Rob and Malcolm
The widespread nature of the 1" holes is indeed depressing. I tell students that the holes are examples of the widespread trace fossil Geophysicus boringi. The most depressing examples miss the target altogether and seem to find a greywacke instead. Sad.
Alan
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Dr. A.P. Boyle
Geology & Geophysics, School of Environmental Sciences, Herdman Building, 4 Brownlow Street
University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, U.K.
Tel: (0151) 794 5154; FAX:(0151) 794 5196; School web page: www.liv.ac.uk/environmental-sciences
"The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact." (Huxley, 1825 - 1895)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Malcolm McClure
Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Geovandalism and geoconservation
Rob
I agree wholeheartedly. I have seen geovandalism from the classic
Port Askaig Formation on the Garvellachs to the Purbeck type locality
near Swanage, equally peppered with the infamous 1" plug holes.
Geomagnetic specialists need to be whipped in —or St Paul's Cathedral will be next on their list.
Regards
Malcolm
On 29 Apr 2012, at 23:10, Butler, Robert wrote:
> Bruce
> Thank you for bringing this dreadful act to our collective notice.
> As others have pointed out - it's not unique. In the UK there have
> been some despicable outcrop drilling. For a decade over here we have
> had enhanced legislation protecting a great many important locations -
> Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Unauthorised rock damage -
> including collecting (from in situ materials or even collected float)
> is illegal. There have been cases where folk have essentially claimed
> that because "no sampling" notices were not evident that somehow those
> individuals were absolved from responsibility. But of course ignorance
> is no defence. Scottish Natural Heritage (the responsible conservation
> body in Scotland - and the legislation is the Land Reform Act,
> Scotland - the same law that gives us rights of access to almost
> everything - on a "look but don't damage" basis) have interactive maps
> of all SSSIs. It's worth pointing out that the geoconservation rules
> apply regardless of the reason for designation (e.g. biodiversity) -
> quite rightly because geo-collecting can impact on the rest of the
> natural system. In Scotland over 12% of the land is SSSI.
> There is active discussion of geoconservation (indeed there is an
> entire commission) within the Geological Society - because there are
> also a good many key geological sites in the UK that are not SSSIs.
> Not that this has stopped culprits. Of course bona fide research is
> often sanctioned by the legal protectors of these resources - so that
> sampling can be carried out using sensitive collection methods on
> obscure, non-photogenic or out-of-the-way outcrops But surely it's up
> to the earth science community also to police ourselves - for these
> kinds of acts bring shame on all of us (and scuppers requests for
> proper collections in the future). It strikes me that illegal
> collecting makes any science carried out on the samples unethical. As
> such we (editors, reviewers) should not permit results to be published
> in learned journals. Should not journal editors ask for evidence that
> sampling has been done with permission? Of course this would only
> curtail some of the culprits.
> There's a good chance that this specific act you've described from the
> Bartlett Wash was done for entirely commercial purposes (e.g.
> for characterising outcrop analogues of subsurface structures) and
> that the results will sit in a confidential report. If so - the onus
> is on the companies who commissioned this work to stand up here.
> Geoconservation is as important as bioconservation. Could you imagine
> the reputational damage to companies and individuals associated with
> the unsanctioned culling of a protected species? Or an archeologist
> hacking chunks out of Stonehenge?
> Of course research collection of rock is important and must continues
> - but breaking the rules and buggering up the aesthetic beauty of an
> outcrop for the sake of a paper just brings our game into disrepute.
>
> Best wishes
> Rob
>
> (having just spent a day in the sunshine on the late Archean-early
> Proterozoic rocks of NW Scotland where almost every Scourie dyke in
> their type locality has 1" drill cores taken out of them on the most
> photogenic surfaces - from c 20 years ago - time has not healed them.
> And whichever party was here last week have illegally hammered a bunch
> of the famous basic granulites).
> ________________________________________
> From: Tectonics & structural geology discussion list
> [[log in to unmask] ] On Behalf Of Bruce Trudgill
> [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 25 April 2012 17:51
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Geo-vandalism, Bartlett Wash, near Moab, SE Utah
>
> PLEASE CONSIDER CAREFULLY ANY RESPONSES TO THIS POST THAT WILL BE
> DIRECTED TO THE WHOLE LIST.
> PERSONAL OR PRIVATE COMMENTS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> Colleagues,
>
> On a field trip to Bartlett Wash north of Moab, SE Utah last week I
> came across a particularly sad case of geo-vandalism.
