Stephen White wrote:
"Please can someone clarify whether there is a standard
spelling of pseudotachylyte/pseudotachylite?"
To Stephen White and others,
When we were doing research for the preparation of "Fault-related
Rocks: A Photographic Atlas" (1998, Princeton University Press), we had to
make a decision about a consistent spelling for "pseudotachylyte." After
consulting several experts on the subject, including John Spray (UNB) and
Jerry Magloughlin (Colo. State Univ.), we decided to use the original
spelling of Shand (1916) who coined the term. See Shand, S.J., 1916, The
pseudotachylyte of Parijs (Orange Free State) and its relation to
"trap-shotten gneiss" and "flinty crush-rock": The Quarterly Journal of the
Geological Society of London, v. 72, p. 198-221.
I see no reason to change Shand's original spelling. In Higgins'
(1971) USGS Professional Paper 687, "pseudotachylite" is used, and it
became the common usage after that time (especially among US geologists).
For example, see the following modern textbooks: Davis and Reynolds (1996)
and Twiss and Moores (1992); they both use "pseudotachylite." However, I
note that van der Pluijm and Marshak (1997) use "pseudotachylyte." Thus
based on the literature, the jury is clearly out on the spelling of the
term. Only recurrent usage will decide which spelling is preferred by the
scientific community. I personally cast my vote for Shand's (1916) original
spelling: pseudotachylyte.
Cheers,
Art Snoke
Arthur W. Snoke
Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY 82071-3006
U.S.A.
Office: (307) 766-5457
Fax: (307) 766-6679
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://home.gg.uwyo.edu/people/faculty/person.asp?PersonID=140
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