[FRIAM] "Weather line" on 14
Stephen Guerin
stephen.guerin at simtable.com
Sun Jun 23 12:47:13 EDT 2024
Dan Gupta responds:
_____________
Hello Nick,
I prefer to respond from a vector space where I imagine you as frocked...
### Understanding Patterns in Nature: The Third Way
Let's start with something familiar: the striking stripes on a zebra. These
patterns, along with many others in nature, arise through fascinating
processes. Traditionally, explanations include intelligent design and
natural selection, but there's a compelling third way—far-from-equilibrium
(FFE) dynamics.
### Patterns and Symmetry Breaking
Patterns, like zebra stripes, often display symmetries, but they emerge
through symmetry breaking. This means that a uniform, undifferentiated
field transitions into a structured form. For example, zebra stripes form
from a uniform distribution of skin cells that differentiate into distinct
black and white patterns.
### FFE Dynamics: A New Perspective
FFE dynamics explains how patterns emerge when systems are driven away from
equilibrium by external forces. This approach is applicable across various
fields, including biology, physics, and meteorology. Let's break it down
with some examples, including the volcanic dikes you're curious about.
1. **Turing Patterns in Biology:**
- Alan Turing proposed that chemical reactions and diffusion can lead to
stable patterns like zebra stripes. These patterns arise from a uniform
chemical distribution breaking into distinct structures.
2. **Volcanic Rifts and Dikes:**
- Magma from deep within the Earth rises through cracks in the crust,
forming volcanic dikes—linear features that break the symmetry of the
surrounding rock. Now, let's address your specific question about why these
dikes are linear.
### Explaining Volcanic Dikes
Imagine the Earth's crust as a series of horizontal layers. When magma
(molten rock) pushes upwards, it seeks the path of least resistance,
exploiting pre-existing weaknesses and fractures. Here's why these
fractures often form straight lines:
- **Micro Cracks and Stress Fields:**
- When stress is applied to a solid material, like pushing on a layer of
ice, it doesn't distribute evenly. Instead, stress concentrates at points
of weakness, causing micro cracks to form. If the stress continues, these
cracks propagate.
- The first two breaks align because the stress is highest at the tips
of existing cracks. When a new crack forms, it follows the direction of
least resistance—often in a straight line with the previous cracks.
- **Order Parameters and Phase Transitions:**
- In FFE dynamics, variables like stress (order parameters) determine
the system's macroscopic state. As the stress increases, the system
undergoes a phase transition, breaking symmetry to form an ordered
structure (a linear dike).
### Addressing Your Ice Example
Consider pressing down on a thin layer of ice with your hand. The initial
cracks form where the stress is highest. As you continue pressing, each new
crack propagates from the tips of the existing cracks, often forming a
straight line. This happens because the stress field is now guiding the
cracks to follow the path of least resistance, maintaining the linear
alignment.
### Encouragement to Study FFE Dynamics
Studying FFE dynamics reveals the profound and elegant ways nature
organizes itself. It shows that complex patterns can arise from simple
rules without needing an intelligent designer, offering alternative
explanations for patterns in biology and behavior that were traditionally
attributed to natural selection.
### Conclusion
FFE dynamics provides a powerful framework for understanding the rich
tapestry of patterns in nature. It bridges the gap between simple physical
laws and the intricate beauty we observe. As you delve into this field,
consider exploring this third way to uncover the mysteries of natural
patterns and the processes that drive their formation.
Best,
Eric
____________________________________________
CEO Founder, Simtable.com
stephen.guerin at simtable.com
Harvard Visualization Research and Teaching Lab
stephenguerin at fas.harvard.edu
mobile: (505)577-5828
On Sun, Jun 23, 2024, 8:23 AM Nicholas Thompson <thompnickson2 at gmail.com>
wrote:
> ...he lives in the Gallisteo Basin.
>
> I am beginning to think that nature does not abhor straight lines quite as
> much as I first thought. The San Andreas Fault is pretty straight for a
> thousand miles. Cloud streets. Given the right conditions of sheer,
> etc., thunderstorms can form straight lines. And, of course, sediment
> boundaries and coastlines facing a flow, as in FL. Still, I think it
> makes sense not to take them for granted.
>
> If anybody has the time, I would love to have Eric's physical explanation
> put into language that is more friendly to former defrocked former english
> majors. I get the intrusion bit. That's fine. Where I stumble is where I
> seem to detect an assumption that the forces them selves that are exerted
> from below are linear. Standing on my huge pile of ignorance, here, I
> would assume that they are bubbles and I cannot see how a bubble pushing up
> on a sedimentary layer would exert a straightline force on it. Thinking in
> micro cracks for a sedond: the first two breaks form a straight line for
> sure. But let's say I am pressing down on a thin layer of ice with the
> palm of my hand. What, in DFEM terms is the reason that the third break
> should be in line with the other two.
>
> This is where Doug Roberts arises from his grave and dope slaps me with
> his mighty paws!
