James W. Meritt This is a continuation of my evaluation of Velikovsky's book WorldsInColli

James W. Meritt This is a continuation of my evaluation of Velikovsky's book _Worlds_In_Collision_ as he proceeds through other books and talks. This is to demonstrate how little he improved and how much he tried to recon his previous incorrect/inaccurate/nonexistant "predictions" as the truth came out. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- I would like to thank the various members of the INTERNET and BITNET community of assisted me in proofing the document, providing numerous suggestions along the way. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Permission is given for this article to be copied and printed for non-profit use showing arguments concerning Velikovsky. Permission must be given for other uses. If you have any items which you believe should be included, please email me. ........................................................................ jwm@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu - or - meritt%aplvm.BITNET ........................................................................ Since my expertise is not in history, I shall mainly address those points made which have physical, astronomical, chemical, or general scientific basis and are addressed in "Worlds in Collision" or in Velikovsky's work which addresses his central thesis in that work. An occasional item (primarily involving mythology) will be included because I have been involved in the Latin mythology. (I lived in Italy and have been involved in various Latin clubs over the years.) Additionally, I am only going to be covering Immanuel Velikovsky's work itself - not what someone said he said. James W. Meritt &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& In Immanuel Velikovsky said: }I came upon the idea that traditions and legends and memories of generic }origin can be treated in the same way in which we treat in psychoanalysis }the early memories of a single individual. } [page 272] Surely this psychiatrist recognizes the fact that memories do not have to reflect reality. Many of the trips to psychoanalytic facilities are BECAUSE they do not. }...the volcano on the island of Thera exploded with almost unimaginable }force. } [page 276] It is a not uncommon opinion that this volcano was the CAUSE of the local disasters which Velikovsky describes. Good to see that he knew about it... }carbon analysis of the wooden sarcophagi of Seti, Ramses II, Merieptah and }Ramses III, or the furnature and sacred boats of Thutmose III or }Tutankhamen, would yield dates 5 to 7 hundred years younger than those }assigned by adherents of conventional history. } [page 278] We'll see... } Recent finds in Geology } [pages 281 - 282] Velikovsky obviously had absolutely no concept of continental drift. Wegener proposed it later, it has been experimentally verified, and it will explain quite easily most of his "mislocated" sites. }reversely magnetized rocks are a hundred times more strongly magnetized }than the earth's magnetic field could cause } [page 282] I cannot locate any recent support for this statement (supposidely made in "Science News", July 1949) }Chubb crater (northern Labradore)... covers an area of four square miles... }It must have been created by the impact of an asteroid... the asteroid }must have fallen about four thousand years ago. } [page 286 - 287] Velikovsky must have a rather small idea of what an "asteroid" is. Interestingly enough, he finds the large craters on earth formed by "asteroid" impacts, but the craters on the moon are suppose to be "bubbles". }age of oil is measured in thousands of years, not millions } [page 288] This is suppose to support his "recent" origins. What I find odd is that Velikovsky seems to miss that the radiocarbon is formed in the air and the date should be the date that the plant stopped taking in replacement carbon (i.e. died). If it came from extraterrestrial origins (as he is proposing) it should be dated at an infinite age, since there was NEVER any radioactive carbon (C14) incorporated from the atmosphere into any plants. }hydrocarbons have been identified in cometary tails by spectral analysis; }also carbohydrates (edible products) } [page 288] Water appears very abundant, there are traces of ammonia and methane, there is carbon monoxide and dioxide, atomic sulphur, CS, S2, H2S+, hydrogen cyanide, methyl cyanide, formaldehyde, and HCO. The sungrazers have shown potassium, calcium, iron, cobalt, nickel, and copper. No helium, neon, argon, nor krypton has been found. This is VERY nonedible (cyanide is a no-no), and the gases supposidely tagging along that should be in the atmosphere of mars and venus and earth (the heavy noble gases) are notably absent. For where he picked up this odd bit, Huggins found some bands in the comet's spectrum that coincided with "hydrocarbon" bands produced in the laboratory by spark discharge through ethylene (C2H4). The bands are actually radiated from the double carbon molecule C2. The spark has been found to separate the C2 from the H4. These bands are called the Swan bands of carbon. Velikovsky apparently didn't bother to read the entire experiment. No hydrocarbons. (BTW: This was the great comet of 1881. Huggins also identified the sodium yellow lines. This was in the infancy of spectroscopic examination of the heavens) Violet bands were found to arise from the unstable CN molecule - the stable form is called cyanogen. } (lunar craters from bubbles) } [page 289] As I said before: 1. Rock does not cool from molten to solid nearly fast enough to leave rings. 