Geological Profession Research Articles

Paleontologia no Ensino Básico das Escolas da Rede Estadual do Rio de Janeiro: uma Avaliação Crítica

A problem exists in the teaching of basic concepts about Paleontology to students of the elementary schools in the Rio de Janeiro state network, because National Curricular Parameters (PCN) do not emphasize or value the role of Paleontology within the Natural Sciences. The purpose of the present work is to investigate the basic paleontological knowledge of these students by distributing a questionnaire comprising the following six questions: (1) Do you understand the meaning of the term Paleontology?; (2) Have you ever seen a fossil and, if so, where (magazine, movie, museum, other)?; (3) What is a fossil and are there any fossils in Brazil?; (4) What is a geologist?; (5) What is a dinosaur? (6) Have humans ever lived with dinosaurs? At present, five schools have been analyzed and 399 students tested. 16.6% answered that they understood what Paleontology is, but between them, 77.2% had only a superficial idea, 22.8% wrong ideas, and 83.4% had no idea whatsoever. 81.4% had already seen and understood what a fossil is, but 116 between them defined it incorrectly, 45.7% did not know how to define a fossil, 18.7% defined it incompletely or inadequately, and 18.6% indicated that they had never seen a fossil object nor had any idea about what a fossil is. 64.6 % were aware of the existence of fossils in Brazil, 20.5% were unaware, and 14.9% failed to answer question 3. 38.6% answered that they knew something about the geological profession, only 9.1% could explain satisfactorily the work of a geologist, 73.4% explained it incorrectly or incompletely, 17.5% marked “yes”, but did not explain the performance of a geologist, and 61.4% stated that they did not know. 0.6% students defined reasonably well what a dinosaur is, 55.6% defined it incorrectly, 19% failed to answer question 5, and 24.8% gave an incomplete definition. 31.1% believed that humans lived with dinosaurs, 65.4% answered “no”, and 3.5% provided no answer. This study highlights deficiencies in the teaching of paleontology in the state school network.

Foundations of Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean evolution: eight controversies resolved

Eight points of recurring controversy regarding the primary foundations of models of Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean tectonic evolution are identified and examined. The eight points are controversial mainly because of the disconnect between different scales of thinking by different workers, a common but unfortunate problem in the geological profession. Large-scale thinkers often are unaware of local geological detail, and local-scale workers fail to appreciate the level of evolutionary precision and constraint provided by regional tectonics and plate kinematics. The eight controversies are: (1) the degree of freedom in the Gulf-Caribbean kinematic framework that is allowed by Atlantic opening parameters; (2) the existence of a South Bahamas-Guyana Transform, and the role of this structure in Cuban, Bahamian, Trinidadian, and Guyanese evolution; (3) the anticlockwise rotation of the Yucatan Block during the opening of the Gulf of Mexico; (4) the Pacific origin of the Caribbean oceanic crust; (5) the Aptian age and plate boundary geometry of the onset of west-dipping subduction of Proto-Caribbean beneath Caribbean lithospheres; (6) the origin and causal mechanism of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province…not Galapagos!; (7) the number and origin of magmatic arcs in the northern Caribbean; and (8) the origin of Paleogene “flysch” deposits along northern South America: the Proto-Caribbean subduction zone. Here we show that there are viable marriages between the larger and finer scale data sets that define working and testable elements of the region’s evolution. In our opinion, these marriages are geologically accurate and suggest that they should form discrete elements that can and be integrated into regional models of Gulf and Caribbean evolution. We also call upon different facets of the geological community to collaborate and integrate diverse data sets more openly, in the hopes of improving general understanding and limiting the publication of unnecessary papers which only serve to spread geological uncertainty.

Engineering geology and the reduction of geotechnical risk: challenges facing the profession in Hong Kong

Abstract There has been considerable discussion on the role of engineering geologists in reducing geotechnical risk both internationally and in Hong Kong. This paper discusses the problems facing the engineering geological profession by examining the current approach to natural landslide assessments in Hong Kong. Although the problems discussed are based on a Hong Kong perspective many are applicable elsewhere in the world. The assessment and mitigation of landslide risk from natural slopes is a rapidly expanding area of geotechnical work in Hong Kong. Under relatively new legislation, the Hong Kong Government now requires a natural terrain hazard study to be undertaken for all new developments close to steep natural terrain. In addition to the assessment of new developments Hong Kong has recently started a programme to assess the risk from natural terrain landslides to existing developments. However, with respect to engineering geology, the profession faces a number of challenges including skills shortages and insufficient training opportunities, and, more broadly, challenges related to certain contract conditions and prevailing market forces. The combination of these factors in Hong Kong has resulted in the reduction of engineering geological input within the geotechnical industry. This may result in the adoption of over-conservative mitigation works with resulting impacts on cost, safety and the environment. In the worst case, the lack of engineering geological input may result in the failure to recognize the potential for low-frequency, high-magnitude landslides, with potentially severe future consequences.

