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Our pulsating world: The influence of earth movements on human development
It is very usual for people to say' Things are not what they used
to be-even the climate is changing.' Of course it is. Everything is
changing. Change is the order of nature. Nevertheless, change
and development in the vegetable and animal kingdom are very
largely the result of changes on the face of the earth. This change
is so gradual as to be imperceptible to human senses, but what we
call 'the solid earth' is really a pulsating body, growing, discarding,
developing almost like a living thing, and the results of each period
of development lie around us, if only we will look
Notes on a geological reconnaissance of Mt. Anne and the Weld River valley, south-western Tasmania
Major L. F. Giblin, D.S.O.. and Mr. A. V. Giblin during
the Christmas holidays of 1920, 1921, and 1922, organised
and led three successive trips into the little-known country
that surrounds Mt. Anne. The parties met with considerable
difficulties, and most of the available time was used up
in the endeavour to reach Mt. Anne, so the opportunities
for an investiqation of geology were few, but these fragmentary notes may be of assistance to future investigators.
The area reviewed in this paper extends from the
vicinity of Fitzgerald on the Russell Falls River on the
north, to the junction of the Huon and Weld rivers, on the
south. These points are approximately the end of cultivation
in this part of Tasmania. The area is bounded on
the west by the Huon River
A preliminary sketch of the glacial remains preserved in the National Park of Tasmania
This paper is offered as a preliminary and very general
sketch of the district described, upon which more detailed
examinations of separate sections may be based. The
author cannot at present offer a complete geology of the
National Park of Tasmania. Its size, ruggedness, and general
inaccessibility, aided by the usually inclement weather
of the mountains, make the task difficult, and demand a
far greater expenditure of time than has been available
up to the present. Much of the Park is still unexplored,
and parts were first visited that some of the information
contained in this paper might be gleaned. But an
outline description is urgently needed, firstly as a frame
into which more detailed investigations may be fitted, secondly,
for the information of visitors, who, in annually
Increasing numbers, spend holidays on the Park's highlands,
and also as an assistance to the parties who are now
inspecting this region in connection with water supply questions.
As far as can be ascertained, the glacial remains on
the Mt. Field ranges have never been described. They do
not appear to have been observed, or at least their existence
recorded, before the proclamation of the area as a National
Park. There is, therefore, no previous literature on the subject
to which to refer.
Supplementary note printed at pages 177 – 179:
Since publishing these statements my attention has been
drawn to a paper, entitled "Climatic Cycles," published by
Dr. (now Professor) Griffith Taylor, of the University of
Sydney, in the American Geographical Review of December,
1919, in which, at pp. 292-3, he mentions the existence of
glacial remains, cirques, moraines, etc., in the National Park,
and also to the fact that an outline of the subject was
compiled by the same author in January, 1919, for inclusion
in a Tourist Department guide book, which, however, has
not yet been published.
Includes photographs, maps and supplementary not
Tasmanian physiography. Discussion on "Note on the isostatic background of Tasmanian physiography,"
Mr. P. B. NYE, M.Sc., B.M.E., Government Geologist.
Like Mr. Lewis, I only desire to set forth my views as
a contribution to Tasmanian geology. I cannot see eye to
eye with Mr. Lewis in many points in his paper and particularly
in regard to some of the major conclusions.
In the first place, in view of Dr. Walkom's papers on
the Mesozoic fossil flora of Tasmania (Walkom, 1924-1925),
I think we ought to drop the term Jurassic as applied to any
rocks in Tasmania. Fossil evidence points rather to their
being Triassic and this period will probably be found to
include the whole sandstone series.
Much discussion ensuded
A further note on the topography of Lake Fenton and district, National Park of Tasmania
Visits to the Mt. Field Plateau since compiling my previous
paper (Lewis, 1921) have confirmed all the observations
therein contained, especially as amplified and explained
by Professor Griffith Taylor, D.Sc. (Taylor, 1921).