2. No combination of orbit and spin could have produced the current shape from a molten body. 3. The Apollo astronauts would have noticed this trivial detail. They didn't. 4. The rocks have been solid for millions, even billions, of years. 5. You get craters with impact on solids. No "semiliquid mass" is needed. In fact, you get very nice looking, and similar appearing, craters by impacting projectiles onto solids FAST (rail-gun fast). You even get that central peak. From the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: seven rocks were dated using the K-AR method. They yielded consistent dates of 3.0+/-0.7 X 10^9 years. Radiation exposure ages varied from 10X10^6 to approximately 160X10^6 years. This surface was NOT molten recently and the rocks were NOT "bubbled up" from beneath the surface. } (cosmic rays are caused by positive charges rushing towards a negatively }charged earth. Get real. There is no way earth has such an absurd electrical potential to serve as a particle accelerator to those near-light speeds. }...Worlds in Collision, which claims only the effects to be expected }if a magnetic body like the earth should come very close to another magnetic }body } [page 297] You can't get a lot closer to the gas giants than the Voyager probes did without entering their atmosphere. Their motions were unaffected by a mystical magnetic field. }Jupiter...it appears probable to me it sends out radio waves as do the }sun and the stars. } [page 297] It doesn't. It does emit strong, nonthermal, polarized, intermittent radio emissions that are NOTHING like the sun and the stars. And of the actual distinguishing characteristics Velikovsky mentioned nothing. }gases on Uranus... have a smooth reflective surface. } [page 298] WOW!!!! A gas/vacuum interface that is optically smooth!!!!!! Not a prayer. }light reflected from the polar regions of Uranus to be polarized } [page 298] I scanned a lot on the optical observations of Uranus. There is a lot to be found relating to the light, but nothing in what I read on polarization. And if it were, there would be something. Does "phase angle" ring a bell? That was there... In Immanuel Velikovsky said: }I claimed that venus possesses a massive atmosphere, a high surface }heat, abnormal (disturbed) rotation, and hydrocarbon gases in its }atmosphere } [page 164] "massive atmosphere" = Cute enough, he also claims that it is the tail of it when it was a comet wrapped around it - the tail that would pass for a good vacuum if it were on earth. "high surface heat" = "venus is hot" Another precise prediction. Like those numerical estimates? oh, BTW: n 1940 Rupert Wildt published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal predicting a hot venus due to CO2 greenhouse efect. "abnormal (disturbed) rotation" = Interestingly enough, mars was suppose to have its 24 hour day because of its close passage to the earth. Since he couldn't see what venus's was, he cleverly didn't say. Guess he couldn't think that they would be consistent with his "theory". "hydrocarbon gases" = }I stipulated that hydrocarbons are present in condensed form (producing }a reflected spectrum). } [page 165] Odd, since just the previous page he said "gases". Perhaps he does not know the different phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma) just like he doesn't know different chemistries (hydrocarbons and carbohydrates) Besides which, in 1969 Plummer (with the university of Massachusetts) looked at the reflected spectrum of venus specifically for condensed hydrocarbons. He didn't find them. That was when the bug V shifted to gases - when his "prediction" measurably failed. }I located them in the upper (reflecting) layer of the clouds. } [page 165] Clever - first, say you cannot get a decent observation from space, then say you cannot from the surface, either. Safe bet. Unfortunately, they don't show up in the reflecting spectrum, either (as shown just above). }I maintained they are the sole constituents of the clouds. } [page 165] Unfortunately, he already said that some mysterious dust is there. Equally unfortunate, other chemicals have been ID'd there. }The evidence of the presence of hydrocarbons and their derivatives should }be sought in the deeper infrared... (3.4 - 3.5, 8-12 micron regions) }hot and oxydizing atmosphere of venus }[page 167] }... upper atmosphere is reducing... }[page 168] }... polymerized and therefore heavy molecules of petroleum hydrocarbons }are not necessarily present in the upper layer of the dense atmosphere. }[page 165] Talented hydrocarbons. When he wants them in the upper clouds they are in the upper clouds. When he wants them off into space and travelling to other planets (earth, for instance) they are free of the bounds of gravity. When he wants them to avoid the upper layer of the atmosphere, they are not necessarily present. When he wants them to be gases, they are. When he wants them condensed, they are. When he wants them to change to carbohydrates, they do. And back to hydrocarbons on demand. Immanuel Velikovsky's will must have more impact on these molecules than gravity, heat, chemical bonding,... }bacterial transformation of hydrocarbons into carbohydrates and }proteins }[page 168] Where? The lower atmosphere is lethal to any and all bacteria unless they can live in molten lead instead of water. The hydrocarbons avoid the cooler upper levels. Not to mention the minor detail that there is no indication at all that such bacteria exist. (not the conversion part - the