THE IMPORTANCE OF INCREMENTAL KNOWLEDGE EXPANSION (IKE) FROM A CENTRAL AND EASTERN MAINE PERSPECTIVE

The bedrock of central and eastern Maine has not changed appreciably in hundreds of millions of years. Yet our knowledge and understanding of the lithology, structure, age, stratigraphy, intrusive relationships, petrology, and tectonics have changed dramatically since the time of Jackson (1837). On the occasion of Prof. Ludman’s retirement from teaching it is appropriate to reflect on the process of changing knowledge with his first 56 field seasons as an example, from the perspective of colleagues, students, and the Maine Geological Survey (MGS).

Most knowledge that geologists share comes from textbooks or from “milestone” papers in which authors synthesize information to present the latest answer. As field geologists should know, the word milestone comes from the Latin milles, which is the distance of a thousand paces. This is where fundamental new knowledge comes from, one pace at a time. While Allan has published his share of milestone papers on central Maine stratigraphy (1976), Calais-NB area stratigraphy (1978), suture-hunting (1981), terrane accretion (1986), St. Croix Belt (1987), local polymetamorphism (1989), Acadian orogeny (1993), Norumbega structure (1998, 2002, 2004), Norumbega Special Paper (1999), paleogeography (2017), detrital zircon provenance (2018), palynology (2020), and Miramichi volcanics (2021), we contend his most lasting contributions have been through what we here call the IKE system. Since his first field season in 1966, Allan has filed maps and reports with the MGS on a regular basis. He has organized two NEIGC’s and prepared 15 field guides. He has published maps in the Skowhegan area, Lincoln 1° and Fredericton 2° sheets, an area that now rivals the size of Connecticut. Each outcrop, each field season incrementally expands the body of knowledge.

From this foundation of fact-based knowledge, Allan has supported the work of the MGS through brittle fracture maps to address seismic hazards for the US DOE, the 1985 State map compilation to support NRC analysis of potential nuclear waste sites, study of the Kellyland dam hazard, and consulting on wind farm installation. Students have seen him learn new technologies (GPS, CARIS, lidar), challenge common wisdom (Where are the subduction zones? Once one or always two?) and invite collaborators from other disciplines to address field problems.