Winter 2014 - Geological Association of Canada

Transcription

GEOLOG
Presidential Preamble
I have thousands upon thousands of geology photographs:
close-ups of outcrops, polished
slabs, cores and dimension
stones, outdoor panoramas,
views out of airplane windows,
of road cuts and cliff faces, thin
section photomicrographs, pictures of fossils,
snaps of friends in geo-action. Of course most
of them are slides locked away in dozens of
binders, but even some binders of negatives
and contact sheets from when I was a student
and too poor to afford Kodachrome film. Since
2006 my photographs are all digital. These are
my most cherished possessions, vital for my
research activities, as well as teaching in these
copyright-blighted days. On the other hand,
now that my recent photographs are stored
electronically, you can imagine how diligent I
am in terms of labelling and cataloguing… Still,
I go back to those slides and negatives all the
time. Now that slide projectors are almost an
extinct species, I find myself using my handlens or microscope to view them, and I do scan
some of them especially for unfinished
research projects.
Naturally the time and effort involved in
scanning slides means that for teaching I tend
to use more recent digital images in my PowerPoints. Like all GAC® members, no matter
where we go, geology comes first, so that
means most pictures from a Caribbean vacation were actually taken for their geological
content, isn't that right? Last year after my
introductory earth history course, several
Volume 43 Issue
4 43
Volume
Number2014
/ Numéro 4
Winter / Hiver 2014
students wrote nasty teaching evaluations and
accused me of just showing off holiday snaps in
my lectures. They missed the point.
Typically assumed to be limited to geochemical
analyses, in fact our photographs, not to
mention notebooks and specimens, are part of
the data we have amassed. There are policies
or legislation for government agencies to
archive geological and geophysical data. In
Canada that includes organizations like subsurface core and sample warehouses and
geological surveys. With palaeontology,
publication requires that the fossils be archived
(continued on p. 4)
These ripples are irresistible! They are in fluvial floodplain
deposits of the Boss Point Formation (Cumberland Group,
Upper Carboniferous), Dorchester Cape, New Brunswick.
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GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
GAC® Corporate Members /
The MISSION of the Geological Association of Canada is to facilitate
the scientific well-being and professional development of its
members, the learned discussion of geoscience in Canada, and the
advancement, dissemination and wise use of geoscience in public,
professional and academic life. The VISION of the GAC® is to be a
multidisciplinary scientific society supportive of the entire scope of
the geosciences in Canada. The GAC® aims to be a geoscience
community that is knowledgeable, professionally competent and
respected, whose input and advice is relevant, widely sought and
utilized, and whose vital contribution to the economic prosperity
and social well-being of the nation is widely acknowledged.
La MISSION de l’Association géologique du Canada est d’aider au
développement scientifique et professionnel de ses membres, de
favoriser les échanges géoscientifiques au Canada ainsi que de
promouvoir et de diffuser l’utilisation éclairée des géosciences dans
un contexte public, professionnel et académique. La VISION de
l’AGC® est de faire connaître une communauté géoscientifique de
grand savoir, dont les compétences professionnelles sont
respectées, dont les suggestions et les avis sont pertinents,
recherchés et utiles, et dont la contribution largement reconnue est
considérée comme vitale pour la prospérité économique et le bienêtre de la nation.
Membres corporatifs de l’AGC® 2014-2015
Patrons / Patrons
Alberta Geological Survey
Anglo American Exploration (Canada) Ltd
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Department of Natural Resources - Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories Geoscience Office
Yukon Department of Energy Mines & Resources
Sponsors / Commanditaires
British Columbia Geological Survey
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
Saskatchewan Geological Survey
GAC® Executive / Comité exécutif de l'AGC® 2014-2015
President / Président
Brian Pratt, Saskatoon, SK
Vice President / Vice Président
Victoria Yehl, Vancouver, BC
Past President / Président sortant
Richard Wardle, St. John’s, NL
Secretary/Treasurer / Secrétaire/Trésorier
Toby Rivers, St. John’s, NL
Finance Chair / Responsable des finaces
Francine McCarthy, St. Catharines, ON
Science Program Chair / Responsable du programme scientifique
David Corrigan, Ottawa, ON
Communications Chair / Responsable des communications
Mike Villeneuve, Ottawa, ON
Publications Chair / Responsable des publications
Chris White, Halifax, NS
Supporters / Supporteurs
Activation Laboratories Ltd
Elemental Controls Ltd
Franklin Geosciences Ltd
Geoscience Laboratories
IBK Capital Corp.
Isomass Scientific Ltd
Living Sky Geophysics Inc.
Universities / Universités
Acadia University
GAC® Councillors / Conseillers de I'AGC® 2014/2015
Section and /et Division Liaison
Oliver Bonham, Burnaby, BC
Short Courses / Programmes courts
Brad McKinley, Sudbury, ON
Campus Liaison
Lori Kennedy, Vancouver, BC
GAC® Lecture Tours / Tournées de conferences de I'AGC®
Alwynne B. Beaudoin, Edmonton, AB
Geoscience Canada Editor / Éditeur du Geoscience Canada
Brendan Murphy, Antigonish, NS
Geolog Editor / Éditeur du Geolog
Alwynne B. Beaudoin, Edmonton, AB
Councillor without Portfolio / Conseiller sans portefeuille
Ray Lett, Victoria, BC
GEOLOG
Institut national de la recherche scientifique
(INRS)
Laurentian University
McGill University
Université de Genève
Université du Québec à Montréal
University of New Brunswick
University of Toronto
University of Waterloo
Volume 43, Number / Numéro 4, Winter / Hiver 2014
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GEOLOG
Contents / Table des matiéres
Vol. 43; No. 4 Winter / Hiver 2014
President’s Preamble……………………………………………………...1, 4
Vice-President’s Update……………………………………………………...5
Coming soon to a lecture theatre near you………………………...7
Spotlight on Geoparks……………………………………………………......8
Global Geoparks in Canada……………………………………………….…8
6th International UNESCO Conference on Global Geoparks .10
Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark…………………………………………. 12
Tributes and Memories……………………………………………………..14
Memories of Dr. Bob Stevens .…………………………………………..14
Volkmar Schmidt 1932-2012……………………………………………...16
Professor G. E. G. Westermann 1927-2014………………………..17
2015 Joint Assembly…………………………………………………………..19
Events and Happenings……………………………………………………...20
L’AQUEST, dix ans à souligner l’excellence………………………...20
64th Annual Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference
(AUGC) ……………………………...……………………………………………..22
Postscript on the GSA Meeting October 2014, Vancouver,
Canada……………………………………………………………………………….23
Conference report: Geological Society of America Annual
Meeting 2014 Vancouver, British Columbia ……………………….24
Vancouver Views………………………………………………………………..26
Julian Boldy Award……………………………………………………… ..….26
Summary of Queen’s Logan Student Chapter 2014
Activities…………………………………………………………………………... 27
Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences (CFES) Update….…...28
Four Billion Years and Counting: Canada’s Geological
Heritage Launched on November 5 2014……………………….…..30
Announcements………………………………………………………… … ….31
GAC® announces the new “GAC®-PDAC Logan Student
Prize”………………………………………………………………………… …… .31
DIG 2015…………………………………………………………………………….31
Strati 2015 ………………………………………………………………………...31
Annual CGF Invitation for Grant Applications……………………..32
Geoscience Canada …………………………………………………………...32
Howard Street Robinson Fund…………………………………………...34
Information for Contributors / Consignes aux auteurs ………...34
Publisher / Publié par
GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
c/o Dept. of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5
Tel: 709-737-7660
Fax: 709-737-2532
E-mail: gac@mun.ca
Web: www.gac.ca
Editor / Éditeur
ALWYNNE B. BEAUDOIN
c/o Royal Alberta Museum
12845-102nd Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5N 0M6
E-mail: Alwynne.Beaudoin@gov.ab.ca
GEOLOG (ISSN 0227-3713; 1712-3747) is the quarterly
newsmagazine of the Geological Association of Canada, St. John’s,
Newfoundland and Labrador. GEOLOG is published for the benefit of
GAC® members and its content reflects the diversity of the
organization. News items and short articles on topics of potential
interest to the membership including public geoscience awareness
are encouraged. Also encouraged are communications promoting
interaction among academic, industry and government sectors.
GEOLOG accepts and publishes contributions in both of Canada’s
official languages. Opinions expressed herein are those of the
writers and do not necessarily represent the official positions of the
GAC®. GEOLOG is one of several forums provided by the GAC® for
scientists worldwide.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: GEOLOG is one of the privileges of GAC®
membership. To become a member, application forms are available
by mail or fax from the Geological Association of Canada, or can be
printed from the website.
ADVERTISING: Paid advertising is accepted. Digital copy is preferred.
Contact the Editor for more information or go to the GAC® website
and click on Publications then GEOLOG and look for the Rate Card.
GEOLOG (ISSN 0227-3713; 1712-3747) est le bulletin trimestriel de
l’Association Géologique du Canada, à St. Jean, Terre-Neuve-etLabrador. GEOLOG s’adresse aux members de l’AGC® et son
contenu reflète le caractère polyvalent de cette organisation. Nous
invitons la soumission de nouvelles et articles courts pouvant
intéresser les membres, incluant les thèmes de sensibilisation du
public aux sciences de la Terre. Les articles suscitant des échanges
d’opinions et d’informations entre les secteurs académique,
industriel et ouvernementaux sont également la bienvenue.
GEOLOG accepte et publie les articles dans les deux langues
officielles du Canada. Les idées sont celles des auteurs et ne
représentent pas nécessairement la position officielle de l’ AGC®.
GEOLOG n’est qu’un des nombreux forums offerts par l’ AGC® aux
scientifiques à travers le monde.
ABONNEMENT: L’abonnement à GEOLOG est un des privilèges don’t
bénéficient les membres de l’ AGC®. On peut se procurer un
formulaire d’adhésion par courrier ou par fax en communiquant
avec l’Association Géologique du Canada.
PUBLICITÉ: Nous acceptons la publicité rémunérée. Une copie prête
pour la reproduction est préférable. Veuillez communiquer avec le
Rédacteur en chef pour des renseignements additionnels à ce sujet.
GEOLOG
Acknowledgements and Thanks
This GEOLOG benefits from the contributions and assistance
of / Nous voulons souligner la contribution et l’assistance de:
Guillaume Allard, Andrea Amortegui, Jennifer Bates, Tony
Berger, Peter T. Bobrowsky, Karen Dawe, Stan Finney,
Rohanna Gibson, David R. Greenwood, Russell Hall, Charles
Helm, Reinhard Hesse, Karen Johnston-Fowler, Lori Kennedy,
Carlin Lentz, Ray Lett, David A. McDonald, Randy Miller,
Abdelali Moukhsil, Cindy Murphy, Godfrey Nowlan, Colin
Padget, Brian Pratt, Alberto Riccardi, Patrice Roy, Paul L.
Smith, Fabien Solgadi, Peter Ward, Richard Wardle, Lucy
Wilson, Jane Wynne, and Vicki Yehl. Apologies to any
contributors that have been missed. This GEOLOG was
produced with support from the Royal Alberta Museum. Your
contributions for future editions are welcome / Désolé pour
ceux qui auraient été involontairement oubliés. Cette copie
de GEOLOG a été produite grâce à l’assistance du Royal
Alberta Museum. Nous sollicitons vos contributions pour les
publications à venir.
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ammonite collection to the Royal Ontario
Museum. Readers will see his obituary in this issue
of GEOLOG. He taught my undergraduate
palaeontology course. Although as an instructor,
Gerd was, shall I say, of somewhat atypical style,
we knew we were in the presence of a scholar of
international stature. Venerable tomes lined his
book shelves, specimens were carefully organized
on counters and in drawers, his desk neat and tidy.
His was the first rock saw I ever used. He always
delighted in telling us about how ammonoid shell
strength increased with the complexity of the
septal suture which would have enabled the beast
to withstand high pressures at depth. So, we
learned that palaeontology isn’t stamp collecting
after all but fertile ground for clever ideas. Once I
became a bona fide palaeontologist myself, more
than a dozen years later, I was admitted to the
club, so to speak, and we stayed in touch. Thanks
to Paul, Russ, Peter and Alberto for bringing back
those memories.
