A significant fraction of the prebiotic organic matter present on the
early Earth may have been introduced by carbonaceous asteroids and comets
during the period of heavy bombardment of the inner solar system.
If, as the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis asserts, life arose as a natural consequence
of chemical evolution in the primordial oceans and atmosphere, then organic
molecules delivered during late-stage accretion may have profoundly influenced
the development of living systems. The distribution and stereochemistry
of organic compounds in carbonaceous meteorites, which are thought to be
derived from asteroidal parent bodies, may therefore provide insight into
the primitive Earth’s organic inventory at this critical juncture.
Berzelius, the prominent 19th Century Swiss chemist, first characterized
organic matter in a carbonaceous meteorite in 1834. In the century
and a half following this work, investigations of the organic component
in carbonaceous meteorites have progressed from rather primitive evaluations
of bulk properties to the meticulous examination of individual organic
compound classes at the molecular level. Three decades of research
on the Murchison meteorite, a CM chondrite that fell near Murchison, Australia
in 1969, have been particularly lucrative and have resulted in a clearer
understanding of the origin of organic matter in carbonaceous meteorites.
Of particular significance in this regard is the presence of a diverse
suite of amino acids in Murchison stones. The occurrence of amino
acids, the building blocks of proteins in terrestrial biological systems,
in carbonaceous chondrites is provocative and underscores their fundamental
significance to an understanding of chemical evolution and the origin of
life. The relative abundance, distribution, and stable carbon and
nitrogen isotope compositions of the amino acid constituents of the Murchison
meteorite have confirmed an extraterrestrial origin for these compounds.
In addition, the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of individual
amino acid stereoisomers in Murchison extracts strongly suggest that nonracemic
amino acids are indigenous rather than a consequence of terrestrial contamination.
Although controversial, it has been suggested that the flux of extraterrestrial
materials during late-stage accretion may have been a significant source
of optically active compounds for the development of homochiral amino acid
polymers (primitive “protein precursors”) during the prebiological stage
of evolution.
Don’t forget! Thursday, April 9, at the Glen Loch Restaurant.
The evening will conclude with an open question and discussion period.
Many among the audience disputed some of the conclusions drawn by our speaker. I would encourage them to look at the available data and how it is presented and draw their own conclusions. As a teacher, I was quite impressed with Lehr’s ability to keep the group’s attention by expressing a viewpoint that was so far removed from the conventional position taken by most professed liberals. I have ordered the book he mentioned, Facts Not Fear, A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Children About the Environment by Sanera and Shaw. I am looking forward to seeing what it has to say and sharing it with my grade school teaching friends. I wish all of our members had been able to enjoy this presentation. I am looking forward to sharing opinions with those that did. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks this month to Dave Palmerton, Sara McCullough and Bill Gabriel for taking the time to visit OCC and talk with the Geology Club about their jobs.
Plans for our short course continue to progress. The date is now set for Friday, May 15th. Our regular meeting will be held that evening (Friday) with a talk given by one of our presentors. New directories will be passed out and ballots for the election of next year’s officers will be collected. Hope to see you all there!
MOST Science Fair Senior Division Winner:
CNYAPG bestowed Mr. John Sullivan of Liverpool High
School (10th grade) CNYAPG’s Special Award for demonstrating excellence
in the area of Environmental and Geologic Sciences. Mr. Sullivan’s
project entitled, Mt. Rainier: Volcanic Hazards Study, was definitely not
the erupting volcano model. The project combined initial research
into the types of environmental hazards produced when a volcano becomes
active, primarily lahars and ash fall out. Mr Sullivan calculated
the gradient of several potential lahar flow paths. He concluded
that the steep gradients and deep channels would be the primary flow path
for lahars. Areas where potential human impact from lahars and ash
fall out were identified, and John explained the importance of this research
area to develop escape routes and engineer flow diversion techniques.
The project presentation was multi-media, including: poster board illustrations clearly defining the project research and calculations; maps and diagrams llustrating potential impact areas; and a computer slide show that included a simulated eruption and lahar flow (complete with the unfortunate house being covered by mud and ash). What impressed the judges most was John’s depth of subject understanding and the ability to communicate his knowledge. Good job John, keep up the good work. John received a $50.00 U.S. Savings Bond and a piece of amethyst mounted on marble to commemorate his achievement.
The CNYAPG judges were also asked to bestow the Women in Geosciences
Award, which went to Ms. Barbara Schrom of Liverpool High School (10th
grade) for her project entitled, Recombination of Molecular Hydrogen on
Dust Grain Surfaces in Interstellar Space. Ms. Schrom is just beginning
what sounds like a long-time research project. Support for project
work is provided by Profesors Gianfranco Vidali and Valerio Pirronello
at Syracuse University.
