Memorial to Frank Armón Melton1896-1985

KENNETH S. JO H N SO NUniversity o f Oklahoma, 830 Van Vleet Oval, Room 163, Norman, Oklahom a 73019

Dr. F rank A rm on M elton, photogeologist, geom or­phologist, and professor em eritus of geology and geo­physics at the University of Oklahom a, died on May 11, 1985, in N orm an, Oklahom a. He was 88 years old, and death came quietly at a convalescent care center that he had entered one year earlier after suffering a series of strokes.

Frank, or “A rm on” as he was known to family and close friends, was widely known and highly re­spected as a geologist, as a multidisciplinary scientist and thinker, and as an individual; his death brings a great loss to all who knew him, worked with him, or studied under him. He had a distinguished national and international reputation as an educator and as a photo­geologist. His contributions to the profession were

many, including the thousands of students whose education and careers were influenced by his teachings, and the pioneering work he did in interpretation of aerial photographs. His extensive research led to more than 50 scientific papers a n d /o r presentations at na­tional geologic meetings.

F rank was born in Cuba, Kansas, on July 6, 1896, to Charles Allen and Nettie (N orthup) M elton. The family moved to Stillwater, in Oklahoma Territory, in 1900. Hegraduated from O klahom a A&M College (now O klahom a State University) in Stillwaterat the age of 18, having skipped high school entirely. After serving as an officer in the arm y during W orld W ar I, F rank attended the University of M issouri from 1917 to 1919 where he took his first course in geology. That was the beginning of his “ lifelong love affair with the E arth ,” as he often proclaimed when discussing his fascination with geology. That interest expanded with time as he followed m an’s exploration of the depths of the oceans, the distant m oon and planets, and the far-off reaches of outer space.

Having “discovered” the field of geology, F rank went on to the University of Chicago where he received his Ph.D . (cum laude) in geology in 1924. He continued to pursue postdoctoral work interm ittently through 1930 at universities in Berlin and Bonn, Germ any, and Zurich, Switzerland. His first teaching position was as instructor in geology at Columbia University, New York City, from 1924 to 1926. He worked briefly in1926 for the U.S. Geological Survey as a field geologist in Gold Hill. Utah, and came to the University of O klahom a in 1926, where he served as professor in the School of Geology and Geophysics until his retirement 41 years later in 1967.

F rank established himself as an international authority on the use of aerial photo­graphs in photogeologic exploration and geom orphology. In the late 1920s he realized the value of aerial photos in geologic research and teaching, and he began using these photos to present to his students a worldwide survey of landform s and other geologic features. His pioneering work in photogeology led to research and publications that spanned six decades, his m ajor reports dealing with the origin and development of the O uach ita M ountains, the m eteorite-im pact origin of the C aro lina Bays, the classification of flood-plain stream s, the classification of sand dunes, and the use of aerial photos for interpreting structural geology in “flatlands” (regions of low-dipping strata mantled by glacial deposits o r thick soils). In 1938 he offered at the University of O klahom a the first form al course taught anywhere in which aerial photography

2 T HE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY O F AM ERICA

was used as the main teaching device in interpreting geologic processes and landforms.During W orld W ar II F rank ’s expertise was called upon in assisting and teaching

various m ilitary divisions in the selection of terrains suitable for tank operations in areas of Europe and North Africa. He was also employed by the Atomic Energy Commission, in the early stages of its existence, using photogeology in the search for uranium deposits. He was very active as a consultant in photogeologic exploration for petroleum and metallic mineral resources. M ost of this work was centered in the southwest and south- central United States, but he did work for clients in virtually all the contiguous United States, as well as in Alaska and Canada. He also carried out projects in Mexico. South America, and North Africa. His clients, at one time or another, included most of the m ajor oil companies, a num ber of the larger independent operators, and several of the major metals-mining companies.

His early career in photogeology was driven by his desire to see as much of the E arth’s surface as possible. He traveled widely in North America and Europe, always with special cameras in hand. He often hired private planes to survey and photograph firsthand the geologic or geomorphic features that were the subject of his research or teaching. He established, during his career, a research and teaching collection of nearly 13,000 photo-index sheets and 200,000 contact-print aerial photographs. It is probably the largest collection of aerial photographs ever acquired and used by any individual. His collection, valued at about $750,000, was donated to the Oklahom a Geological Survey and the University of O klahom a several years ago and will be an invaluable aid in ongoing geologic and mineral investigations, as well as in teaching photogeology.