There may be true desiccation cracks in the lacustrine facies
of the West Bay Formation (Mabou Group, Upper
Carboniferous), near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, but these
crack networks are sedimentary dikes. Mud shrinkage and
sand injection were triggered by syndepositional
earthquakes.
in a public museum or government collection that
will be cared for permanently and accessible by
other researchers. University faculty are expected
to retain research data if they received
government funding. This is easier said than done,
especially in this day and age of limited storage
space, curation support, and time. As all geology
professors know, it doesn’t take much to make a
mess of a once-organized collection of samples or
thin sections.
When McMaster University blended the remains
of its geology department with the geography
department in the latter 1990s, a lot of material
wound up in the garbage—a friend of mine who
makes decorations and such out of rocks and
stones had a field day dumpster-diving. Renowned
palaeontologist Gerd Westermann sent his
GEOLOG
It has been commonly said—although now I don’t
know who made the claim—that the best geologist
is the one who has seen the most rocks. Of course
we need to differentiate between ‘seen’ and
‘observed’ as Sherlock Holmes would insist. This is
taken for granted in our awareness of lifelong
learning. A couple of years ago I attended the GSA
Cordilleran Section meeting in Querétaro, Mexico
and attended the pre-meeting field trip to the
Sierra de Catorce. It was fabulous, not just for the
geology and scenery but also for the good fellowship field trips always foster. I met a bunch of guys
who worked for the mining company Fresnillo plc.
It seemed to me that Benito Noguez has visited
virtually every mineral deposit there is, including
Saskatchewan, and he could wax lyrical about the
geology of each of these places. I am a bit sad
when I encounter students who think that their
geological education has reached its zenith when
they graduate.
For me one of the best things about GAC®’s annual
meeting is attending a field trip or two, organized
selflessly by fellow members on our behalf. My
involvement in GAC® Council has led to a slew of
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informal field trips, geo-tourism if you will. After
our Council meeting in Fredericton in October
2013, I drove over to Antigonish. Mike Melchin
took me out to see seashore outcrops nearby,
completely new exposures for me including the
famous Arisaig Group. Naturally, I have a different
perspective and my eyes land on different things,
but that’s what it is all about. After the annual
meeting in May, Dave Keighley and Adrian Park
took a bunch of us to spectacular sections of
Carboniferous non-marine facies in the Sussex–
Moncton area, especially the outcrops along the
coast from Dorchester. After that I drove to Halifax
to visit Rob Fensome, he of Four Billion Years and
Counting fame. Rob took me first to Mabou Group
near Parrsboro and thence to the Meguma Group
in Mahone Bay. The former was breathtaking. The
Meguma was particularly special because although
John Waldron and I published a paper on it two
decades ago I had never visited any outcrops. The
Meguma was also the inspiration for several
influential papers by Derek Stow and David Piper
on fine-grained turbidites. Another day I went to
see the Horton Group by Horton Bluff, visiting
vineyards by Wolfville during high tide. Dazzling!
And the wine was good too. On my way back to
Fredericton I viewed the Bay of Fundy tidal flats
which I had last studied in the 1970s, before
another brief stop at Joggins, making it two in a
row at high tide.
I am so envious of geology departments with
access to rocks during the school year. Here,
marooned on the bald prairie in the dead of
winter, how do we introduce our students to
geology in the field? It seems to me we must find a
solution, for our students, the health of the
discipline, and the economy. We have to get
students into the mindset of enthusiastic lifelong
learning. What we can do in the meantime is buy
our friends a copy of Four Billion Years and
Counting to get us excited for geologizing when the
snow melts, and then we can take even more
pictures!
Brian Pratt
GAC® President
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
GEOLOG
Vice-President’s Update
It has been an exciting quarter
around GAC® parts – with the GSA
having their annual meeting in
Vancouver this past October; it
was a perfect time and venue to
have a GAC® Council Meeting such
that Council can provide you with
as many benefits from your membership as
possible. The future of the Geological Association
Canada is always at the forefront of any Council
meeting and this past October’s was no exception
– we even held the meeting with three people on
Skype (for almost two full days!) but even with the
packed line-up of GSA events almost the entire
Council was physically present in the room. I
mention Skype specifically, as GAC® like any other
organization needs to evolve over time - GAC®
does many things that the organization is known
and respected for - publications and the Annual
GAC®-MAC conference to name just two. However, publications are becoming more and more a
digital undertaking, and everyone’s schedules are
becoming fuller and fuller, and costs of travel and
registration often force us all to consider carefully
what we can and cannot participate in. So one of
the things GAC® is therefore focused on doing is –
how do we reach all of you as members? How do
we provide you with information that is relevant
to you? And how do you get the biggest bang for
your membership bucks from GAC®? So “Skypeing” in councillors to meetings, rather than sometimes necessary subsidized travel costs is one such
way to manage funds better. I hope that this
GEOLOG Vice-President’s report can share many of
the things we are now doing to improve what you
receive from GAC® and some things that we plan
to implement shortly.
One of the biggest things that GAC® has been
trying to address is how to better reach students
and instil in them that our geoscience world is a
very small one, and that networking and relationships are very important. We have traditionally
funded the GAC® Logan Student Chapters. These
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For those folks who work in the oil sands – field work is just
around the corner, brrrrr! Vicki is standing on an “ice bridge” over
the Athabasca River in February 2014.
required 10 students (who were already GAC® or
PDAC members) and have a faculty representative/
supervisor submit an application for $500 grant to
support student activities and promote student
membership/participation in GAC®. One would
think this is not a difficult thing as most schools
with a department already have a geology club of
some kind. But, astonishingly, GAC® only receives
10 to 12 applications annually, from the ~32
registered departments Canada-wide. So it is not
clear that this has been a successful way to engage
students. GAC® has also provided the “Book Prize”
to an undergraduate student nominated by each
geoscience department in Canada, a prize intended
to help students realize that our disciplines are
ones of lifelong learning and knowledge development. But, as with the Logan Chapter submissions,
the GAC® Head-quarters (HQ) staff has to track
down nominations from departmental reps and
not all the recipients claim their book. If I had ever
won this, I would have definitely snapped up my
GAC® book! The book prize also seemed somewhat
inadequate at recognizing engaged students and
has not been well publicized.
GEOLOG
Consequently taking all of this into account, we
have tried to create a way to reach more students
(and actually might mean giving away more money
to them!). We’re attempting to roll the book prize
AND the Logan Chapters into one Award – the
“GAC®-PDAC Logan Student Prize” to reach and
engage more students as they leave their undergraduate programs and embark on whatever facet
of geoscience they wish to pursue. This new award
will be given at all the 32 registered departments
and help students get a start at forming those networks that are so important to our professional
development and careers. The award will have a
monetary prize component, 1 year memberships
to both GAC® and PDAC, and, of course,
recognition (in the form of a certificate) that is to
be awarded to a student who is a leader and
participates in the advancing studies and
application of geoscience. One of the other drivers
for combining all of this into one simple prize was
to reduce the administration associated with
applications and approvals (both at the Universities
and HQ) and we want more students to get
something of value. We hope that this new prize
will be prestigious both for the student recipients
and for the GAC®. Further details of the new prize
can be found in this issue of GEOLOG.
One of the other big initiatives that Council and our
Headquarters staff are working on is a re-vamp of
our corporate membership and sponsorship
programs. The aim of these updates is to
streamline the process of how to be a member of
GAC® as an organization and provide more to any
organization that does sponsor a GAC® event.
Therefore GAC® has developed four new levels of
Corporate Sponsorship that each have unique
associated Corporate Membership Benefits. As in
the past, Corporate Sponsorship and Membership
is renewable annually, and the level can be
updated or changed as any organization requires.
GAC® has created the following new levels:
Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Nickel to replace the
former four-tiered Patrons, Sponsors, Supporters,
and Universities categories. Each new level will
have a corresponding package of Corporate
Membership Benefits to maximize the return to an
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organization – including continuing to recognize a
special category for Universities (the Nickel level).
We also recognize that no two Sponsor-Members
are the same, and therefore at each new level,
GAC® has the ability to tailor the Corporate
Membership Benefits package to a specific
organization’s needs. We will be rolling out the
new benefits and levels in 2015, with our much
appreciated current Corporate Members being
moved to their new levels carefully, respecting
their past support of the Association. We want to
make Corporate Membership better for old and
new members alike - please bear with us as we
make these changes – and please do not hesitate
to make sure your organization needs are met by
contacting HQ or Council.
All of the mentioned updates are part of GAC®’s
attempt to better to serve individuals,
organizations and the greater geoscience
community. We have been trying to keep our
website (www.gac.ca) more up to date, use a
consistent email template for notices and to have a
more active “electronic” presence – currently by
way of Facebook (www.facebook.com/gac.agc).
Our Facebook page includes posting notices for the
Hutchison and Robinson lecture tour stops as our
speakers have great talks coming somewhere near
you soon. Please reach out and like us on
Facebook.
Over the next few months we hope to do more to
serve you – please feel free, as always to direct any
feedback or any other questions to HQ, any
Councillor or myself. I look forward to reviewing a
great batch of nominations for our medals that will
have been put forward over the month of
December and preparing for the Joint Assembly
meeting with AGU in Montreal next May 3 rd to 7th,
2015.
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!
Victoria Yehl
GAC® Vice-President
Vancouver, British Columbia
GEOLOG
Coming soon to a lecture theatre
near you...
Two distinguished Canadian geoscientists are on
Canada-wide tours this spring: Dr. Ali Polat
(Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
University of Windsor) and Dr. Jean Bédard
(Geological Survey of Canada, Québec). Watch
your departmental calendar for announcements
about their visits.
Dr. Polat is the Hutchison Lecturer for 2014-2015.
This tour is undertaken by the recipient of the W.
W. Hutchison Medal and is funded through the
Canadian Geological Foundation (CGF). The award
is given to an outstanding young geoscientist for
exceptional advances in Canadian earth science.
Dr. Polat has prepared two lectures for his tour:
Convergent Plate Boundary Processes in the Early
Earth: Evidence from West Greenland and Archean
Anorthosite Petrogenesis: A Case Study on the 2.97
Ga Fiskenæsset Layered Intrusion, West Greenland.
Dr. Polat will be travelling to western Canada in
mid-February, the Prairies in mid-March,
Newfoundland in late March, and two venues in
Ontario in April. Other venues may be added.
Dr. Bédard is the Howard Street Robinson Lecturer
for 2014-2015 as selected by the Precambrian
Division of GAC®. His tour is funded through the
Howard Street Robinson Fund and is intended “for
furtherance of scientific study of Precambrian
Geology and Metal Mining”. Dr. Bédard has
prepared a main lecture for his tour (Continental
drift on subductionless stagnant lid planets, the
Archaean Earth and Venus) and two other lectures
(Magma chamber processes in Appalachian
ophiolites and Unmixing of crystal-charged slurries
in the Ferrar Dolerites of Antarctica).
Dr. Bédard will be travelling to southern Ontario in
early February, the Maritimes in late February,
venues in Québec in February and March, and
other Ontario localities in mid-March.
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Spotlight on Geoparks
Global Geoparks in Canada
The Global Geoparks concept is being adopted by
more and more countries in the world. Canada is a
relative newcomer to the idea with just two of the
111 Global Geoparks that exist in the world. A
Global Geopark is a defined area with geological
heritage and geodiversity (Gray 2004) of
international significance. An individual geopark
uses its geoheritage to promote awareness of the
origin and significance of their part of planet Earth
and to educate people about the key issues facing
society in the context of our evolving planet.
Geoparks promote awareness through educational
programs for residents and for tourists in order to
improve Earth literacy and provide for local,
sustainable economic development. The key
aspects of the geoheritage are protected under
appropriate local laws and regulations.
