Report 2011-12
Meeting report - 7-12-2011
Present
Frieda Bogemans, Frédéric Boulvain, Marie Coen-Aubert, Bernard Delcambre, Eric Goemaere, Luc Hance, Vanessa Heyvaert, Piet Laga, Stephen Louwye, Eddy Poty, Noël Vandenberghe, Johan Yans, Alain Herbosch, Martin Laloux
Excused
Michiel Dusar, Katrien De Nil, Jacques Verniers, Dominique Delsate
1. Report of last NCS meeting
No remarks and the report is approved.
2. Renewing of the geological map of the Walloon Region - Respect of NCS procedure
The Geologists in charge of geological mapping of the Walloon Region regularly introduce new lithostratigraphic units. These units are briefly described in the text books which become de facto reference documents, but most of the time not submitted to the Subcommissions and NCS for approval. At the question "why are the mapping Geologists not respecting the NCS procedure, the answers are:
They have no time;
The procedure is too long
Maps just published were submitted more than 8 years ago....
Maybe also: they are not informed about the procedure
Martin Laloux is personally controlling the coherence of each new unit and updating correlation schemes.
The President regrets the present day situation which can lead to 2 different systems, automatically both invalidating each other, and insists for having all units, already published, included in the webpage of NCS in a new category: Informal Cartographic Units. The text accessible on the webpage will be strictly that of the text book.
Subcommissions have in this situation the role of anticipating such upcoming problems ; they have to try to avoid the problem by communicating with the mapping geologists concerned , or the mapping supervisors, and by involving them as closely as necessary in the work of the subcommissions.
A similar approach needs to be followed by Subcommissions regarding the introduction of new stratigraphic nomenclature, e.g. in the Campine subsurface , based on studies commissioned by the Flemisch Government and made public at D.O.V.
3. Subcommission reviews.
Lower Palaeozoic
Revised 2001 Nomenclature is on the NCS page.
Cambrian
All Cambrian revised units are accepted by NCS and included in revised 2001 volume. A figure with the new Cambrian nomenclature will be included.
Ordovician
All lithostatigraphic units have been reviewed, mainly for biostratigraphy. These changes are included in revised 2001 volume. A new Ordovician Formation for the Brabant Massif: Cimetière de Grand-Manil Fm is accepted by the Subcommission and submitted to NCS.
Silurian
A double nomenclature exists: Jacques Verniers's thesis and units introduced for the new geological maps. A clarification is required.
Devonian
Revised 2001 Nomenclature is on the NCS page. Revised and approved units have to be removed from the NCS page and included in the revised version.
Carboniferous
2001 Nomenclature for the Lower Carboniferous is on the NCS page but does not include any revised units. New units still to be introduced for W Namur Basin (Saint-Ghislain) and for the SW part of the Dinant Basin (lateral equivalent of Terwagne). Correlation with units from the Campine Basin still tbd.
Upper Carboniferous to be included. Still informal units in Vito data to be rexamined (MD; see report 2011/02)
Permian - Trias - Jurassic
The electronic version of the 2001 volume is uploaded. No modifications required except for the Campine Basin.
Cretaceous
The units adopted by NCS have to be included in the revised 2001 volume and to be uploaded.
The 2001 version has been revised for the Chalk Group in the Liège-Limburg-Aachen area.
The Chalk group in the Liège-Limburg-Aachen area should logically include also the early Paleocene chalks (Houthem Fm). The Paleogene-Neogene subcommission is asked to consider this apparently logic change. Regarding the inclusion of the early Paleocene chalks (Ciply Fm) in the Mons Basin Chalk Group , the subcommission did not yet reach a final opinion. The NCS recommends considering this issue with some priority as it could make the use of the name Chalk Group more coherent.
Paleogene-Neogene
The electronic version of the 2001 volume is uploaded.
A document regarding the revision of the Oligocene is circulating amongst the subcommission members for revision and the description of the Ypresian lithostratigraphic units is in progress. Neogene units are also in preparation.
The proposals regarding the Rupel Group are accepted and can be integrated to 2001 revised version.
The subcommission is asked to consider the consequences of including the Houthem and Ciply Formations in a Chalk Group together with Mesozoic chalky formations.
Quaternary
The revised version 2001 volume is uploaded. It includes the Aeolian stratigraphy which has been ratified by NCS.
Work concerning the Holocene and tardi-glacial alluvial stratigraphy is in progress.
4. Varia
Members of SubCommissions to be uploaded on NCS page
TS-Creator
NCS has contact with Jim Ogg uploading Belgian stratigraphical data in TS-Creator. The latter software is the platform for a Worldwide stratigraphic database. First trial with Belgian data (Paleogene - Neogene and Mississippian) are not very conclusive. For non-trained users, uploading data is not obvious, and in addition, the Belgian stratigraphy requires multiple columns, making the final picture complicated. Anyway, TS-Creator should be explored further. The President proposed to invite Jim Ogg for a workshop to be organized end of 2012. Financial support has to be looked for.
New edition of the International Geological Time Scale
The new edition of the Geological Time Scale is ready to be published in 2012. Editors are F. Gradstein, J.Ogg,M. Schmitz and G.Ogg. Publisher is Elsevier. The GTS2012 will consist of two volumes. Price will be about 120 US $. ICS will also put its logo on the GTS2012, although there seems to be inconsistency about the use of the term Neogene in the GTS2012 and the ICS decision about the matter. An innovation is also the incorporation of the "Anthropocene".
Correlation with neighboring countries
The President encourages Subcommission Members to improve the correlations with stratigraphical scale of neighboring countries.
Miscellanea
A text will be prepared for inclusion in the Miscellanea sketching the progress in the electronic Lithostratigraphic scale.
5. Next meeting
Next meeting in June, with announcement in April.
Luc Hance Noël Vandenberghe
Secretaris Président