Re: "Meteor theory gets rocky ride from dinosaur expert"

[Allan Edels <edels@msn.com>]

John:

Here's an article from Discover magazine (April 2005) [between the 
"======"'s]:

============================================================
Titanium?Delivered by Tsunami
By Anne Casselman
DISCOVER Vol. 26 No. 04 | April 2005 | Environment

The December 26 tsunami that killed more than 250,000 people in southern 
Asia and Africa brought India a macabre windfall: tons of titanium ore, 
worth untold millions of dollars, deposited along more than 300 miles of 
shoreline.

The deposits?as high as 10 feet in some places?were left on sand dunes about 
a mile inshore, significantly adding to the titanium ore already there. The 
Times of India speculates that more than 40 million tons landed on the 
coast, but Victor Loveson, a geologist for the Central Mining Research 
Institute, says it?s too early to make an accurate estimate.

Most of the world?s high-grade titanium is mined from coastal deposits, 
called beach placers, using a modern version of panning for gold. The 
tsunami-dumped ore could help India keep up with a growing demand for the 
metal long into the future, Loveson says. Titanium alloys are a favorite of 
the aerospace industry and are increasingly used in such consumer products 
as cars, computers, and sports equipment. The alloys are 45 percent lighter 
than steel but just as strong, and they are resistant to heat and corrosion.

Loveson and his team of geologists found the ore by chance. They had planned 
a routine survey of the beaches of Tamil Nadu, at the southern tip of the 
country, on the same day the tsunami struck. When they arrived, they found a 
shoreline ravaged by the ferocious wave. Rather than turn back, they went to 
work, he says. ?I didn?t want to miss it as a scientist and geologist.?
=============================================================

The article doesn't indicate how far the deposits travelled, other than the 
distance inland (1 mile).

Allan Edels

> From: John Bois <jbois@umd5.umd.edu>
> Reply-To: jbois@umd5.umd.edu
> To: Tommy Tyrberg <tommy.tyrberg@norrkoping.mail.telia.com>
> CC: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: Re: "Meteor theory gets rocky ride from dinosaur expert"
> Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 11:33:47 -0400 (EDT)
>
>
>
> On Wed, 25 May 2005, Tommy Tyrberg wrote:
> > The "Event bed" is presumably
> > tsunami deposits, probably deposited in a few hours rather than 300,000
> > (presumably extremely stormy) years.
>
> Would a tsunami wave _transport_ materials?  How far could a tsunami
> transport sediments?