On a global scale, geoparks address widely
different aspects of geoheritage. Some promote
awareness of geological hazards such as volcanoes
and earthquakes and help to develop disaster
mitigation strategies through a well-educated
public. Others hold records of past climate change
and use that geoheritage to relate to current
climate change and the implementation of local
green strategies. Still other geoparks hold records
of the tectonic development of the planet and use
the geoheritage to explain basic concepts such as
plate tectonics.
Every geopark relates its geoheritage to the nature
of cultural development within the region both
historically and in the modern world.
Establishment of a geopark inevitably raises the
awareness of the population about local
geoheritage and cultural heritage and also
provides for local economic development through
interpretation of the local geoheritage. The main
source of economic growth is through tourism
GEOLOG
based on the geoheritage, also known as
geotourism (see Newsome and Dowling 2010).
From the foregoing description you can see that
geoparks have very little to do with what we, as
Canadians, think of as parks. The idea of geoparks
was first developed in China and it caught on early
in that country and also in Europe. Other parts of
Asia followed. The global distribution of Global
Geoparks is: Asia (41) Europe (62), North America
(2), and South America (2). You can see that the
Americas are well behind and this is because the
European settlement of the continents allowed for
recognition and protection of natural heritage. The
earliest national parks were established in the
nineteenth century at a time when almost every
part of Europe and Asia had been subject to
substantial population and attendant
development. A misunderstanding about the
nature and intent of the geopark concept, led to
complacency about them in the Americas.
The first international conference on geoparks was
held in Beijing in 2000 and the 6 th International
Conference was recently held in Canada in
September 2014 at Stonehammer Global Geopark
in New Brunswick. This recent conference was a
great opportunity for Canadians to learn about
geoparks and nearly 10% of the 480 delegates
were from Canada.
The Canadian National Committee for Geoparks
operates under the auspices of the Canadian
Federation of Earth Sciences. It provides guidelines
for the development of geoparks in Canada. The
Canadian guidelines closely mirror those in the
United States because the long term goal is a
North American Geoparks Network, similar to the
Asian and European geopark networks. Canada
(and North America’s) first geopark was
established in southern New Brunswick in 2010. It
recently underwent its four year review as all
9
Global Geoparks are required to do. It has been
immensely successful and that is underlined by the
acceptance of its bid to host the 2014 UNESCO
conference on geoparks. The conference was a
huge success and many delegates recognized it as
the best conference ever held on geoparks.
Stonehammer Global Geopark’s tag line is “A
Billion Years of Stories” because its territory is host
to rocks of all systems from Proterozoic to Tertiary
with the exception of the Jurassic. In
Stonehammer it is possible to take a kayak trip to
the world’s first described and photographed
stromatolites, or to view the Reversing Falls that
result from the Bay of Fundy’s enormous tidal
range. You might prefer to visit world class
Devonian and Carboniferous plant fossil localities
or examine the exhibits in the New Brunswick
Museum that is the anchor facility for the geopark.
Program run by Stonehammer’s tourist suppliers
cater to 200,000 cruise ship visitors and local
schools and institutions benefit from educational
programs run by the geopark. Stonehammer has
partnerships with other geoparks in the world
located in northern places like Norway and Iceland
that encourage visits from tourists. Stonehammer
has been able to establish a foundation in order to
ensure the long term sustainability of the geopark
and is in the process of documenting the geopark’s
economic impact on southern New Brunswick.
Canada’s (and North America’s) second geopark is
located in the region of Tumbler Ridge in northern
British Columbia. It celebrates its location in the
Rocky Mountains, a landscape that offers
magnificent alpine environments for hiking and an
abundance of beautiful waterfalls and glaciers. The
primary geoheritage in the region comprises
abundant and readily observable dinosaur trackways, including a remarkable group of three
parallel tyrannosaur trackways, recently described.
There is a museum in Tumbler Ridge that features
dinosaur trackways and exhibits related to other
fossils common in the region such as the famous
Triassic fish. The museum has stirred tremendous
community support that results in local people
making new discoveries as they hike the back
country. Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark was
formally established in 2014, after several years of
community work that led to an application to the
Global Geoparks Network.
The strong community involvement in both of
Canada’s global geoparks is an essential ingredient
of both of them. A geopark requires participation
from all segments of a community in order to
succeed. Each needs a champion in the early going,
then a reliable governing board drawn from a
broad spectrum of the community. In between is a
huge amount of work conducted by community
volunteers. Canada’s geoparks are noted for that
strong community involvement. A whole host of
Sea cliffs and caves cut in Triassic Honeycomb Point Formation at St. Martins in Stonehammer Geopark, New Brunswick, May 2014.
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10
other communities are working on being able to
submit an application to the Global Geopark
Network. First they must submit an expression of
interest (a substantial document detailed the
geoheritage, the sites and plans for education and
tourism) to the Canadian National Committee. The
committee critiques the document and once it is
thought to be an adequate document, a site visit is
arranged. If this site visit reveals great geoheritage
and great plans for site protection, interpretation,
education and tourism, then the community is
encouraged to submit a self-assessment document
to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). If GGN
accepts the document following a desktop review,
then a site visit is arranged and the community is
on track to become a global geopark. From start to
finish, this process takes a long time, typically
three to five years.
Two current expressions of interest have been
submitted to the Canadian National Committee:
one from the Bonavista Peninsula and one from
the Percé area of the Gaspé Peninsula of Québec.
These are currently in process. Many other
communities across Canada are considering the
possibility of becoming a geopark; some of these
communities have established working groups,
others are just in the preliminary stages. We
expect to see additional expressions of interest in
the coming years and a steady growth of geoparks
in Canada. If you are interested in discussing the
idea, please do not hesitate to contact the author.
6th International UNESCO Conference
on Global Geoparks
The 6th International UNESCO Conference on
Global Geoparks was held at Stonehammer
Geopark, September 19-22, 2014 at the Trade and
Convention Centre in Saint John, New Brunswick,
Canada. The Global Geopark Network (GGN),
assisted by UNESCO comprised 100 geoparks at
the start of the meeting, located in Europe, Asia,
North and South America. As the only member of
the GGN in North America, Stonehammer Geopark
was pleased to host the first international meeting
of network outside of Europe and Asia. Previous
meetings had been in China (2004), The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(2006), Germany (2008); Malaysia (2010) and
Japan (2012). On the last day of the meeting
Tumbler Ridge Geopark in British Columbia was
admitted to the Global Network, along with ten
other new geoparks, bringing the global total to
111 global geoparks, and now including Africa.
Tumbler Ridge Geopark is the second Canadian
member and second North American Global
Geopark.
Godfrey Nowlan
Chair of the Canadian National Committee
for Geoparks
References
Gray, M. 2004. Geodiversity: Valuing and
Conserving Abiotic Nature. John Wiley and Sons
Ltd, 434 pp.
Newsome, D., and R. K. Dowling (Editors) 2010.
Geotourism: The Tourism of Geology and
Landscape. Goodfellow Publishers Ltd, 246 pp.
For more information on Global Geoparks visit:
www.globalgeopark.org/
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Delegates view the Triassic geology of the Fundy Trail Parkway
11
Getting ready to launch kayaks to paddle to a Precambrian
stromatolite geosite
The meeting, which celebrated the 10 th
anniversary of the GGN, was attended by 480
delegates from more than 30 countries. Global
Geoparks are about more than just rocks. While a
Global Geopark must have exceptional geological
heritage it includes sites with interesting
archaeology, wildlife and habitats, history, folklore
and culture, all of which are intricately linked with
the underlying geology. Papers from 190 abstracts
of oral and poster presentations were divided into
seven themes: (1) Geoparks and sustainable use of
natural resources; (2) Engaging Communities; (3)
Education and Interpretation in Geoparks; (4)
Aspiring Geoparks; (5) Mature Geoparks; (6)
UNESCO Collaboration; (7) Intangible Cultural
Heritage.
A crowded poster session with delegates from more than 30
countries
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Rock climbing excursion at Rockwood Park in Saint John
In addition to the traditional conference format
the delegates were invited to attend networking
breakfast session and all attendees were able to
attend a full day of field trips to visit Stonehammer
Geopark geosites and interact with the geoparks
‘Experience Providers’, tour operators who derive
benefit from offering geo-themed tours. Delegates
went rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, and cruising
the Saint John harbour.
It is important to point out that unlike most
geology conferences, this event was coordinated
largely by the community and Stonehammer
Geopark, a non-profit organization comprised of
community volunteers. Only two geologists were
directly involved in the conference organization at
the local level. I think this underscores the value of
the global geoparks network, that it truly engages
non-geologists to think about earth science and
how it affects their lives. I also want to acknowledge the outstanding support from more than 60
community volunteers who, among other things,
staffed the registration desk, welcomed delegates
at the airport, and provided language assistance.
Experience Providers and the local hospitality
industry went well beyond what might be
expected to welcome the world to Stonehammer
Geopark.
Randy Miller
New Brunswick Museum
St John, New Brunswick
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Tumbler Ridge
Global Geopark
At a gala dinner at the sixth UNESCO International
Conference for Global Geoparks on September
22nd, the Global Geoparks Network announced
the designation of eleven new Global Geoparks.
The conference was organized by the Stonehammer Global Geopark in Saint John, New
Brunswick, and was attended by just under 500
delegates from 30 countries.
The Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark was one of
those that received this coveted designation. This
was the culmination of twenty-three months of
passionate volunteer-driven effort. It becomes the
second Global Geopark in North America. There
are now 111 Global Geoparks worldwide,
supported by UNESCO.
Thanks are due to the Tumbler Ridge Global
Geopark committee and its scientific advisors,
whose dedication made this possible, the Peace
River Regional District for their funding support,
the District of Tumbler Ridge, the Canadian
National Committee for Geoparks, and Stonehammer Global Geopark for their support.
Tumbler Ridge is a community of 3,000 in the
foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern
British Columbia. It was built in the 1980s as part
Theropod track at Wolverine River
of the development of the region’s metallurgical
coal resources.
The Tumbler Ridge Global Geopark is notable for
its remote wilderness location, giving visitors the
authentic feeling of a sparsely inhabited frontier
region. Being the first Global Geopark in western
North America, it is the first to represent the plate
tectonics that have led to the formation of the
Rocky Mountains.
Mountain and foothill geology spans the
Precambrian to Cretaceous time range, as well as
Pleistocene deposits. It also preserves part of the
Triassic Pangea shoreline, as well as the interchanging marine and terrestrial intervals of a
fluctuating Western Interior Seaway. This is
complemented by an abundance of palaeontological phenomena, which form the basis for
ongoing scientific research, exhibits and programs.
Cretaceous dinosaur tracks (many of which are of
global significance), a Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed with unusual features, and Triassic fishes,
marine reptiles and crustaceans are of particular
importance.
The Dinosaur Discovery Gallery and adjoining
Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre in
Tumbler Ridge form a major attraction, while a
network of 100 kilometres of hiking trails leads to
forty-two Geosites, including an abundance of
spectacular waterfalls, dinosaur trackways,
mountain summits, sedimentary rock formations,
caves and canyons.
Hiking along Albright Ridge
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13
Elsewhere in the world, Global Geopark status has
brought with it diversification, economic, cultural
and educational benefits. There are also the
intangible benefits that lie in reconnecting people
with the Earth and their heritage. Current
visitation at our Dinosaur Discovery Gallery is well
over 4,000, and is increasing by 10% to 15% per
year – this trend can now be expected to
accelerate healthily.
Global Geopark status enables us to take ownership of our uniquely precious geological and
palaeontological heritage, to be proud of the
achievements of our scientists and volunteers, and
to be appreciative of our remarkable geography. It
empowers us to take control of our destiny to
some degree, in a time of economic uncertainty. It
encourages us to strengthen the wonderful
partnerships we have already developed, with
various levels of government and First Nations,
and with educational and scientific institutions,
and industry. And it allows us the chance for
reflection, to ask how we can be geo-ambassadors
for our region, how we choose to tell our stories,
create our crafts, design our exhibits, adorn our
buildings, develop our business ventures and,
perhaps most important of all, how we involve
Tumbler Ridge’s younger generation in this
process. The initial dinosaur trackway discovery
was made in 2000 by two local boys aged 8 and 11,
and kids have continued to play a vital role in the
subsequent discoveries.