part about evolving in a reducing hydrogen-helium atmosphere with ammonia and methane, then in a CO2 atmosphere) }the envelope of venus may well contain some ferruginous particles }and ash }[page 168] Ferruginous = iron containing. His "may well" should be "better", since that is what he based his "water to blood" spiel in Worlds in Collision. The odd part is that, if it were present in anything like those amounts, venus should appear red. It obviously doesn't. ash = burned cellulose containing material. Like, what burned? Got it! It is the remains of his "vermin" after being heated to "candescence"! }My claim regarding the presence of organic molecules in the atmosphere }of venus awaits future testing. }[page 168] It has been tested. None found. I suppose those clever hydrocarbon/ carbohydrate/gas/condensed/upper layer/not upper layer molecules are also clever enough to hide. }Venus is very, very hot (about 1000 degrees) }[page 169] Nice of him to provide any numerical estimate at all. Of course, waiting until AFTER it is measured on site gives one reason to wonder about the origins of this postdiction. }in rotating, it turns the same face to the earth at every inferior }conjunction. This "resonance effect" could indicate that venus passed }near the earth at some point in its path }[page 169] What it indicates is that it did not. For this resonance effect to be in place, venus would have to be in its current orbit for a significantly longer period than Velikovsky proposes. At that distance, earth and venus are not exerting a very significant tidal force on each other. Since venus has no moon, it gradually (under the effect of a REAL small periodic force) synchronized. This is not something that would happen quickly. If venus had been in another orbit, the period would have been different and it would not sync now. If it had passed close to earth, the tidal effects would have imparted a significant amount of angular momentum to venus and insufficient time would have passed (by now) to dampen it. }venus...body plastic or molten...molten crust...plastic rock }(attributes mountains to ground tides) }[page 169] There are mountains, for instance, of 13 kilometers high. That does not sound like a molten or plastic crust. It would have sagged like hot butter. Ground tides from what? There is no moon. Perhaps solar tides? But that would have these mountains migrating. Not an observed phenomena. Also, tides are caused in the same plane as the two bodies are in. Please note: There's a wide variation of altitude across Ishtar. The following table is taken from "Kliore, A. J., V. I. Moroz, and G. M. Kesting, The Venus international reference atmosphere, Adv. Space Res. 5, no. 11, 1985, Pergamon Press. (also: COSPAR Report JPL-D-2216)." Altitude Temp Pressure (km) (K) (bars CO2) Feature --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 743.0 98.12 "Average" lowland plains +3 720.2 81.09 Southern Lakshmi Planum +4 712.4 76.01 Northern Lakshmi Planum +7 688.8 62.35 Summits, Akna & Freya Montes +13 643.2 41.12 Summit, Maxwell Mons --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What we have here is a pretty rough mountain. No sagging evident. Also, this particular mountain is in the north polar region. No tides. }It must be noticeably cooling. In 1967 I offered this additional }crucial test of my thesis. }[page 169] It isn't I see no significant trend in the surface temperature of venus using the microwave brilliance values for the last twenty years. (reading chart prepared by David Morrison). And for those who want to argue over interpretations, note that Velikovsky said NOTICEABLY. It clearly is not noticably cooling or there wouldn't be a disagreement. In Velikovsky rights: }Venus' incandescent heat, its massive atmosphere (140 atmospheric }pressures!), its retrograde motion controlled by the earth; its }mountain-high ground tides... }[page 215-216] One hardly knows where to begin... Where is venus incandescent (besides, of course, in the minds and hearts of true Velikovskians)? 140 atmospheres is only off by 50% or so (and this is AFTER direct measurements) Motion controlled by the earth? Influenced, perhaps. Controlled? I am inclined to believe its primary, the sun, has a bit more to do with its orbit... mountain-high tides? Tides from WHAT? There is no moon. Ground has a lesser tidal bulge than water. The solar tide of water on earth isn't mountain-high. Also, astounding that these tides don't seem to move around the planet like the other tidal effects do... Mobile mountains... hehehehehehe } I maintain that less than three thousand years ago the moon's surface }was repeatedly molten and its surface bubbled }[page 216] From the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: seven rocks were dated using the K-AR method. They yielded consistent dates of 3.0+/-0.7 X 10^9 years. Radiation exposure ages varied from 10X10^6 to approximately 160X10^6 years. This surface was NOT molten recently and the rocks were NOT "bubbled up" from beneath the surface. }the moon has a weak magnetic field; yet its rocks and lava could }conceivably be rich in remanent magnetism }[page 216] Note the "could conceivably be". This is a good "plausable deniability" statement like he had just used. As an aside and relating to his magnetic points, the rocks brought back solidified in the presence of a magnetic field that was only a few percent of the present terrestrial field. It was NOT molten in the presence of a megagauss field. (from the Lunar Receiving Laborator results) }I would not be suprised