NSt SMt&yOiemieal
Composition Of Basalt Glasses
Special To The Poet
Three of the most impor
tant questions ever asked
by humanity are what, how
and why, particularly as
related to the creation of
the Earth. More and more
of the whats are being
answered, and now Dr.
John Bender of the Univer
sity of North. Carolina at
Charlotte’s Department of
Geography and Earth
Sciences hopes to answer a
few hows and whys.
His research has been
found important enough to
earn a $56,000 grant from
the National Science Foun
dation (NSF) to study the
chemical composition of
basalt glasses formed by
rapid cooling of volcanic
lava under the oceans.
Dr. Bender explained his
work this way: “The mag
ma (molten rock material
under the Earth’s crust) in
the upper 200-300 kilo
meters of the—Earth
migrates up and erupts as
volcanic activity along
undersea ridges. Because
the water is so cold, the
lava is rapidly solidified
and forms glass. These
glasses are the purest
samples of the chemical
make-up of the magma. We
can’t study the magma, but
we can study the next best
thing-the glasses.”
Dr. Bender said by
studying the chemistry of
the glasses, scientists can
J|Mrn how the Earth
evolved, bow it is changing
now and where it is going,
j For this study, Dr. Ben
der will use samples
collected By colleagues at
the State University of New
York at Albany over a
period of years. There are
more than 300 pounds of
samples taken from the
Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans availablefor study.
The samples will be pre
pared at UNCC by Dr.
Bebder and a few of his
students then taken to
SUNY-Stony Brook for
analysis by a mass spectro
meter.
The spectrometer will be
able to separate the
prepared samples into as
many as 20 different chem
ical elements.
Dr. Bender expects to
answer a fundamental
question: what causes the
earth’s plates to move and
separate. He said that
many scientists think con
vection is the answer, but
no one knows how large,
how many, or even if con
vection cells exist beneath
the earth’s crust.
“By studying the glasses
from along transform
faults, we can perhaps
answer these questions,”
Dr. Bender said.
He continued, “We know
all areas do not spread at
the same rate. Therefore,
they are creating crusts
with potentially different
compositions. We think the
differing spread rate may
not be haphazard."
Dr. Bender explained
that the glasses alter but
not as fast as rocks when
exposed to sea water.
“That’s one reason why
glasses are so appropriate
for study,’’ he said.
Dr. Bender said that it is
very exciting work. New
conar technology has
created very sophisticated
ways to map the ocean
floor. .
“There is sonfething
very dramatic occurring
along the transform
faults," Dr. Bender said.
“The chemical composi
tion on one side of a ridge
fault may be very different
than on the other side. We
Ked Cross To Prepare Babysitters
For many of us, babysit
ting is our first "job.” And,
along with the opportunity
to earn extra money comes
the responsibilities that go
with caring for another
individual.
This summer, the Amer
lean Red Cross will offer
several courses to help
young people learn how to
handle the responsibilities
of babysitting.
The Red Cross “Baby
sitting” course covers such
things as how to act in an
emergency, what to do in
case of illness, how to
prevent accidents, bow to
select safe games and toys,
how to supervise children,
how to diaper and dress
infants, and how to prepare
simple food* for babies.
The course is designed
for ages 11 to 14. Classes
‘are limited to 15 partici
pants, so interested
individuals should call in
adduce to register for an
upcoming eourse. No
course fee is charged.
In July, the Red Cross
“Babysitting” course will
be offered on Monday and
Wesnesday afternoons,
from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. (July.
16, 18, 23, ft 25), and on
Monday and Wednesday
evenings from 6:30 p.m. -
8:30 p.m. (July 23, 2S, 30,
and August 1). And, other
classes will be scheduled
later in the summer.
For more information on
this course or other Red
Cross health and safety
courses, call 376-1661, Mon
day through Friday, 9 a.m.
- 5 p.m.
J-rr=~r
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want to know why. Is it age
related? Otherwise, there
should be no fundamental
change. By doing this
study, we may be able to
answer why.”
Dr. Bender also said that
one method of collecting
samples is by using a three
man submersible sub
marine named ALVIN. The
sub mis donated to the NSF
r-—
by the U.S. Navy about 10
years ago. It has made
more than 1,200 dives, yet
no one has witnessed an
actual volcanic eruption.
New technology has
shown that the Earth’s
evolution is complicated on
a scale never before
realized. Dr. Bender has
been doing research in this
field since his graduate
school days. Unexpected
findings from previous
studies led to this project.
He also has requested a
grant to obtain his own
samples from specific
undersea locations.
All of these studies, Dr.
Bender hopes, will help
unravel some of the
mysteries that have been
baffling scientist for
centuries.
Dr. Bender is a native of
New York City and has
been a member of the
UNCC faculty since 1982.
He is a graduate of SUNY
at New Paltz. He holds a
master’s degree from
Pennsylvania State
University and a PH.D.
from SUNY at Stony
Brook.
June 22-24, 1984^S
Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, Virginia
I
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Fri., June 22, 7:30 p.m.
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