THE MAIN THRUST

NEWSLETTER OF THE STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY AND

TECTONICS DIVISION GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF
CANADA
December 1994
Season's greetings. Much has been going on these days, including a very successful meeting of the Canadian
Tectonics Group, and the awarding of the Best Paper and Best Thesis prizes. And in case you have not had
a chance to vote lately, we also have a ba llot for all the SGTD members to fill out. So here is a bit of
reading to go with the Xmas cheer.

CTG MEETING '94

The 14th Annual Workshop of the Canadian Tectonics Group was held on the week-end of the 14-16
October, in Belleville, Ontario. The meeting was very well organized (thanks to Simon Hanmer and Pierre-
Yves Robin) and also very well attended, with a total p articipation of sixty. Saturday proved to be a
densely-packed day of oral and poster presentations that covered a wide range of topics including strain
theory, geodynamic modelling, Appalachian tectonics, Core Complexes, Digital Terrane Modelling, Syntect
onic Plutonism, and Petrofabric Analysis. The field trip on Sunday was led by Pierre-Yves Robin, with the
participation of Paul Williams. Participants were introduced to complex folding, fabric development and
granite dyke intrusion in the Clare River Str ucture, near Tweed. The field trip was very interesting and a
great success, thanks in part to the beautiful autumn weather.

BEST PAPER AWARD

The SGTD award for Best Paper of the year was awarded at the CTG workshop. The prize of $100. is given
for the best paper of the year by Canadian authors, or dealing with Canadian structural geology and
tectonics. The winning paper is chosen by the Divis ion Executive from short lists of papers submitted by
the Division Councilors. This year, the awardees were Pierre-Yves Robin and Sandy Cruden, for their paper
Strain and vorticity patterns in ideally ductile transpression zones, which appeared in the Jou rnal of
Structural Geology. Hearty congatulations to P.-Y. and Sandy! A list of all the papers considered this year,
as submitted by the councilors, appears at the end of this newsletter.

Our Councilors select papers eligible for the Best Paper prize that appear in eight journals: CJES,
Tectonophysics, Tectonics, GSA Bulletin, Geology, CSPG Bulletin, JGR, and the Journal of Structural
Geology. For the coming year, if anyone becomes aware of a good paper that appears in another journal, or
in conference proceedings, please send a copy to the executive with a note pointing out the particular
strengths of the work.

BEST THESIS AWARD

Normally, the Executive also announces the award for the Best Thesis of the year at the CTG workshop.
This year, the choice of the winning thesis was put off for a few weeks. We are pleased to say that the delay
in choosing the winner was due to the larg e number of submissions (nine). The task of choosing a winner
was also complicated by the high quality of all the theses we read. The Best Thesis prize has since been
awarded to Dr. Robert J. Scammell, for his thesis Mid-Cretaceous to Tertiary thermotecto nic history of
former mid-crustal rocks, southern Omineca Belt, Canadian Cordillera (PhD, Queens University). Bravo to
Rob and also to all the other candidates whose theses were considered. A list of all the submittted theses can
be found at the end of th is newsletter.

NAMING THE DIVISION MEDAL

As all faithful readers of this newsletter are aware, the SGTD will soon be endowed with a medal to be
awarded annually to the authors of the Best Paper.

At the 1994 Annual Business Meeting in Waterloo, Andrew Hynes proposed that the medal be named for
F.D. Adams (1859 - 1942), a native of Montreal and an eminent Canadian geologist. A summary of F.D.
Adams' professional career and his remarkable accomplis hments was given in the last Main Thrust. Since
then, Willem Langenberg, Phil Simony and Philippe Erdmer have proposed that the medal be named after
the late David Elliott. Both proposals were discussed at the CTG workshop, where it was decided to hold a
mail-in vote in order to make the difficult choice between the two proposals. Following are summaries and
appreciations of the careers and achievements of F.D. Adams (reproduced from the last Main Thrust) and of
David Elliott. At the end of the newsletter , you will find a ballot with both names listed. Please take the
time to cast a vote for one or the other of the two proposals, or, if you prefer, write in the name of another
person for whom you think the medal should be named. Mail or fax the ballot to the Division Secretary
(address and fax number below). The results of the vote will be announced at Victoria '95.