Jim, We'll Miss You!

Research Article| August 01, 2008 Jim, We'll Miss You! JOHN W. ROLD JOHN W. ROLD 12534 South Balsam Street, Lakewood, CO 80227-3136 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2008) 14 (3): 237–238. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.14.3.237 Article history first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation JOHN W. ROLD; Jim, We'll Miss You!. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 2008;; 14 (3): 237–238. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.14.3.237 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search On April 28, 2007, the geologic profession lost a true crusader for engineering geology, forensic geology, and seismology. James E. Slosson influenced the lives and careers of countless geologists, seismologists, soil engineers, college students, and even collegiate and Olympic track stars. I have been asked to relate how Jim affected my life and career. My 38 years of personal and professional friendship with Jim began in May 1969, when we each gave geological talks at the first Governor's Conference on Environmental Geology in Denver. Jim's talk used data from Los Angeles to prove that property damage and resulting financial loss... You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Acceptance of the Society of Economic Geologists Ralph W. Marsden Award for 2006

It is a very great honor to receive the Marsden Medal, and I want to thank the Council and officers of the Society, as well as colleagues who supported my nomination. I want to acknowledge my long time mentor, John Wilson, who passed away this last June. John was Director of Kennecott’s Exploration Services during the 1970s and my immediate supervisor for about 10 years. I would have been content with a career of breaking rocks and making maps. John’s genius as a manager was his intelligent insight and his ability to recognize potential in people before they realized it themselves. John gently prodded me into leadership positions and encouraged me to get involved in professional activities. Looking back on my relationship with John, it is apparent that it opened up opportunities and allowed me to provide service to the geologic profession that provided me with a long and interesting career. Within the Society, Phil Bethke, Art Barber, and Sam Adams were instrumental in getting me involved in Society affairs. It was a pleasure to work with these gentlemen. Of all the committees and positions in which I have served the Society, two stand out as personally most rewarding and a source of pride. One is the Foundation’s Student Research Grant program, and the other is the Society’s first stand-alone meeting held in Denver in 1993. I would like to share some thoughts about these two activities. The Student Research Grants program was set up by the SEG Foundation to provide financial assistance to students to help reimburse research expenses and other costs required for a graduate degree. Keystone of the program is the endowment within the Foundation provided by the estate of Hugh E. and Elizabeth McKinstry. McKinstry was professor of …

Citation for Honorary Member of the Association of Engineering Geologists: Richard James Proctor

The undersigned respectfully nominate our long-time colleague, Richard James Proctor, of San Clemente, California, as an Honorary Member of the Association of Engineering Geologists (AEG). Our nomination is based on Richard's near-half century of outstanding participation and service to the engineering geologic profession in general and to the AEG in particular. Richard represents the second wave of practicing engineering geologists, those who entered practice not long after World War II. He is a native of Southern California and came to his practice in engineering geology after graduating from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1954, and serving as a cartographic engineer soldier in the U.S. Army. Richard has become a living legend in Southern California geology in his fifty years of practice. Richard earned an MA in Geology at UCLA in 1958, completing a bedrock mapping thesis at Desert Hot Springs, California, along the great San Andreas fault. This was at a time when the practice of applying engineering seismology and engineering geology to paleoseismology and earthquake engineering was still in its infancy, and Richard's contribution helped bridge the interface between the disciplines. His thesis was published by the California Geological Survey as its Special Report 94 (1968). Richard came into the profession as the very first staff Engineering Geologist of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). This was during the MWD's transition from its long-time …

The quantification of geology: from abacus to Pentium: A chronicle of people, places, and phenomena

The geological profession has only recently become numerically literate but highly so in a relatively short time. Mathematics was applied to geological problems mostly in the fields of hydrology, engineering geology, and geophysics until the past few decades. Statistics were used by sedimentologists and paleontologists to describe populations with some univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics used by a few avant garde workers. Geocomputing really started in the 1960s but the slow start became an avalanche in the 1980s with the introduction of microcomputer [personal computer (PC)]. The trend towards increasing quantification of the discipline is noticeable, and in recent years, this trend has been accelerating. There is seemingly no limit to the information and communication revolution.

