Rainbow in the Earth Meetings
What are they about?
By Ray Brown
A series of meetings called the “Rainbow in the Earth” have been designed to allow scientists to share their ideas regarding the physical processes that relate measurement at one scale with measurements at other scales. The first meeting (2003) was held here in Oklahoma, organized by the Oklahoma Geological Survey and the Institute for Theoretical Geophysics. The second meeting (2005) was held on the University of California, Berkeley campus and was organized by researchers at Berkeley. The most recent meeting (2007) was held at the Royal Society of Edinburgh (where geology started with a first presentation on geology), organized by the British Geological Survey. One of the constants in pushing for this series of meetings has been Dr. Evgeni Chesnokov, the director of the Institute for Theoretical Geophysics and Professor of Geophysics in the ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma.
The interest in this topic may appear rather academic at first, but consider the following possibilities for understanding the scale of measurements:
- Oil and Gas Exploration
If you are with the oil industry understanding the relationship between high frequency sonic measurements and low frequency surface seismic is not just a correction factor. Instead understanding that relationship means the seismic detection of all hydrocarbons directly, not just those younger formations such as those found in parts of the Gulf of Mexico. In other oil industry words, scale means finding more oil and gas than your competitor.
- Super Volcanoes
There are a number of super volcanoes around the world. We have one here in the US (under Yellowstone National Park). Unfortunately, there is currently no way to predict the occurrence of the next event because there is only a poor understanding of the relationship between the small scale structure of the rocks and their modification before the next event. Predicting those properties of rocks before a super volcano requires relating the properties of the volcanic rocks at a very small scale to the surface seismic properties so that seismologists can help save lives. These volcanoes are dangerous so your life may depend upon the understanding of scale seismology.
- Inner Core of the Earth
Since Inge Lehmann’s discovery of the inner core of the Earth, there has been a constant scientific debate over the role of the Earth’s inner core in plate tectonics, the Earth’s magnetic field and other aspects of the Earth’s history. P-waves have definitely been observed and S-waves have possibly been observed through the inner core of the Earth. The understanding of the inner core requires a scale assessment to relate the small scale features of the inner core to seismic observations. There have been some interesting models and there are some still being published, as the scale problems of the inner core are better understood.
- Newton’s Water Model for the Earth
A dramatic change in physical properties due to the scale of measurement can be seen in what we see at our scale. For example, if you go out and look at rocks, they seem very strong and difficult to cause much movement. However, when Sir Isaac Newton was studying the shape of the rotating Earth, he assumed that the Earth acted like a rotating water drop. So, on our human scale the Earth looks like a solid rock but when the Earth is considered as a whole, it acts like water.
Now when someone mentions they are studying the relationship between measurements at different scale, hopefully you will better understand that there are some very important issues at stake. It is not just a game, it is a new level of science, seeking to understand the physical relationships between measurements at different scale that are being applied in many new endeavors of science with important consequences.
Look for future announcements of this meeting. They occur every other year. The plan is to alternate locations between the US and other countries in order to insure a world sampling of input to this important problem.
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Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy
100 East Boyd Street Room 510
Norman, Oklahoma 73019
(405) 325-3821
e:mail: mcee@ou.edu
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