Welcome to the Earth Sciences blogspace.
Congratulations to Prof. Grant Wach as the recipient of the 2018 Stanley Slipper Gold Medal from the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. In addition to contributions to petroleum resource exploration and development, the award also recognizes significant contributions to teaching and/or training of petroleum geologists, an area in which Grant has truly excelled.
Well done Grant!
Earth Sciences Departmental Awards – Fall 2018 Report
Awards Committee: Mike Young (chair) in consultation with Isabelle Coutand, Yana Fedortchouk, Lexie Arnott, Owen Sherwood, Richard Cox, John Gosse, Grant Wach, Sean Kelley, Dawson Undergraduate Club, James Brenan.
Memorial Awards Day – Friday, 9 November 2018
MacEachern-Ponsford Award – Ian MacEachern and Mark Ponsford were two Dalhousie graduates who were killed in December 1984 when the trench in which they were working collapsed on them. An award was established by friends and family in their memory to be presented to a student who has excelled in Field School, who is of honours calibre and who has been an active participant in student activities. The first award was made in 1986; this year is the 33rd annual presentation of the award.
This year’s award is to be shared between two students:
Bay Berry for her performance at the 3000-level Field School, stellar academic record, and her service to the Dawson Club including serving on the AUGC organizing committee. Bay is from Fall River, Nova Scotia, entered Dalhousie through the Integrated Science Program and is a coop student most recently working at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs.
Kanwar Multani for his performance at the senior-level Trinidad and Nevada-California Field Schools, for his excellent academic record, and his continued service on the Dawson Club executive for the last two years. Kanwar is from Alberta and transferred to Dalhousie after attending Red Deer and Lethbridge Colleges and working in the private sector. Kanwar is currently working on his honours thesis involving an experimental study of kimberlites.
Douglas Award – This award commemorates Dr. George Vilbert Douglas, Head of the Department of Geology from 1932-1957, and the first to hold the appointment as Carnegie Professor of Geology, which was established 1933 with a gift of $125,000 from the Carnegie Foundation. Before coming to Dalhousie, Douglas was the Geologist on Shackleton’s Last Antarctic Expedition (1921-22) and he explored Rio Tinto’s concession on the Congo/Zambia (formerly Rhodesia) border in 1930-31. This award is given to a student entering second year Earth Sciences with an outstanding academic record in their first-year studies. The first award was made in 1962; this year is the 56th annual presentation of the award.
This year’s award is to Anna Ryan for her exceptional performance in first year where she took the equivalent of 7 courses per semester and achieved an A+ standing.
Barlow award – The award is named for David Barlow, who had completed his second year in the Geology program in 1983. He was in the Regular Officer’s Training Program and attending summer training at the naval base at Esquimalt when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck by another and he was killed. On the recommendation of the Dawson Geology Club in consultation with the Departmental Awards Committee and Department Chair, the award is to recognize a 3rd year Canadian student in the Earth Sciences program with a good academic record, and who has shown qualities of leadership in departmental, student or community affairs. The first award was made in 1989; this year is the 29th annual presentation of the award.
Normally, this award is presented at the spring banquet organized by the Dawson Club and it is meant to recognize the contributions of a student leader over the preceding academic year. This year, the department would like to recognize a group of students for their exceptional efforts in organizing an outstanding AUGC conference. It is quite unusual to make this award to multiple people, but this group of 10 students truly epitomize teamwork, with each member taking on their tasks with an inspired sense of responsibility and pride. We very much appreciate and value the dedication and hard work of the AUGC organizing committee and are proud to have the award shared by:
AUGC Committee: Juan Chavez, Ryan Taylor, Kanwar Multani, Bay Berry, Tanner Milne, Jordyn Souter, Aliya Anderson, Ben Myrer
Jordyn Souter Co-Chair
Ryan Taylor Co-Chair
Catherine Evans Field Trip Coordinator
Tanner Milne Judge Coordinator
Max Angel Registration Coordinator
Kanwar Multani Treasurer
Bay Berry Webmaster
Juan Chavez Venue Coordinator
Aliya Anderson Secretary & Program Editor
Ben Myrer Hotel and Banquet Coordinator
Each committee member will share the named award which will appear on their transcripts. They will also share monetary value of the award with the co-chairs receiving slightly more for orchestrating and managing such an effective team.