Colonization of nature in the Soviet Union: state ideology, public discourse, and the experience of geologists

This article combines two perspectives on the history of geology in the Soviet Union. Soviet policy not only transformed the geological profession from a marginal group of intellectuals into a booming field of applied sci ence. State ideology also celebrated the geologists' coloni zation of nature, putting them on a par with cosmonauts and pilots. The hegemonic discourse defined nature as meaning less unless it was exploited for human needs. However, the geologists' everyday experiences looked remarkably differ ent. During month-long stays in the natural environment, the official doctrine gave way to other perspectives: hard ships and starvation, unexpected encounters with men and beasts, and the quest for discoveries in spite of all difficul ties. Geologists also enjoyed nature as visual harmony, and even found a small corner of freedom in nature as the "taiga laws" of behavior, friendship, and hospitality made for an honest atmosphere around the campfire. For Soviet geolo gists, nature was not simply the "house of treasures" that of ficial rhetoric cherished but also an archipelago of freedom. Address all communications to Alia Bolotova, European University at St. Petersburg, Centre for Independent Social Research, P.O.B. 193, StPetersburg, 191040, Russia. E-mail: xnu@pochta.ru. For comments on draft versions and stimulating discussion, thanks to Tatiana Saphonova, Frank Uekoetter, Dmitry Vorobyev, Verena Winiwarter and Bernhard Wieser.

2002 JOSEPH A. CUSHMAN AWARD

The recipient of the 2002 Joseph A. Cushman Award is Isabella Premoli Silva in celebration of her more than four decades of foraminiferal research, and for her tireless efforts of service to the geologic profession. Professor Premoli Silva is one of the most widely recognized names in foraminiferal paleontology and her research contributions and service to various international committees and commissions are familiar to stratigraphic paleontologists worldwide. She authored or co-authored more than 170 papers concerning micropaleontology, stratigraphy, cyclostratigraphy, paleobiogeography, and paleoceanography, and spanning the geologic record from Paleozoic to Recent. Her special emphasis is on Cretaceous to Miocene planktonic foraminifera. Professor Premoli Silva is the world’s leading expert in the identification of planktonic foraminifera in thin-section. Fortunately, she has always been eager to share this knowledge with many students and colleagues. As a student of Professor Maria Bianca Cita at the University of Milan, Isabella was well grounded in the rich geologic and micropaleontologic heritage of Italy and the Mediterranean region. Her thesis on “Planktonic Foraminifera of the Type Langhian (Northern Italy)” was just the beginning of her own contributions to this storied heritage. She has gone on to contribute voluminously to the Mesozoic-Cenozoic geologic and paleoceanographic history of Italy. Isabella was an instructor at the University …

Environmental geology: reaching out to a wider audience

Synopsis Whilst public awareness of environmental issues currently enjoys the highest profile, both nationally and internationally, understanding of the physical component of the natural world remains weak. There is an almost universal appreciation of many issues relating to ecological aspects of the environment, such as the need to conserve endangered species or threatened wildlife habitats, but by contrast, there is little understanding of the physical processes that have shaped our world. So the loss of key geological sites or landforms would be unlikely to occasion much public attention or comment. The challenge for the new millennium is that the geological profession reach out to a wider audience than hitherto, thereby ensuring a greater empathy with the physical component of the environment and its relevance to our everyday lives.

Geologic Needs and Knowledge of Real Estate Brokers and Builders

Real estate brokers and builders do not often use geologic information despite the new land use laws that require a knowledge of the physical environment. These two groups were evaluated to determine their technical knowledge, the level of knowledge they desire, and the specific information they need from the geologist. They are not proficient in engineering or geology, nor do they wish to be. The brokers and builders are aware of and interested in the geologist9s contribution, but they indicated that the contribution must be both informative and intelligible. The most requested contribution was interpretive information specifying the suitability of land for various uses. The geologic profession has a ready market for a fast, accurate, understandable, and competitively priced land use analysis tool.

Critical Role for Geologists in Resource and Environmental Management

The importance of geology in current and future efforts to inventory and, perhaps ultimately, to manage natural systems cannot be overstated. The geologist is trained broadly and traditionally is a generalist vitally interested in resource conservation and proper exploitation. Geologists need to accept the challenge and involve themselves formally or informally with the pressing problems of the decade to insure that rational, fair environmental guidelines are developed. The geologist can fill an important role not only in the solution of pollution problems, but also in environmental inventory and planning, because he long has been involved in mapping, extrapolating, and interpolating limited information in his search for geologic answers. Geologists' energies and approach s can be applied effectively to resource inventories that involve mapping and documenting the present status of natural environments and related facies, providing a perspective of natural systems that will be exceedingly important when, and if, management guidelines eventually are established. The geologist can translate his knowledge of natural change, physical processes, sedimentary facies, or ancient bedrock into parameters involving land and water capability, couched in the language of scientists and nonscientists who share responsibility for establishing land-use systems for balanced conservation and exploitation. Legislation is being enacted which may establish the trend of land use for decades to come. A proper balance needs to be maintained between use and conservation on the basis of scientific facts rather than emotion. Geology can contribute much to this effort, for geologists had a professional interest in the earth, its processes, and its environments long before the present crisis. The geologic profession provided much of the technical and scientific knowledge which has allowed society to utilize mineral and energy resources on the present 20th-century scale. Can geology contribute less to insure intelligent use of these natural resources with rational and balanced environmental protection?

