INHIGEO Symposium: `Geological Travellers`

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Conference Reports
INHIGEO Symposium: ‘Geological
Travellers’
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, July 14–18, 2003
The 28th International Symposium and
Meeting of the International Commission on
the History of Geology was held in Dublin
from 14 to 18 July 2003. Fittingly, the venue
was the Geological Museum and Department
of Geology at Trinity College. The College,
founded in 1592, has numerous distinguished
graduates, including many in earth sciences
and history. The museum, a grand Victorian
building with Venetian overtones, has made
extensive use of a wide range of building
stones from Ireland and Britain, particularly
in its breathtaking interior where Connemara
Marble abounds. Standing guard on either
side of the entrance are the skeletons of the
Giant Irish deer. The holding of the symposium at Trinity College was not a random
choice, for it was organised, virtually singlehanded, by Dr Patrick Wyse Jackson of the
Department of Geology. Availing themselves of the opportunity to attend the symposium were 49 delegates, from 17 countries,
and a further 19 accompanying members.
Most delegates presented papers, ensuring
that it was a close-knit as well as friendly
meeting. Many of the participants also took
advantage of a post-symposium field trip that
toured much of Ireland except the southwest.
The symposium commenced with welcoming addresses from Professor Manuel S.
Pinto, President of INHIGEO, and Dr Patrick
N. Wyse Jackson of Department of Geology
at Trinity College. Delegates were then
addressed by Dr Werner R. Janoschek of the
Austrian Geological Survey and SecretaryGeneral of the International Union of Geological Sciences, who spoke about the structure and workings of the Union and INHIGEO's relationship to that body. The papers
that followed were wide ranging, of a high
standard and were loosely grouped into geographical regions. The conference papers,
which will be published in a special volume
edited by Patrick Wyse Jackson, are listed
below:
Sandra Herbert, Charles Darwin as a Geological Traveller
Paul Pearson and Christopher Nicholas,
Charles Darwin’s Geological Observations at Santiago (St. Jago), Cape Verde
Islands
Michiko Yajima, Franz Hilgendorf
(1839–1904) Lectured on Evolution in
Tokyo around 1873
Philippe Taquet, On Camelback: René
Chudeau, Conrad Kilian, Albert Félix de
Lapparent, and Théodore Monod: Four
French Geological Travellers across the
Sahara
Ursula Marvin, Théodore Monod (1902–
2000), and his Investigations of the Fer de
Dieu Meteorite of Chiguetti, Mauritania
Tony Orme, Clarence Dutton: Soldier, Polymath, and Aesthete
David Spalding, Two Tyrrells Cross the Barren Lands of Canada, 1893
K. S. Murty, Pioneering Geological Contributions by Travellers in Pre-Geological
Survey of India Times
Patrick Wyse-Jackson, Professionals in
India: The Lives and Friendship of
Charles Aemilius Oldham (1831–1869),
Geologist, and Thomas Hardinge Going
(1827–1875), Railway Engineer
Ellen Drake, Geological Observations made
by Robert Hooke (1635–1703) on the Isle
of Wight
John Fuller, Unpublished Geological Observations by John Strachey F.R.S. (1671–
1743)
Manuel Pinto, The German Geologist Georg
Hartung and the Geology of the Azores
and Madeira Islands
Leonard Wilson, The Geological Travels of
Sir Charles Lyell in Madeira and the
Canary Islands, 1853–54
Ken Taylor, Geological Travellers in
Auvergne, 1751–1800
Claudia Principe, Teodoro Monticelli and its
Foreign Visitors on the Occasion of the
Eruption of Vesuvius in 1822
Dennis Dean, J. D. Forbes in Naples, 1830’
Gregory Good, ‘Geophysical Travellers: The
Magneticians of the Carnegie Institution
of Washington
David Oldroyd, In the Footsteps of Thomas
Livingsone Mitchell (1792–1855): Soldier, Surveyor, Explorer, Geologist, and
the First Person to Compile Geological
Maps in Australia
Ezio Vaccari, The Organized Traveller, Scientific Instructions for Geological Travels
(18th–19th Centuries)
Sally Newcomb, The Alps as a Laboratory
Joe Burchfield, Tyndall in the Alps: Geological Travels of a Victorian Physicist
Christopher Nicholas and Paul Pearson,
Robert Jameson on the Isle of Arran,
1797–1799: In Search of Hutton’s “Theory of the Earth”
Martina Kölbl-Ebert, “Agreeable Dinner, No
Fleas”—The Geological Travels of
Charles Lyell, Charlotte Murchison, and
Roderick I. Murchison in France (1828)
Efgenji Milanovsky, Hermann Abich—The
Father of Caucasian Geology—and his
Travels in the Caucasian and Armenian
Highlands
Claudia Schweizer, Geological Travellers in
the Early 19th Century: Johann Wolfgang
Goethe and Caspar Maria Count Sternberg
Friedrich Naumann, Alexander von Humboldt in Russia—The 1829 Expedition
Cynthia Burek and Martina Kölbl-Ebert, The
Age-Old Problems of Travel for Women
Undertaking Fieldwork
Silvia Figueirôa, Investigating the Colonies:
Local Geological Travellers within the
Portuguese Empire in the Transition of
18th-19th Centuries
Marianne Klemun, Inscription and Fact:
18th-Century Mineralogical Books Based
on Travels in the Habsburg Region
Robert Silliman, Naturalists from Neuchâtel:
America and the Dispersal of Agassiz’s
Scientific Factory
Richard Gentile, Upper Carboniferous
Crinoids—An Extrordinary Collection by
the Late 19th-Century Amateur Paleontologists, Kansas City, Missouri
Wolf Mayer, The Quest for Limestone in
colonial New South Wales—1788–1825
Mike Johnston, 19th-Century Observations
of the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt, Nelson, New Zealand and Trans-Tasman Correlations
Chris Amstutz, Early Geological Travellers
and their Influence on Theories of Ore
Genesis
The papers were interspersed with other
activities including, on the first day, a visit to
the Book of Kells and the Longroom of the
Old Library, which houses some 20,000 of
Trinity College’s oldest books. Following
David Oldroyd’s keynote address on the second day of papers, delegates attended a civic
reception hosted by the Deputy Lord Mayor
of Dublin in City Hall, another elegant
Dublin building. On the third day delegates
on a mild sunny morning boarded a commuter train at a nearby ‘DART’ railway station and travelled down the coast to Killiney.
Despite prior adverse comments about the
Irish railways, the train trip was both efficient and enjoyable. For rugby football fans,
there was the added bonus of passing the hallowed ground of Lansdowne Road Park.
Killiney has an excellent exposure of
the intrusive contact between Leinster Granite, of Silurian age, and dark Ordovician sedimentary rocks, the latter now metamorphosed to andalusite schist. Also fronting the
beach are high cliffs exposing a complex
sequence of till, deposited by ice that
advanced south through the area of what is
now the Irish Sea, incorporating marine
shells plucked from pre-glacial seabeds. For
the engineering geologist the beach provided
excellent exposures of land sliding, resulting
from undercutting of the till by the sea.
Killiney is also of importance to historians of
geology for it was here that engineer and pioneer seismologist Robert Mallet (1810–
1881) utilised the long straight length of
June 2004
129
beach sand to undertake experimental work.
After returning to Dublin, delegates paid
homage to a number of prominent Irish scientists interred at the Mt Jerome Cemetery.
The numerous monuments also provided fine
examples of Irish building stones. Delegates
overwhelmed by the occasion were able to
retire to a nearby pub.
On the penultimate day of the symposium, the 28th Meeting of INHIGEO took
place and the constitutionally most important
decision was to expand the Commission. The
number of members from each country is
limited to eleven, although for many small
countries this has not been an issue as they
never had, nor are likely to have, a full complement of members. On the other hand, populous countries like the United States and
some European nations have their full quota.
The changes, more fully explained by Professor Oldroyd in his Secretary-General’s
report, will allow an expansion of the membership by addition of younger Members and
consequently the role of the commission to
be more fully implemented.
Another matter discussed was how the
commission could initiate the documentation
of the history of geology in Africa. This is a
huge undertaking and is beyond the capabilities of any one individual. Perhaps the first
step is to undertake an inventory of what historical records are available for each African
country. Because of colonial rule and the fact
that much exploration was undertaken by
nationals other than those of the ruling colonial powers, this documentation is widely
distributed. The symposium concluded with
a traditional meal, accompanied by Irish folk
music, in a pub in the Dublin Mountains.
