AbstractsEarth & Environmental Science

As a preamble to this thesis, four propositions and two deductions are stated. The succeeding pages are principally concerned with a study of the geology of southern Pascalis township, a review of the evidence upon which the propositions are based and a discussion of experimental results which prove the deductions to be true with regard to certain rocks of the area studied. The propositions are: 1. If certain conditions are fulfilled, many minerals will exhibit the phenomena of luminescence. 2. In most cases, one of the important conditions for luminescence is the presence within the mineral of small amounts of trace elements which are foreign to the pure mineral and which may modify the crystal lattice. 3. During the emplacement of eruptive bodies, or their subsequent metamorphism, small amounts of trace elements are distributed in special arrangements relative to the bodies, either within or adjacent to their boundaries. This probably applies regardless of the size of the eruptive. 4. Some of the trace elements of Proposition 3 may either form independent minerals, occur in the lattices of the rock forming minerals or cause the formation of lattice imperfections. From these propositions, it may be logically deduced: 1. Luminescent minerals should be found in or adjacent to many bodies of eruptive rocks. 2. The distribution of the luminescent minerals and the trace elements should bear some close relationship to each other. [...]