Don’t forget to set aside Friday, May 15th for the annual CNYAPG Seminar.
This years topic will be on natural attenuation. A special flyer
with more information will be sent as the plans are finalized. The
May CNYAPG meeting will be held Friday evening at the seminar location.
Be sure to make a note of the meeting change from Thursday to Friday.
MINERAL SALE
Stewart’s Minerals is going out of business. After 26 years in the mineral
trade, inventory is being sold at 50% off. A variety of inventory
remains: large and small minerals, jewelry and fossils. To schedule
an appointment call, fax, or e-mail:
Bob and Pam Stewart
112 Haverhill Drive
Dewitt, NY 13214
(315) 446-6623
(315) 446 2620 Fax
e-mail: bstewart@mph.net
Every rock has a story within it that can be read if you just know how to. As geologists, we know that this is so. Like so many of us I learned, long ago, how to read these tales of the distant past. So it was no surprise that, upon visiting "Boyhood Rock," I found a story worth repeating. This is certainly one of the Catskills best known rocks. It's at Woodchuck Lodge, John Burroughs' hideaway home at Roxbury, in the western Catskills. Burroughs was the beloved turn of the century nature writer. His boulder is on his old family farm. He spent many an hour sitting upon it, gazing at its magnificent view and pondering the natural history all around him. Best known for his writing about birds, Burroughs, especially late in life, was an avid amateur geologist, and he understood at least part of the story of Boyhood rock. He knew, for example, that the boulder was a glacial erratic. There is a photo of him, proudly pointing out to Thomas Edison the nearby glacial striations.
Boyhood rock is from the Oneonta Formation which makes up the local bedrock of the upper Pepacton Valley. The Oneonta sandstones are, for the most part, river deposits of the old Catskill Delta. The fossil delta is very well known within the geological community; it was an enormous complex of streams that originated in the Acadian Mountains in what is now New England. From there these rivers flowed westward down into the Catskill Sea of today's New York State.
There was a problem, however, that bothered me for a while. I was puzzled
by the many small
holes that littered the boulder's surface. At first I guessed that
these were fossil animal burrows. Could these be the burrows of Burroughs
rock? Alas the gods of nature writing would not be that kind to me. No,
they just did not look right for burrows. Eventually, I found an especially
well-preserved one and quickly recognized it as the cast of a fossil tree
root. They were fossils of the Gilboa trees from one of the world's oldest
fossil forests. These were tropical plants, and so Boyhood Rock, a product
of the ice age, must have had an older, equatorial ancestry.
The solution of one problem often leads to another. Gilboa tree roots are common in the Catskills, but it was the first time I had ever seen them in a river sandstone. How could trees have been growing in the channel of a fossil river? A possible answer is that this stretch of the old channel had once been a great bend in the river. During an especially bad flood, the river carved a new route and the old bend was abandoned, leaving a large, oxbow lake. The oxbow gradually filled with sediment, and then trees began to grow, their roots penetrating the old river sands. That's what we see today.
But there was another mystery that bothered me a
lot. There are three boulders here, all of which match each other in terms
of lithology and all have fossil tree roots. This can't be a coincidence
as the odds are too great; the three rocks must once have been joined.
My guess is that there once was a
much larger Boyhood rock, transported not beneath a glacier but within
it. As the ice melted this boulder was lowered toward the ground.
Stresses generated at this time caused the original rock to break up into
the three pieces, each of which "landed" near each other and remain as
we see them today.
And so it was that Boyhood rock gave up its geological
secrets. There is a great deal of satisfaction that comes from cracking
a scientific problem, even if it is a problem of absolutely no practical
significance.
=======================
Adapted from an article in the Woodstock Times.
April 9 &10, 1998 New York State Wetlands Forum Inc. Applications of Wetland Science in New York State, Annual Meeting, Albany, NY Contact: Sally Daly (518) 456-5170
April 9, 1998 Christian France-Lanord - Tectonics of the Precordilleran Terranes, Western Argentina
April 16, 1998 Susan McGeary, University of Deleware - Title TBA
April 28, 1998 ASCE / BAPG 1998 Environmental Seminar Technical Presentation and Discussion, Land Application of Biosolids / Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Rochester Institute of Technology (see enclosed registration form)
May 15, 1998 (FRIDAY) CNYAPG @ Location and speaker to be
announced
Final Meeting of CNYAPG until September.
May 15, 1998 CNYAPG 1998 Seminar - Topic on Natural Attenuation
May 17, 1998 MOST Science Fair, Junior Division @
Syracuse University