MEETING LOCATION
The Black Lab Pub
4100 Montrose
Houston, TX  77006

NOTE: You Must Be Logged in to Register

Speaker: D. E. Bird*, Bird Geophysical and Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston
S. A. Hall, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston

Recent identification of M-series marine magnetic anomalies over the Santos and Campos Basins of Brazil (Chrons M4 to M0), and over the Orange and Cape Basins of South Africa (Chrons M11 to M0), indicate that seafloor spreading between South America and Africa initiated in the southernmost part of the ocean basin at ~135 Ma, and progressed northward where Brazil separated from Angola at ~131 Ma. The ~44 mm/a initial spreading rate decreased to ~29 mm/a when the spreading center reached this approximate mid-point between the two plates. Total reconstruction poles, from early break-up to present day, also progressed northward: approximately 39° N to 72° N. Understanding the nature of continental crust deformation, prior to these rigid plate motions, along the conjugate margins is essential to understanding the early evolution of the South Atlantic Ocean Basin. Permo-Triassic basins and foldbelts, which formed along the Panthalassan margin of Gondwana in austral South America and South Africa, may provide key insights for this understanding.
 
Speaker Biography: Dale E. Bird
Dale Bird established Bird Geophysical in 1997. Prior to this he worked for Aerodat, World Geoscience, Marathon Oil Company, Digicon, and Aero Service. Dale earned B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geophysics from the University of Houston where he current serves as a Research Associate Professor. Dale is an active member of AGU, AAPG, GSA, GSH, HGS and SEG, and he is an avid chess player.

**This year, there is no registration fee for our SIG meetings. Dinner and drinks are available from the establishment's menu. We ask that you continue to pre-register, to prepare meeting room set up.