if bitumens (asphalts, tar, or waxes) or }carbides or carbonates are found in the composition of the rocks, }although not necessarily in the first few samples. }[page 216] "would not be suprised" - so he can deny it as a "prediction" when it fails. the carbon compounds, results from the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: "A survey of organic constituents by a pyrolysis-flame ionization detector method and by means of a very sensitive mass spectrometer, provided an estimate of the indigenous organic content of the lunar samples. The values published give the organic content as under 10 parts per million.... No evidence of biological matter" "although not necesarily" - so he can always say we just haven't found those trickey molecules. Must be related to those hiding on venus... }In my understanding, less than ten thousand years ago, together with }the earth, the moon went through a cosmic cloud of water (the deluge) }[page 217] "In my understanding" - the same deniability dodge. (the deluge) - his words. Here we see the biblical basis. }...excessively strong radioactivity....from interplanetary discharges. } [page 217] An electron flow causing transmutation of the nucleii?!?!?!? No ____ing way. In ) Planets for Man Dole Our Evolving Atmosphere Is Anyone There? by Isacc Asimov Second Planet, Second Earth S. L. Gillett, Analog Dec 84 The Steady State of the Earth's crust, atmosphere and oceans Siever, Scientific American, May 1974 The Evolution of the Atmosphere of the Earth Hart, Icarus, 33, 23-39, 1978 Evolution of the Atmosphere and Oceans Holland, Lazar & McCaffery, Nature vol 320, 6 mar 1986 The Atmosphere of Venus Schubert & Covey, Scientific American, July 1981, p66 The Runaway Greenhouse and the Accumulation of CO2 in the Venus Atmosphere Rasool & Bergh, Nature, vol 226, June 13 1970 The Volcanoes and Clouds of Venus Prinn, Scientific American, Mar 1985 Venus, Near Neighbor of the Sun Isacc Asimov Structure of the Lower Atmosphere of Venus C. Sagan, Icarus 1, 151-169 (1962) Astronomy of the Ancients K. Brecher and M. Feirtag The Mystery of Comets Fred L. Whipple Geochemical exploration of the Moon and Planets I. Adler and J. I. Trombka The Planet Uranus: a history of observation, theory, and discovery A. F. O'D. Alexander The Planetary System Morrison & Owen Werelden in Botsing (Dutch) 1963 H. Freudenthal ........................................................................... references from Matt Briggs on venus's atmosphere: Dickinson, R. E. (1986). "Venus mesosphere and thermosphere, pt. 1, heat budget and thermal structure," Jounral of Geophysical Reasearch: 91 (70-80). Kasprzak, W. T. (1986). "Wavelike perturbations observed in the neutral thermosphere of Venus," Jornal of Geophysical Research: 93 (11237- 11245). Hou, A. Y. (1989). "Further studies of the circulation of the Venus atmosphere," Journal of Atmospheric Science: 46 (991-1001). Lacis, A. A. (1975). "Cloud structure and heating rates in the atmosphere of Venus," Journal of Atmospheric Science: 32 (1107-1124). Walker, J. C. G. (1975). "Evolution of the atmosphere of Venus," Journal of Atmospheric Science: 32 (1248-1255). ........................................................................... reference from Perry G. Ramsey: There is an article in the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, June 1975 (in fact, the entire issue is about the atmosphere of Venus) by James Pollack and Richard Young describing a radiative-convective model of the Venusian atmosphere. ........................................................................... Articles relating to geomagnetism: Evolution of Overlapping Spreading Centers: A Sea MARC II Investigation MacDonald, K. C. ; Fox, P. J Stratigraphic Aspect of Paleomagnetic Studies of Bottom Sediments in Seas and Oceans Tretyak, A. N. ; Vigilyanskaya, L. I. ; Dudkin, V. P. Magnetic Anomalies and Sea-Floor Spreading in the Western North Atlantic, and a Revised Calibration of the Keathley (M) Geomagnetic Reversal Chronology Tucholke, p857-876 1979 Vogt, P. R. ; Einwich, A. M An Analysis of Near-Bottom Magnetic Anomalies: Sea-Floor Spreading and the Magnetized Layer Geophysical Jnl. of The Royal Astronomical Society v43 p387-424 1975 Klitgord, K. D. ; Huestis, S. P. ; Mudie, J. D. ; Parker, R. L. Magnetic Study of Basalts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Latitude 37 N Geological Society of America Bull. v88 n70503 p637-647 May 77. Johnson, H. Paul ; Atwater, Tanya Geochronology of the Neogene Paleomagnetic Polarity Epochs Proceedings of the Congress (6th), International Union of Geological Sciences, Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), 4-7 Sep 75, v1 p303-305 Theyer, F. ; Hammond, S. R. A Revised Time Scale of Magnetic Reversals for the Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic Jnl. of Geophysical Research, v80 n17 p2586-2594, 10 Jun 75. Larson, Roger L. ; Hilde, Thomas W. C. Magnetic Lineations Observed near the Ocean Floor and Possible Implications on the Geomagnetic Chronology of the Gilbert Epoch Geophysical Jnl. of the Royal Astronomical Society, v28 p35-48 1972 Klitgord, K. D. ; Mudie, J. D. ; Normark, W. R. Evidence for the Opening of the South Atlantic in the Early Cretaceous Nature, v246 n5430 p209-212 23 Nov 73. Larson, Roger L. ; Ladd, John W. Faunal Extinctions and Reversals of the Earth's Magnetic Field Geological Society of America Bulletin, v82 p2433-2447 Sep 71. Hays, James D. Age of the North Atlantic Ocean from Magnetic Anomalies Earth and Planetary Science Letters 11 p195-200 