alumni reception - Syracuse Universe Department of Earth Sciences ...

dated a rhyolitic tuff near the top of the succession
at 1000 Ma, thus establishing that the basin is
Mesoproterozoic. This was published in 2007
(Patranabis-Deb, Sarbani, Bickford, M. E., Hill,
Barbara, Chaudhuri, Asru K., and Basu, Abhijit, 2007,
SHRIMP ages of zircons in the uppermost tuff in
Chattisgarh Basin in central India require ~500 Ma
adjustment in Indian Proterozoic stratigraphy; Journal
of Geology, v. 115, p. 407-415.)
We have also dated detrital zircon populations
in several of the sandstones, determining the sediment
provenance and depositional history; a paper detailing
with these studies is under review for the Journal of
Geology (Depositional History of the Chhattisgarh
Basin, Central India: Constraints from New SHRIMP
Zircon Ages: M. E. Bickford, Abhijit Basu, Sarbani
Patranabis-Deb, and Pratap C. Dhang; under review
for Journal of Geology). The depositional history also
has important tectonic significance, and yet another
paper is under review for Precambrian Research
(Timing of assembly and break-up of India-East
Antarctica: Constraints from detrital zircon and
monazite geochronology of Proterozoic sedimentary
rocks in central India; Abhijit Basu and M. E.
Bickford). I have done the dating through use of the
SHRIMP instrument at Stanford University.
Another major activity is my work as Science
Editor for Books for the Geological Society of
America. I am now in my fifth (and final) year of
this work, in which I work with various authors
and editors, worldwide, to produce GSA Special
Papers and Memoirs on a wide variety of topics.
Interestingly, Don
Siegel became my
co-editor about three
years ago. We are
ably assisted by Mrs.
Joanne Ranz, our
Editorial Assistant.
This appointment
has also brought
me membership in
the Publications
Committee of GSA.
Much more
important than these
professional activities
are my time with Betsy,
Pat relaxes with his guitar
my wife of 55 years, our three children, and our four
grandchildren.
Geological Society of America Books Edited at Syracuse University
Beginning in January 2005, The Department of earth Sciences
became the home for the editorial offices of GSA Books.
Science Editors M. E. (Pat) Bickford and Don Siegel handle
publication of both Special Papers and Memoirs for the
Geological Society of America. Special Papers are booklength
publications on a diversity of geological topics that are
expected to have a “shelf-life” of at least five years. Memoirs
are expected to have a shelf-life of at least ten years. Typically,
scientists wishing to publish books with GSA will propose
either to assemble, as editors, a book with multi-authored
chapters, or to submit a long manuscript written by one or more
authors. If the proposal is accepted, editors of multi-authored
books will solicit chapters and arrange for reviews, or in the
case of manuscripts written by one or more authors, the science
editors will arrange for reviews. The Science Editors have
the responsibility of insuring that submitted books meet the
scientific standards of GSA.
Science Editors Bickford and Siegel are ably assisted by
Editorial Assistant Joanne Ranz, who keeps records of books
in preparation, communicates with editors and authors, arranges submitted books for the review of the Science
Editors, and sends accepted volumes to GSA Headquarters in Boulder, Colorado for publication. The editorial
office is located in room 305 Heroy, between Siegel’s office in 307 Heroy and Bickford’s office in 304 Heroy.