F. D. ADAMS 1859 - 1942

- 1878 - At age 19, he was the first graduate of the Department of Chemistry and Mineralogy, McGill
University. Following graduation he joined the Geological Survey of Canada.

- 1881 - Travelled to Heidelberg on a leave of absence to study the new technique of thin section
petrography using the polarizing microscope. This led to pioneering work on the geology of the Grenville
presented in numerous publications.

- 1889 - Joined McGill University as lecturer.

- 1893 - Became Logan Professor in the Department of Geology, McGill University. Spent the following
eight years studying metamorphic processes and the metamorphic history of the Grenville in eastern
Ontario. While a professor at McGill, Adams was also a pioneer in the discipline of experimental plastic
deformation of rocks. He designed and built an experimental rig, and carried out experiments aimed at
understanding the structural and microstructural features he observed in Grenvillian rocks. Adams' expe
rimental work was highly original and at the forefront of geological research.

- 1908 - Was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at McGill.

- 1910 - Published a milestone paper, entitled On The Flow of Marble

- 1913 - Was elected president of the 12th International Geological Conference.

- 1924 - Retired from McGill after serving as lecturer, professor, Chairman, Dean, Vice-Principal and
Acting-Principal.

- 1929 - After three field seasons in Ceylon, he published a complete treatise and the first geological map of
the island.

- 1938 - Published a book based on his research into the early history of Earth Science, entitled The Birth
and Development of the Geological Sciences.

DAVID ELLIOTT 1938-1982

David Elliott was an enthusiastic and pioneering student of fold and thrust belt structure whose central
contribution was an approach combining good field work with insightful physical analysis. His ability to
pose geologically meaningful questions in te rms of simple physical principles emerges clearly from the
notes he prepared for a C.S.P.G. short course on the geometry and mechanics of thrust belts when he was on
sabbatical in Calgary in 1977. These notes account in no small part for Dave's impact. Th ey are a gold mine
of good ideas; a few were followed up in his later publications, but many were left for others to develop
after his death in 1982.

Dave was born and raised in Montreal and received his B.Sc. from McGill in 1960. His summer field jobs
in northern Quebec and graduate work in Scotland (Ph.D. Glasgow, 1964) gave him a profound respect for
the value of field work and a well-honed ability to unravel complex structures. His postdoctoral work with
John Ramsay (Imperial College 1964-65) nurtured an innate mathematical ability and convinced him that
physical analysis carefully tied to field data could produce geologically meaningful results. During his
academic career at the Johns Hopkins University he took his students on numerous field trips in Canada,
Britain, France, Switzerland and the U.S. He retained his Canadian citizenship and served as an enthusiastic
ambassador for Canadian geologi sts. Dave's field trips typically included a mix of international participants
and there was never any question that he was a Canadian first. These memorable trips offered him the
chance to astound people with his unique form of Frenglish (eg. le bras = l'arme) and instigate camp
cooking competitions despite the fact that his "Canadian team" never won (unless Brits were the only
competition). Although Dave lived half of his life outside of Canada, his impact was felt worldwide; in the
U.S. his solid bac kground and passion for field work are still held up as an example fostered by the "great
Canadian system".

submitted by Deborah A. Spratt

DAVID ELLIOTT - AN APPRECIATION

From the Journal of Structural Geology, 1983, v. 5, p. 99.