1971. Pitman, III, W. C. ; Talwani, M. ; Heirtzler, J. R. Magnetic Reversals and Sedimentation Rates in the Arctic Ocean Geological Society of America Bulletin, v81 p3129-3134 Oct 70. Clark, David L. Palaeomagnetism of Deep-Sea Sediments International Dictionary of Geophysics, v2 p1134-1141 1967 Harrison, C. G. A. Magnetic Anomalies over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Near 27 Degrees N Science v157 n3791 p920-3 Aug 1967 Phillips, J. D. Reference for volcanic activity: The End of Atlantis ........................................................................... References for the tree-ring data: Scientists Hope Tree Rings Will Answer Questions About Past THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DATE: June 16, 1988 12:44EDT (Chris Stassen provided these) Scientists Confront Creationism_, L. Godfrey, Ed.; New York: Norton, 1983. p. 35 Timescale N. Calder; New York: Viking, 1983. pp. 28-29, 224, 271-273 Principles of Isotope Geology G. Faure; New York: Wiley, 1986. pp. 390-39 Science and Earth History A. N. Strahler; New York: Prometheus, 1987. pp. 155-158 Radiometric Dating, Geologic Time, And The Age Of The Earth: A Reply To "Scientific" Creationism Dalrymple, G. B.; USGS Open-File Report 86-110, 1986. pp. 39-41 The Unexplained: A Sourcebook of Strange Phenomina Wm. Corliss Science,133:729-735, March 17, 1961 Farrand, Wm. R. =================================================================== "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong." - Albert Einstein =================================================================== Notice that these are direct and original references. Notice also that there is no evidence of any supermagnetic magic force a-la Velikovsky. Notice no continental raceways a'la creationists. ========================================================================= NTIS articles: Evolution of Overlapping Spreading Centers: A Sea MARC II Investigation (Final technical rept) MacDonald, K. C. ; Fox, P. J. California Univ., Santa Barbara. Dept. of Geological Sciences. Corp. Source Codes: 005457023; 394146 1988 15p Languages: English Journal Announcement: GRAI9005 NTIS Prices: PC A03/MF A01 Country of Publication: United States Contract No.: N00014-85-K-0649 The long term goal is to further the understanding of mid-ocean ridge processes and their relation to seafloor morphology. With recent advances in high resolution sonar swath mapping technology we have been able to detect discontinuities currently along the spread axis and to trace related features which have been rafted off onto the ridge flanks. We can investigate the temporal and spatial interactions between the processes of volcanism and tectonism which shape the seafloor. Study of these ridge segmentation processes should tell us a great deal about the timing and spacing of major melting events in the upper mantle and their relation to axial magma chamber. During a major Sea Marc II expedition in May-June 1987 we mapped all the overlapping spreading centers (OSC's) north of the equator between 8 deg. and 18 deg. N and all their related off-axis scars. The main results include: We find that OSC's leave abandoned ridge tips and fossil overlap basins as distinctive scars on the flanks of the EPR, disrupting a significant amount (more than 20%) of the normal seafloor fabric; Traces of the discordant zones indicate that OSC's have migrated both to the north and to the south, not necessarily following pole of opening or hot spot traces; Large OSC's can persist for 0.5 to 2.0 my whereas small offset OSC's are transient, persisting less than 10,000 years. The character of the axial summit graben can be used to predict the presence and size of the underlying crustal magma chamber; and Zones of highly magnetized rocks are found in the proximity of several OSC ridge tips, due to fractionated basalts rich in Fe-Ti content. (EDC) ............ Stratigraphic Aspect of Paleomagnetic Studies of Bottom Sediments in Seas and Oceans. Abstract Tretyak, A. N. ; Vigilyanskaya, L. I. ; Dudkin, V. P. Joint Publications Research Service, Arlington, VA. Corp. Source Codes: 056306000; J1957394 Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC. 4 Mar 87 1p Languages: English Document Type: Translation Journal Announcement: GRAI8724; STAR2522 In Its USSR Report: Earth Sciences, p47. Trans. into English from Geofizicheskiy Zhurnal (Kiev, USSR), v8 n5 p23-25 Sep-Oct 86. NTIS Prices: (Order as N87-28073/1 PC A05/MF A01) Country of Publication: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The possibility of applying the paleomagnetic method to the stratigraphy of bottom sediments in the ocean was examined. Paleomagnetic methods can be quite useful in the stratigraphy of sediments of the Pliocene-Pleistocene ocean bottom. The unreliability of time correlations of geomagnetic events and episodes has resulted in the development of two alternative concepts of the structure of very recent geomagnetic time. The characteristics of spatial changes of the geomagnetic field are also poorly known. A number of results published in the literature indicate the very complex nature of changes in the geomagnetic field over the past million years. Some results obtained by the authors in paleomagnetic-stratigraphic studies in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans are briefly discussed. Detailed study of the magnetization of these bottom sediments reveals a series of brief reversals of geomagnetic field polarity, strictly correlated in time. These events in the magnetic history of the Earth can serve as reference levels to be used in stratigraphic correlation of other materials from other areas. Deep marine deposits can yield good information for the development of paleomagnetic stratigraphy. Some deep-water sediments contain a complete or nearly complete record of the development of the terrestrial magnetic field over the past 3.5 million years. ............... 