A formal opening of the Tumbler Ridge Global
Geopark, including a First Nations ceremony to
Tunnel Cave
welcome home a repatriated Pleistocene bison
cranium, will be held early in 2015. In the
meantime we continue to do what helps define us:
to explore, and to discover, and to turn the fruits
of these discoveries into museum exhibits and
original research and accessible destinations as
effectively as possible. The summer of 2014 saw a
plethora of new discoveries: fossil bird trackways,
more dinosaur trackways, the publication in the
scientific literature of the only known tyrannosaurid trackways in the world, enormous sphenoceramid clams, previously undocumented caves, a
splendid new waterfall, and, late in the season, the
unexpected bonus of a beautifully sculpted fossil
river channel with paleo-potholes.
We are now presented with an amazing
opportunity. Achieving Global Geopark status,
supported by UNESCO, is an important milestone
for Tumbler Ridge, the Peace Region, British
Columbia and Canada. However, this is really just
another step in the process of enhancing the
visitor and resident experience, connecting
positively with our environment, celebrating not
just our magnificent rocks, but also how they have
influenced our culture and heritage, and have
helped make us who we are.
For more information on the Tumbler Ridge Global
Geopark, visit: www.trmf.ca
Charles Helm
Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia
A marine reptile and its young discoverer
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14
Tributes and Memories
Memories of Dr. Bob Stevens
One of the most respected contributors to the
geology of Newfoundland and of the Appalachian
mountain system, Dr. Robert K. Stevens, died in
Nova Scotia this past August (2014).
After graduating in geology from Exeter University,
Bob taught geology at what was then Sunderland
Technical College (now a university), before
immigrating with his wife, Eileen, to Newfoundland
in 1963. Here, at Memorial, he obtained his M.Sc.
working under Dr. Hugh Lilly. After a year at the
GSC with field work in Newfoundland, the Stevens
moved to the University of Western Ontario where
Bob obtained his doctorate in 1969, supervised by
Bill Church. A two-year Post-doc at Erindale
College with Tuzo Wilson led to a position at Memorial University from which he retired in 1994.
Bob's Ph.D. work in western Newfoundland led to
his documenting the allochthonous nature of the
Bay of Islands ophiolitic complex and the Cow
Head Group further north. His discovery of
chromite grains in the clastic foredeep deposits
and their dating were key contributions that
helped to establish the mechanism of the Taconic
orogeny – more than 15 years before geologists in
New England re-invented his ideas.
Chris Barnes notes that “The near continuous
coastal outcrops in Newfoundland provided a key
transect across the Appalachians, and the ongoing
revolution of plate tectonics in the 1970s to 1990s
found a multitude of researchers visiting the island, being led on field trips, and attending workshops and conferences there. Bob was a strong
contributor to many of the lengthy field trips,
guidebooks and to the scientific justification for
establishing the Gros Morne National Park as a
UNESCO World Heritage site. He was known for his
care, patience and persistence, observational
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Bob Stevens in the field, 1990.
Image courtesy Michael Burzynski
powers, and creative and original interpretations
in the extensive fieldwork he undertook in
Newfoundland. While others would restudy wellknown or classic sections, Bob would walk out to
more remote and unstudied sections to build a full
regional picture. In working closely with others, he
developed expert knowledge in fields that were
not his initial specializations, including graptolites
and conodonts, key palaeontological tools to
unravel age, stratigraphic, and tectonic
relationships. He openly discussed his findings but
was too modest or reluctant to promptly publish
them and eventually his ideas, by then in the
public realm, were taken up by others.”
As Barnes writes, “Bob was a most intelligent and
thoughtful researcher with wide interests, a
voracious reader of the scientific literature. He had
a powerful memory and his knowledge of the
15
older publications made him a great contributor to
discussions whether they were in the corridor, at
seminars, in classes, or at the bar. They were
always made with modesty, not to show up or to
put down. Students were always made to feel
comfortable in such chats, and Bob was in demand
for appointment to supervisory committees of
graduate students.” Indeed, he once shared his
office with new grad student Jim Hibbard, who
recalls that “Aside from the fact that his office was
already cramped with geological clutter and
saturated in cigarette smoke, I was astounded that
a professor would offer to share his office with an
unknown student. Although not on my committee,
he took interest in my M.S. project and directed
me to obscure, but pithy, references.”
Mike Searle writes “He was a great colleague
always full of interesting ideas and questions,
always with a wry smile and chuckle, usually with a
cigarette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the
other. He and Eileen made me so welcome in their
house when I arrived in St. John's. I am grateful to
him for implanting into my mind all those big ideas
on geology and global tectonics.”
Stevens had a mischievous sense of humour. Peter
Cawood recalls that on one occasion near Corner
Brook as they passed “one of those salt storage
domes, Bob, with a twinkle in his eye, told a story
of when he was taking of some Russian geologists
on a tour past this same spot he told them that the
dome was an experimental fast breeder reactor.“
Richard Fortey writes that “the wide compass of his
interests coupled with a reluctance to push himself
forward led to him not being recognized as widely
as he should have been as one of the seminal
Appalachian geologists. I named a trilobite
(Calculites stevensi) for him, which was not
enough.” Another trilobite from Western Newfoundland was named Bolbocephalus stevensi by
Doug Boyce, who comments that though this
means “Stevens' bulb-head, the species had about
the least swelled head of all the species of that
genus.”
GEOLOG
Fortey recalls that “As he shambled along the shore
in battered rain gear where the Cow Head boulder
beds tumbled into the sea, Bob’s gait resembled
that of a somewhat superannuated bear. When his
eye lit upon something of interest he would grunt
meaningfully and crouch close to whatever-it-was
before swivelling round and pronouncing to the
world with pop-eyed enthusiasm. His preoccupied
manner concealed a very acute observer. He would
often light upon some detail others would pass by,
and when he scored a point his crumpled visage
would light up with delight. Noel James, Bob and I
would spend the evenings with numerous beers
discussing the day’s geology - or anything else that
came up - hardly distracted by the steady
drumming of the rain on the roof of our field
vehicle stationed in some corner of the Gros
Morne National Park. I had a photograph of him
standing in a cloudburst when his perpetual
cigarette acted as a kind of faucet to siphon off a
copious stream of rainwater.”
Bob was a “lateral thinker” who could always be
counted on for a different way of looking at
geological situations. He worked with me, Doug
Grant, Andre Bouchard and Ian Brookes to produce
a composite map for Park visitors, which is now
something of a rarity for GSC maps, for the first
printing sold out some years back and a second
one is now in the stores. Brookes recalls first
meeting Bob Stevens in the early ‘80s, camping at
Shallow Bay in Gros More National Park, “Most
subsequent summers, I sought to repeat the
pleasure, hungry for the intellectual stimulus. He
had noticed the bivalve borings in the breccias on
Cow Head, which led to a short joint paper.“
As Chris Barnes says “Bob preferred to live an
informal life, avoiding events with pomp and
ceremony, and spent much time with Eileen raising
their three adopted children. He had a strong sense
of humour, a distinctive chuckle, and firm views on
politics and social justice. He was kind, open and
generous to a fault, and a great friend to so many
who were fortunate to know him well.”
Compiled by Tony Berger
Woody Point, Newfoundland, and Wolfville, Nova Scotia
16
Volkmar Schmidt
1932-2012
Volkmar Schmidt, renowned petroleum geologist,
passed away after a long illness on May 13, 2012 in
Calgary at the age of 79. A native of Germany, born
in Heidelberg, he spent most of his professional
life in North America, first in the United States and
subsequently in Canada. He received his Ph.D. (Dr.
rer. nat.) in 1961 from Kiel University, after having
earned the equivalent of an M.Sc. from the same
University. In his Ph.D. thesis, supervised by Prof.
Eugen Seibold, he studied the diagenesis of
Jurassic carbonates in the Lower Saxony Basin of
Germany. Shortly afterwards he joined Mobil Oil in
Dallas, Texas, as a petrologist, where he worked
closely with Dr. Henry Nelson at their Field
Research Lab. providing specialized carbonate
studies and training programs for their worldwide
operations.
In 1968 Volkmar transferred from Mobil’s Dallas
Research Centre to Mobil Oil Canada in Calgary to
set up a geological laboratory in support of their
domestic operations. Up until the late 1970s all of
the large oil and gas companies in Canada were
subsidiaries of major U.S. or international
companies that had their own research and
services centres in their home country and saw no
need to carry on such activities at their local
subsidiaries. When PetroCanada was formed in
1976 with a mandate to increase the Canadian
presence in its own oil and gas development, Dr.
Schmidt saw an opportunity to develop homegrown Canadian expertise in advanced geological
research and services and joined PetroCanada as
manager of Geological Research and Services. He
planned and supervised the building of
comprehensive geological research facilities in
Calgary Research Park and organized the hiring of
a team of industry-leading specialists in the fields
of carbonate and clastic petrology, geochemistry
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and biostratigraphy to support the frontier
exploration and oilsands development activities of
the company.
Volkmar Schmidt is best known for his contribution
to the development of the concept of secondary
porosity in sandstones that greatly extended the
subsurface depth range of prospective reservoir
sandstones. Until the mid-1970s diagenesis in
clastic rocks had been considered to result simply
from mechanical compaction and silica
cementation processes, but more advanced
petrographic techniques led to a re-evaluation of
the complexity of clastic diagenesis in the deep
subsurface. Through painstaking microscopic
studies of textural relationships at Mobil, and later
at PetroCanada, Dr. Schmidt established a set of
criteria for recognition of secondary porosity that
provided proof that new porosity could be
generated at depth through the dissolution of
framework grains or carbonate cements.
Although possession of this concept provided a
competitive advantage in land-bidding and
17
exploration drilling strategy, Volkmar managed to
convince Mobil’s management to give their
consent for publication of the results, which led to
the 1977 landmark paper “Pore geometry and
reservoir aspects of secondary porosity in
sandstones” by Schmidt, McDonald and Platt in
the Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, the
first paper in the western-world geological
literature on secondary porosity in sandstones.
The contents of this seminal paper were
augmented by further studies and refinement of
textural criteria and classification concepts (with
close colleague Dr. D. A. McDonald) in two
contributions to the influential Society of
Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists 1979
Symposium and Special Publication “Aspects of
Diagenesis”. These publications opened up a new
field of research in sedimentary petrology that
produced scores of studies and published results in
the following years. Dr. Schmidt contributed
lectures and workshops on sandstone diagenesis
at many American Association of Petroleum
Geologists Continuing Education Courses in the
period from 1979 to 1984.
In later years he founded his consultancy company
PetroScan and advised oil exploration companies
the world over, from oilfields in Algeria, the Vienna
Basin, offshore Libya to China and Venezuela. He
lectured extensively, being involved for more than
a decade in short courses on clastic diagenesis in
Munich, Germany. In addition he taught reservoir
geology seminars in Canada, Austria, Libya,
Pakistan and China. He is survived by his wife
Sylvia, daughters Carmen and Fiona, grandchildren
Chiara-Noelle and Milo and siblings Waltraud and
Bernhardt.
David A. McDonald and
Reinhard Hesse
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Professor G. E. G. Westermann
1927-2014
Image courtesy the Westermann family
Gerd Westermann, who had a long and productive
career in the Geology Department at McMaster
University, passed away peacefully on November
5th, 2014 with his wife Jean and daughter Carey at
his bedside. Gerd was born in Berlin on May 11th,
1927 and his childhood years were swept into the
maelstrom of the Second World War. After the
war, he finished high school in Goslar and went on
to study geology at the Technical University in
Braunschweig. He took a Masters and then a PhD
at the world famous University of Tübingen where
he studied under the tutelage of the eminent
palaeontologist Otto Schindewolf. Tübingen has an
impressive pedigree as a source of giants in the
world of palaeontology. It began in the 19th
century with Friedrich Quenstedt and his student
Albert Oppel using their zonal concept to help lay
the foundation of the modern geological time
scale. Their Jurassic zones were based on the
overlapping ranges of ammonoids and Otto
Schindewolf used the ammonoids to address
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Gerd Westermann, McMaster University, working on ammonite collections from Nepal
Image used with permission of The Hamilton Spectator
broad questions of extinction and adaptation.