David Elliott was a graduate of McGill University and like most Canadian undergraduate geologists he
worked in summer field camps in the Canadian Arctic. These trips were the source of many of his amusing
stories, usually accompanied by a certain sense o f Elliott hyperbole, loved and appreciated by his friends.
He then carried out post-graduate studies at Glasgow University where he pioneered the use of isogons in
structural analysis. Dave continued his career with post-doctoral studies at Imperial Coll ege where he
began investigating processes of geological deformation, especially finite strain and strain paths. He then
took up the post of Associate Professor, later Professor, of Structural Geology at Johns Hopkins University
where he began field work in the Appalachians which led him to investigate the geometry of thrust belts.
He widened his investigations into the thrust belts of the Canadian Rockies, the Moine thrust zone, the Alps
and, much later, the Scandinavian Caledonides. This work led him to pioneer and popularize many new
geometrical techniques which help the study of the nature and development of thrusts. Dave introduced the
concept of the balanced section to a wider audience and developed the technique so that it could be applied
to cleav ed and similarly folded rocks. He unstintingly shared his unpublished manuscripts with colleagues
in Europe, and largely as a result of his lectures at the Geological Society of America and the Tectonic
Studies Group of the Geological Society of London, a nd the distribution of notes for courses given in
Calgary and Lausanne, he influenced and encouraged a large number of workers to look at thrusts and thrust
belts in a new way. Dave also continued, along with his students, investigations into the processe s and
mechanics of natural deformation and produced an elegant, simple model, analogous to glacier behaviour,
which helped to explain the origin of thrust belts. He also ran a series of informal field trips to the
Appalachians and the Canadian Rockies f or his students and colleagues which were great eye-openers and
tremendous fun for those geologists lucky enough to attend. Dave became an advisor to the editors of the
Journal of Structural Geology because he had very strong views on the way that the geo logical literature
ought to be published.

Dave was en route to the August 1982 'Fabrics Conference' in Zurich, before intending to visit the Pyrenees
to investigate a thrust belt new to him, when he tragically died. He once described the death of a U.S.G.S.
geologist in the field as a proper an d fitting end for a geologist to 'die with his boots on' and, sad to say,
Dave achieved this. He will be remembered by his many friends and colleagues as a tall, boyish figure full
of amazing fun and wit who could tolerate unbelievers gladly with a slight knowing smile on his lips. He
was incredibly widely read in many branches of the geological, physical and mathematical sciences and
seemed to have an infinite capacity for work and research. He obviously influenced very many structural
geologists and hi s written work is likely to rank with the best. Fortunately, the Department of Geology at
Johns Hopkins has plans to bring out his unpublished work and that of his research students. His loss will be
felt by all the geological profession but mostly by hi s wife Lois and his daughters Kate and Jenny who
have suffered a tragic bereavement.

J.R. Hossack

GAC-MAC SPECIAL SESSIONS

Two special sessions to be sponsored or co-sponsored by the SGTD were proposed to the organizers of
Victoria '95. Unfortunately, our tardiness in submitting the proposals resulted in their not being included in
the program. A proposal for an SGTD-sponso red Special Session has been submitted (on time) to the
organizers of Winnipeg '96 by Colleen Elliott of Concordia University. The Special Session would deal with
reactivation of basement faults in shield areas, evidence for reactivation, and consequences . If you are
interested in participating, get in touch with Colleen as soon as possible.

MEMBERSHIP TRENDS

In the last Main Thrust, it was mentioned that 1) membership in the SGTD has been declining, and 2) many
of those on the Main Thrust mailing list are not paid members of the Division. A quick comparison of the
membership list of the SGTD and the mailing list for the Main Thrust turned up the following food for
thought.

1) We currently have 168 paid members of the SGTD. Comparison with membership lists for the last two
years shows that this number seems to be stable (plus or minus ten or so), which is good news.

2) There are seventy-seven names on the Main Thrust mailing list who are not paid members. A statistically
invalid evaluation of the names and addresses of those who are not SGTD members reveals that people from
academia, industry, government agencies, an d elsewhere, are all about equally represented.

There does not appear to be a financial crisis in the near future for the Division. If you have any thoughts
concerning this situation, please let the executive know.

FINANCES

Here is our financial situation up to December, 1994.

INCOME

Balance from spring 1994 $ 5821.12

GAC income via F. Fueten $ 545.00

Income from GAC $ 155.00

Interest $ 815.10

TOTAL $ 7336.12

EXPENDITURES

Best paper prize $ 100.00

Best abstract prize $ 150.00

Best thesis prize $ 100.00

Students subsidies (CTG) $ 250.00

Waterloo '94 $ 427.24

Subsidy to Precambrian Division for EMPOB '95 $1000.00

Banking charges $ 16.00

TOTAL $2043.24

BALANCE $ 5292.88

UPDATES

This section was introduced to the Main Thrust to keep everyone up to date on news of importance to the
Canadian Structural Geology and Tectonics community. Please do not hesitate to let us know of any news
from your department, field, province, ...