The symposium was followed by an
eight-day field trip, led by Patrick Wyse
Jackson, anti-clockwise around Ireland. It
proved to be a fascinating mixture of archaeology, history, geology, and culture. The first
day was devoted to driving north to Portrush
on the Antrim coast where the doleritic
Portrush Sill intrudes ammonite-bearing Jurassic mudstone. The apparent gradation of
the hornfelsed mudstone into igneous rock
led the Reverend William Richardson in the
late eighteenth century to promote the Neptunist cause that basalts were deposited from
the ocean, as it appeared that basalts could
contain ammonites. As an interlude on the
trip north the Knowth Neolithic Site overlooking the River Boyne was examined.
Next day, participants were able to
clamber over the classic columnar jointing in
basalt of the Giant’s Causeway, partake of
refreshments at the equally famous Bushmills Distillery (and sample its products),
and visit the lesser known Downhill House
and Mussenden Temple. While the house is
derelict, the nearby library building perched
on the edge of the basalt cliffs, near the
entrance to Loch Foyle, gave some indication of its former glory.
Day Three saw field trip participants
heading west to the walled city of Derry,
with a stopover at St Columb's Cathedral,
Episodes, Vol. 27, no. 2
before traversing the Caledonian granite
country of Donegal. Lunch was taken in the
impressive, ice-moulded saddle of the Barnsmore Gap. The afternoon was spent north of
Sligo examining coastal outcrops of Carboniferous Limestone with its beautifully
and delicately preserved crinoids, corals,
bryozoa and brachiopods. Before proceeding
to Sligo the day was capped by paying
homage to poet William B. Yeats’ (18651939) grave in Drumcliff Churchyard with
its nearby round tower and Celtic crosses.
Day Four involved a return to Northern
Island, when we headed through the Dartry
Mountains towards the centre of Ireland to
visit the restored Florence Court House, the
former country seat of the Earls of
Enniskillen. It was at Florence House that the
Third Earl, Lord Cole (1807–1886), amassed
a huge collection of fossil fishes. While the
fishes are no longer there, having been purchased by the British Museum, the Earl’s
extensive library, containing many geological works, remains. On heading south to Galway a detour was made to Cregg Castle.
While the castle has little architectural merit,
it is important in that it was the home of geologist and chemist Richard Kirwan (17331812) who is regarded by many as the finest
scientist in eighteenth-century Ireland. At the
rear of the castle are the remains of what was,
for the time, probably the best-equipped
chemistry laboratory in the British Isles, but
now no more than a smelly shed housing
farm animals and rubbish. Participants were
also made aware that two Irish words, esker
and drumlin, have entered into scientific literature and outstanding drumlin swarms
were readily visible in the vicinity of Galway
and elsewhere.
After leaving Galway, much of the following day was devoted to the karst topography of the mountains of the Burren. The
stripping of the soil by Pleistocene ice has
spectacularly highlighted the bedding in Carboniferous Limestone. The bleakness of the
weather only served to enhance the topography. In the afternoon, participants were generously entertained by Gordon Herries
Davies and Jean Archer at their fine home,
with its splendid library, near Nenagh, before
travelling on to Cashel.
The next day, after visiting the archaeologically important Rock of Cashel and
crossing the rhododendron covered Silurian
and Carboniferous rocks of the Knockwealdon Mountains, we were joined by Gordon
Herries Davies, who introduced us to the
work of the great nineteenth-century Irish
geologist Joseph Beete Jukes. Jukes, on the
staff of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, devoted much time to trying to understand the geomorphology of southeastern
Ireland. He had been intrigued why rivers,
such as the Blackwater, flow across the eastwest grain of the country, through a series of
small gorges, rather than taking a more direct
course to the sea. Jukes would have been
impressed with the discussion provoked
amongst participants, first in the bus and then
a pub sheltering from the rain, where some
doubts were expressed about the details of
the Jukes explanation of the phenomena,
though there was no argument at all about the
splendour of Gordon's historical exposition.
The last two full days of the trip were
spent on the Hook Peninsula examining
selected parts of an almost continuous section of Devonian to Carboniferous rocks,
including Carboniferous limestones in the
shadow of Slade Castle and Hook Lighthouse and sandstone at Duncannon Fort. The
last rocks to be inspected were Cambrian
granites at the fishing village of Kilmore. The
excursion concluded next day with a direct
return to Dublin.
Supplementing the field-trip commentary, and a comprehensive field-guide prepared by Patrick Wyse Jackson, was Tony
Orme who had worked in Ireland for many
years before taking up a professorship at the
Department of Geography, University of
California, Los Angeles. He provided much
fascinating detail of the glacial geology and
the human history of Ireland. Complementing the commentaries were the pertinent
observations of Geoffrey Larminie, a Trinity
College graduate and former Director of the
British Geological Survey. The field trip provided a memorable introduction to Ireland’s
fascinating geology, landscape, and people.
Although the island lived up to its reputation
of the ‘emerald isle’, the weather was generally good, with only one afternoon on the
excursion lost to the weather, and rain during
the symposium conveniently fell while
papers were being presented.
In conclusion, it was a well organised,
most instructive, symposium that offered
much information on the history of Ireland
and its early scientists, the way the country’s
geological resources have been utilised, and
the impact that its geologists have had
throughout the world. Those attending are
greatly indebted to Patrick Wyse Jackson. He
is editing the papers, which will be published
by Pober Publishing House, New York, later
in 2004 or early 2005.
Dr Michael Johnston
395 Trafaglar Street
Nelson
NEW ZEALAND
mike.johnston@extra.co.nz
130
9th International Symposium on the
Ordovician System, 7th International
Graptolite Conference & Field Meeting
of the International Subcommission on
Silurian Stratigraphy
San Juan, Argentina, August 18–21, 2003
The “9th International Symposium on the
Ordovician System, 7th International Graptolite Conference & Field Meeting of the
International Subcommission on Silurian
Stratigraphy” commenced on August 12,
2003, by receiving in San Juan City to all
participants of the pre-symposia field trip
through the Precordillera of Mendoza and
San Juan provinces, western Argentina. On
August 13, the field trip began with the purpose to show significant Lower Paleozoic
outcrops from diverse settings of the Precordillera geological province. This fivedays excursion was led by Drs. S. H. Peralta,
G. Ortega, S. Heredia, F. Cañas, G. L.
Albanesi, M. S. Beresi and M. Carrera (from
diverse universities and research centers of
Argentina), who introduced and explained
different aspects of Ordovician and Silurian
geology and paleontology of the basin.
On the first day, the attendance was driven to the Province of Mendoza to visit the
San Isidro locality, at the foothill of the Precordillera, where the Middle-Upper Ordovician Empozada Formation is exposed. Interesting discussions on the deep-water facies,
either black shales or intervals including
olistostromes and olistoliths, were held for
further interpretations on sequence stratigraphy. Besides, new paleontological records,
particularly dealing with graptolite and conodont zones, were presented.
Second day was devoted to field discussions on the stratigraphy, sedimentology, and
paleontology of the Don Braulio section,
located in Villicum Range of Eastern Precordillera. In particular, huge olistoliths of
the Silurian Rinconada Formation were
shown, as well as a detailed description of
the glacial Hirnantian interval, and the particular black shales and conglomerate facies
of the Middle Ordovician units.
The Cerro La Chilca was visited on the
third day. After a cross country trip to the
main Ordovician and Silurian outcrops by
means of 4 by 4 vehicles, the participants
were introduced to the particular sedimentary environments of this Central Precordillera section, which shows Lower-Middle Ordovician limestones, Upper Ordovician black shales and typical glacial deposits,
and the varied platform siliciclastic facies of
Silurian formations.
The fourth day included two stops for
the group of colleagues interested in Ordovician rocks and a third stop for the graptolite
specialists. Firstly, the Ordovician workers
visited the La Silla section with the homonymous carbonate formation that spans the
Cambrian/Ordovician boundary, and the San
Juan Formation with two well-exposed levels of reefal structures. A second stop was
addressed to revise the proposed GSSP on
the base of the Middle Ordovician Series in
the limestones of the San Juan Formation at
Niquivil. Specialists on graptolites were driven to look at the graptolitic black shale
facies of the Middle-Upper Ordovician Los
Azules Formation in the Cerro Viejo classical locality. An impressive view of Carboniferous strata that make the frame of a spectacular landscape was experienced.