These two traditions that today we would label
‘biochronology’ and ‘palaeobiology’ were consequently melded into Gerd’s make-up from a young
age. His Ph.D. thesis on Bajocian stephanoceratids,
published in 1954, and his subsequent work with
the Geological Survey of Lower Saxony, ignited a
love affair with ammonites and the Jurassic System
that was to last his entire life. In 1957 he left his
homeland and took a lecturer position at
McMaster where he rose through the ranks to
become a full professor in 1969.
Gerd’s field work took him to every continent and
into some particularly challenging areas such as
Tibet, the Andes, and islands of Indonesia. He
applied ammonoid evolution as a measure of time,
making contributions to the understanding of local
geology and palaeontology while at the same time
gathering data to address broader questions
related to palaeobiogeography on a global scale.
Gerd was an effective leader. In 1979 he initiated a
project which brought together 150 researchers
supported by IGCP Project 171 that ultimately led
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to the book titled The Jurassic of the Circum-Pacific
published in 1992 and edited by Gerd. This
magnum opus surely takes its rightful place as one
of only three comprehensive and truly classic
books on Jurassic geology, in company with those
published much earlier by W. J. Arkell (Jurassic
Geology of Great Britain; Jurassic Geology of the
World). Most would consider this an exceptional
lifetime achievement in itself, and it certainly
contributed to his being awarded the GAC Billings
Medal in 1995, but this is only part of his story.
Gerd was fascinated by the hydrodynamics and
hydrostatics of the chambered cephalopod shell,
both modern and extinct. If chambered
cephalopods contained samples of the atmosphere
at almost atmospheric pressure, how did shell
architecture prevent implosion as individuals
moved to greater bathymetric depths? How did
constraints imposed by hydrostatics and
hydrodynamics affect shell geometry and
ornamentation? What was the evolving complexity
of the ammonoid suture line telling us? Decades
ahead of his time, Gerd adopted engineering
principles to tackle these questions, often
19
enthusiastically teaming up with engineers who
could help shed new light on these complex
problems. This produced a string of seminal papers
that stand out as jewels amongst the more than
170 he published during the course of his career.
But what of Gerd the person and the influence he
had on others? Those who knew him over many
decades sometimes spoke of the early hard cover
version of Gerd being replaced by the soft cover
version and it is true that he did mellow over the
years. During the course of his long career, it is
certain that he dramatically affected the course of
many people’s lives through his strength of
character, encouragement and support. McMaster
undergraduates wanted to be in his classroom
because they recognized his talent as one of the
world’s leading palaeontologists. Graduate
students came from across the globe to work with
him. Those fortunate enough to receive his
mentorship absorbed some of Gerd’s unique
approach to palaeontological research which
provided a springboard to many a successful
career. Over the years, his teaching and supervision
helped inspire palaeontologists who subsequently
held professorial positions at the universities of
British Columbia, Washington, Alberta, Calgary,
Saskatchewan, Toronto and Western. Innovation in
his laboratory was encouraged and a steady stream
of post-doctoral fellows and visiting scientists
created an atmosphere that was at times electric.
He regarded all his colleagues and former students
with a great fondness. Their fondness towards him
can be measured, in part, by the seven species
named after him (including ammonites, bivalves,
radiolarians and vertebrates) and two genera of
ammonites (Westermanniceras and Westermannites). This may be immortality of a sort but
there is no detracting from the fact that the world
has lost an eminent palaeontologist and we have
lost a dear friend. We shall miss him greatly.
Paul L. Smith (Vancouver), Russell Hall (Perth,
Australia), Alberto Riccardi (Buenos Aires) and
Peter Ward (Adelaide)
The 2015 Joint Assembly will be held May 3-7
2015 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, in
downtown Montréal, Québec. The meeting is cosponsored by the American Geophysical Union
(AGU), the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU),
the Geological Association of Canada (GAC), and
the Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC).
The Joint Assembly will consist of a diverse
program covering topics in all areas of the
geophysical sciences. Besides Technical Sessions,
the Assembly will include Short Courses,
Workshops, Town Halls, and Fieldtrips. To date,
five Workshops and seven Fieldtrips are planned,
as well as numerous sessions. Attendance is
expected to exceed 2,500 people, including earth
scientists, space scientists, educators, students
and other leaders.
For more information about the conference,
including registration, please visit:
ja.agu.org/2015/
GeoFact: Mar 16 1834: Sir James Hector,
geologist on the Palliser Expedition through
western Canada, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
GeoFact: Mar 27 1827: Charles Darwin's first
scientific discovery, in marine biology, is
announced at a Plinian Society meeting in
Edinburgh, Scotland.
GeoFact: Mar 31 1850: Charles Doolittle
Walcott, invertebrate palaeontologist
associated with discovery of the fossils of the
Burgess Shale, born in New York Mills, New
York, USA.
GEOLOG
20
Events and Happenings
L’AQUEST, dix ans à souligner
l’excellence
Depuis maintenant dix ans, l’AQUEST organise des
activités géoscientifiques attrayantes pour des
organisations et des individus intéressés par la
qualité de la formation et de la recherche au
Québec. Elle encourage notamment les étudiants
de niveau collégial et universitaire dans les
domaines connexes (Sciences de la Terre et génie
minier) à présenter les résultats de leurs travaux
de recherche.
aux meilleures affiches présentées par des étudiants dans le cadre de l’exposition géo-scientifique.
Au fil des années, le taux de participation de ce
concours a augmenté de façon tangible, passant de
10 participants en 2010 à 30 en 2013. Les prix
remis permettent de reconnaître la qualité de la
formation académique en géosciences offerte au
Québec et facilitent les échanges entre les
étudiants gradués et les industriels.
Pour l’édition 2014 du concours AQUEST - Québec
Mines, cinq bourses universitaires ont été remises:
une à un étudiant au doctorat, deux à des
étudiants à la maîtrise, une à un étudiant au
baccalauréat et une au niveau collégiale.
Voici les gagnants de l’édition 2014:
Niveau doctorat
La mission et les activités de l’AQUEST s’inscrivent
parfaitement dans le principe du développement
durable concernant l’accès au savoir: « les mesures
favorisant l’éducation, l’accès à l’information et la
recherche doivent être encouragés de manière à
stimuler l’innovation ainsi qu’à améliorer la
sensibilisation et la participation effective du public
à la mise en oeuvre du développement durable.
En raison de son statut de section de l’Association
géologique du Canada, l’AQUEST fait partie d’un
réseau dépassant largement les frontières du
Québec. Étant francophone, elle est de plus la
porte d’entrée de l’Association géologique du
Canada auprès de toute la francophonie.
De gauche à droite: Line Drouin, sous-ministre associée aux mines;
Arnaud Fontaine, gagnant du premier prix (bourse), niveau
doctorat; Morgann Perrot, gagnante du deuxième prix (livre); Luc
Blanchette, ministre délégué aux mines et Andrea Amortegui,
présidente de l’AQUEST
Lauréats des bourses de l’AQUEST 2014
Depuis 2005, l’AQUEST organise un concours pour
les étudiants dans le cadre du congrès annuel du
ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles,
Québec Mines . Elle décerne des bourses d’études
GEOLOG
Premier prix – bourse de 2 000 $
Arnaud Fontaine (INRS-ETE): Géologie et
caractéristiques structurales du gisement aurifère
Roberto, propriété Éléonore, Province du
Supérieur, Baie-James, Québec, Canada
21
Deuxième prix – livre « 4 milliards d’année
d’histoire – Le patrimoine géologique du Canada »
Morgann Perrot (UQAM): Compilation géologique
des roches siluro-dévoniennes du Synclinorium de
Connecticut Valley-Gaspé, Appalaches du sud du
Québec.
Niveau baccalauréat – 1 200 $
Niveau maîtrise:
Stéphane Tremblay, gagnant du deuxième prix (livre); Pierre
Hugues Lamirande, gagnant du premier prix (bourse); Luc
Blanchette, ministre délégué aux mines et Andrea Amortegui,
Nicolas Piette-Lauzière, gagnant du troisième prix (livre); Martin
Beaudoin-Nadeau, gagnant du premier prix (bourse), niveau
maîtrise Christophe Azevedo, gagnante du deuxième prix (bourse);
Luc Blanchette, ministre délégué aux mines et Andrea Amortegui,
Premier prix: bourse de 1 500 $
Martin Beaudoin Nadeau (Université Laval):
Développement d’une nouvelle technologie verte
pour la révégétalisation de rejets miniers de mines
d’or en utilisant des microorganismes symbiotiques
spécifiques associés à l’épinette blanche
Deuxième prix: bourse de 500 $
Christophe Azevedo (UQAM): La première croûte
continentale du Canada
Troisième prix: livre « 4 milliards d’année
Nicolas Piette-Lauzlière (Université Laval):
Évolution de la Sous-province du Pontiac dans la
région de Val-d'Or–Malartic: métamorphisme,
déformation et minéralisation aurifère
GEOLOG
Pierre-Hugues Lamirande (Université Laval):
Caractérisation d'une zone d'altération
hydrothermale dans le Batholite de De Pas,
Province de Churchill, Québec
Deuxième prix – livre « 4 milliards d’année
Stéphane Tremblay (Université Laval): Méthode
d'exploitation par bloc foudroyé
Niveau collégial – 800 $
Fanny Chapelle - CEGEP de Rouyn-Noranda: Le
diamant, précieuse ressource québécoise.
De plus, l’AQUEST collabore à l’organisation du Défi
EXPLO Québec Mines. Dans le cadre de ce
concours, plusieurs équipes de trois étudiants,
représentant différentes universités, ont à produire
un projet d’exploration en 12 heures. Chaque
équipe se voit attribuer un secteur de prospection
et doit, à l’aide d’un ordinateur muni de tous les
outils de ArcGIS nécessaires et de toutes les
données géologiques et géophysiques disponibles
dans la base de données géominières du Québec
(SIGÉOM), cibler une propriété minière, élaborer un
programme d’exploration détaillé selon la géologie
de la propriété et les substances favorables et,
22
64th Annual Atlantic Universities
Geoscience Conference (AUGC)
October 23-25 2014
Fanny Chapelle, gagnante du premier prix (bourse), niveau
collégiale; Luc Blanchette, ministre délégué aux mines et Andrea
Amortegui, présidente de l’AQUEST
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) hosted the
64th annual Atlantic Universities Geoscience
Conference (AUGC) from October 23 to 25, 2014.
Nearly 100 delegates from Acadia University,
Dalhousie University, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, Cape Breton University, St. Mary’s
University, St. Francis Xavier University, and UNB
were in attendance. This year’s AUGC provided
students the opportunity to present their
undergraduate thesis research and participate in
field trips focused on New Brunswick geology.
enfin, produire un rapport détaillé de ce
programme. Le tout se fait dans une course
effrénée contre la montre. L’équipe gagnante, celle
dont le projet d’exploration est jugé le plus
prometteur, se mérite un prix.
Depuis sa fondation, l’AQUEST a remis plus de 32
000 $ en bourse et en commandite. Cette année
encore, c’est 6000 $ qui ont été remis en bourses
dans le cadre du concours AQUEST – Québec
Mines.
Group photo of all oral and poster presenters at AUGC 2014
L’AQUEST est fière d’encourager les jeunes
étudiants à persévérer dans leurs études en
sciences de la terre et de stimuler la performance
et l’excellence dans le cadre de leurs recherches.
Par ailleurs, cela permet aussi de consolider le
réseau existant de jeunes scientifiques dédiés à la
promotion des géosciences au Québec.