CLOSING REMARKS

As you have noticed, the Main Thrust currently serves to keep the SGTD membership (and 77 other
interested parties) informed of meetings, finances, prizes awarded, and thesis / post-doc opportunities. Do
not hesitate to also use it as a forum for your id eas. If you have something to say to colleagues across the
country, send us an email and request that it be included in the Main Thrust.

To finish up, another reminder about the Division's very own link to the information superhighway. By
sending an email message to [email protected], it will be redistributed to all those who are on the
SGTD emailing list set up at Brock University . If you wish to be included on this list, send your name and
email address to the Division Secretary (see email address below) or to Frank Fueten
([email protected]).

Of course, any comments, suggestions or questions for the Executive are, as always, welcome.

THE CLASSIFIEDS

MSc thesis. Structural and magnetic fabric study of a granite pluton and its wall rocks in the Quebec
Appalachians. Demonstrate the timing of emplacement relative to Acadian tectonics. Results important for
regional interpretations. Stipend, t.a. and logi stics. Contact Keith Benn (see address below).

MSc thesis on a structural/geochronological problem related to the Grenville Front in the Temiscamingue
area, near the Ontario/Quebec border. Simply stated, the question is: "Where is the Grenville Front here?".
Contact Simon Hanmer (see address below).

PhD thesis research on deep-crustal (granulite to upper amphibolite facies) shear zones in the Early
Proterozoic Nagssugtoquidian orogen in SW Greenland. Unique opportunity to examine the question: "How
do large shear zones initiate in the deep crust", in conditions of superb exposure, access and logistical
support. Contact Simon Hanmer (see address below).

SGTD Executive

Simon Hanmer, Chairman

Geological Survey of Canada
601 Booth Street, Ottawa K1A 0E8
fax: (613) 234-8951
internet: [email protected]
CompuServe: 76557,430

Cees van Staal, Treasurer

Geological Survey of Canada
601 Booth Street, Ottawa K1A 0E8
fax: (613) 995-7997
internet: [email protected]

Keith Benn, Secretary

Department of Geology
University of Ottawa
140 Louis Pasteur
PO Box 450 Stn A
Ottawa K1N 6N5
fax: (613) 564-9916
internet: [email protected]

LIST OF PAPERS ON STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY / TECTONICS 1993 - 1994 This list includes all
the titles submitted to the Executive by the Councilors. Papers are by Canadian geologists or concern
Canadian geology.

TECTONOPHYSICS

Hirt, A.M., W. Lowrie, W.S. Clendenen and R. Kligfield, Correlation of strain and the anisotropy of
magnetic susceptibility in the Onaping Formation: evidence for a near-circular origin of the Sudbury Basin,
225, 231-254.

Vilotte, J.P., J. Melosh, W. Sassi and G. Ranalli, Lithosphere rheology and sedimentary basins, 226, 89-95.

Quinlan, G., J. Walsh, J. Skogseid, W., Sassi, S. Cloetingh, L., Lobkovsky, C. Bois, H. Stel and E. Banda,
Relationship between deeper lithospheric processes and near-surface tectonics of sedimentary basins, 226,
217-225.

Xu, Y-G., J.V. Ross and J-C C. Mercier, The upper mantle beneath the continental rift of Tanlu, Eastern
China: evidence for the intra- lithospheric shear zones, 225, 337-360.

Huang, Z., and M.A. Williamson, The thermal conductivity and heat flow density of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin,
offshore eastern Canada, 233, 177-192.

Borradaile, G.J., R.A. Stewart and T. Werner, Archean uplift of a subprovince boundary in the Canadian
Shield, revealed by magnetic fabrics, 227, 1-15.

Morgan, J., Three-dimensional strain analysis in physical models of geological structures, 230, 181-198.

Girard, R., Orogen-scale strain partitioning and an analogy to shear-bands in the Torngat Orogen,
northeastern Canadian Shield, 224, 363-370.

Lafrance, B., J.C. White and P.F. Williams, Natural calcite c-axis fabrics: an alternate interpretation, 229, 1-
18.

