In view of the great demands on geological manpower, a plea is made to those who are influential in determining what research is carried on in the universities, deliberately to concentrate on those topics and geographical areas where urgent practical problems are known to exist and where results could be of most practical value. There is no reason why selection of research subjects on this basis should degrade the scientific quality of the work. On the contrary, such selection is likely to provide stimulating contacts with practical activities, to give access to new sources of data and to wider opportunities for testing conceptual models.

Even with this restriction the research field is very wide. By way of a suggestion I mention one broad subject which is of wide importance in many fields of applied geology. This is rock weathering. The study of rock weathering has not received due attention partly I believe because of the historical accident that much of the science of geology developed in glaciated regions of Europe and North America where rock weathering was not so much of a problem. Rock weathering creates problems common to much of the world outside the glaciated regions and results of research would be applicable to large regions outside Australia.

Exploration in Australia for many minerals is made difficult by the superimposed effects of several weathering cycles, resulting in poor outcrop, thick residual soils passing gradually down into unweathered rock at depths of a hundred feet or more, by covering of laterites, by oxidation and by surface leaching of sulphides.

Low electrical resistivity of thick weathered layers inhibits the application of electromagnetic techniques of prospecting which have proved to be so effective in Canada. Research is especially required to develop electrical or electromagnetic methods which would be effective in penetrating the thick weathered zone, to supplement the induced polarization method which at the moment seems to be the only method which works. But the effects of weathering are far from being always unfavourable. Australia is fortunate in having experienced weathering conditions over the whole continent which were favourable for the production of laterites, including bauxite and nickeliferous laterites in particular geological settings with favourable bedrock and topography.

Weathering is significant also at the sites of the majority of engineering projects where it makes exploration more difficult and adversely affects the strength of the rocks in foundations, in open-cuts, and shallow underground excavations.