Shatter cone theory initially rejected

I found the recent Odds ‘N’ Sods by A.J. Naldrett most interesting. (See “The Shatter cones of Sudbury” in T.N.M., Nov. 13/00). It’s also a lesson we should all remember.

When, in 1964, Robert Dietz proposed that the Sudbury structure was an astrobleme, he was referred to, by my graduate professor in economic geology, as an “absolute idiot.”

Later, while working for the National Areronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Moffett Field, Calif., I was able to review the results of a NASA trip to Sudbury. I still have the 1967 memorandum that summarizes the results of this trip.

Prior to the trip, NASA concluded that if Sudbury were an astrobleme, as Dietz proposed, then, in addition to cone in cone structures, two types of high-temperature quartz would be present: coesite and stishovite. Those were identified.

Raymond Wittkopp

Consulting Geologist

Reno, Nev.