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Remote sensing tools such as radar and sonar allow us to map topography and surficial characteristics of volcanoes and other geologic features in inaccessible (or cloud-covered) locations, including other planets and the seafloor. The following is a brief introduction and comparison of these two systems for those who have familiarity with one but not the other, or who sometimes use radar/sonar data but are a little hazy about where it comes from and what it really means.

These days, one hears a lot of talk about the 'Information Super Highway'. Often, one wonders what this actually means to us as individuals or as professional scientists. As soon as you discover the delights of Internet and the National Center for Supercomputing Application's program called 'Mosaic', you’ll see that the super highway has a lot to offer. Mosaic is an information browser that runs on the 'World Wide Web'. This enables documents to be linked together with information or images somewhere else on the Internet.

Students in most Earth Sciences programs at the University of Waterloo are required to attend a major field trip around the time they commence their final undergraduate year. This year, one group of students chose a trip to the southwest corner of the United States with the goal of exploring the geological development of that fascinating region. Most of the route we traversed with them lies within the tectonic region known as the Basin and Range Province.

I. Microcrystals while you wait

The idea of this is to grow crystals of coloured metal compounds in drops of water on glass slides, under a biological microscope. A drop of water will completely dry up and crystallize in 30 minutes, so if you start 'em 15 minutes before class, students can observe the progress of crystal growth They don't quite grow visibly, but almost: have the students check them every 2 minutes or so

Materials:

490 Students on Nea Kameni

The centre of the Thera caldera is occupied by two low basaltic volcanoes known as the Kamenis. Palea (ancient) Kameni which first is recorded in Roman times, has a younger volcano, Nea (new) Kameni on its eastern flank. Nea Kameni's last major eruption was in 1926, although the volcano also exhibited activity from 1939 to 1941 and in 1950. This class photo was taken at the summit of the 1950 crater looking toward the north. The remnants of the caldera rim can be seen on the far left and right sides of the photograph.

Laing Ferguson, Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B.

Introduction

In late May of 1992, the Geological Survey of Canada erected a bronze plaque in the little village of Joggins in north west Nova Scotia on the shores of Chignecto Bay in the Bay of Fundy (see Wat On Earth, Fall 1992 Issue). The plaque commemorated the work of Sir William Logan in the area and the 150^th Anniversary of the GSC. Logan was the first Director General of the GSC.

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1

Paul F. Karrow

Glacial erratics

Why are many of the fields around Waterloo so stony? Why are there piles of boulders along some fence lines, gathered there by farmers clearing their fields? Why do contractors encounter so many boulders when excavating for foundations?

The glaciers did it!

W.A.E. McBryde, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo

The Economist, 26 October 1991©

When cows die on the arid Wyoming ranges, their necks gradually bow backwards as the tendons dry and shrink in the sun. Much the same applies to dinosaurs. An Allosaurus unearthed near Graybull, Wyoming this September had its neck curled so sharply that the back of its fearsome skull almost touched the spine. Anyone innocent of the effects of dessication on a neck might think it has died in paroxysms of agony; or was throwing its head back in laughter at the shenanigans of its discoverers.