The field trip concluded with a round
excursion across the Precordillera during the
fifth day. A characteristic calcareous succession interbedding K-bentonite layers of Middle Ordovician age, and siliciclastic Silurian
rocks with Llandovery-Ludlow faunas, was
Participants of the event at Pachaco locality in the Central Precordillera of San Juan
Province during the intra-symposia field trip through the San Juan River section (Photo by
Chen Xu).
presented at Talacasto. Driving to the west,
at a certain point of the road the high Andes
were apparent, showing all of their magnificence. After a geo-tourism pause, on the
return road from Rodeo to Jáchal towns, an
interesting stop was planned to show an
impressive outcrop of Upper Ordovician
columnar basalts and pillow lavas, in the
Western Precordillera.
On August 17, a wide audience of professionals and students attended the opening
ceremony of the event at the venue, the Alkazar Hotel in San Juan. The ceremony was
introduced by the ISOS chair, Dr. F. G.
Aceñolaza, the IGC chair Dr. G. Ortega, the
SOS chair Dr. S. C. Finney, and local university authorities. After the formal presentation, a glamorous welcoming party, with flavors of the local gastronomy and folk music,
received the numerous foreign and local participants.
Two simultaneous scientific sessions
were developed between August 18 and 20,
including the presentation of over 124
contributions by oral and poster modes
on most diverse topics related to Ordovician
and Silurian geology, and graptolite studies.
The schedule of scientific sessions on
the Ordovician System was intense,
with all presentations included in embracing
disciplines: Biostratigraphy–Stratotypes,
Geochronology–K-bentonites, Geochemistry–
Biodiversification, Sedimentology–Basin
Analysis, Paleogeography–Provincialism.
Moreover, two workshops for displaying
particular graptolite and conodont collections from Argentina, and discussions on taxonomy and biostratigraphy of these fossil
groups were developed. Business meetings
of the International Subcommissions on
Ordovician and Silurian Stratigraphy, and
the International Graptolite Working Group
were carried out to deal with the intimate
organization and administration of these
bodies of the International Union of Geological Sciences and the International Paleontological Association. One of the results from
the closing meetings was the election
of the venue for the next ISOS and
FMSSS, which will be held in Nanjing City,
China, in 2007. Saint Petersburg, Russia,
was elected as host of the 8th IGC, which
will probably be held in 2005.
An intra-symposia field trip through the
San Juan River section was accomplished on
August 21. This geological excursion was
planned with the purpose to introduce to the
participants the general geology of the Precordillera, by showing particular sections of
Ordovician and Silurian exposures over
diverse settings.
The closing ceremony was held in a
warm environment at Alkazar Hotel, with a
dinner that offered best typical wines of the
Precordilleran region, and a tango show that
attracted the attention of gathered people. At
this ceremony, the Honorary Chairs of the
event, Drs. A.J. Cuerda and M.A. Hünicken,
were distinguished for their important pioJune 2004
131
this presentation, participants were driven
through the national
route 9 with impressive
landscapes of the Quebrada de Humahuaca,
which was recently
declared
“Humanity
Heritage” by UNESCO.
Third day trip was
through the beautiful
views and magnificent
Ordovician exposures of
central Cordillera OriThe Graptolite Working Group at La Chilca locality in the
ental, such as those at
Precordillera of San Juan (Photo by Chen Xu).
Purmamarca and Lipán
High, to finally reach the Angosto del
neer studies on graptolite and conodont fauMoreno locality, where a continuous Camnas of Argentine basins.
brian to Lower Ordovician stratigraphy was
After the meeting in San Juan City, on
introduced.
August 22, over 40 colleagues traveled by
During the fourth day, several localities
charter plane to Salta City, northwestern
of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, such as
Argentina, to participate in the post-symTilcara, Pintayoc and Chucalezna were
posia field trip to Cordillera Oriental and
shown as particular examples of the OrdoviSierras Subandinas of Salta and Jujuy
cian geology of the region. The Tilcara Fort
provinces. The field trip incorporated two
was visited which demonstrated the ancient
joined excursions with particular interests on
aboriginal culture that inhabited these lands.
Ordovician geology and graptolitic facies.
On the fifth day the graptolite group
These excursions were led by Ordovician
excursion visited the Quebrada del Toro, to
specialists from diverse Argentine universithe west of Salta, with a cross country trip to
ties, Drs. M.F. Tortello and G. F. Aceñolaza,
the Angosto de la Quesera, in order to show
and Drs. M.C. Moya, G. Ortega, G.L.
the interesting geology and graptolitic facies
Albanesi, S. Malanca, J.A. Monteros, and L.
of the area. At the same time, the Ordovician
A. Buatois, respectively.
group excursion continued looking at outOn the first day, the participants were
standing localities in the Quebrada de
invited to observe interesting Lower OrdoviHumahuaca.
cian outcrops of the San Bernardo Hill,
The excursions finished at Salta City,
nearby Salta City. Significant graptolitic
where the participants were received with a
facies of Tremadocian-Arenigian age were
typical dinner accompanied by a traditional
shown and discussed by experts on the fossil
folk show of northwestern Argentina.
group. It is interesting to note that rich fossilWe deem important to note the signifiiferous outcrops surround Salta City, where
cance of this international meeting, which
first graptolites were discovered by the Gergathered over 100 scientists from numerous
man naturalist L. Brackebush by the end of
countries, Australia, Belgium, Canada,
nineteenth century.
China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France,
The second day was devoted to visiting
Germany, Great Britain, Korea, New
different Ordovician localities at the MojoZealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain,
toro Range in Salta, and Silurian exposures
Sweden, United States, and Argentina. The
of the Zapla Range in Jujuy Province. A parevent, which was held in Latin America for
ticular interest was paid to the Upper Ordovithe first time, gave the opportunity to attend
cian glacial deposits of the Zapla Formation
to 30 Argentine colleagues from different
and overlying Silurian rocks of the Lipeón
universities and the CONICET (Consejo
Formation that contain iron ores. Following
Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), who exchanged particular scientific interests
with foreign experts. Furthermore, as it usually
occurs in international
events, it was a special
occasion for the organizers
to show diverse aspects of
the Argentine culture by a
complementary schedule
with social events and tours
for accompanying people.
The Organizing ComThe post-symposia field trip group at the Angosto del Moreno mittee maintained a particsection in the Cordillera Oriental of Jujuy Province, ular effort during several
northwestern Argentina (Photo by Stan Finney).
Episodes, Vol. 27, no. 2
months previous to the event in order to get
the publications ready for the meeting. Two
proceedings, a book devoted to the Ordovician geology of Argentina and five field trip
guides were published. "Ordovician from the
Andes" is the title of the Proceedings of the
International Symposium on the Ordovician
System (G.L. Albanesi, M.S. Beresi and S.H.
Peralta, eds.), which include 94 short-papers.
The Proceedings of the International Graptolite Conference & 2003 Field Meeting of
the Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy
(G. Ortega and G.F. Aceñolaza eds.) incorporate 30 short-papers, and the book
"Aspects of the Ordovician System in
Argentina" (F.G. Aceñolza ed.) consists of
24 chapters. These volumes were edited as
Nos. 16, 17 and 18 of "Serie Correlación
Geológica", a special series on geological
subjects of the INSUGEO (Instituto Superior
de Correlación Geológica, CONICET—Universidad Nacional de Tucumán), Argentina.
It is important to note that all of these publications are uploaded in the internet web site
of the INSUGEO, for easy and free access
(http://www.unt.edu.ar/fcsnat/INSUGEO).
The importance of the event is
expressed through the high scientific level of
contributed papers, and new proposals for
future projects among diverse interdisciplinary working groups.
As organizers of this event, we acknowledge all institutions (in particular, the SOSSSS sponsorships and CONICET-ANPCyT
special grants) and persons that made it possible, which gave Argentina the positive experience of becoming part of the history of a
long-standing international meeting.