The field trip lead by Richard Cox and Becky J to the outcrops of the South Mountain Batholith exposed at Peggy’s Cove. Very wet, but as you can see, Richard has a lot of loyal followers!
Richard and Becky whip the attendees into a frenzy. They are chomping at the bit to get onto the rock and learn things.
And if you look way over there you will see fog.
Funny how the tides come in at the most inopportune time.
Clint Tippet is the current Canadian Society of Petroleum Geoscientists (CSPG) president. The CSPG is the largest geoscience organization in Canada. Clint is retired from Shell Canada and was at Dalhousie for the Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference hosted by the Dawson Geology Club.
Carlos Wongm Kenneth Martyns-Yellowe and Trevor Kelly show Clint Tippet around our new Core Teaching Lab.
MARCOS ZENTILLI 1
Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University
Forty years ago, when the concept of seafloor spreading was still being debated, there was a need to better understand the oceanic crust, generally too deep for conventional drilling. An alternative was to bore into oceanic islands. In 1978 Dalhousie’s geoscientists spearheaded the epic drilling of a 2 km deep hole into a mafic dike swarm in Reydarfjordur, eastern Iceland. The results were surprising and led to much scientific enquiry. I have since learned about dikes that intrude sideways, sub-ice volcanos (tuyas and tindar), inflationary cones (tumuli), and pseudo-craters. My recent visit to Reyðarfjörður revealed that the local inhabitants remember the project not so much for the science, but because the abandoned hole is still producing hot water for the community, from an area previously considered devoid of geothermal potential.
1 with Dr. Johann Helgason (PhD Dal 1983), National Land Survey of Iceland, Akranes, jhelgason@internet.is
Dalhousie Geology’s IRDP drilling rig in Reyðarfjörður, Iceland, June 1978
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Marcos Zentilli (Professor, 1073-2005; Emeritus, 2005 – present)
Johann Helgason (PhD, Class of 1983)
After completing his PhD (1983) and postdoc at Dalhousie University Jóhann has worked in Iceland on various assignments, mainly relating to geological mapping for the National Power Company of Iceland in preparation for the construction of dam sites for hydroelectric power plants, e.g. the Kárahnjúkar dam. Jóhann has also mapped the geology of the partly glaciated Skaftafell region, SE Iceland, a natural reserve site of striking beauty. Presently, Jóhann is an employee of the National Land Survey of Iceland. Jóhann lives with his family in Reykjavík where his wife Thorhildur (MA), is a social worker, his son, Jökull Jóhannsson (25), has a degree in business administration and his daughter, Anna Jóhannsdóttir (22), is studying psychology at the University of Iceland.
William (Bill) R. Morgan (BSc, Honours, Class of 1980)
After graduating with an Honours Degree from Dalhousie in 1980, Bill spent 13 years as an exploration and development geologist, working both conventional oil and gas as well as heavy-oil projects in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. In 1993, Bill joined Clifton Associates Ltd. (civil, geotechnical, environmental engineering) providing environmental consulting services on projects throughout western Canada. For the past 25 years, Bill has provided professional advice on environmental assessment and the decommissioning and remediation of commercial, industrial, and residential properties. This included the development and implementation of environmental programs and managing contaminated sites through phased environmental site assessments, environmental risk assessments, evaluation of remedial options and completion of site remediation. A primary of focus of his has been the environmental impact on soil and groundwater of rail operations and his specialty within remediation has been liquid petroleum hydrocarbon recovery. Upon retirement from full-time consulting at the end of 2010, Bill was a corporate vice-president with Clifton, responsible for the Alberta Operations. Subsequent to 2010, he continues to provide consulting services to Clifton on an ad hoc basis. Bill now lives in Canmore, Alberta, with Ingrid (BSc, Class of 1980), also a Dalhousie geology grad. They have one son, Alex, who is a Journeyman Heavy Duty Mechanic and lives in Calgary.
Andrew J. D. Kendell (BSc (Honours), 1981)
Andrew has been Manager of the Industry Liaison and Knowledge Transfer Office for St. Francis Xavier University since 2004.
At StFX, Andrew is responsible for all aspects of industry – academic collaboration on applied research to solve industry research needs, ranging from greenhouse gas mitigation in oil and gas projects, to extending shelf life of prepared value-added foods, to artificial intelligence software in web-based marketing.