43. Magnetic Anomalies and Sea-Floor Spreading in the Western North Atlantic, and a Revised Calibration of the Keathley (M) Geomagnetic Reversal Chronology Vogt, P. R. ; Einwich, A. M. Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity, NSTL Station, MS. Corp. Source Codes: 055026000; 392773 1979 20p Languages: English Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI8705 Pub. in Tucholke, p857-876 1979. NTIS Prices: PC A02/MF A01 Country of Publication: United States The very detailed body of data on ocean crust magnetism in the western North Atlantic has been reviewed and updated. In the last 5 to 10 years this body of data has grown somewhat, but the principal revisions in our understanding of the North Atlantic have come from the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Future revisions are not likely to be as spectacular as those of the last half decade. Nevertheless, the outstanding problems that remain-for example, the origin of Cretaceous quiet zone anomalies, the nature and age distribution of the Jurassic quiet zone crust, and the meaning of the rough smooth transition will not be solved without further drilling. The Keathley reversal sequence, can expect some further refinement, but probably no major revisions will emerge either from further analysis of Pacific sea surface magnetic data or from additional drilling. The erection of reversal chronologies and the calculation of spreading rates depend heavily on the stratigraphic time scale, and it is likely that refinement of this time scale will further our understanding of spreading and reversals no less than the collection of more data from the oceanic basins. ............. An Analysis of Near-Bottom Magnetic Anomalies: Sea-Floor Spreading and the Magnetized Layer (Summary rept.) Klitgord, K. D. ; Huestis, S. P. ; Mudie, J. D. ; Parker, R. L. Scripps Institution of Oceanography San Diego Calif Marine Physical Lab Corp. Source Codes: 217400 Report No.: MPL-U-46/74 6 Mar 75 43p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7723 Pub. in the Geophysical Jnl. of The Royal Astronomical Society v43 p387-424 1975. NTIS Prices: PC A03/MF A01 Contract No.: N00014-69-A-0200-6002; NSF-GA-31377 Near-bottom magnetic data over six oceanic ridge segments in the East Pacific are inverted, giving magnetization solutions with alternate positive and negative bands which correspond to geomagnetic field reversals. We estimate the average half-width of the crustal formation zone to be 2-3 km, based on the transition widths between these bands. The solutions show a narrow region of high magnetization centred directly over the centre of spreading, superimposed on a more gradual decrease of magnetization amplitudes with age. Both features are attributed to weathering of highly magnetized pillow lavas. We demonstrate that the short wavelength (< 3 km) anomalies are largely due to topography. Distances to reversal boundaries give distance vs age curves for each ridge which show that spreading changes occur as sudden accelerations typically separated by several million years of very constant motion. These rate changes are probably accompanied by shifts in the locations of poles of relative motion, which are necessary in a system of more than two interacting plates. Palaeomagnetic data and reversal boundary locations from near-bottom and surface data are combined to give spreading half-rates and a refined time scale for the past 6 My. Wide spread spreading rate variations occurred at 2-3 MyBP and about 5 MyBP, possibly as a response to large scale changes in the plate pattern. .................. Magnetic Study of Basalts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Latitude 37 N Johnson, H. Paul ; Atwater, Tanya Massachusetts Inst of Tech Cambridge Dept of Earth and Planetary Sciences Corp. Source Codes: 404784 26 Nov 75 11p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7723 Prepared in cooperation with Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences, Boulder, Colo. Rept. no. CIRES-Pub-268. Pub. in Geological Society of America Bull. v88 n70503 p637-647 May 77. NTIS Prices: PC A02/MF A01 Contract No.: N00014-75-C-0291 An intensive paleomagnetic and rock magnetic study was carried out on basalt samples from the FAMOUS area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Although rocks from the floor of the central valley were roughly uniformly magnetized, a strong decrease in remanence intensity occurred at the valley walls. Of the 9 vertically oriented samples obtained from the valley floor and inner west wall, seven were normally magnetized and two were reversely magnetized. Comparison of the magnetic results of the surface rocks with models of the associated magnetic anomalies suggests that the oceanic magnetic layer can be represented by a permeable zone of pillow basalts roughly one km thick and that the oxidation state of these pillows progressively increases with time. ...................... Geochronology of the Neogene Paleomagnetic Polarity Epochs Theyer, F. ; Hammond, S. R. Hawaii Inst of Geophysics Honolulu Corp. Source Codes: 164400 Sponsor: Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va.; National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. Report