Exploration Geologist in the Seventies: ABSTRACT

The 70's promise to be a period of turmoil and change for the petroleum industry, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. These conditions will have a significant effect on explorationists. Ecology and environment are rapidly becoming common words in our vocabulary and, as scientists, we must make our technology compatible with the environment. The explorationist (the geologist and the geophysicist) will have to search for and locate large reserves in this country, if we are to meet the anticipated increase in domestic demand for petroleum products in End_Page 1784------------------------------ the next decade. It is evident that the needed reserves will not be found by employing current exploration methods. We must take a hard look at present exploration methods and philosophies and at ourselves, as petroleum geologists, to determine whether we, individually, and as a scientific group, are traveling in exploratory directions which will lead to the discovery of large, needed, new domestic reserves. The direction and growth of oil companies during the 70's will, to a great degree, depend on the quality and loyalty of the petroleum scientist. The scientist who feels that the company regards him as an asset will be an asset to that company. Make him fear for his job and he will be not only nonproductive, but a liability. I stress, as I have done in the past, that the geologic profession as a whole must start looking purposely for the hidden and subtle traps--those which are stratigraphic and paleogeomorphic--by employing all of the known disciplines to assist in this search, but more particularly, to use the geologic mind to determine indications that initiate and lead to the discoveries of those traps. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1785------------

Competitive Position of Energy Resources in Rocky Mountain Region: ABSTRACT

A half century has wrought drastic changes in the End_Page 211------------------------------ economy of the Rocky Mountain region. In the 1920s the country from New Mexico to Montana could boast of only two peripheral population centers--Denver and Salt Lake City--which provided limited markets for manufactured goods. Travel in much of the area was an adventure. Major activity was mining for export, and major needs were met by imports from the East. The Colorado Fuel and Iron Co. and the railroads were the chief users of the vast coal resources; limited oil production in Colorado and Wyoming was barely adequate for regional needs; few of the hydroenergy resources had been tapped. Since World War II, population growth has provided markets that support locally based industry, which must be paced by the development of energy to power it. Petroleum geologists have done their part well, but power technology has made competitive sources of energy available, and the full impact of competition is still to come. There is little immediate threat from nuclear raw materials so long as conventional fuels are available in abundance, and oil from shale is beset with political problems that appear more formidable than technological breakthroughs. Chief competitors to oil are coal and hydro-energy. The once-remote hydro site and coal mine can now deliver energy to every part of the region by high voltage lines and network hookups. Utility and mining companies are acquiring coal lands for development, and coal will be used in increasing volume--even by railroads, which are fast reaching the limits of diesel-powered equipment and may turn to electricity generated in coal burning power plants. Oil's role may decline relatively, but its importance is not in jeopardy. However, a more intense exploratory effort and a broader understanding of energy resources economics will be required of the geologic profession, oil companies, and state officials if the regional oil industry is to retain its place in the regional economy. The pipeline makes the region competitive with other areas of oil and gas supply. End_of_Article - Last_Page 212------------

The Geological Profession and Ground Watera

AbstractA supply of good‐quality water is our most critical natural resource, for our municipal growth and an increasingly healthy industrial base. The economic viability of our farms depends upon it. The locating and development of this resource is the province of the hydrogeologist.The hydrogeologist is more than just a ground‐water geologist, for he deals with water in virtually every geologic situation, above‐the water table as well as below it, and at the surface as well as underground.The hydrogeologist must of course possess the necessary background in the allied sciences and fluid mechanics, and should know something of the social science aspects of water decision‐making. He must be able to work closely with the civil and sanitary engineers, and he must be able to make himself understood to planners.In performing his work he has a responsibility to society, and this is equated with a responsibility to his profession. As Martin Van Couvering has said, the respect that our profession deserves “cannot be bought or solicited; it has to be earned by the right kind of performance.”