On Thursday the 23rd, student delegates competed
in a preliminary round of the CSEG Challenge Bowl;
a Jeopardy-style competition with questions from
geology and geophysics. UNB won the competition
and will have two students sent to Calgary this
coming May to compete at the national level of the
competition.
Andrea Amortegui, Abdelali Moukhsil,
Fabien Solgadi, Guillaume Allard
et Patrice Roy
Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles,
Québec
Friday offered four field trip choices to delegates:


Remember to wish Charles Darwin
Happy 206th Birthday on February 12
GEOLOG

Drs. David Lentz (UNB) and Kay Thorne
(NBDEM), led a trip to Mount Pleasant Sn-ZnCu-In and W-Mo-Bi deposits in south-west NB
Dr. David Keighley (UNB) led a trip exploring
the geology of the McCully Gas Field near
Sussex
Dr. Adrian Park (UNB) led a trip to the Saint
John area and the Partridge Island Block
23

Drs. Douglas Hall (UNB), John Spray (UNB),
Lucy Thompson (UNB), Suporn Boonsue (UNB),
and Cliff Shaw (UNB) offered students a tour of
the various analytical facilities in Earth Sciences
at UNB
Twenty-one students presented either talks or
posters on the research of their theses from a
broad range of geoscience topics.
The CSEG Award for best geophysical presentation
was awarded to Andrew Blagdon from Memorial
University of Newfoundland. The Imperial Oil
Award for best poster was awarded to Haley
Leblanc from St. Mary’s University. The Frank Shea
Memorial Award for the best presentation in
Economic Geology was awarded to Nikolett Kovacs
from Memorial
University of
Newfoundland.
The CSPG Award
for best oral
presentation was
awarded to
Dillon White
from St. Mary’s
University. The
AUGC Paper
Award for best
overall presentation was award
to Jillian
Kendrick from
Dr. Sandra Barr presenting Jillian
Dalhousie
Kendrick with the AUGC Paper Award for
University.
best overall presentation
An awards banquet concluded the conference and
Peter Cashin, President and CEO at Quest Rare
Minerals Limited (UNB alumnus) gave an excellent
keynote talk sharing his insight on the mineral
exploration and mining industry. This offered
students, many of whom will be graduating and
entering the job market, a chance to ask plenty of
questions.
Colin Padget
AUGC 2014 Chair
GEOLOG
Postscript on the GSA Meeting
October 2014, Vancouver, Canada
The Geological Society of America Annual Meeting
in Vancouver this past October was a big hit for
GSA, geologists, the Geological Association of
Canada and Canada itself. GSA reports near record
-breaking participation of some 6700 attendees, of
which 2500 were students, all coming from 52
countries and nearly 4500 abstracts (oral and
poster presentations) scattered through 346
sessions. This is indeed good news for GSA, which
has long been a close partner and kindred spirit to
the GAC® and of sister geological associations in
North America. Geologists who attended the
meeting had the most to gain with such a range of
technical contributions and from such a diverse
international background. The science presented
was good quality and good geoscience information
was given in most of the talks I attended. It speaks
well for Canadians when so many geologists from
Canada participate. Even with so many individuals
it was hard not to bump into dozens of fellow
geoscientists in the spectacular Vancouver
Conference Centre. GAC® sponsored several
sessions, as did other Canadian geoscience bodies,
and a great number of GAC® members were in
attendance. Some of our members were honored
for their contributions to geology in special
sessions (for example Jim Monger), several others
organized and chaired sessions and a great many
others participated through technical
presentations. Our reliable GAC® staff from HQ put
on a great show at the GAC® booth promoting
Canadian publications and journals, our association
and the benefits of Canadian membership.
GAC® benefits in the long term by riding on the
coat tails of public exposure. With 7000 geologists
in Vancouver, the positive PR rubs off on all
geosciences including our own national learned
society the GAC®. The benefits to Canada are
obvious, from the revenue generated by tourism
to the enhanced upgrading in geological
knowledge retained within our professional
24
community. Unquestionably the biggest success
was the involvement and participation of students.
So many young geologists were there, many of
whom stood for hours at their posters eager to
discuss their accomplishments with others
interested in the topics. For those of us that are
long in the tooth, this was a positive take-home
message from meeting - we see that the future of
geology is quite alive and in good hands. GAC®
must continue to focus on students and recent
graduates of geosciences to sustain the discipline
in Canada.
What does this say about the future? First, a
predominantly US based organization was able to
attract almost 7000 professionals to a geoscience
meeting in Canada. This speaks well for both
Canada and Vancouver when hosting future
geological meetings. Second, Canadian
geoscientists are willing to attend GAC®-MAC and
other geological conferences in the same year in
Canada without diminishing the impact and
success of any individual meeting. Third, Canada
will be hosting the first inter-congress IUGSsponsored meeting in Vancouver in 2018. GAC®
and others are playing a key role in organizing and
running this international event. The topic of the
meeting is “Resources for Future
Generations” (RFG2018) which ably addresses one
of Canada’s primary positive attributes –
resources. From minerals to energy and from
water to sustainable development, this event
covers themes of global concern. With the recent
success of GSA in Vancouver we should feel
confident that attendance in the 5,000 to 10,000
range is realistic, and global participation from the
120 member countries of IUGS will likely be high in
2018. An inter-congress meeting is a great idea,
since not all will be going to South Africa in 2016 or
India in 2020. We will all benefit and profit from
this pending meeting. Stay tuned as more
information is released about RFG2018.
Peter T. Bobrowsky
GSC-Victoria, British Columbia
GEOLOG
Conference report:
Geological Society of America
Annual Meeting 2014
Vancouver, British Columbia
Approximately 6000 geoscientists from across
North America and internationally attended the
GSA 2014 conference held in Vancouver, October
18-23, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The
weather was moderately kind with rain managing
to hold off long enough each day to allow
delegates to reach their hotels and various bars,
restaurants and cafes for off-site meetings and
socializing.
Topical Session T201. Eocene Northern North
America: Biotic Change and Environmental Context
was co-organized by David Greenwood (Brandon
University, Manitoba), Bruce Archibald (Simon
Fraser University, BC), Melanie DeVore (Georgia
State University, GA), and Kathleen Pigg (Arizona
State University, AZ). See gsa.confex.com/gsa/
2014AM/webprogram/Session35299.html
This session was well attended and featured 14
talks focused on palaeontological studies of
Eocene fossil-rich sites in British Columbia such as
the McAbee heritage site near Kamloops, as well
as the Princeton Chert and Horsefly Lake. The
keynote speaker was Selena Smith (University of
Michigan, MI), a University of Alberta alumna, who
presented an overview of our knowledge of the
British Columbia Eocene record of monocot plants,
the plant group that includes palms, gingers,
grasses and lilies. Also presented were talks on the
geology of the McAbee site (Richard Hebda, Royal
BC Museum), and the palaeoecology and
palaeoclimatology of Eocene fossil sites from the
Chickaloon Formation of Alaska (David Sunderlin,
Lafayette College, PA), Ellesmere Island in Nunavut
(Christopher West, University of Saskatchewan),
and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in
Colorado (Kyrie Baumgartner and Herb Meyer,
National Park Service, CO; Bret Buskirk, University
of Washington, WA). David Greenwood and Patrick
Moss (University of Queensland, Australia)
25
Above: Kitsilano beach with Vancouver downtown in distance. Boulder on right of view is from
adjacent in-place Kitsilano Member (Huntingdon Formation),
and contains leaf fossils
Right: Leaf fossil from Kitsilano Member, from boulder shown in beach scene
presented new palynological analyses of varvescale sampling from the Falkland and Horsefly
early Eocene lake shales. Kathleen Pigg and coauthors presented an historical overview of the
palaeobotanical study of the central British
Columbia early to middle Eocene fossil sites,
coined the Okanagan Highlands, spanning research
from C. M. and J. W. Dawson, Glenn Rouse and Len
Hills, to more recent researchers such as Ruth
Stockey and some of the presenters at the session.
Several talks were presented by current graduate
students. Bruce Archibald presented an overview
of the diverse and well preserved insect fauna that
are a feature of BC Eocene sites such as Driftwood
Canyon Provincial Park near Smithers, Horsefly and
McAbee which are considered konservat
lagerstätte. Edward Greenwalt (Smithsonian
Institution, DC) extended this theme, showing the
wide variety of insects being described from the
middle to late Eocene Kishenehn Formation, which
is in outcrop from northern Montana to near
Fernie, British Columbia.
An overview of the early Eocene konservat
lagerstätte of British Columbia was provided in a
previous issue of Geoscience Canada (Archibald et
al., Volume 38 Number 4, December 2011). A
newly described fossil hedgehog and tapir from
GEOLOG
Driftwood Canyon was published in July 2014
(Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol. 34
Number 4, pp. 739 – 746), and Archibald et al.
2014 published on palm beetles from these
Eocene lagerstätte (PNAS, Vol. 111, Number 22,
pp. 8095-8100), highlighting the remaining
enormous potential for palaeontology in the
Eocene of British Columbia as evidenced at the
GSA Topical Session in Vancouver. The symposium
organizers are planning to publish papers from the
session as a special volume.
A related highlight from the meeting was an
impromptu field trip by Archibald and Greenwood
to locate some classic Eocene Huntingdon
Formation Kitsilano Member sites on metropolitan
Vancouver beaches. Two sites were found with
abundant leaf fossils at Kitsilano Beach. Older
reports on the palynology of these sites will be
reassessed by David Greenwood and his students
at Brandon University.
David R. Greenwood
Department of Biology, Brandon University
Brandon, Manitoba
26
Vancouver Views
Julian Boldy Award 2014
The west building of the Vancouver Convention Centre, venue for
the Geological Society of America 2014 Annual Meeting. Despite
the rain and cloudy weather, the outdoor patios of main level
restaurants were popular lunchtime and evening meeting places.
During breaks between sessions, the lobby area outside the
meeting rooms on the second level provided an ideal venue to
check e-mail, figure out which paper to go listen to next, chat to
colleagues, or just watch the float planes taking off and landing on
the waters of Burrard Inlet.
Carlin Lentz stands beside his thesis supervisor Dr
Chris M. McFarlane. Carlin received the Julian
Boldly Award at the Geological Association of
Canada meeting in Fredericton in May 2014. The
award comprises a certificate and a cheque for
$1500. Carlin attends the University of New
Brunswick and presented work from his
undergraduate thesis entitled: “Petrogenesis of
the Early Devonian Lake George auriferous
polymetallic system, southwestern New
Brunswick: Evidence from LA ICP-MS analyses and
in situ sulphur isotopes”. Funding for his project
was provided by the New Brunswick Department
of Energy and Mines (NB DEM), through Dr.
Kathleen Thorne, who also co-supervised the
project. The Julian Boldy Certificate Award is
sponsored by the Mineral Deposits Division of
GAC® and is given for the most significant and
creative papers presented at the MDD session at
the annual meeting.
The east building of the Convention Centre is Canada Place,
famous for its distinctive sail-like roof-line.
GEOLOG
27
Summary of Queen’s Logan Student
Chapter 2014 Activities
In the spring of 2014 nine members of the Queen’s
Logan Student Chapter undertook a five day
student-led geological field trip to the Abitibi
district in northern Ontario and Quebec. The
purpose of this trip was to learn about the local
and regional geology, network with industry and
government geologists, and see active mining and
exploration techniques.
In the Agnico-Eagle LaRonde mine
Looking at a geologic map in the Agnico-Eagle LaRonde mine
Trip participants on outcrop near Rouyn-Noranda
All images courtesy Thomas Maguire
Trip participants took part in active learning about
local geology by contributing to the guidebook
before the trip and engaging with local geologists
on outcrop and mine tours. Each individual
prepared an entry to the guidebook, focussing on
an aspect of regional geology, a particular deposit
type, or a specific mine. During the trip the group
went on outcrop tours of the Kirkland Lake and
Rouyn-Noranda areas, as well as seeing the classic
exposures of the Pyke Hill komatiite flow. Stops
and discussion focussed around regional tectonics
and structures, volcanology, and economic
mineralization.
