STRUCTURE OF ROCKS

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28162, 28 December 1956, Page 6

STRUCTURE OF ROCKS

Research At U.S. University

An incidental but important result of research into metamorphism had been the evolution of a method of establishing whether several pieces of inscribed marble had come from one block, said Professor F. J. Turner in Christchurch yesterday. Professor Turner, who was born in Auckland, and is now an American citizen, is chairman of the department of geology in the Berkeley branch of the University of California. He was formerly a lecturer at the University of Otago. Under pressures of 3000 to 5000 atmospheres (an atmosphere is about 15 tons to the square inch) and at temperatures between 400 and 500 degrees centrigrade, marble became like metal, and, when it was squeezed, a molecular rearrangement was produced, Professor Turner said. This, together with the realignment of the crystals within the marble, gave a means of determining whether or not given pieces of marble came originally from the same piece. Some of his colleagues had interested themselves in diamond making, but diamonds occurred naturaly at a much deeper level than 10 miles, which was the depth in which he was principally interested, said Professor Turner. Some attempts had been made with high-pressure physics and chemistry to reproduce the ’conditions in which mineral and rock structures were formed in the earth. Professor Turner said. Comparison with naturally-occurring speciments would determine whether the scientist was justified in deducing that the conditions he simulated were true of nature. Professor D. T. Griggs, a geophysicist, had worked for many years in the Los Angeles branch of the University of California on the deformation of marble, and had finally succeeded in producing some artificially. Facilities for Research Each teaching member of the University of California devoted at least a third of his time to research, and the total budget of the university was 80,000,000 dollars, Professor Turner said. The geology department at Berkeley had what it considered a small research fund of about 250,000 dollars a year, and each member of his department had spent about 700 dollars on incidental expenses such as travel, apparatus, and photographic equipment in the last year. There were 12 persons in the department. Students with bachelors’ degrees were of about the same standard-as New Zealand students with the same qualifications. Professor Turner said. The course was a four-year one, but students began it at a somewhat lower standard than in New Zealand. A graduate in geology, for example, would know less than he would in New Zealand, but he would have a better background in allied subjects. Masters’-- and doctorate students did more specialised work.

Professor Turner graduated from Auckland University College. His wife is a graduate of the University of Otago. Professor Turner will attend the conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science in Dunedin from January 16 to January 23.