Frank acquired aerial photos wherever and whenever he could. His family recalls one day in 1933 when they all gathered at the train depot in N orm an to receive, inventory, and bring home crates containing 20 tons of aerial photos that Frank had purchased, for $2 per ton, as surplus from the U.S. D epartm ent o f Agriculture. His inventory grew with the space program; he did research using ERTS and Skylab imagery, and he sought better understanding of the solar system by studying imagery from the Lunar and M ariner programs.

But Frank was not exclusively a photogeologist. He used photographs as a means of examining a great m ultitude of geologic features from throughout the world (and beyond) to enable him to make interpretations of structure, stratigraphy, geomorphology, and mineral occurrences; in short, to enable him to understand the processes that have shaped and modified the Earth. He was also a consummate reader of scientific literature outside of geology, including literature in the fields of geophysics, physics, mathematics, chemistry, and astronom y. And he was adept in understanding the interrelationships of these sciences with geology and the role they play in investigating the Earth.

Those who knew Frank well recognized in him a likeable eccentricity. He was not a conventional man, and he shared his unconventional and inquisitive nature with his students in the classroom. He inspired me and his other students to think well beyond the dogma of the day, encouraging us to pursue research that involved a multidisciplinary approach to unravel geologic problems. His encouragement and support of student research is shown in his having directed or served on committees for 63 m aster’s or doctoral theses at OU.

His graduate-level course in the stratigraphy of southwestern United States was regarded by his students at OU as a rigorous and unique study of the principles of stratigraphy as exemplified in the southern midcontinent. His research in stratigraphy dealt prim arily with regional unconformities and with the onlap and overlap relationship of strata above and below the unconformities; he developed special graphics and other teaching aids to help illustrate to his students complex stratigraphic problems.

M E M O R IA L TO FRANK ARM ON MELTON 3

Frank was a strong supporter of professionalism in the geological community and was an active member of the following professional societies: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, American Institute of Professional Geologists (Certified Geologist No. 14), American Geophysical Union, American Society of Photogram m etry, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Oklahoma City Geological Society, Dallas Geological Society, Oklahoma Academy of Science, and Sigma Xi. He was a Fellow in the Geological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1951 he received the prestigious Talbert Abrams Award from the American Society of Photogram m etry. In his continuing pursuit o f improving education and professionalism, he served for many years after his retirement on the Advisory Council to the School of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma.

Civic and personal-fulfillment activities included membership in the N orm an Cham ­ber of Commerce, Lion’s Club, American Legion, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Beta Theta Pi social fraternity.

Surviving Frank are his wife, Clarice of N orm an, Oklahoma; three children, Mrs. Jane Wilder of San Francisco, California, Dr. Mark A. M elton of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mrs. Phyllis Dowling of N orm an, Oklahoma; two brothers, L. D. M elton of Oklahoma City, Oklahom a, and John H. Melton, Sr., of Dallas, Texas; and five grandchildren.

Because of F rank’s “life-long love affair with the E arth” and his consuming desire to educate and pass on knowledge, the family has initiated a geological-research/scholar­ship/teaching award in his name at the University o f Oklahoma. R ather than endow an award in a narrow area of academic research simply because it was F rank ’s chosen specialty, the family wishes to aid undergraduate and graduate students within the broader area of “ Resource Investigations,” with the aim of repaying the debt the family feels for the many kindnesses and the decades of friendship shown to Frank by the people of O klahom a in academ ia and industry. Perhaps this award will add impetus for another generation of scholars. M emorials may be made to the M elton M emorial Geological Research Award, University of O klahoma Foundation, Norman, OK 73019.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF F. A. MELTON1925 The Ancestral Rocky M ountains of Colorado and New Mexico: Journal of

Geology, v. 33, p. 84-89.------ Interpretation of the isostatic anomaly: American Journal of Science, v. 10,

p. 166-174.____ Correlation of Perm o-Carboniferous red-beds in southwestern Colorado and

northern New Mexico: Journal of Geology, v. 33, p. 807-815.1928 (with M. K. Hubbert) Gravity anomalies and petroleum exploration by the

gravitational pendulum: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 12, p. 889-899.