Opportunities were provided for trip participants
to meet and learn from industry and government
professionals during outcrop tours and mine visits.
This gave participants a chance to see the types of
GEOLOG
Entering the Aurico Gold Young Davidson mine
careers available in the region and engage with
experienced geoscientists. Active participation was
encouraged with each individual informally
presenting and discussing the topic of their
guidebook contribution.
28
Canadian Federation of Earth
Sciences (CFES) Update
Duelling hand lenses at a roadside outcrop near Kirkland Lake
Group mapping exercise at Hecla Mining exploration site
Participants also learned about economic geology,
mine and exploration techniques, and
characteristic deposits of the Abitibi region during
mine and exploration site tours. The group toured
the AuRico Young-Davidson orogenic gold
underground mine and the Agnico-Eagle LaRonde
volcanogenic massive sulphide underground mine.
Through these tours, participants learned about
the different deposit types in the area as well as
underground mining techniques. Hecla Mining
provided the group the opportunity to learn about
exploration techniques, with core logging and
mapping exercises on two of their local projects.
The trip participants are grateful to the Geological
Association of Canada, Society of Economic
Geologists, and Queen’s Student Initiative Fund for
the financial support that made this awesome field
trip possible; faculty at Queen’s University for their
logistical support; and the mining company and
government geologists for their time and energy
mentoring young geoscientists.
Rohanna Gibson
Queen’s Logan Chapter
GEOLOG
CFES is the umbrella organization for the earth
sciences in Canada. GAC® is a founding member
and a long time supporter of the organization,
which held its annual meeting in Ottawa over the
weekend of November 28-29. Last year CFES,
under the leadership of President Scott Swinden
and President-Elect Sandra Barr, undertook a
major renewal effort and revised its strategic plan
in terms of six strategic objectives, the foremost of
which is to become the “coordinated voice of
earth sciences in Canada”. This year has seen a
focus on putting the plan into action, one of the
most important accomplishments being the
securing of Sarina Controneo as a volunteer
communications director. Sarina is currently
working on ways of promoting earth science
interest through social media and will also be
looking at ways of increasing awareness of CFES
amongst earth science societies – which
unfortunately is not as great as it should be.
CFES is also engaged in a number of other
activities that help promote earth science
awareness and literacy to both a Canadian and
international audience.
Four Billion Years and Counting: Canada’s
Geological Heritage
This monumental
publication, which
has been in
preparation for
many years, has
finally been printed
in both English and
French versions.
The book, which is
designed as an
outreach
publication,
describes the
geological
29
evolution of Canada in a beautifully illustrated
format. It was prepared from the contributions of
over 100 co-authors and edited by the volunteer
team of Robert Fensome, Graham Williams, Aïcha
Achab, John Clague, David Corrigan, Jim Monger
and Godfrey Nowlan, and is co-published by CFES
and Nimbus Publishing. Publication launches were
held through November in Halifax, Calgary and
Québec City. A website is in preparation and will
be part of the earthsciences.com site, as is CFES
(see below).
The publication came just in time for Christmas
and makes a great present for the geologically
inclined. Copies can be obtained directly from
Nimbus Publishing, or from the GAC® bookstore
(www.gac.ca/wp/?page_id=2651). The book
represents a huge achievement by the Canadian
geoscience community and it is fitting that it be
published by CFES. As such it will be an immensely
valuable tool for conveying the grandeur of
Canada’s geological heritage to professional and
lay audiences alike.
Vancouver 2018 – Resources for Future
Generations meeting
This meeting is sponsored by the IUGS as part of
its international program on resourcing future
generations, and will be held as an inter-IGC
conference in Vancouver in May 2018. CFES is the
Canadian host for the meeting but a national
organizing committee under the leadership of
Kendra Johnston is carrying out the bulk of the
organization. Although still in its early stages, the
meeting is starting to take shape and promises to
be a major international event. GAC®, together
with our colleagues in MAC, intend to be major
partners in the event, although the details of that
participation are still being worked out.
science to the lay public but especially to students
and school teachers. These activities continue
unabated and form an integral part of GAC®’s
annual science meetings.
CFES also supervises the development of the
CanGeoRef database, which is approaching
completion on a first pass basis.
International Affairs
CFES continues to represent Canada at IUGS and
other international forums. Of especial
importance this year was the re-constitution of
the Canadian National Committee (CNC) for the
International Geological Correlation Project (IGCP),
which had been threated by severe budget cuts
within UNESCO. The CNC has been repopulated
and is now once again active in responding to the
needs of Canadian researchers involved in IGCP
projects.
CFES is also responsible for Canadian initiatives
under UNESCO’s Geoparks program and this year
was pleased to see the approval of Tumbler Ridge
as Canada’s second Geopark.
The CFES annual meeting also marked the
retirement of Godfrey Nowlan from the CFES
Board of Directors. As many of you know, Godfrey
has been a tireless promoter of outreach activities
in Canada, most recently as chair of the Canadian
National Committee for Geoparks, and will be
greatly missed at the CFES table.
In closing, CFES is continuing to build its capacity
to be the coordinated voice of the earth sciences
in Canada, but to do so it needs the full support of
the Canadian geoscience community. To learn
more about CFES and its programs visit
earthsciencescanada.com/cfes/
Outreach activities
Many GAC® members will be aware of the
outstanding work carried out by the Canadian
Geoscience Education Network (CGEN) and EdGEO
programs that promote awareness of earth
GEOLOG
Richard Wardle
Past President GAC®
and CFES representative
30
Four Billion Years and Counting:
Canada’s Geological Heritage
Launched on November 5 2014
Almost ten years’ work came to fruition in November 2014
with an event to mark the launch of Four Billion Years and
Counting. Held at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
(MMA) in Halifax, the event was attended by about 75
people, including members of the editorial team and some
of the book’s contributors. The book had been advertised
and went on sale some time earlier—copies were available at
the GSA meeting in Vancouver in October—and by the
launch date some 1600 copies had already been sold. The
French language volume became available in early 2015.
The book sold well at the MMA store on the evening of the Halifax
launch. By the end of the evening, attendees at the event
had picked up 14 copies.
All images from the launch courtesy Vic Fraser
Rob Fensome and Graham Williams displaying smiles of relief. The
project has been brought to a successful conclusion!
Late in 2014, a companion website was launched. The
website includes a rich array of information for readers
and educators, including images and PowerPoint files. It
can be reached at www.fbycbook.com/ The site also
provides a link to the publishers’ websites where copies
of the book can be purchased.
Robert Giguère (director-general, Géologie Québec) and Aïcha
Achab (lead, French language volume )
GEOLOG
Jennifer Bates
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Additional details compiled by GEOLOG Editor
31
Announcements
GAC® announces the new
“GAC®-PDAC Logan Student Prize”
The “GAC®-PDAC Logan Student Prize” will be
awarded annually to one undergraduate student at
each CCCESD-member department (~32 departments). The prize will consist of a monetary award,
one-year memberships in both GAC® and PDAC,
and an electronic certificate affirming that the
student won the GAC® -PDAC Logan Student Prize.
All CCCESD-member departments will receive the
Prize Package and it is up to each department to
award the prize and report to GAC® Headquarters
(gac@mun.ca) the successful candidate’s name
and contact information, as well as a brief
biography. That information will be used to
promote the program as well as the winners.
Criteria for the prize
The intent is that undergraduate students who are
selected for this prize should be academically
sound, have good leadership skills (e.g., as they
pertain to organizing field trips, geology club geoevents, etc.), and have done well at field school or
otherwise show proficiency in field techniques. A
student in his/her final (i.e., graduation) year is
preferred.
Selection of the student
We suggest that students should be given the
opportunity to nominate fellow undergraduate
candidates for the award, but that faculty
ultimately choose the winner from among those
nominated. Having students involved in the award
process will increase awareness of the award and
hence of GAC® and PDAC who sponsor it. The onus
for selecting a student will fall on the GAC®
Campus Representative, the Department Head,
and/or the departmental Awards Officer. The
GAC® Councillor charged as Campus Liaison
coordinator will be in charge of reminding
departments of the award and ensuring that a
student is selected annually.
GEOLOG
Deadline for submission of the selected student’s
name and a short biography to GAC® Headquarters
(gac@mun.ca): February 15
Advertising the GAC-PDAC Logan Student Prize
The student selected for the prize from each
department will be publicized in GEOLOG and on
departmental websites. GAC® and PDAC will also
promote the Logan Student Prize through their
respective social media channels, to raise awareness amongst students. The criteria for the Prize,
in addition to a short paragraph outlining Logan’s
accomplishments and impact on Canadian
geoscience, will accompany the winners’ names.
DIG 2015
The next Developing International Geoarchaeology meeting, DIG 2015, will be held in Sardinia,
June 9-12 2015, immediately following the Micromorphology Workshop there June 5-8. Abstract
submissions are now being accepted at
dig2015submissions@gmail.com with a deadline of
February 28. See the DIG website for more details:
www.developinginternationalgeoarchaeology.org
STRATI 2015
The 2nd International Congress on Stratigraphy
will be held July 19-23 2015 in Graz, Austria. The
technical program will range from the Archean to
the Holocene, across all techniques and
applications of stratigraphy and the discoveries
that the stratigraphic record reveals about the
Earth system. It will also serve as the primary
venue for the International Commission on
Stratigraphy (ICS ) business, for ICS subcommissions to meet and awarding the ICS
stratigraphy prizes. The Congress is co-sponsored
by SEPM and STEPPE. For more details, please see
strati2015.uni-graz.at/
32
Geoscience Canada
Annual CGF Invitation
for Grant Applications
The Canadian Geological Foundation invites all
interested parties to submit grant proposals for
the next round of grants selection. The Secretary
must receive your application by March 31, 2015.
The Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to assist in the development of
geological sciences in Canada. In principle, grants
are made only in support of activities of national
interest and broad significance, with emphasis on
those of long-term importance. Grants are made
only on the basis of written applications giving a
summary and detailed budget of the proposed
project. The Foundation disburses more than
$150,000 annually. Note that grants are paid upon
completion of the project.
The CGF uses a three-tiered grant system related
to the size of the grants being requested: small
grants (<$10,000), medium grants ($10,001 to
$30,000) and one large grant per year of up to
$45,000. In addition, the Foundation will consider
the possibility of Multi-Year Grants (i.e., approval
of a continuing grant for specific amounts to be
paid in each of up to 4 years).
Application forms and detailed instructions are
available on the CGF website at
www.canadiangeologicalfoundation.org. Please
submit applications electronically as a PDF file to
the Secretary. Applicants are urged to read the
instructions carefully to ensure that their application meets the Foundation’s grant criteria and
that it is complete. Incomplete applications will
not be returned for correction. Queries about the
Canadian Geological Foundation should be
addressed to the Secretary:
Jane Wynne
B 9561 Canora Road
Sidney, British Columbia, V8L 1P4
Email: jane.wynne@shaw.ca
GEOLOG
A journal published quarterly by the Geological
Association of Canada. The current issue requires
subscription or individual articles are available for
purchase through the UNB website at the time of
selection. Browse articles at journals.hil.unb.ca/
index.php/GC/issue/archive On-line archives are
open access from 2004 to 2012.
Subscriptions: GAC® members receive four issues
of Geoscience Canada per year for $40; nonmembers ($50). To obtain institutional subscriptions, please contact Érudit at www.erudit.org.
Volume 41 Number 1
Professional Affairs
Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Geoscientists in
Environmental Geology by R. Reichelt, p. 1
Harold Williams Series
Ediacaran–Middle Paleozoic Oceanic Voyage of Avalonia from
Baltica via Gondwana to Laurentia: Paleomagnetic, Faunal and
Geological Constraints by J.D. Keppie and D.F. Keppie, p. 5
The Timing of Strike-Slip Deformation Along the
Storstrømmen Shear Zone, Greenland Caledonides: U–Pb
Zircon and Titanite Geochronology by B.W. Hallett, W.C.