Guillermo L. Albanesi
Gladys Ortega
Museo de Paleontología
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Casilla de Correo 1598, 5000 Córdoba
ARGENTINA
galbanesi@arnet.com.ar
~olaza
Florencio G. Acen
~olaza
Guillermo F. Acen
INSUGEO,
Universidad Nacional de Tucumán,
M. Lillo 205, 4000 Tucumán
ARGENTINA
insugeo@unt.edu.ar
Silvio H. Peralta
INGEO
Universidad Nacional de San Juan
Av. I. de la Rosa y Meglioli s/n
5400 San Juan
ARGENTINA
speralta@unsj-cuim.edu.ar
Matilde S. Beresi
CRICYT-IANIGLA
Av. R. Leal s/n
5500 Mendoza
ARGENTINA
mberesi@lab.cricyt.edu.ar
132
Fourth South American Symposium on
Isotope Geology (IV SSAGI)
Salvador, Brazil, August 17–24, 2003
An increasing number of geologists in South
America have turned their attention to isotope geology as a tool in the wider context of
the Earth Sciences. As a result, a series of
symposia on the South American isotope
geology (SSAGI) has been organized every
two years to provide an appropriate forum
for discussion of methods and applications of
stable and radiogenic isotopes.
The IV SSAGI attracted some 300 earth
scientists from 15 countries to Salvador, former capital of Brazil. The formal meeting
was followed by a field trip to the Fernando
de Noronha island, 300 km from the coast of
Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil.
During four days, participants examined,
sampled and argued, based on recent isotopic
studies, about the origin and evolution of a
variety of volcanic alkalic rocks.
The number and quality of scientific
contributions offered to the Symposium were
beyond expectation. Over two hundred scientific contributions presented, discussed
and reviewed the progress made on several
aspects of the geology of South America in
the last two years. Temporal isotopic variation and chemostratigraphy, crustal evolution of South America, metallogenesis and
mineral exploration, genesis and evolution of
igneous and metamorphic rocks were some
of the major focussed aspects. Seven guest
speakers from abroad summarized the stateof-the-art in their field of specialty covering
stable isotopes at low and high temperature,
and radiogenic isotopes. The IGCP 478 project which is mostly concerned with Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic events in SWGondwana and especially with the VendianCambrian transition, cooperated with the IV
SSAGI organizers and used one day poster
session to present some of their scientific
contributions.
The growing number of contributions to
this symposium compared to previous ones
of this series, reflects the establishment of
new laboratories in the continent, especially
in Brazil, which at present counts on five
radiogenic and three stable isotope laboratories set in universities.
Field trip
The trip to Fernando de Noronha Island was
led by U.G. Cordani, M. Ulbrich (University
of São Paulo) and E. de A. Menor (Federal
University of Pernambuco). In this trip, participants visited a unique geologic environment in Brazil: an archipelago (a main island
and about 20 islets) that consists in a summit
of a volcanic edifice emerging from the ocean
floor at 4000 m below sea level. The trip
lasted for 5 days in this tropical, paradisiacal
island, one of the most beautiful places in
Brazil. Main outcrops (dikes of basic and
ultrabasic rocks, domes of phonolite, besides
intrusive bodies of trachyte, essexite, alkali
basalt, nepehelinite, basanite and dunite nodules) of the young volcanic formations (12 to
1.5 Ma old) were visited and the available
petrological, geochemical, isotopic and paleomagnetic data were discussed.
Vazante, Bambui and Una groups, in Brazil
and C-isotope record of a second glaciation
is observed in dolostones at the end of the
first transgressive-regressive cycle. δ13C
positive excursions immediately above dolostone with tepee structures in the second
cycle are also important stratigraphic markers in these sequences. A. N. Sial (Federal
University of Pernambuco) summarized C-,
O- and Sr-isotope chemostratigraphy of
Cambrian carbonate sequences in the Precordillera, western Argentina, reporting preliminary C- and Sr-isotope variation curves
for almost the entire Cambrian. It was not
clear from this study whether the Steptoean
positive C-isotope of the Late Cambrian
(SPICE), a major pertubation of the Cambrian carbon cycle, is present in the studied
Late Cambrian sections in the Quebrada de
La Flecha (eastern Precordillera) or Cerro la
Silla (central Precordillera), since almost all
C- isotope values in the entire sequence are
negative with two weakly positive excursions (+ 0.2‰PDB).
G.P. Halverson (Geological Survey of
Namibia) presented a composite C-isotope
section for the Neoproterozoic, recognizing
three ice ages during the latter half of this
period. His new scheme of correlation of
diamictites from northern Namibia, notheastern Svalbard and northern Norway supports
the three glacial events and is the basis for a
composite δ13C section for the Neoproterozoic. The strength of his compilation is that it
was derived almost entirely from just two
successions (Namibia and Salvbard) correlated along multiple tie points. John Valley
(University of Wisconsin) examined magmas through time using O-isotope geochemistry of zircon from many terranes on seven
continents, availing a database with over 700
rocks with ages spanning from 4400 to 0.2
Ma. He demostrated that a remarkable uni-
Scientific sessions
The Conference opened on Monday, and in
that morning, A.J. Kaufman (University of
Maryland) examined C-isotope evidence for
Neoproterozoic glacial cycles driven by ironand phosphorous-stimulated productivity.
He postulated that under high seawater alkalinity, the rise of temperatures and the photosynthetic uptake of CO2 during blooms
allowed for the rapid deposition of cap carbonate lithofacies. Through the same stimulated process O2 would be released to the
oceans and atmosphere as iron-rich sediments, terrestrial red beds and oxidized paleosols. Claudio Gaucher (Facultad de Ciencias, Uruguay) reported a contribution to the
IGC-478 project, and attempted to characterize the Precambrian-Cambrian (Pc-C)
boundary in Uruguay, based on C-isotope
chemostratigraphy of the Upper Arroyo del
Soldado Group. Falling amplitude of δ13C
fluctuations recorded in these
carbonates are in accordance
with trends observed in Vendian-Cambrian successions
worldwide, and the Pc-C
boundary in Uruguay is in the
upper middle Cerro San Francisco Formation as one of the
few units worldwide, where
this boundary was preserved.
Aroldo Misi (Federal University of Bahia) overviewed the
C-, O-, S- and Sr-isotope
chemo-stratigraphy of carbonate successions in South
America, whose deposition
took place during extensional
events of the fragmentation of Keynote speakers in the IV South American Symposium on
the Rodinia supercontinent, Isotope Geology (IV SSAGI). From left to right: Galen Pipa
and some of them host base Halverson (Geol. Survey of Namibia), John W. Valley
metal deposits. Some remark- (Univ. of Wisconsin), Joaquin Ruiz, (Univ. of Arizona),
able negative C-isotope excur- Kenneth Collerson (Univ. of Queensland), Richard
sion, normally observed in Armstrong (Australian National Univ.) and Richard
post-glacial Neoproterozoic Carlson (Carnegie Instuitution of Washington). One of the
cap carboantes worldwide, are keynote speakers (Paulo M. Vasconcelos, University of
recorded at the base of the Queensland) is missing in this photo.
June 2004
133
of the Earth. His contribution was further supplemented by J. Ruiz (University of Arizona)
who discussed the gold extraction from the
mantle through time based on Re-Os isotopes
and demonstrated that about 40% of the
known gold resources were extracted from
the mantle at about 3 Ga related to the formation of the Kaapval craton.
Mark Fanning (The Australian National
University) postulated that complex
SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages for Paleozoic and
Mesozoic magmatic rocks are a consequence
of geological processes resulting in multiple
generations of zircon crystallization over relatively short periods of time. R. Conceição
(Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul)
discussed Sr and Nd isotopic data for ultrabasic xenoliths from Cenozoic to Recent alkaline basalts from the Andes that plot outside
the MORB-OIB-BSE trend. He interpreted
this as a result of a metasomatic mantle process that ended up in enrichment of Sr radiogenic composition, without dramatically
changing the Nd isotopic characteristic of the
mantle. This Sr and Nd decoupling possibly
occurred due to different Rb and Sm partition
coefficients of some minerals, such as
clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and garnet.
Noble gas chronology and geochemistry in surficial processes was discussed by
P. Vasconcelos (University of Queensland).
He summarized the 40Ar-39Ar method as
geochronological tool and detailed the use of
cosmogenic 3He to measure exposure and
erosion rates and the developments of the
application of stable cosmogenic 3He measurements on supergene minerals (hematite
and goethite) that provide a combination of a
geochronometer (U-Th/He) and an exposure
history chronometer. Understanding landscape evolution through weathering geochronology and insight into paloclimates
from weathering geochronology were also
subject of attention. Application of noble gas
isotopes as proxy for understanding of processes in petroleum systems was reviewed by
E.V. Santos Neto (PETROBRAS).
