European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 21, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Earth probing the architecture of the Earth s crust by Doug Fisher associated Pressa t a leisurely 4 Trulos per Day. A curious caravan of Carth Shamci trucks is wending or ouch Itie rolling farmlands of Wesley Ohio helping Sci enlists probe Miles below the surface whole ancient continents May have collided ii underground mountains can be found scion lists say. They could to loaded with valuable minerals and provide a picture of what Earth was like 1 billion years ago. This is the beginning of Tho Effort to understand the Large scale architecture and ultimately the history of Earth is wrapped up in the architecture of the crust says Doug Nelson a senior researcher Al Cornell University in Ithaca. By. Nelson is with the consortium of Continental reflection profiling Coc Ftp. A1 Cornell which is funded by nr.6or.Al science foundation at a Cost of about s3 million a year. Scientists Hope 1o build a Model geologic Cross Section of the crust under the United states by 1990. Based on the work in Ohio and other slates. The journey by a Crew from Seismograph services corp. Of Houston Texas began in August at the Ohio Indiana line in Mercef county and was to conclude this month Al a Point along the Ohio fever across from Wesl Virginia in Between the trucks will Nave shaken the path along Back roads and stale highways sending vibrations up to 30 Miles deep which Are reflected Back to a constantly changing 7.5-Fnile string of Geo phones Insl Ruments designed to pick up the smallest tremors spaced about 14 feet apart. Mauls changes in the vibrations Tell scientists whal kinds of rocks Are underground. The sophisticated underground mapping technology was developed by the Petroleum Industry not to search for Oil minerals but to Aid in the understanding of the formation of the Earth s crust. We re Abla 10 understand the history of the Earth says Larry Brown another Cornell geophysicist who is one of the co directors of the project. Work in the appalachians has revealed for example that those peaks were no pushed up Irum underneath As some had the rued but rather were created when a thin layer of Rock from the East was pushed Westward up and Over ensling Rock layers. That discovery As it happens had immediate practical consequences. It turned out that the rocks on the surface of the mountains were masking rocks below that might be Likely to contain Petroleum deposits Oil companies have already Tregun searching Lor deposits there Brown says. This is the first Lime researchers have Ever conducted this Lype of exploration of the deep crust. Brown says in Ohio. Itie scientists arc searching to what some believe is an ancient Lault line whore two comments the 22-ton trucks of Seismograph service corp. Lift themselves up on pads Ami shake the Earth. Collided a billion years ago forming a Mountain Range thai May be similar to the Himalayas which were produced by the collision of India and Asia Ricky Villon it. 27. Of Kross. Texas As the senior observer Sils in a Liny trailer to wishing dials and punching Bisl Lons Lor 12va hours a Day. Lour Days a week. His caravan draws a lot of onlookers they want to know in we re widening Iho Road or pulling in Cable to Vui Llonel says they Ali want Cable to we had one old Pettow in Here always looking at the data. He said he s sure there s a big old Cave Down  the five trucks atone Are guaranteed to draw a crowd. Like ungainly 22-ton ballerinas they slowly push. Themselves up on legs attached to a pad Inal for 28 seconds vibrates the ground from 10 to 45 limes per second the vibrations penetrate Tho soles of your shoes and seem to shake every Bone. The trucks wait 15 seconds for the vibrations to come Back then they move 20 feet and repeal the process Seismograph services does most of its work for Oil and Gas exploration companies Nelson stresses Hal co corp is not prospecting. But Michael c Hansen of the Ohio geological Survey is cd filed by the prospects of discovering the Mineral Rich Grenville front one reason the state was proposed for inclusion in the co corp project in 1983. Rocks of the Grenville front Suraco in Canada icon dip under the great lakes geologists theorize the front runs under Western Ohio near Anna and Sidney areas of earthquake activity one theory is that the front was formed by iwo land masses Hal collided and Tulumd to each other stuck together Hanson Days. Hansen says Hal if the Iron can tac f Jiing this will give us some idea of Trio Continental Drill thai was taking place in he one billion your Range " he says commercial me esl could he kindled if the front is found Only about 2,500 feet underground ii also will give Tho geological Survey a Chance to unlit her its new 5.000-fool Boring Rig i think this will give us some clues where we can take our Core drilling Rig and Pul Down some holes where it looks exciting Hanson says. Co corp s interest goes beyond he Greville front to basement rocks that generally begin Al at jul 6,000 feet Down Nelson says unlike rocks closer to the surface which formed from deposits of sediment a semen rocks Are Houghl to Havo been formed when Earth was hoi often from volcanic activity already the co corp scientists Are discovering what appears to be unexpected layering in those rocks Nelson says. This could mean there is a whole new package of sedimentary rocks we Haven l explored to says or in could be traced to a Long layer of volcanic rocks that also would Tell us what was going on Al the time " i thank we to making quantum leaps Forward on understanding the basemen geology although we re not very far along he says of Flaky Vuitton Elnaket Sun Tho data Horn Tensors placed f Long the Road Ere recorded on a computer saturday. November 21. 1987 the stars and stripes Paga 17