Benn, K., Overprinting of magnetic fabrics in granites by small strains: numerical modelling, 233, 153-162.

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

Suhr, G., Evaluation of upper mantle microstructures in the Table Mountain massif (Bay of Islands
ophiolite), 15, 1273-1292.

Sawyer, E.W. and Benn, K., Structure of the high-grade Opatica belt and adjacent Abitibi subprovince,
Canada: an Archean mountain front, 15, 1443-1458.
Robin, P.-Y.F. and Cruden, A.R., Strain and vorticity patterns in ideally ductile transpression zones, 16,
447-466.

Cruden, A.R. and Launeau, P., Structure, magnetic fabric and emplacement of the Archean Lebel stock, SW
Abitibi greenstone belt, 16, 677-692.

Ji, S. and Martignole, J., Ductility of garnet as an indication of extremely high temperature deformation, 16,
985-996.

GEOLOGY

Erdmer, P. and Mortensen, J. K., A 1200-Km-long Eocene metamorphic-plutonic belt in the northwestern
Cordillera: Evidence from southwest Yukon, 21, 1039-1042.

Van Gool, J. A. M. and Cawood P. A., Frontal vs. basal and contrasting particle paths of metamorphic
thrust belts, 22, 51-54.

van der Velden, A.J., and Cook, F.A., Displacement of the Lewis thrust sheet in southwestern Canada: New
evidence from seismic reflection data, 22, 819-822.

Percival, J.A., Stern, R.A., Skulski, T., Card, K.D., Mortensen, J.K., B_gin, N.J., Minto Block, Superior
province: Missing link in deciphering assembly of the craton at 2.7 Ga, 22, 839-842.

Brown, R. L., Beaumont, C., and Willett, S. D. 1993(11). Comparison of the Selkirk Fan structure with
mechanical models: Implications for interpretation of the southern Canadian Cordillera. Geology, v. 21, pp.
1015-1018.

Jones, A. G., Craven, J.A., McNeice, G.W., Ferguson, I.J., Boyce, T., Farquarson, C. and Ellis, R.G., North
American Central Plains conductivity anomaly within the Trans-Hudson orogen in northern Saskatchewan,
Canada, 21, 1027-1030.

Rivers, T., van Gool, J.A.M., and Connely, J.M. 1993(12). Contrasting tectonicstyles in the northern
Grenville Province: Implications for the dynamics of orogenic fronts. Geology, v. 21, pp. 1127-1130.

Monger J. W. H., van der Heyden, P., Journeay, J.M., Evenchick, C.A., Mahoney, J.B., Jurassic-Cretaceous
basins along the Canadian Coast belt: Their bearing on pre-mid-Cretaceous sinistral displacements, 22, 175-
178.

Cawood, P.A., Dunning, G.R., Lux, D., and van Gool, J.A.M., Timing of peak metamorphism and
deformation along the Appalachian margin of Laurentia in Newfoundland: Silurian not Ordovician, 22, 399-
402.

Lawton, D.C., Spratt, D.A., and Hopkins, J.C., Tectonic wedging beneath the Rocky Mountain foreland
basin, Alberta, Canada, 22, 519-522.

Nance, R.D., and Murphy, J.B., Contrasting basement isotopic signatures and the palinspastic restoration of
peripheral orogens:example from the Neoproterozoic Avalonian-Cadomiam belt, 22, 617-620.

Gower, C.F., and Tucker, R.D., Distribution of pre-1400 Ma crust in the Grenville Province: Implications
for rifting in Laurentia-Baltica during geon 14, 22, 827-830.

TECTONICS

van Staal, C.R., Brunswick subduction complex in the Canadain Appalachians, 13, 946-962.

Mahalynuk, M.G., Nelson, J. and Diakow, L.J., Cache Creek terrane entrapment: oroclinal paradox within
the Canadian Cordillera,13, 575-595.

Stephenson, R.A., Coflin, K.C., Lane, L.S., and Dietrich, J.R., Crustal structure and tectonics of the
southeastern Beaufort Sea continental margin, 13, 389-400.