McClelland, and J.A. Gilotti, p. 19
Series
Igneous Rock Associations 12
A Geologist’s Look at Archaeological Ceramics and Glass
by J.V. Owen and J.D. Greenough, p. 46
Focusing on the Central American Subduction Zone
by J.A. Walker and E. Gazel, p. 57
Modern Analytical Facilities 2
A Review of Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)
Procedures for Lithogeochemical Data by S.J. Piercey, p. 75
Remote Predictive Mapping 5
Using a Lidar Derived DEM to Test the Influence of Variable Overburden Thickness and Bedrock on Drainage and Basin Morphology by T.L. Webster, J.C. Gosse, I. Spooner, and J.B. Murphy, p. 89
Volume 41, Number 2
Column
The Tooth of Time: Conrad Gebelein by P. F. Hoffman, p. 105
Ode to Field Geology of Williams: Fleur de Lys Nectar Still Fermenting on Belle Isle by M.J. de Wit and R. Armstrong, p. 118
Time-Transgressive Salinic and Acadian Orogenesis, Magmatism
and Old Red Sandstone Sedimentation in Newfoundland by C.R.
van Staal, A. Zagorevski, V.J. McNicoll, and N. Rogers, p. 138
33
The Ocean – Continent Transition Zones Along the
Appalachian – Caledonian Margin of Laurentia: Examples of
Large-Scale Hyperextension During the Opening of the
Iapetus Ocean by D.M. Chew and C.R. van Staal, p. 165
Connecting Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland, Canada:
Geophysical Modeling of pre-Carboniferous ‘Basement’ Rocks
in the Cabot Strait Area by S. M. Barr, S.A. Dehler, and L.
Zsámboki, p. 186
Geology, Mantle Tomography, and Inclination Corrected
Paleogeographic Trajectories Support Westward Subduction
During Cretaceous Orogenesis in the North American
Cordillera by R.S. Hildebrand, p. 207
The Ayyubid Orogen: An Ophiolite Obduction-Driven Orogen
in the Late Cretaceous of the Neo-Tethyan South Margin by
A.M. Celâl Şengör and J. Stock, p. 225
Volume 41, Number 3
Paul F. Hoffman Series
Arc and Slab-Failure Magmatism in Cordilleran Batholiths I –
The Cretaceous Coastal Batholith of Peru and its Role in South
American Orogenesis and Hemispheric Subduction Flip
by R.S. Hildebrand and J.B. Whalen, p. 255
Memories of Pre-Jurassic Lost Oceans: How To Retrieve Them
From Extant Lands by Y. Isozaki, p. 283
The Origin of Laurentia: Rae Craton as the Backstop for ProtoLaurentian Amalgamation by Slab Suction by P. F. Hoffman, p. 313
A Mechanism for Tectonic Inheritance at Transform Faults of
the Iapetan Margin of Laurentia by W.A. Thomas, p. 321
Crustal Evolution of the Northeast Laurentian Margin and the Peri
-Gondwanan Microcontinent Ganderia Prior to and During
Closure of the Iapetus Ocean: Detrital Zircon U–Pb and Hf
Isotope Evidence from Newfoundland by A.P. Willner, A. Gerdes,
H.-J. Massonne, C.R. van Staal, and A. Zagorevski, p. 345
Series
The Volcanic Setting of VMS and SMS Deposits: A Review by
P.-S. Ross and P. Mercier-Langevin, p. 365
Volume 41, Number 4
GAC Medallist Series
Logan Medallist 1
Seeking the Suture: The Coast-Cascade Conundrum by J.W.H.
Monger, p. 379
Paul F. Hoffman Series
Arc and Slab-Failure Magmatism in Cordilleran Batholiths II –
The Cretaceous Peninsular Ranges Batholith of Southern and
Baja California by R.S. Hildebrand and J.B. Whalen, p. 399
Taconic Metamorphism Preserved in the Baie Verte Peninsula,
Newfoundland Appalachians: Geochronological Evidence for
Ophiolite Obduction and Subduction and Exhumation of the
Leading Edge of the Laurentian (Humber) Margin During Closure
GEOLOG
of the Taconic Seaway by S. Castonguay, C.R. van Staal, N. Joyce,
T. Skulski, and J.P. Hibbard, p. 459
The Grand Manan Terrane of New Brunswick: Tectonostratigraphy and Relationship to the Gondwanan Margin of
the Iapetus Ocean by L.R. Fyffe, p. 283
Detrital Zircon Geochronology Across the Chopawamsic Fault,
Western Piedmont of North-Central Virginia: Implications for the
Main Iapetan Suture in the Southern Appalachian Orogen by K.S.
Hughes, J. P. Hibbard, J.C. Pollock, D.J. Lewis, and B.V. Miller, p. 503
Lawrence Head Volcanics and Dunnage Mélange, Newfoundland Appalachians: Origin by Ordovician Ridge Subduction or
in Back-Arc Rift? by A. Schoonmaker, W.S.F. Kidd, S.E.
DeLong, and J.F. Bender, p. 523
Series
Remote Predictive Mapping 6
A Comparison of Different Remotely Sensed Data for
Classifying Bedrock Types in Canada’s Arctic: Application of
the Robust Classification Method and Random Forests by J.R.
Harris, J.X. He, R. Rainbird, and P. Behnia, p. 557
Forthcoming Articles
GAC Medallist Series:
Logan Medallist 2
Geophysics and Geology: An Essential Combination
Illustrated by LITHOPROBE Interpretations –Part 1, Lithospheric Examples by R.M. Clowes
Does the Meguma Terrane Extend into SW England? by R.D. Nance,
E.R. Neace, J.A. Braid, J.B. Murphy, N. Dupuis, and R.K. Shail
Tectonic setting and evolution of the Grenville Orogen: An
assessment of progress over the last 40 years by Toby Rivers
From Large Zones to Small Terranes to Detailed Reconstruction of an Early to Middle Ordovician Arc – Backarc System
Preserved Along the Iapetus Suture Zone: A Legacy of Hank
Williams by A. Zagorevski, V.J. McNicoll, C.R. van Staal, A.
Kerr, and N. Joyce
Series
Igneous Rock Associations
Advances in the Textural Quantification of Crystalline Rocks
by M.D. Higgins
The Columbia River Basalt Group: A Flood Basalt Province in
the Pacific Northwest, USA by S.P. Reidel
The Late Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province by J.G.
Shellnutt
Articles
“ALL THAT GLITTERS …”: The Scientific and Financial Ambitions of
Robert Bell at the Geological Survey of Canada by I.A. Brookes
An Integrated Stratigraphic Approach to Investigating
Evidence of Paleoearthquakes in Lake Deposits of Eastern
Canada by G.R. Brooks
34
Howard Street Robinson Fund
The Robinson Fund was established in 1977 by the Geological Association of Canada, using a bequest
from the estate of Howard Street Robinson. The fund is dedicated to the furtherance of scientific
study of Precambrian Geology and Metal Mining by:


sponsoring an annual Distinguished Lecturer Tour whose focus alternates between
Precambrian research and economic geology (lecturer alternately chosen by the GAC®’s
Precambrian and Mineral Deposits divisions)
supporting Special Projects including publications, symposia and conferences.
Proposals for special projects on Precambrian Geology or Metal Mining should be submitted to the
Robinson Fund Committee. Projects should be sponsored or organized through the GAC® or one of
its Divisions or Sections. Proposals that have a wide appeal or degree of accessibility to the GAC®
membership are preferred.
For further information and proposal submissions, please contact: Patrick Mercier-Langevin,
Chairman, Robinson Fund, c/o Geological Survey of Canada, 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec (Québec)
G1K 9A9, Tel: 418 654-3101, E-mail: pmercier@nrcan.gc.ca
The Last Word
Putting together this first issue of GEOLOG has been an enjoyable
learning experience. As contributions arrived and the design
developed, I have gained a greater appreciation for the breadth and
diversity of geoscience activities in Canada. I want to thank all
contributors to this issue. I’m looking forward to meeting more
GAC® colleagues, by e-mail at least, and receiving articles for future
issues of the newsletter. If you attend a conference, participate in a
workshop, undertake some fieldwork, prepare an intriguing fossil,
spot an interesting outcrop, or visit a classic site, please consider
taking an image or two and sharing your observations with your
colleagues in geoscience. Alwynne B. Beaudoin, GEOLOG Editor
Information for Contributors
Consignes aux auteurs
Contributions should be submitted by e-mail to
Alwynne.Beaudoin@gov.ab.ca, with GEOLOG in the subject line.
Contributions are welcome in either of Canada’s two official languages. MS
Word (.doc or .docx) is the preferred format for contribution but generic
word processing (.rtf or .txt) files are also fine. Please do not submit PDF
files. Up to four hi-res images may be submitted per contribution: preferred
format is .jpg, RGB colour, with a minimum 300 dpi resolution at 5” x 3” size.
Please ensure that images are cropped and colour-corrected, and provide a
caption for each image, and an image credit line if needed. Contributors are
responsible for securing permission to publish for any third-party images or
images of living recognizable people. Diagrams (vector graphics) may also be
submitted. Preferred format for graphics is Adobe Illustrator (.ai); make sure
that the file is saved with “save text as lines” option enabled to ensure no
font substitutions. Additional information on other file formats can be
obtained from the Editor. Please do not embed images or graphics in your
text document; images or graphics should be submitted as separate files. In
your text, use a call-out in parentheses to indicate the approximate
placement of each image and graphic. If files are larger than 10 mb, please
contact the Editor for alternate delivery arrangements. Your contribution
will be copy-edited to ensure consistent spelling and orthography and to
correct any obvious typos or errors. Contributions may also be edited for
clarity and length. If the Editor has questions about specific information in
the text, she will contact contributors for clarification. Contribution
deadlines are February 27, June 5, September 4 and November 30.
Les contributions d’auteur doivent être soumises par courriel à
Alwynne.Beaudoin@gov.ab.ca, en indiquant GEOLOG à la rubrique Objet.
Les articles seront acceptés dans l’une des deux langues officielles du
Canada. Les fichiers de format MS Word (.doc ou .docx) sont préférables,
mais les formats génériques (.rtf ou .txt) sont aussi acceptables. Veillez ne
pas soumettre de fichiers au format PDF. Par article, jusqu'à quatre images
haute résolution peuvent être soumises; format préféré est .jpg, couleurs
RVB, avec un minimum de 300 PPP en taille 5 po x 3 po. Veillez vous assurez
que les images sont recadrées et leurs couleurs corrigées, qu’elles sont
accompagnées d’une légende ainsi que des informations de référence le cas
échéant. Il est de la responsabilité des auteurs d’obtenir la permission de
publier toute image de tiers ou de personne reconnaissable. Des
diagrammes (graphiques vectoriels) peuvent également être soumis. Le
format préféré pour les diagrammes est celui d’Adobe Illustrator (.ai);
assurez-vous que le fichier est sauvegardé avec l’option « Sauvegarder le
texte comme ligne » activée pour éviter toute substitution de police de
caractère. On peut obtenir des informations sur d'autres formats de fichiers
en communicant avec l’éditrice. S’il vous plaît ne pas incorporer d’images ou
de graphiques dans votre texte; ces images ou graphiques doivent être
soumis sous forme de fichiers distincts. Dans votre texte, veillez utiliser des
notes numérotées entre parenthèses pour indiquer l'emplacement
approximatif de chaque image et graphique. Dans le cas de fichiers
dépassant 10 Mo, veuillez contacter l'éditrice pour convenir des modalités
de téléchargement. Vos articles seront révisés afin d’en assurer la cohérence
orthographique et corriger les fautes de frappe ou erreurs évidentes. Les
articles pourront aussi être corrigés pour plus de clarté et éviter des
longueurs. Dans les cas où l'éditrice aurait besoin d’informations
particulières concernant le texte, elle communiquera avec les auteurs. Les
dates limites pour soumettre des articles sont le 27 février, le 5 juin, le 4
septembre et le 30 novembre.
GEOLOG

Winter 2014 - Geological Association of Canada

Transcription

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