Lake Fenton is a paradox. It lies about 3,400 feet
above sea level, almost at the top of a mountain ridge in
the drainage basin of the Broad River. But the outlet, instead
of draining down the slope of the hill to the river,
breaks through the main ridge of the plateau in a gorge
500 feet deep into the Tyenna Valley. The lake is clearly
of glacial origin, but the reason for the direction of its overflow
requires further explanation
Correlation of the Tasmanian Pleistocene raised beaches and river terraces in unglaciated areas
This paper follows my attempted correlation of the Pleistocene
glacial epochs (Lewis, 1934).
Further study of the raised beaches and river terraces in the
Derwent, Coal, and Huon River valleys has made possible a tentative
statement of the late Tertiary and Pleistocene succession in Southern
Tasmania. The whole problem has by no means been solved, but
sufficient data are forthcoming to warrant recording as a basis for
future work. This is the phase of Tasmanian geology which has
received the least attention in the past, and it was not until the
effect of the waxing and waning of the four Pleistocene Ice Sheets
on the level of the ocean was fully understood that the various
apparently contradictory features of our coastal plains was decipherable.
Th
Note on the isostatic background of Tasmanian physiography.
Tasmanian physiography is so closely connected with
the great occurrences of dolerite (diabase) that a correct
understanding of the one is essential for the deciphering of
the other. Every worker in geology in Tasmania has made
some contribution towards the elucidation of the problem,
and this paper merely carries our knowledge a little further.
The statements here contained are not proved; and await
further confirmation.
To summarise, then, the physical outline of Tasmania is
framed on blocks of country elevated to varying altitudes
and consisting of relatively soft sediments with sills of very
hard igneous rock intruded at various horizons. Previous to this elevation a definite topography had been eroded, the
igneous rock modifying this considerably, and this topography was elevated or not according to its position. In
the course of the elevation, again, the igneous rock modified
the lines of break, and after elevation it largely controlled
the rate of erosion. Subsequent to this elevation, the agents
of-erosion, chiefly frost, snow, and ice, on the highlands have
moulded the details of the landscape, and some slight faulting
has added a few features locally
Towards an integrated atom chip
The field of atom chips is a relatively new area of research which is rapidly becoming of great interest to the scientific community. It started out as a small branch of cold atom physics which has quickly grown into a multidisciplinary
subject. It now encompasses topics from fundamental atomic and quantum theory, optics and laser science, to the engineering of ultra sensitive sensors.In this thesis the first steps are taken towards a truly integrated atom chip device for real world applications. Multiple devices are presented that allow the trapping, cooling, manipulation and counting of atoms. Each device presents a new component required for the integration and miniaturisation of atom chips
into a single device, capable of being used as a sensor.Initially, a wire trap was created capable of trapping and splitting a cloud of BoseEinstein condensate (BEC) for use in atom interferometry. Using this chip a BEC has been successfully created, trapped and coherent splitting of this cloud has been achieved.Subsequently, the integration and simplification of the initial trapping process was approached. In all the experiments to date, atoms are initially collected from a warm vapour by a magneto-optical trap (MOT). This thesis presents a new approach in which microscopic pyramidal MOTs’ are integrated into the chip itself. This greatly reduces the number of optical components and helps to simplify the process significantly.Also presented is a method for creating a planar-concave micro-cavity capable of single atom detection. One such cavity consists of a concave mirror fabricated in silicon and the planar tip of an optical fibre. The performance of the resonators
is highly dependent on the surface roughness and shape profile of the concave mirrors therefore a detailed study into the fabrication technique and its effects on these parameters was undertaken. Using such cavities single atom detection has been shown to be possible. These cavities have also been sccessfully integrated into an atom wire guide.Finally a co-sputtered amorphous silicon/titanium (a-Si/Ti) nanocomposite material was created and studied for its use as a novel structural material. This material is potentially suitable for integrated circuitry (IC)/Micro-electromechanical-
systems (MEMS) integration. The material’s electrical and
structural properties were investigated and initial results suggest that a-Si/Ti has the potential to be a compelling structural material for future IC/MEMS integration.To build all of these devices, a full range of standard microfabrication techniques was necessary as well as some non standard processes that required considerable process development such as the electrochemical deposition.This thesis presents a tool box of fabrication techniques for creating various components capable of different tasks that can be integrated into a single device. Each component has been successfully demonstrated in laboratory conditions. This represents a significant step toward a real world atom chip device
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