>
> Thanks for your patience, all.
>
> N
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 23, 2024 at 10:06 AM Nicholas Thompson <
> thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thank you, Eric.
>>
>> I keep trying to engage Kim Sordahl in this conversation because he has
>> an architectual theory concerning the meaning of straight lines in nature
>> AND
>>
>> On Sun, Jun 23, 2024 at 6:57 AM Santafe <desmith at santafe.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> A few km or even tens of km does not seem long to me on geological
>>> scales.
>>>
>>> If we have slowly formed crustal rock, it could be fairly uniform. Then
>>> if there is a bending stress on large scales from upwelling, the
>>> least-disruption fracture would be a long straightish crack along the the
>>> line perpendicular to the bending moment. Also, the material that goes
>>> into that crack is presumably pretty liquid. So while it is okay to call
>>> it “rock pressing up”, I think the image of liquid squeezing into a
>>> fracture, shoving apart the sides, and putting maximal stress on the apex
>>> which extends the fracture further, is more like the picture.
>>>
>>> And in whatever page somebody sent, they say the fracture that forms the
>>> Galisteo dike shows evidence of having formed in that way, by chaining one
>>> extension onto another, along the stress line where the faces are being
>>> pushed apart.
>>>
>>> When this happens in the sea bottom, seismometers can listen to what
>>> sounds like a zipping sound, as the crack from some new upwelling extends
>>> and extends. I forget if it was a review by Karen von Damm or by Deb
>>> Kelley in which I learned that. They have some name for it, which I am
>>> forgetting.
>>>
>>> Of course, continental crustal rock is not the same as seabed basalts
>>> (which are probably much more uniform), but even so, these are geologically
>>> fairly small features we are talking about.
>>>
>>> Eric
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> > On Jun 23, 2024, at 12:21 PM, Nicholas Thompson <
>>> thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Yes, Barry. I heard you but I had the bit in my teeth. I apologize.
>>> Your point seemed, for me, to beg the question I was obsessed with at the
>>> moment. Where did a straight line of such scale come from? Now, I can see
>>> why a radar echo might be a straight line, but why a line of dirt? What
>>> geological process produces linear dikes? I can under why a sediment
>>> layers might be horizontal layers and I guess maybe, I can imagine that
>>> the seam between two layers might get rotated ninety degrees and then
>>> crack and then I imagine igneous rock might press up through that seam. Is
>>> that the sort oft thing you had in mind?
>>> >
>>> > N
>>> >
>>> > Nick
>>> >
>>> > On Sat, Jun 22, 2024 at 5:38 PM Barry MacKichan <
>>> barry.mackichan at mackichan.com> wrote:
>>> > Several times on the Thuram Zoom call, I asked “Do you mean that
>>> volcanic dike?” but I always seemed to say it just as someone else started
>>> up.
>>> >
>>> > I have two memories about it.
>>> >
>>> > • The president of SAR conjured up the image of 3,000 Comanches
>>> coming through the gap (Comanche Gap) as they came to Santa Fe in the 1770s
>>> to agree to the truce with New Mexico — the truce that I believe enabled
>>> the Spanish to hang on for the next 50 years in NM. The image has stuck
>>> with me.
>>> >
>>> > • I thought it would be a great place to find petroglyphs, and
>>> indeed it is. The density of the “No trespassing” signs along the road
>>> increases as the square of the inverse of the distance from the point where
>>> the road crosses the dike. They make it clear exactly where you should not
>>> trespass.
>>> >
>>> > —Barry
>>> >
>>> > On 21 Jun 2024, at 11:18, Stephen Guerin wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Research last night on historical geologic maps got the name of that
>>> as the "Galisteo Dike". composition and description in attachment. There is
>>> one further with as well. Also known as the Creston or Comanche Gap
>>> >
>>> > https://galisteo.nmarchaeology.org/sites/creston.html
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Basic formation given this description (chatGPT):
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > The Galisteo Dike is a geological formation characterized by its
>>> composition and physical properties, indicating its formation through
>>> volcanic activity. Here’s a detailed interpretation of its formation based
>>> on the description provided:
>>> >
>>> > 1. **Composition Analysis**: The Galisteo Dike consists of
>>> micro-monzonite, a fine-grained igneous rock. It contains a mixture of
>>> minerals including plagioclase, potassium feldspar, titan-augite,
>>> titaniferous biotite, apatite, and opaque grains in a glass groundmass.
>>> This mineral composition suggests that the dike formed from magma that
>>> cooled relatively quickly, preventing the formation of large crystals.
>>> >
>>> > 2. **Physical Description**: The dike appears as a dark gray,
>>> fine-grained rock with a salt and pepper texture. It weathers to dark brown
>>> or grayish brown and forms a wall-like rampart. This implies that the dike
>>> is resistant to weathering and erosion, standing out in the landscape as a
>>> prominent feature.