Finally, R.A. Armstrong (Australian National
University) summarized
the developments and
trends in isotope analysis,
emphasizing the importance of the scale of sample
heterogeneity and the relevance of the information
contained therein. Therefore, techniques will be
developed and used in
future to allow the finescale
heterogeneities
observed in geological
samples to be measured
Field trip to the volcanic iland of Fernando de Noronha (Pig’s with accuracy and preciBay basanites). Front row: M.L. Hollanda, S.E. Sichel, M. G. sion.
Maldonado-S·nchez, M. Haller and M. Ulbrich. Back row:
About 50 papers from
C.C.G. Tassinari, W. Teixeira, E.A. Menor, A.L. Novaes de this symposium will be
Araujo, M. Babisnki, L. Marques, U. Cordani, and M. published in special issues
Schubert.
formity is seen in the Archean, values clustering near the mantle (5.3∼0.3‰),
with some values as high as 7.5 due to
recycling of supracrustal material.
High δ18O (>8‰) becomes common until
after 2 Ga, reflecting recycling of high δ18O
sediment and maturation of the crust.
H.O. Panarello (INGEIS, Argentina)
examined the application of C isotopes in the
study of hair of two Inka mummies found in
the Aconcagua and Chuscha mounts, as an
excellent tool to trace paleodiet. The
Chuscha mummy shows a barely descendent
pattern, while the Aconcagua one exhibits a
cyclical one and these differences probably
resulted from the provenance of these two
individuals. L.C. Ruiz Pessenda (Univ. of
São Paulo) discussed the application of C
isotopes in the study of paleovegetation and
paleoclimate changes during the late Quaternary in northeastern Brazil based on soil
organic matter.
The isotopic constraints on the early
evolution of the Earth and evidence for
Priscoan crust and emergence of the biosphere in the North Atlantic craton was discussed by K. Collerson (Queensland University). He pointed to cryptic evidence for
Priscoan crust in the North Atlantic craton
that yields information on (a) nature of presubduction zone igneous rocks that hosted
the oldest terrestrial minerals (zircon), (b) the
surface environment during late heavy meteorite bombardment and (c) nature of the early
hydrosphere and biosphere.
R. W. Carlson (Carnegie Institution)
summarized the state-of-the-art on the application of the Pt-Re-Os isotopic systems to
igneous geochemistry and geochronology,
discussing the dating of mantle lithosphere,
defining magma source compositions and ore
chronology. It was made evident that Pt-ReOs isotopic systems form an important complement to other radiometric systems, providing a radiometric tracer for chemical evolution of the nonlithophile element component
Episodes, Vol. 27, no. 2
of prestigious Journals (Lithos, Chemical
Geology and Precambrian Research). The V
SSAGI will be held in Uruguay in 2006 and
will be organized by Claudio Gaucher (Facultad de Ciencias, Montevideo).
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the government
of the state of Bahia for financial support to
this meeting, especially Ruy Fernandes da
Fonseca Lima and Moacyr Moura Marinho
(Companhia Baiana de Pesquisa Mineral)
who provided the necessary infra-structure
for the organization of this event. We also
thank all members of the steering committee
of this symposium for their dedication in
organizing this event. The National Council
for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Institute de Recherche pour le
Devéloppement (IRD), CAPES, ThermoFinnigan, Micromass, PETROBRAS,
GEOSOL, CPRM and FAPESB were the
other sponsors. All short papers of the IV
SSAGI were published (2 volumes, 789
pages) as a co-edition of IRD and CBPM and
can be obtained from one of these Institutions.
L. Maurice-Bourgoin (IRD) examined
the use of 210Pb geochronology to explore
century-scale mercury contamination history
in Andean tributaries of the Amazon River,
as well as isotope tracing of hydrological
dynamics of the Amazonian floodplain.
Their study represented the first geochronological determination of heavy metal-pollution history from floodplain sediments. Their
results underline the importance of river sediments as carrier of Hg and the key role of
channel-floodplain sediment interchange in
regulating transport and accumulation of any
sediment-associated pollution.
Alcides Nobrega Sial
(IV SSAGI scientific coordinator)
Stable Isotope Laboratory (LABISE)
Department of Geology
Federal University of Pernambuco
C.P. 7852, Recife, PE, 50670-000
BRAZIL
E-mail: ans@ufpe.br
Pierre Sabaté
(IV SSAGI scientific coordinator)
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
(IRD)
Brasilia, D.F., 70,000
BRAZIL
E-mail: ird@apis.com.br
Valderez Pinto Ferreira
(IV SSAGI Publications coordinator)
Stable Isotope Laboratory (LABISE)
Department of Geology
Federal University of Pernambuco
C.P. 7852, Recife, PE, 50670-000
BRAZIL
E-mail: valderez@ufpe.br
134
The XIV Global Warming International
Conference & Expo (GWXIV)
— Global extreme events
Washington DC, USA, May 27–30, 2003
(Institute for Meteorology and Climate),
Markus Hermann and Jost Heintzenberg
(Institute for Tropospheric Research), Hans
Schlager, Helmut Ziereis and Ulrich Schumann (German Air and Space Agency, Germany), David Oram and Stuart Penkett (University of East Anglia, UK), Bengt Martinsson (Univertsity of Lund, Sweden), Peter van
Velthoven (Knmi, The Netherlands) presented Global Surveillance: The CARIBIC
Platform, and Dr. Michael J. Walsh (Chicago
Climate Exchange, USA) presented Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading: The Launch
of the Chicago Climate Exchange.
Prof. Sinyan Shen said that in 2003 we
saw much new technology for emergency
response, e.g., for U.S. Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). They are
borrowed from Defense Sector; notably,
Satellite and Wireless Technology borrowed
from Homeland Security. On the scientific
front, he said in 2002–2003, we gained new
progress in scientific understanding of the
dynamics of the Ocean: non-linear surface
and bulk wave, and non-linear chaos of the
Ocean due to global warming. Notably, the
Caltech papers. In 2002–2003, we saw the
physical change of the stratosphere. The
stratosphere was usually disturbed in 2003.
The extreme weather pattern was so strong
that the ozone hole split into two half during
late September. Warmer-than-normal temperatures around the edge of the polar vortex
that forms annually in the stratosphere were
responsible for the ozone hole split. The
strongest temperature wave was located
between Antarctica and Australia, overlying
the stronger of the two anticyclones involved
in splitting the stratosphere polar vortex.
CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere
Based on an Instrumented Container) is
a new platform for the global surveillance of greenhouse gases and pollutions. It had operated since 1997 using a
Boeing 767. A freight container with
analytical equipment automatically
monitored ozone, carbon monoxide,
aerosols, nitrogen oxides and water
vapor, and collected air samples as well
as aerosol samples at cruising altitude.
The air samples were analyzed for 40
different trace gases, CFC’s, HCFC’s,
Prof. Sinyan Shen describes the sloshing Kelvin halons, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide,
waves in the scientific understanding of the nitrous oxide, methane and sulfur hexadynamics of the Ocean, during The XIV Global fluoride. The aerosols were analyzed
Warming International Conference & Expo for elemental composition. Regular
(GWXIV).
The focus of this year’s conference is Global
Extreme Events, characterized as large-scale
climatic effects that have been increasing in
magnitude and frequency. Prof. Sinyan
Shen, Chairman of the GW International
Program Committee, has been leading the
world on Global Extreme Events and Emergency Response. In the long term climate
change will cause the Earth to transit to
another equilibrium state through many
oscillations in climatic pattern. Global
warming causes extreme events and bad
weather in the near term. The immediate
results of global warming according to Prof.
Shen are: (1) the loss of seasonal distinction;
(2) larger fluctuation in intra-day temperature and large fluctuation in precipitation;
and (3) increasing system entropy causes
increased frequency and increased magnitude of the extreme events. The impact of
these events and the effective mitigation of
future events are the subject of rigorous
debate across industry sectors like energy,
water resources, agriculture, forestry, and
transportation. Delegates from Americas,
Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East and
Africa will gathered at GWXIV to address
issues relating to global extreme events, as
well as addressing the impact on public
health, air pollution, greenhouse gas emission trading, global and regional resource
conservation, and resource management
methods.