>
> The exact location of the affected outcrop is: 38° 43' 00.09" N
> 109° 47' 17.85" W. Many of you may have visited this spectacular
> location on university or industry field trips, or for your own
> research purposes. The location of the exposure is on a splay off the
> main Moab Fault, and it illustrates many aspects of brittle
> deformation and fluid flow, as well as some un-paralled exposures of
> aeolian dune sets in the Slickrock member of the Entrada Formation.
> It's a truly world-class field location and has been used in a number
> of publications and texts, including the following figure in Haakon
> Fossen's structural geology textbook.
>
> [cid:7C7BA86A-C05D-4316-836F-EB52EDA8E8C6@Mines.EDU]
>
> Figure 8.11 in Structural Geology by Haakon Fossen (Cambridge
> University Press)
>
> One of the key aspects of this location is the 100% exposure of
> deformation bands in the footwall of the fault and their relationship
> to fluid flow. Students can measure and plot deformation band density
> in the footwall of the fault and it's a great location to discuss
> their influence of fluid migration.
> Anyway, this (formally) pristine outcrop is now missing a few of the
> deformation bands in Haakon's photo due to some mindless geo-
> vandalism (see below)
>
>
> [cid:95CE0C65-37E2-4046-8B3A-1F56D261F1E8@Mines.EDU]
>
> Photo taken by Roy Luck on September 29th 2011.......note the rock
> powder spread around the outcrop showing evidence of very recent
> cutting
>
> I really hope this geo-vandalism wasn't undertaken by a geological
> research group, but I'm finding it hard to think why anyone else who
> would go to the effort of lugging a rock saw up on to the outcrop in
> order to remove samples of deformation bands from this fantastic
> location.
>
> I've discovered that the damage to this outcrop was first reported to
> the BLM (Bureau of Land Management......the Federal Gov agency that
> has responsibility for the Bartlett Wash recreation area) on September
> 29th 2011 by a group visiting the location on a field trip.
>
> As chance would have it, I can tie down the date that this geo-
> vandalism occurred to a 3 day window (Sept 26th, 27th or 28th
> 2011)......here's a photograph of the same outcrop at 520pm on
> September 25th 2011, when I was at Bartlett Wash with a field class.
>
> [cid:C191C304-30EC-4F51-9179-48B7B1767C7F@Mines.EDU]
>
> Me, rabbiting on about faults and deformation bands 523pm Sept 25th
> 2011. Pristine outcrop behind me with location of geo-vadalism shown
> by red circle.
>
> Using a rocksaw to extract samples from BLM lands is illegal under
> federal law (sampling of an intact rock body requires a permit). The
> BLM office in Moab did not approve of any permits for sampling at
> Bartlett Wash (nor, they assure me, would they have done) and once
> informed of the damage notified the law enforcement agencies in Moab
> about this criminal act. Beyond being a crime however, this wanton
> vandalism of such a stunning outcrop is utterly mid-boggling to me.
> Again, I don't know who did this, I don't know that it was a
> geologist, but again I'm struggling to think who else would go to the
> effort of extracting deformations bands from an outcrop in such a
> manner.
>
> So, what to do?
>
> I'm sure many of you have seen examples of such outcrop desecration in
> other areas and on some of your favourite locations. I know for
> example that this has been a problem in the UK and the Geol Soc has an
> active campaign to stop it.
>
> We know that this particular act of geo-vandalism took place on either
> September 26, 27 or 28th 2011.
>
> If you have any information on who may have committed this crime you
> can contact me at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, or
> contact the BLM office in Moab directly. The geologist there is Becky
> Doolittle ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>).....she
> will pass on any information to the law enforcement agencies.
>
> Many thanks
>
> Bruce
>
> PLEASE CONSIDER CAREFULLY ANY RESPONSES TO THIS POST THAT WILL BE
> DIRECTED TO THE WHOLE LIST.
> PERSONAL OR PRIVATE COMMENTS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> Dr Bruce Trudgill
> Associate Professor
> Department of Geology and Geological Engineering Colorado School of
> Mines Golden, Colorado 80401-1887 USA
>
> Telephone: (1) 303 273-3883
>
> FAX: (1) 303 273-3859
>
>
>
> Dr Bruce Trudgill
> Associate Professor
> Department of Geology and Geological Engineering Colorado School of
> Mines Golden, Colorado 80401-1887 USA
>
> Telephone: (1) 303 273-3883
>
> FAX: (1) 303 273-3859
>
>
>
>
>
> The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No
> SC013683.
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