[FRIAM] "Weather line" on 14
Stephen Guerin
stephen.guerin at simtable.com
Sun Jun 23 12:50:52 EDT 2024
Oops, Dan Gupta assumed he was Eric from my prompting with Nick's email.
Apologies Eric. Though this would define the ultimate turning test for AI,
in my book. :-)
____________________________________________
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, 10:47 AM Stephen Guerin <stephen.guerin at simtable.com>
wrote:
> 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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