Bouteiller, R.R. and Keen, C.E., Geodynamic model of fault-controlled extension, 13, 439-454.

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES

Roberts, W. and Williams, P.F., Evidence for early Mesozoic extensional faulting in Carboniferous rocks,
southern New Brunswick, Canada, 30, 1324-1331.

Stauffer, M.R. and Lewry, J.F., Regional setting and kinematic features of the Needle Falls shear zone,
Trans-Hudson orogen, 30, 1338-1354.

Starkey, J., The analysis of three-dimensional orientation data, 30, 1355-1362.

Kirkwood, D. and Malo, M., Across-strike geometry of the Grand Pabos fault zone: evidence for Devonian
dextral transpression in the Quebec Appalachians, 30, 1363-1373.

Waldron, J.W.F., Stockmal, G.S., Corney, R.E., Stenzel, S.R., Basin development and inversion at the
Appalachian structural front, Port au Port peninsula, western Newfoundland Appalachians, 30, 1759-1772.

Lin, S., Relationship between the Aspy and Bras d'Or "terranes" in the northeastern Cape Breton Highlands,
Nova Scotia, 30, 1773-1781.

Williams, H., Currie, K.L. and Piasecki, M.A.J., The Dog Bay line, a major Silurian tectonic bouncary in
northeast Newfoundland, 30, 2481-2494.
Culshaw, N.G., Ketchum, J.W.F., Wodicka, N. and Wallace, P., Deep crustal ductile extension following
overthrusting in the south-western Grenville Province, Ontario, 31, 160-175.

Benn, K., Miles, W., Ghassemi, M.R., Gillett, J., Crustal structure and kinematic framework of the north-
western Pontiac subprovince, Quebec: an integrated structural and geophysical study, 31, 271-281.

Daigneault, R. and Allard, G.O., Transformation of Archean structural inheritance at the Grenvillian
Foreland Parautochton Transition Zone, Chinougamau, Quebec, 31, 470-488.

Hynes, A., Gravity, flexure, and the deep structure of the Grenville Front, eastern Quebec and Labrador, 31,
1002-1011.

THESES 1993 - 1994

Robert J. Scammell, 1993.

Mid-Cretaceous to Tertiary thermotectonic history of former mid-crustal rocks, southern Omineca Belt,
Canadian Cordillera, PhD, Queens University, Kingston.

Peter C. Jahans, 1993.

Computer-based procedures for constructing geological maps: an example from the Rocky Mountain
Foothills in British Columbia, MSc, University of Alberta, Edmonton.

Stephen T. Johnston, 1993.

The geologic evolution of Nisling Assemblage and Stikina Terrane in theAishihik Lake area, SW Yukon,
PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton.

Desmond E. Moser, 1993.

A geological, structural, and geochronological study of the central Wawa gneiss domain: implications for
the development of different crustal levels of the Archean Abitibi-Wawa orogen of the southern Superior
Province, Canadian Shield, PhD, Queens University, Kingston.

Abani K. Samantaray, 1993.

Computer-assisted petrographic inage analysis and quantization of rock texture, PhD, University of Western
Ontario, London.

Robert A. Stevens, 1994.

Structural and tectonic evolution of the Teslin tectonic zone, Yukon: a doubly-vergent transpressive shear
zone, PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton.

Byron Veilleux, 1993.

Structural geology of the Triangle Zone at Langford Creek, MSc, University of Alberta, Edmonton.

Kathryn Margaret Bethune, 1993

Evolution of the Grenville Front in the Tyson Lake area, southwest of Sudbury, Ontario, with emphasis on
the tectonic significance of the Sudbury diabase dykes, PhD, Queens University, Kingston.

Guowei Zhang, 1994

Strike-slip faulting and block rotations in the McConnell Creek area, north-central British Columbia:
structural implications for the interpretation of paleomagnetic observations, PhD, McGill University,
Montreal.

_________________________________________________________________

BALLOT *

Please indicate your choice of the two proposals (or write in your own proposal) for naming the new SGTD medal which will be awarded for the Best Pa

F. D. Adams _____

D. Elliott ______

Other _____________________________________________

* please mail or fax to the Division Secretary

_________________________________________________________________