PubTalk 7/2004 — Secrets in Stone

The Role of Paleomagnetism in the Evolution of Plate Tectonic Theory Video Presentation

Presentation of the award-winning USGS video "Secrets in Stone" (35 minutes), introduced by Jack Hillhouse, Research Geophysicist, and followed by a tour of the USGS Paleomagnetics Laboratory

• Crucial discoveries in the early 1960.s were made in a "tar-paper shack" at the USGS Menlo Park campus
• Learn how the old idea of .continental drift. was surprisingly revived by these discoveries and woven into the new theory of plate tectonics
• Hear about the strange behavior of the Earth.s magnetic field: drift and occasional reversals of North and South poles
• Do we know when the next flip (reversal) of the Earth's magnetic field will happen?
• Tour the USGS Paleomagnetics Laboratory (Building 16 - see map on back) after the presentation and learn about the current research taking place there. All welcome.