In the plenary sessions, Prof. Sinyan
Shen, Chairman of the Global Warming
International Center, USA presented Global
Warming Science & Policy: Progress 20022003. Dr. Carl A.M. Brenninkmeijer, Franz
Slemr, and Paul J. Crutzen (Max Planck
Institute), Andreas Zahn and Herbert Fischer
Dr. Carl A.M. Brenninkmeijer describes
global surveillance of greenhouse gases
and pollutions.
flights were conducted to South Asia, and the
Caribbean, and a wealth of data resulted.
Excellent examples of pollution plumes
loaded with anthropogenic and natural emissions emanating from the continents were
available then. Injection of pollution into the
stratosphere was documented, and measurements of the sulfate content of the supper troposphere were provided. A detailed picture
of methane emissions from S-SE Asia during
the summer monsoon had emerged.
Lufthansa Airlines in Frankfurt had decided
to equip a new Airbus A340-600 with the
facilities needed for operating the CARIBIC
measurement container. Given this possibility, the European atmospheric science community, in particular, was looking forward to
a steady stream of indispensable atmospheric
data from all over the world over the coming
decade.
Dr. Michael J. Walsh, Chicago Climate
Exchange addressed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading. The Chicago Climate
Exchange is a Greenhouse gas trading program for emission sources and offset projects
in North America, with limited offset projects in South America. U.S. private sector
implements a voluntary market-based GHG
emissions reduction program. The Chicago
Climate Exchange is a self-regulatory
Dr. Michael J. Walsh, Chicago Climate
Exchange addresses Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Trading.
June 2004
135
exchange based on the Chicago Accord. The
Exchange uses independent SRO (NASD) to
conduct oversight and audits; emissions,
allowance and offset holding and transfers in
CCX registry; and web-accessible electronic
trading platform linked directly with registry. Examples in Energy, Forestry and
Agricultural sectors are landfill and agricultural methane destruction; sequestration in
reforestation and agricultural soil projects;
and energy, methane, forestry projects in
South America.
In the Concurrent Sessions, policy makers and scientist from Australia, Europe and
Americas discussed recent extreme events
and impacts assessment, notably ‘Extreme
event management—Australian agriculture
in a changing climate—impacts and adaptation’ by Collin Grant (Bureau of Rural Sciences, Australia) and ‘Coping with increasing climate extremes in agriculture: strategies for the Netherlands’ by Hans Langeveld
and J. Verhagen (Plant Research International), A.G.J.M. Oude Lansink (Farm Management Group), and M.A.P.M. van Asseldonk (Institute for Risk Management in
Agriculture, The Netherlands). Several
papers addressed impact and adaptation of
agriculture in changed climate, notably,
‘Extreme drought events and their impact in
northern China in last 40 years’ by An Shun-
qing, Guo Anhong, Liu Gengshan, Liu Weiwei (Chinese Academy of Meteorology Sciences), and ‘Impacts of extreme rainfall
events on hydrological soil erosion patterns:
application to a Mediterranean watershed’ by
Joao Pedro Carvalho Nunes and Julia Seixas
(New University of Lisbon, Portugal), and
Impact and adaptation of agriculture in
changed climate’ by Andrei P. Kirilenko
(Purdue University, USA). In the session on
Energy Crop and Woody Agriculture,
chaired by Kiran Kadam (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, USA), several paper addressed land competition
between food and energy production,
notably the papers ‘The implications of
large-scale energy crop production for global
water use and supply’ by Goran Berndes
(Chalmers University of Technology and
Goteborg University of Sweden), and
‘Analysis of land competition between food
and bioenergy production’ by Donald
Johansson and Christian Azar (Chalmers
University of Technology of Sweden).
The objective of GW Series was to provide a comprehensive international and interdisciplinary review forum for resource and
technology managers on global warming, its
impacts on all economic sectors, its effective
mitigation and each nation's mitigation compliance. The buying and selling of permits
Upper Cretaceous pelagic red beds,
implications for paleoclimate and
paleoceanography
Second workshop of IGCP 463, Bartin, Turkey,
August 18–23, 2003
Members of IGCP 463, Upper Cretaceous
Oceanic Red Beds: Response to Ocean/Climate Global Change (CORBs) held their
second workshop near the Black Sea in
Bartin, Turkey. In addition to discussion of
results and plans, the participants examined
exposures of pelagic red beds in northern
Turkey.
Okan Tuysuz of the Eurasia Institute
of Earth Sciences of Istanbul Technical
University organized the workshop, which
was chaired by project leaders Chengshan
Wang (China) and Luba Jansa (Canada).
The conference was co-sponsored by
UNESCO/IUGS Programme and the Chinese National Committee of IGCP, which
supported attendance of Chinese participants. Twenty-two participants from ten
countries, Austria, Canada, China, Czech
Republic, Israel, Poland, Slovakia, Romania,
Russia and Turkey, attended the conference
and the following field trip.
Episodes, Vol. 27, no. 2
The objective of the 2nd workshop of
IGCP 463 was to review progress and new
data on studies of Upper Cretaceous pelagic
red beds. The first day was a transfer of participants from Istanbul to Bartin, which is
located near the Black Sea. On the way at
several stops Okan Tüysüz and Burak Yikilmaz presented an overview of the geology of
Turkey and demonstrated lithologic development of the Lower and Upper Cretaceous
of the Western Black Sea region. Outcrops
of Upper Cretaceous red pelagic limestone
were examined along the Eregli-Zonguldak
road, where they are intercalated within volcanic arc succession.
Meeting briefs
Twenty-three participants displayed current
results at the conference in Bartin.
In a review of the progress and achievements of the IGCP 463 research program,
Luba Jansa (Canada) expressed his view on a
progress in a study of a major paleoceano-
for greenhouse gases was permitted under
the Kyoto treaty. In the U.S. participation
would be voluntary, but firms would be monitored for compliance. The Global Warming
International Center would like to thank all
the conference delegates for making the conference a success. We would also like to
extend special thanks to all the distinguished
speakers for participating in this growing
forum to discuss oscillations in climatic pattern and Global Extreme Events.
James A. Roberts
Global Warming International Conference
Secretariat
The Global Warming International Center
International Headquarters
22W381, 75th Street
Naperville, IL 60565-9245
USA
Phone: 630-910-1551
Fax: 630-910-1561
E-mail: jroberts@globalwarming.net
graphic phenomena recorded by Upper Cretaceous oceanic sedimentary sequences in
the world. During Late Cretaceous oceanic
deposition changed from widespread dark,
organic carbon-enriched shales to mostly
reddish colored, zeolitic clays and marls that
were deposited in an oxic environment. Similar oxic deposits are also present in the
Lower Cretaceous in the Alps, Carpathians
and Italy, which were previously overlooked
by researchers concentrating on the anoxic
events. Such oxic events indicate more variable Cretaceous climate/ocean systems, than
presented by current Earth systems models
and hypotheses. Lower Cretaceous pelagic
red beds in the Umbria-Marche basin, Italy,
discussed by X. Hu (China) occur at eight
horizons in Aptian to Cenomanian strata. An
excellent biostratigraphy of the Cretaceous
of the Umbria-Marche basin allows to place
the red bed intervals into microfossil zones.
The Umbria-Marche basin may serve as a
type section for correlation with other occurrences of red beds along the northern margin
of western Tethys. Late Cretaceous paleogeography of the northern Mediterranean
Tethys was tectonically very complex. Consequently, during the Cenomanian–Campanian a series of extensive transversal basins
throughout Europe connected the Tethys
with the Boreal basins.
CORBs are well developed in the Austrian Alps as demonstrated by M. Wagreich,
and H. G. Krenmayer (Austria). The Santonian section consists mainly of carbonatelithic arenites, sandy marl, gray marl and red
136
The Lower Turonian foraminifer association
Campanian Perneck
Formation. The calfrom red marls above the extinction of rotalicareous nannoplankporids is characterized by an opportunistic
ton zone CC22 (Unifauna of whiteinellid and helvetotruncanid
planarius trifidus
foraminifers. Later, dicarinellids and the first
zone) in the Perneck
representatives of marginotruncanids appear,
Formation indicates
which indicates a return of meso- to oligthat this red shale
otrophic conditions. In paleogeographically
facies is synchromore distant areas condensed red bed facies
nous over a distance
were deposited without any clastic admixture.
of about 500 km.