Explosion in Geological Education and Its Future Effects on the Profession: ABSTRACT

This fall (1968) several hundred thousand high school students across the nation are studying their environment through a series of laboratory and field investigations. These investigations are designed to permit the students to discover principles of science for themselves and understand earth processes. Stream tables, rock and soil samples, fossil models, field trips, and stereoscopes are now commonplace in thousands of high schools. The earth and space orientation of this new science course will influence the perspective of millions of youngsters during the next few years. Geoscientists and their efforts will be viewed within the framework of science and the geodisciplines will benefit from an understanding and appreciation in the younger generation that they have never before experienced. Geology in particular stands to benefit from the new surge of interest that these youngsters will carry with them. A widespread realization of the essential and basic contribution of geology to the progress of mankind is but a part of the dividend. New areas of research will be opened and advanced as greater numbers of young scientists, teachers, and technicians apply their intellect to the study of our planet. Geologists in our universities and industries should be aware of this new facet of secondary school science education and be prepared to reap the benefits for the geologic profession. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1836------------

Case History of Contamination Control in Hubbard Creek Reservoir Watershed, Texas: ABSTRACT

The West Central Texas Municipal Water District was created by an act of the Texas State Legislature in March, 1955, with four member cities--Abilene, Albany, Anson, and Breckenridge. Construction of the End_Page 169------------------------------ Hubbard Creek Reservoir began in 1962. A single U.S.G.S. hydrologic station below the present damsite indicated that water acceptable by U.S.P.H.S. standards would be impounded. However, an increase in chloride load was noted beginning in 1958 and continuing into 1961. Consultants were employed to ascertain the source of the contamination, inasmuch as the watershed is located in one of the most intensively drilled areas in the nation, with more than 13,000 known holes. The consultants' report, submitted in May, 1962, established that the watershed was naturally clean and that contamination originated primarily from salt water disposal pits, improperly plugged wells, and water escaping to the surface as a result of repressuring by waterfloods. Remedial work, including plugging leaking wells, a no-pit order for the watershed by the Texas Railroad Commission effective March 1, 1964, the establishment of additional U.S.G.S. hydrologic stations, and a general clean-up by the oil industry significantly reduced the chlorides reaching the reservoir. These remedial measures, however, were insufficient to reduce chlorides entering the reservoir to less than 50 ppm. A second intensive study was submitted by the consultants in January, 1966, and isolated eight remaining contaminated areas. This study also recognized salt-water charged alluvium as an important source of contamination. These findings were supported by U.S.G.S. data. It was found that 4 per cent of the watershed area contributed up to 40 percent of the total chloride load reaching the reservoir. This area, just west of the city of Albany, Texas, contains numerous shallow waterfloods and very old production dating to the 1900s. As a result of continuing pollution originating here, the Railroad Commission held a hearing in Albany in August, 1966, during which operators were given an opportunity to show cause why offending leases should not be shut down. The results of the consultants' contamination studies in this watershed emphasize that geological responsibility today goes far beyond the search for petroleum reserves. Geologists must be prepared to point out unmistakably to their employers and clients the many potential hazards that lie ahead--perhaps many years ahead--as a result of poor completion practices. These matters are of concern to the geological profession and should be considered definite geological responsibilities whose importance will increase in years to come. End_of_Article - Last_Page 170------------

Geological Education in New South Wales

The introduction of compulsory high school geology for all students in New South Wales has provided a challenge to the geological profession. Various steps have been undertaken to make this course satisfactory. The college-level geology courses at Sydney University are considered to be fairly typical of the Australian system, and in contrast to the usual pattern of geological training given in American colleges.

Ecology of Geologists: Need for a Course On the Geological Profession

Geology departments generally do not take time to orient students in the geological profession—to explore vigorously areas other than strictly geology wherein geologists might adapt themselves, or to discuss frankly and fully such matters with students who will soon be launched into the profession. A brief course on the geological profession is strongly recommended.

Development of geological research in U.S.S.R Academy of Sciences and U.S.S.R. Ministry of Geology and Mineral Reserves

On October 12, 1962, a joint session of the Presidium of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and the Collegium of the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Geology and Mineral Reserves adopted a resolution “On the present state of the geological sciences in the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and the U. S. S. R. Ministry of Geology and Mineral Reserves and their prospects for the future.” Important contributions of Russian geologists are acknowledged, but attention is drawn to many shortcomings. Future goals of geological study and work are given in detail. Twenty-one lines of research to be concentrated on are given, covering all phases of geology, geophysics, and geochemistry. In discussing the failings of the geological profession in Russia, it is of interest to note the following comment: “Geological research in other countries is still insufficiently studied and applied, and we are not making adequate use of geologic information from abroad.” The list of the Russian geologists' shortcomings sounds vaguely familiar. —J. R. Hayes