 1985. Tectonic synthesis of the Taconian orogeny in western New England. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96:1227-1250.

Thompson P. J. and T. B. Thompson, 2003. The Prospect Rock thrust: Western limit of the Taconian accretionary prism in the northern Green Mountain anticlinorium, Vermont. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 40:269-284.

23 - 28 November 2008

Thanksgiving Break.

1 - 5 December 2008

Monday: reviewed quiz and described polarized light.

Wednesday and Friday: meet in rock lab to work with thin sections.

A link to Allmendinger's stereonet program.

The VT Geological Map has been placed in folder: U:\GEY3120F08\VTgeologicalMap\ – see file vt_left.jpg (and others).

Photomicrographs have been placed in folder: U:\GEY3120F08\.

8 - 12 December 2008

Last week of class:

• Return compasses and hand lenses when submitting FHG report (Wednesday).
• Scree running video...
• Why study field and structural geology?
• Note change in required appendices (in grading rubric).