Their deposition continued during CampanUpper Cretaian as the Puchov marls of the Globotruncana
ceous CORBs also
arca Zone, and Early Maastrichtian as the
are present in the
Gbelany Marl of the Globotrucana falsostuWestern Carpathians
arti Zone.
and were discussed
D. Jipa and M. Meltinte (Romania) preby M. Svobodova
sented that Upper Cretaceous marine CORBs
and P. Skupien
also occurred in several tectonic units of the
(Czech Republic).
East Carpathians in Romania. In the External
Turonian strata of
Flysch Zone of East Carpathians continuous
Santonian red pelagic limestone unconformably overlies gray the Bohemian Cretadeposition during the Late Albian to Coniamarlstone of Middle Turonian/Coniacian age at the Black Sea coast, ceous Basin, Czech
cian resulted in Tisaru Formation (also called
Turkey.
Republic, and the
the Variegated Shale Formation), which is
Silesian Unit in the
comprised mainly of red and green radiolarmarl more than 80 m thick, which overlie the
Outer Western Carpathians yield the Boreal
ian chert and red claystone overlain by SanTriassic Hauptdolomite near Tiefenbach,
dinoflagellate genera, Chatangiella and
tonian to Early Paleocene calcarenite of the
Brandenberg, in Northern Calcareous Alps,
Isabelidinium, which indicate deposition in
Lepsa Formation. The sedimentation rate of
Austria. This section comprises three unconcooler waters similar to that in northern Gerthese marine red beds is estimate to be about
formity-bounded, transgressive-regressive
many, Arctic Canada, and Australia. Ceno15–18 mm/ka. A very diverse nannoflora
depositional cycles, B4, B5 and B6. The dark
manian marine red beds and flysch in the
populated Early Turonian seas during depored-brown marl CORB facies is about 5 m
Silesian tectonic unit of the Outer Western
sition of the red and green shale. The early
thick and overlies gray inoceramid marl in
Carpathians, Czech Republic, from 100-300
Cretaceous Tethyan genera were replaced by
the middle of cycle B5. The Santonian
m-thick lack calcareous microfossils indicatnew, cosmopolitan taxa dominated by
Dicarinella asymetrica Zone spans the upper
ing deposition below the CCD. Younger
species of Micula and Prediscosphaera.
two sequences. Graphic correlation analysis
pelagic red beds in nappes of the Outer West
In northern Turkey Cenomanian to
by R. W. Scott (U.S.A.) dates the age of
Carpathians form two distinct horizons in
Maastrichtian red pelagic limestone and
strata at the top of B4 at 85.53 Ma, at the base
flysch deposits of the Kaumberg Formation
chert were deposited in the 5-10 kilometerof B5 at 85.23 Ma, at the top of B5 at 84.58
and the Puchov Marl. In the Kaumberg Forwide Ankara-Erzincan suture zone that sepMa, and at the base of B6 at 83.80 Ma.
mation mostly brown-red and greenish-grey,
arates the Sakarya and Kirsehir continental
CORBs were not single, short time global
non-calcareous claystone prevails over siltfragments. This suture zone represents a
events, but CORB deposition was repeated
stones. Rich Late Cenomanian–Late Senonremnant of the northern branch of the Neoover a long time period and comprised a sigian agglutinated foraminifers date these beds.
Tethys, Ankara-Erzincan Ocean as demonnificant type of background pelagic sedimenThe Púchov Marl consists of red and greystrated by O. Tuysuz (Turkey). CORBs are
tation. Where significant clastic input was
green, highly calcareous claystones and
now caught up in two nappes. The upper
present, or where complex paleobathymemarls up to 100 m thick. Calcareous nannonappe is mainly an ophiolitic mélange, and
tries and current situations existed, as in the
fossils studied by L. Svabenicka (Czech
the lower nappe is dominated by volcanic
case of some of the Gosau slope basins,
Republiuc) indicate a Late Campanian
rocks that represent a Late Cretaceous intraCORB deposition was suppressed by tur(Broinsonia parca constricta, Uniplanarius
oceanic magmatic belt. In the Antalya
bidite deposition, and sediment colours vary
trifidus and Reinhardtites levis) to Late
Nappes, SW Turkey, Cenomanian/Turonian,
between red and grey. Thus, basin topograMaastrichtian (Lithraphidites quadratus and
carbon-rich black shale is according to
phy and local clastic input strongly influMicula murus) age.
enced the presence of and the facies type of
In the western Carpathioceanic red beds. M. Wagreich reported
ans red-colored pelagic sedinewly discovered distinctive, organic-rich
ments according to J. Michablack shale in the Ultrahelvetic Zone of the
lik and J. Sotak (Slovak
Eastern Alps of Upper Austria, dated by
Republic), were deposited as
nannoplankton as latest Cenomanian age and
early as Late Albian in the
correlative with OAE2. This succession is
Rotalipora ticinensis Zone.
overlain in fault contact by Middle Turonian
These Albian marls contain
red and light grey marly limestones.
rich foraminiferal and radioHemipelagic red and green shale alterlarian microplankton. Marl
deposition continued into the
nate with turbiditic siltstones comprising the
Late Cenomanian in the
Rhenodanubian Flysch (Barremian-YpreRotalipora cushmani Zone.
sian) in the Eastern Alps. This flysch succesThe main change in microsion was according to H. Egger (Austria)
fauna in the red marls
deposited at a paleodepth of about
occurred at the Cenoman3000m–5000m and is comprised of the Upper
ian/Turonian boundary when
Aptian-lower Cenomanian Untere Bunte
the rotaliporids disappeared. L. Svabenicka, E. Malata and M. Svobodova sample late
Mergel, the Coniacian-lower Campanian
Cretaceous red beds near Amasya, Turkey.
Seisenburg Formation, and the uppermost
June 2004
137
T. Yurtsever interbedded with radiolarian
chert. Total organic carbon content varies
from 7.89 to 42.19 % wt. Radiolaria fauna of
this black shale is early Turonian.
Pelagic red beds occur at two stratigraphic levels in the upper Cretaceous of the
eastern Caucasus. Nannoplankton analyses
by E. Shcherbinina (Russia) date the pink
and red limestone beds above the organicrich Bonarelli horizon as late Turonian. The
younger, 8 m thick, reddish limestone horizon spans the Coniacian-Santonian boundary. Paleotemperatures of Lower Cenomanian belemnite rostra from the Caucasus indicate that seawater temperature fluctuated
between 15 and 25 ˚C according to R. Gambashidze (Georgia). During the earliest Campanian seawater temperature decreased to 15
to 17 ˚C and remained at that level into the
late Maastrichtian.
Ch. Wang summarized the research
results by Chinese scientists on CORB
deposits in southern Tibet, with additional
presentations by X. Wan, S. Liu, H. Luo and
R. W. Scott. Upper Cretaceous pelagic red
beds are well developed in southern Tibet.
Planktonic foraminifera occur in thin limestones interbedded with the pelagic red beds
in southern Tibet. The lower part of the 26
m-thick red bed section at Gyangze is in the
Upper Santonian Dicarinella asymetrica
Zone, and the upper part is in the Globotruncanita calcarata Zone accord. At the Zongshan section near Gamba, southern Tibet, the
duration of the hiatus at the base of the
Whiteinella archaeocretacea zone was from
90.80 to 90.37 Ma based on graphic correlation analysis. Near Gyangze in southern
Tibet the radiolarian fauna dates red cherts
embeded in the suture zone melange as late
Aptian.
Plenary session
The project is progressing in achieving the
primary objectives of IGCP 463, and especially it facilitates cooperation between scientists from different countries. The diverse
expertise of specialists in different nations is
being integrated across nationalities to
achieve the goals of IGCP 463.
A high priority goal is the compilation
of an integrated chronostratigrpahic chart of
Upper Cretaceous CORBs. Such a chart will
enable the distinction between local and
global processes responsible for the pelagic
red beds development. It was agreed to submit biostratigraphic data formatted for
graphic correlation by the end of October,
2003 to be coordinated by R.W. Scott. A
second priority is the production of bed-bybed lithostratigraphic profiles. J. Michalik
will provide examples of profiles for condensed strata, for expanded strata, and for
normal sections, with the type of detail and
information needed. Deadline for submission of such profiles is end of March, 2004.
In cases where new field data are required,
the sections should be submitted before the
start of the 32nd IGC August 20th 2004.