No.: HIG-CONTRIB-616 1975 4p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7521 Pub. in Proceedings of the Congress (6th), International Union of Geological Sciences, Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), 4-7 Sep 75, v1 p303-305. NTIS Prices: PC A02/MF A01 Contract No.: N00014-70-A-0016-0001; NSF-DES74-19504 The paper summarizes the chronology of the 21 paleomagnetic polarity epochs that comprise the Neogene (t=0-23.5 m.y.B.P.) and outlines their correlation with the radiolarian zonal boundaries. Relevant publications are mentioned and important future research projects are suggested. ......................... A Revised Time Scale of Magnetic Reversals for the Early Cretaceous and Late Jurassic (Journal article) Larson, Roger L. ; Hilde, Thomas W. C. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Palisades N Y Corp. Source Codes: 404497 Sponsor: Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va.; National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. Report No.: LDGO-2201 2 Oct 74 9p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7520 Pub. in Jnl. of Geophysical Research, v80 n17 p2586-2594, 10 Jun 75. NTIS Prices: PC A02/MF A01 Contract No.: N00014-67-A-0108-0004; NSF-GA-27281; NR-083-142 A magnetic reversal block model for the Early Cretaceous-Late Jurassic period was previously developed from four closely spaced profiles across the Hawaiian lineation pattern. Larson developed an improved model of this reversal period by reanalyzing data presented by Larson and Chase (1972) plus a profile collected during Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) leg 32. These two models are similar and contain nearly twice as many reversals as the original late Mesozoic reversal model proposed in (1972). These models are combined in this paper and are the basis for a revised magnetic reversal stratigraphy. The model is placed in a framework of geologic time by analyzing magnetic data in the vicinity of DSDP drill holes that reached volcanic basement on various late Mesozoic lineation patterns. The magnetic ages of these sites are plotted as a function of paleontologic ages at the bottom of the holes to determine a revised time scale of magnetic reversals for the Early Cretaceous-Late Jurassic. Fundamental to this analysis are the assumptions that the Hawaiian lineation pattern was generated at a constant spreading rate and that the paleontologic ages in the DSDP holes closely approximate the basement ages. This analysis shows that the M reversal pattern spans the Aptian to Oxfordian stages and ranges in chronologic age from 107 to 153 m.y. ......................... Magnetic Lineations Observed near the Ocean Floor and Possible Implications on the Geomagnetic Chronology of the Gilbert Epoch Klitgord, K. D. ; Mudie, J. D. ; Normark, W. R. Scripps Institution of Oceanography San Diego Calif Marine Physical Lab Corp. Source Codes: 217400 Sponsor: Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va.; National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Dept. of Geology and Geophysics. Report No.: MPL-U-91/70 2 Nov 71 17p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7424 Prepared in cooperation with Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Dept. of Geology and Geophysics. Pub. in Geophysical Jnl. of the Royal Astronomical Society, v28 p35-48 1972. NTIS Prices: Reprint Lineated magnetic anomalies, with a wavelength of 6 km and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 1500nT, were measured within 20 km of the continental crustal block of the tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico. The use of a high precision, local navigation system and measurements of the magnetic field close to the sea floor show that, at least in this small region, the sea floor spreading process has produced magnetic anomalies which are still lineated down to a scale of less than 1 km. These magnetic anomalies were formed during the younger part of the Gilbert Epoch of the geomagnetic time scale. They also indicate the absence of any previously undetected reversals of a duration of greater than 10,000 years. (Modified author abstract) .............................. Evidence for the Opening of the South Atlantic in the Early Cretaceous (Journal article) Larson, Roger L. ; Ladd, John W. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Palisades N Y Corp. Source Codes: 404497 Report No.: LDGO-2009 9 Aug 73 6p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7420 Pub. in Nature, v246 n5430 p209-212 23 Nov 73. NTIS Prices: Reprint Contract No.: N00014-67-A-0108-0004; NR-083-142 West of Cape Town, South Africa, in the Cape Basin there occurs a sequence of north-west trending magnetic anomalies that is correlated with the M-1 to M-13 reversal pattern of Larson and Pitman (1972). These correlations, plus possible correlative anomalies in the Argentine Basin, indicate that sea floor spreading took place in the South Atlantic from 130 to 110 m.y. and that the opening of the south Atlantic probably occurred in the Valanginian (125-130 m.y.). ................................. Faunal Extinctions and Reversals of the Earth's Magnetic Field Hays, James D. