Available online
Description
The programme examines the way in which the new metamorphic and structural evidence is changing the "classical" interpretation of the formation of the Alps.
The programme examines the way in which the new metamorphic and structural evidence is changing the "classical" interpretation of the formation of the Alps.
| Module code and title: | S336, Crustal and mantle processes: case studies in Earth science |
|---|---|
| Item code: | S336; 11 |
| First transmission date: | 26-05-1980 |
| Published: | 1980 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | P. L. Firstbrook |
| Contributors: | Roberto Compagnoni; Derek Cooper; Stephen Drury |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Albite; Granodiorite; Horneblende; Insubric plate; Matterhorn; Metamorphism; Nappe; Orogenisis; Sesia-Lanzo zone; Tethys geosyncline |
| Subject terms: | Geology--Alps; Metamorphism (Geology)--Italy; Plate tectonics |
| Footage description: | Shots of the Italian Alps. Commentary by Derek Cooper introduces the programme. Archive film shots of early geologists climbing the Matterhorn. Commentary discusses the 'classical' interpretation of Alpine origins which evolved as a result of this early fieldwork. A diagram of the Matterhorn and surrounding area and an animated diagram are also shown. Over shots of the Italian Alps, commentary explains why this region, the Sesia-Lanzo zone in Northern Italy, was chosen for the programme. Steve Drury and Roberto Compagnoni examine the metasedimentary unit of the Alpine orogeny. This consists of the oldest rocks from the old African continent. With the aid of close up shots of rocks and animated graphs, the commentary explains how the identification of key minerals - sillimanite, kyanite, and andelusite - allows geologists to determine temperature pressure conditions at time of metamorphism. The evidence indicates two distinct metamorphic events. Drury and Compagnoni examine an outcrop further down the mountain. As above, they look at the mineralisation of the rocks. Several thin sections are shown under the microscope. With the aid of an animated graph this data is used to refine the picture of the second metamorphic event. Shot of Drury and Compagnoni examining rocks in a vineyard in the Aosta Valley. These are boulders which fell from an outcrop from a ridge 2,000 metres up and which formed the mafic rocks interbedded within the sedimentary metamorphose sequence in the Sesia-Lanzo unit. Close ups of rock specimens in thin section and shots of a graph. Commentary discusses the conditions under which these rocks formed. Over further shots of the Aosta Valley, commentary discusses the folding phases of the Alpine orogeny. Over shots of thin sections of rock specimens, of a graph, and of diagrams, commentary sums up the events of the Alpine orogeny in the light of the evidence gathered above and taking into account plate tectonics.;The programme examines the way in which the new metamorphic and structural evidence is changing the 'classical' interpretation of the formation of the Alps. |
| Master spool number: | HOU3293 |
| Production number: | FOUS044R |
| Videofinder number: | 478 |
| Available to public: | no |