As progress on the international biostratigraphic correlation of red beds events is
achieved, the next stage of the project will be
studies to establish triggering mechanism of
changes from dysoxic to oxic Late Cretaceous Ocean. Such studies require the application of various geochemical methods. Currently only one such study has been published and another has been initiated. Therefore, there is a need to engage geochemists to
the project. The International Geologic Congress in Italy in 2004 may provide such
forum, as IGCP 463 will hold special session
at the Congress.
Future program
A special session of IGCP 463 is scheduled
at the 32nd IGC in Florence, Italy in the Topical Symposia T 29, Paleoclimatology and
Paleoceanography. M. Melinte offered to
organize a pre-congress field trip to examine
pelagic red beds cropping out in Romania.
Also under consideration is a one-day field
trip during Congress to visit and sample the
famous Contessa Quarry in the Apennines,
which is proposed to be a type locality for
pelagic red beds in Italy. Xiumian Hu will
organize this day trip. Details about
the field trips will be circulated at
later date.
Participants of the workshop examine Late
Santonina/Camapanian reddish pelagic limestone
overlain with disconformity by Campanian
volcaniclastics intercalated with red pelagic shale, east
of Eregli, Turkey.
Episodes, Vol. 27, no. 2
Field trip in Turkey
During the four days following the
Conference in Bartin, participants
examined several localities of
pelagic red beds cropping out in the
Eregli-Bartin area along the BartinSinop road and along the Ankara
Erzincan Suture in the northern part
of Çankiri Basin. O. Tüysüz and B.
Yikilmaz prepared a detailed field
guidebook that included a discussion of Cretaceous geology of the
Western and Central Pontides and
descriptions of the outcrops of
pelagic red beds.
The morning of the first day
participants traveled from Istanbul
to Eregli on the Black Sea coast. On the way
we visited the Palaeozoic and Triassic basement of the Western Pontides and Upper
Cretaceous carbonates. Also we saw deformation created by the M 7.4 earthquake on
17 August 1999. After Eregli, we examined
the Lower-Upper Cretaceous units of the
Zonguldak Basin on the Eregli-Zonguldak
road.
The participants travelled the Black Sea
coast to Sinop crossing Western Pontide
magmatic arc. This volcanic arc consists of
two volcanic succession separated by a
pelagic limestone unit. The lower volcanic
succession is the Turonian-Santonian
Dereköy Formation and unconformably
overlies older units. This unit represents the
main rifting phase of the Western Black Sea
Basin. The pelagic limestone unit is the
upper Santonian-Campanian Dereköy Formation that rests unconformably on older
rocks is known as the Unaz formation. The
uppermost part of the volcanic succession
consists of basaltic and andesitic lava and
associated volcanics and pyroclastics of the
Campanian Cambu Formation.
The aim of the second day was to show
the post-Malm stratigraphy of the Sinop
Basin and Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic rocks
that are imbricated with Central Pontide Triassic basement. The structure of this area is
rather complex due to intense Late Eocene
imbrication, which affected the region during
the closing of the Neo-Tethys.
On the third day we visited the AnkaraErzincan ophiolitic suture (Northern branch
of Neo-Tethys). Two nappes were differentiated within this suture. The upper nappe is an
ophiolitic mélange and the lower one is a
magmatic and sedimentary unit, the Yaylaçay formation.
On the last day we visited Upper Cretaceous red pelagic limestones, shales and turbidites that contain huge blocks of Upper
Jurassic limestone and rare ophiolite blocks,
which are exposed in the city of Amasya.
Luba Jansa
Earth Science Department
Dalhousie University
Halifax, N.S.,
CANADA
O. Tuysuz
Istanbul Technical University
Eurasia Inst. of Earth Sciences
4469 Istanbul
TURKEY
R.W. Scott
Tulsa University
Cleveland, Ok.74020
USA
138
IX Colombian Geological Congress
Medellin, Colombia, July 30–August 1, 2003
The IX Colombian Geological Congress was
held in Medellin from July 30th to August
1st, 2003, exactly two years after the preceding one, which met in Manizales.
The Organising Committee, consisting
of members of the regional chapter of the
Colombian Geological Society, received
valuable support from the Colombian Academy of Sciences, National University,
EAFIT University, INGEOMINAS (the
Colombian Geological Survey), and
CORANTIOQUIA, the regional environmental entity. Furthermore, several government and private companies contributed generously to the event.
With a record attendance of 510, the
event gathered Earth scientists from all
Colombia, six Latin American countries,
USA, Canada and six European countries.
One of the most satisfactory achievement was the numerous and active participation of students from the six universities with
Geology programmes (Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Sogamoso, Manizales and Medellin),
who benefited from lower registration fees
including membership to the Colombian
Geological Society.
Pre-and post-congress courses were
offered in the application of nuclear dating
methods to regional geology, gold prospection in ophiolites, the role of Earth Sciences
in regional planning and geochemistry and
mitigation of mining environmental impact;
these courses were given thanks to valuable
support from UNESCO, TWAS, ICETEX
and the Banco de la Republica Foundation
for Science and Technology.
Four scientific field trips were carried
out in areas surrounding Medellin: Western
and Central Cordilleras and the Aburra Valley, with emphasis on regional geology and
geomorphology.
Meetings held during the Congress
included the VI Colombian Conference on
Environmental Geology, III Seminar on the
Quaternary of Colombia, II Conference on
Palaeontology and III Meeting of Regional
Corporations for Environmental Management.
Four forums on seismic risk, mining
policies, teaching and research and natural
Opening ceremony.
hazards prevention and mitigation attracted
many participants.
Invited presentations were crucial for
the success of the event:
• New frontiers for the interpretation of
radiometric ages, by U. Cordani (Uiversity
of Sao Paulo, Brazil and ex-President of
IUGS).
• Recent vision of the Geology of Colombia,
by F. Cediel (Bogotá)
• Towards a lithotectonic analysis of metalogenesis in Colombia, by R. Shaw
(Canada)
tion and prevision by A. Cendrero (U. of
Cantabria, Spain).
• Evolution of the Amazon River upper basin
during Neogene and Quaternary, by Th.
van der Hammen ( Tropenbos, Bogotá).
INGEOMINAS
representatives
exposed the last advancements of geological
mapping in Colombia. Furthermore 152 oral
presentations and 100 posters permitted a
real appreciation of what has been done in
Earth Sciences in Colombia during the last
two years.
Finally a photo exposition in geological
topics, preceding the delivery of a special
award, and a magnificent exposition of a collection of stamps on fossils and minerals
(courtesy of Geologist Hernando Dueñas)
were valuable contributions to the Congress.
During a final meeting, the General
Assembly of the Colombian Society of Geology elected a new Board of Directors which
Inaugural ceremony.
• Perspectives in oil exploration in Colom•
•
•
•
•
•
bia, by L. E. Peña (ECOPETROL)
Oil policies in Colombia: Challenges and
opportunities in a changing world, by E.
Acevedo (ECOPETROL).
Andean Evolution: paleomagnetic clues to
tectonic events by W. MacDonald
(SUNY, Binghamton, USA).
Forest resiliency to external change and its
diversity by C. Jaramillo (ICP,
ECOPETROL).
Modern methods to study sedimentary
basins by G. Gorin, (U. Genève, Switzerland).
Applications of soil stratigraphy to neotectonic investigations by R. Shlemon, (Consultant, Newport Beach., California,
USA).
Human influence on surficial geological
processes; consequences for risk evalua-
includes representatives of the 16 regional
chapters and will carry on its duties through
intensive use of internet and two annual
meetings, in order to avoid costly travel
expenses.
A volume of extended abstracts was distributed amongst participants at the beginning of the Congress. Selected papers will be
published in Geologia Norandina (now transformed in an electronic journal under the
direction of Jose Ignacio Martínez (U.
EAFIT) and other Colombian geological
journals (Geologia Colombiana, U.
Nacional, Bogotá; Boletin de Ciencias de la
Tierra, U. Nacional, Medellín; Boletin
Geológico, U. Industrial de Santander).
Despite of the difficulties which
Colombia is facing at the moment, the
Organising Committee hopes that this congress will help to foster research in the country and will inspire students, young geologists and researchers from the entire world to
continue their effort to decipher the geological history of this complex and marvelous
piece of planet Earth called Colombia.
We hope to see you in our X Congress
in Bogotá in 2005.
Michel Hermelin
Organising Committee
COLOMBIA
hermelin@eafit.edu.co
June 2004