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Palisades N Y Corp. Source Codes: 404497 1971 19p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7123 Pub. in Geological Society of America Bulletin, v82 p2433-2447 Sep 71. NTIS Prices: REPRINT Contract No.: N00014-67-A-0108-0004; NSF-GA-1193 A study of 28 deep-sea piston cores from high and low latitudes shows that during the last 2.5 m.y. eight species of Radiolaria became extinct. Prior to their extinction these species were widely distributed and became extinct isochronously throughout their geographic range. Six of the eight species disappeared in close proximity to magnetic reversals recorded in the sediment. Careful determination of the level of disappearance of these six species by counts of over 400,000 individuals shows that the correlation between reversal and extinction levels is indeed striking. ............................... Age of the North Atlantic Ocean from Magnetic Anomalies Pitman, III, W. C. ; Talwani, M. ; Heirtzler, J. R. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Palisades N Y Corp. Source Codes: 404497 Report No.: LDGO-1646 18 Mar 71 6p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: GRAI7122 Pub. in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 11 p195-200 1971. NTIS Prices: REPRINT Contract No.: N00014-67-A-0108-0004 Magnetic anomaly lineations have been identified in the North Atlantic. These lineations correlate with the magnetic time scale describing magnetic polarity reversals for the past 71 my. The results indicate that approximately 70% of the total drift between Europe and North America has occurred in the past 72 my, whereas only about 35% of the total drift between Africa and North America has happened in the same period. Extrapolation using the magnetic anomaly data and the results of JOIDES DRILLING SUGGESTS THAT DRIFT BETWEEN Africa and North America was initiated about 180 mybp. ....................................... Magnetic Reversals and Sedimentation Rates in the Arctic Ocean Clark, David L. Wisconsin Univ Madison Dept of Geology and Geophysics Corp. Source Codes: 404560 Report No.: CLARK-4 2 Jun 70 7p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: USGRDR7105 Revision of report dated 20 Apr 70. Pub. in Geological Society of America Bulletin, v81 p3129-3134 Oct 70. NTIS Prices: REPRINT Contract No.: N00014-67-A-0128-0002; NR-307-311 Major reversals of the earth's magnetic field have left a good record in sediment cores taken from ice-island T-3 in the Arctic Ocean. Times of major magnetic reversals, such as the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary, can be correlated with radiometric age determinations, and from this figure sedimentation rates can be calculated. These sedimentation rates may be used to calculate and identify times of other magnetic events in contrast to magnetic noise in the cores. The reliability of this can be checked by comparison with the magnetic standard that is based on radiometric determinations. ........................... Palaeomagnetism of Deep-Sea Sediments Harrison, C. G. A. Scripps Institution of Oceanography San Diego Calif Marine Physical Lab Corp. Source Codes: 217400 Report No.: MPL-U-3/65 1967 8p Document Type: Journal article Journal Announcement: USGRDR6903 Prepared in cooperation with the American Chemical Society. Pub. in International Dictionary of Geophysics, v2 p1134-1141 1967. NTIS Prices: PC A02 MF A01 Contract No.: Nonr-2216(05); NR-260-103 The results outlined in this article show how a study of the magnetism of deep-sea sediments can help in the understanding of some of the variations of the Earth's magnetic field. Reversals of magnetization have been correlated for two widely separated cores on the basis of their palaeontology. Results from individual cores suggest that there has been a long period variation of the main geomagnetic field with a time constant of 100,000 1,000,000 years. If all the mean directions of NRM are studied together, it appears that the Earth's magnetic field over the past 1,000,000 years has been approximately dipolar, with the axis of the dipole possibly inclined to the Earth's rotational axis by 3 degrees. (Author) ....................................... Magnetic Anomalies over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Near 27 Degrees N (Technical rept.) Phillips, J. D. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Mass Corp. Source Codes: 381000 Report No.: WHOI-REF-67-68 16 May 67 8p Journal Announcement: USGRDR6804 Published in Science v157 n3791 p920-3 Aug 1967. NTIS Prices: Not available NTIS Contract No.: Nonr-4029(00); NR-260-101 Ten magnetic profiles across the mid-Atlantic ridge near 27 degrees N show trends that are parallel to the ridge axis and symmetrical about the ridge axis. The configuration of magnetic bodies that could account for the pattern supports the Vine and Matthews hypothesis for the origin of magnetic anomalies over oceanic ridges. A polarity-reversal time scale inferred from models for sea-floor spreading in the Pacific-Antarctic ridge and radiometrically dated reversals of the geomagnetic field indicates a spreading rate of 1.25 centimeters per year during the last 6 million years and a rate of 1.65 centimeters per year between 6 and 10 million years ago. A similar analysis of more limited data over the mid-Atlantic ridge near 22 degrees N also indicates a change in the spreading rate. Here a rate of 1.4 centimeters per year appears to have been in effect during the last 5 million years; between 5 and 9 million years ago, an increase rate of 1.7 centimeters per year is indicated. The time of occurrence and relative magnitude of these changes in the spreading rate, about 5 to 6 million years ago and 18 to 27 percent, respectively, accords with the spreading rate change implied for the Juan de Fuca ridge in the northeast Pacific.