____ (with F. H. McGuigan) The depth of the base of the Trinity Sandstone and thepresent attitude of the Jurassic peneplane in southern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 12, p. 1005-1014.

1929 Shallow versus deep-seated density anomalies in the northern Great Plains: Oklahoma Academy of Science Proceedings, v. 9, p. 109-116.

____ The so-called natural mounds of the northern Gulf Coastal Plain: OklahomaAcademy of Science Proceedings, v. 9, p. 119-130.

------ A reconnaissance of the joint systems of the Ouachita M ountains and CentralPlains of Oklahoma: Journal o f Geology, v. 37, p. 729-746.

1930 Age of the Ouachita orogeny and its tectonic effects: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 14, p. 57-72.

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1930 Johnston and M urray Counties, in Oil and gas in Oklahoma: Oklahom a Geological Survey Bulletin 40, v. 3, p. 451-470.

____ (with M. K. Hubbert) Isostasy. a critical review: Journal of Geology, v. 38,p. 673-696.

1931 Post-Pennsylvanian denudation of the Ozark Dome: American Journal of Science, v. 21, p. 214-219.

1932 Time equivalent versus lithologie extension of form ations (with discussions by J. E. Eaton and F. A. Melton): American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 16, p. 1039-1043.

1933 (with William Schriever) The Carolina Bays—Are they meteorite scars?: Journal of Geology, v. 41, p. 52-66.

1934 The origin of the Carolina Bays: Discovery (published in England), June, 4 p.____ The origin of the supposed m eterorite scars— Reply: Journal of Geology, v. 42,

p. 97-104.____ Linear and dendritic sink-hole patterns in southeastern New Mexico: Science, v. 80,

no. 2066, August 3, p. 123-124.1936 An empirical classification of floodplain streams: Geographical Review, v. 26,

p. 593-609.1938 (with W. E. Ham) Pawhuska rock plain of Oklahoma and Kansas: Geological

Society of America Bulletin, v. 49, p. 1922.1939 Aerial photographs and the first course in geology: The Photogram m etric Engineer,

v. 5, no. 2.1940 A tentative classification of sand dunes, its application to dune history in the

southern High Plains: Journal of Geology, v. 48, p. 113-145.1945 Preliminary observations on geological use of aerial photographs: American

Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 29, p. 1756-1765.1947 Proposed m onograph of historical geology and the geological education

controversy: Geological Society of America, Interim Proceedings, Part 1, p. 49-58.____ Onlap and strike-overlap: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,

v. 31, p. 1869-1878.1950 The Carolina “ Bays”: Journal o f Geology, v. 58, p. 128-134.____ Photo-geological study of the “Flatlands”: The Mines Magazine, v. 40, no. 10,

October, p. 37-49.____ The geomorphology and photo-geological study of the “Flatlands”: Photo­

grammetric Engineering, December, p. 722-744.1953 Geologic exploration and mapping with aerial photographs, in Selected papers on

photogeology and photo-interpretation: Sponsored by Research and Development Board, Committee on Geophysics and Geography, W ashington, D.C., p. 219-225.

1954 “Natural m ounds” of northeastern Texas, southern Arkansas, and northern Louisiana: Oklahoma Geology Notes, v. 14, p. 88-121.

1955 Photo-geology in “F latland” regions of low dip: Shale Shaker, v. 6, no. 3, p. 5-20.1959 Aerial photographs and structural geomorphology: Journal of Geology, v. 67.

p. 351-370.1960 M anual of photographic interpretation: American Society of Photogram m etry.

(M elton was one of 14 contributing authors to the 173 pages dealing with geology in this 868-page “encyclopedia.”)

1968 Regional unconformities of Flatlands: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 52, p. 313-321.

1971 (with J. H. Speer) Outcrop unconformity study of basal unconformities and related movements. Upper Gulf Cretaceous Basin of Oklahoma and Arkansas: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 55, p. 241-253.

1975 Stereoscopic and mosaic aerial-photograph study of the structure of the central Ouachita M ountains in Oklahoma and Arkansas: Oklahoma Geological Survey, M ap GM-18.

Printed in U.S.A. 7/85