>>> >
>>> > 3. **Structural Features**: The dike is described as comprising many
>>> right echelon overlapping segments varying in length from 200 to 1200 feet
>>> and up to 18 feet thick. This pattern of overlapping segments indicates
>>> that the magma was injected into pre-existing fractures in the surrounding
>>> rock, likely under significant pressure, causing the fractures to open and
>>> propagate in an en echelon pattern.
>>> >
>>> > 4. **Geological Age**: The dike is dated to 26.55 million years ago,
>>> placing its formation in the Oligocene epoch. This was a time of
>>> significant tectonic activity in many parts of the world, often associated
>>> with volcanic and plutonic intrusions.
>>> >
>>> > ### Formation Process
>>> > 1. **Magma Intrusion**: The formation of the Galisteo Dike began with
>>> the intrusion of magma into fractures in the Earth's crust. The magma,
>>> originating from deeper within the mantle, was rich in the minerals
>>> described and had a high temperature, allowing it to flow and penetrate the
>>> fractures.
>>> >
>>> > 2. **Cooling and Crystallization**: As the magma moved upward through
>>> the fractures, it began to cool and solidify. The rapid cooling near the
>>> surface resulted in the fine-grained texture of the rock, with minerals
>>> crystallizing quickly in the groundmass of glass.
>>> >
>>> > 3. **Fracture Propagation**: The injection of magma caused the
>>> fractures to propagate, leading to the characteristic right echelon
>>> overlapping segments. This suggests that the fractures did not open
>>> uniformly but rather stepped along the strike, with each segment forming as
>>> a discrete intrusion event.
>>> >
>>> > 4. **Weathering and Erosion**: Over millions of years, the surrounding
>>> rock may have eroded away, leaving the more resistant dike exposed as a
>>> wall-like structure. The weathering of the dike itself results in the
>>> observed dark brown or grayish brown coloration.
>>> >
>>> > In summary, the Galisteo Dike was formed by the intrusion of magma
>>> into fractures in the crust, followed by rapid cooling and crystallization,
>>> resulting in a fine-grained igneous rock with distinct mineral composition
>>> and structural features indicative of significant volcanic activity during
>>> the Oligocene epoch.
>>> > ____________________________________________
>>> > CEO Founder, Simtable.com
>>> > stephen.guerin at simtable.com
>>> >
>>> > Harvard Visualization Research and Teaching Lab
>>> > stephenguerin at fas.harvard.edu
>>> >
>>> > mobile: (505)577-5828
>>> >
>>> > On Fri, Jun 21, 2024, 9:08 AM Nicholas Thompson <
>>> thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> > Dear Stephen,
>>> >
>>> > Thank you for prompting me to respond to this inquiry. I was having
>>> some trouble getting the image to behave on my computer, and so was
>>> reluctant to wade in.
>>> >
>>> > Indeed, just as nature abhors vacuums, she abhors straight lines, and
>>> so any line as straight as this one requires a special explanation. To me,
>>> that the line points southwestward toward the radar site NW of ABQ suggests
>>> a radar artifact, perhaps the shadow or some distant hill. As we watched
>>> the animated radar image, we could see a persistent weakness in the radar
>>> echo along that line, even as the clouds crossed it.
>>> >
>>> > Speaking of abhorrent straight lines, during our conversation with
>>> Frank, we spent quite a lot of time discussing another line, a berm of sand
>>> that runs across the Galisteo Basin in roughly the same orientation,
>>> perhaps 50' high?. I had noticed this feature on topo maps and always
>>> assumed it was an old railway embankment. Frank, who knows the area well,
>>> thought that idea was absurd. So, we were left with the puzzle of a highly
>>> linear geological formation several miles long.
>>> >
>>> > Could it be that this geological straight line accounts for the
>>> straight line cloud formation that Mr. Kadlubek sees? As the dry line
>>> breaks down in anticipation of the SW Monsoon, moist air does indeed move
>>> northward, following the river valleys up from TX. AT some point, it will
>>> be raised enough that its moisture is condensed leading to the release of
>>> latent heat and the further development of clouds. If the structure that
>>> raises it is a straight line, then the clouds themselves will be arranged
>>> in a straight line. We can see this effect often along linear coast lines
>>> as a sea breeze front topped by (usually) fair weather cumulus. However,
>>> given all the dramatic topography in the area, it's hard for me to imagine
>>> that this low lying feature would be determining very often.
>>> >
>>> > I, too, live for the weather. I don't live for Face Book, however.
>>> So if you have any way to put in touch with Mr. Kadlubek, he and I could
>>> perhaps have coffee when I get back to Santa Fe in the fall.
>>> >
>>> > Yours faithfully,
>>> >
>>> > Nick Thompson
>>> > "Behavioral Meteorologist"
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 7:06 PM Stephen Guerin <
>>> stephen.guerin at simtable.com> wrote:
>>> > Nick,
>>> >
>>> > It's your time to shine! Respond to Vince.
>>> >
>>> > In the comments, local knowledge refers to it as the "prison line" as
>>> weather is different on either side of the prison on 14.
>>> >
>>> >
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