His career was launched with a degree in geology from Dalhousie University and land use planning from the College of Geographic Sciences and spent 5 years working as a well-site geologist at various oil and gas drilling exploration sites around the world. This was followed by thirteen years with the Government of Nova Scotia, primarily as the provincial Environmental Assessment Administrator with responsibility numerous large-scale industrial developments, from quarry developments, double-lane highways, power plants, hazardous waste treatment facilities to landfills. A move back to the oil and gas industry followed with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers with work environmental and safety regulatory issues. This in turn was followed by a year as a business manager for a small environmental consulting firm.
Andrew and his wife Kim live in Antigonish where they are kept more than busy with their children Diana (21), now in 3rd year nursing at St. Francis Xavier University and John (14), rising soccer star, guitar player and typical male teenager.
By the time Dr. Abraham Gesner (1797-1864) joined Dalhousie as a professor of natural history in 1863, he’d already worked his way through several careers: physician, geologist, government representative and strong advocate for the Mi’kmaq people, museum founder and author, to name a few.
But, perhaps most importantly, Dr. Gesner had invented kerosene in 1846. In doing so, he helped spur the development of the modern petroleum industry.
Dr. Gesner’s path to creating what was to become the standard fuel for lanterns that illuminated homes in the late 1800s was as winding as some of the mineral deposits he studied throughout the Maritimes, advocating their economic potential to the British government. Although Nova Scotia-born Gesner trained at medical school in London, England, he returned home in 1825 to set up his first practice in Parrsboro. On his way to and from visiting patients, Dr. Gesner recorded geological observations — work that inspired the first of his many books.
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Gesner was recruited to do similar surveys in neighbouring New Brunswick and later P.E.I,, becoming the first government appointed geologist in a British colony. He amassed a substantial collection of specimens along the way and in 1842 opened a museum. Financial difficulties soon led creditors to take over his collections, however, and they were later donated and stored until the founders of the New Brunswick Museum acquired them in 1890. They are now considered one of the first natural history museum collections in the country.
Despite his financial woes, Dr. Gesner devoted much of his meagre income to scientific experiments involving hydrocarbons. In 1846, he developed a process to refine liquid fuel from coal, bitumen and oil shale — a discovery he named kerosene. Kerosene produced a clean, bright light and was more economical to produce than existing fuel products, such as whale oil (Some argue kerosene’s low cost was instrumental in the decline of commercial whaling- where one sperm whale provided 25-40 barrels of oil).
Eight years later, Dr. Gesner moved to New York City where he filed patents and set up the North American Kerosene Gas Light Company. Within a few years, kerosene was advertised widely and went on to become the lighting fuel of choice. The later discovery of petroleum made kerosene even easier to produce and allowed his company to meet increased demand. His patents were eventually bought by Standard Oil, the largest oil refining company in the world at the time.
With such a bounty of life experience, Dr. Gesner no doubt made a remarkable professor of natural history at Dalhousie. Sadly, he died in 1864, not long after joining the university. Although his time at Dal was short-lived, Dr. Gesner’s posthumous induction into the Order of New Brunswick in 2016 shows his impressive legacy continues to light the way to this day.
According to one seismologist, roughly 90 per cent of earthquakes that affect Canadians happen offshore and there’s a need to find out more about seismic activity from coast to coast. (Shutterstock)
Scientists from universities across the country are working to open the world’s largest offshore-earthquake research centre in Halifax within the next two years.
The new lab will take in data from more than 100 sensors placed offshore to monitor seismic activity from coast to coast.
Mladen Nedimovic, a Dalhousie University professor and seismologist, says 90 per cent of earthquakes that affect Canadians happen offshore — but right now there’s very little understanding about the seismic activity taking place along the country’s coastlines.
Dalhousie University professor and seismologist Mladen Nedimovic says Canada’s northern communities are especially vulnerable to offshore earthquakes. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
“We don’t have the scientific knowledge that’s necessary to prepare anybody,” he said.
“I think that people are generally well aware of the earthquake risks on the West Coast, but probably are less aware that really we have earthquake-related risks in the East and also in the North. And they’re significant.”
Nedimovic said Canada’s northern communities are especially defenceless right now.
“Hopefully, with these studies, we would be able to pinpoint which are the most vulnerable so that we could actually do something and maybe put in early-warning systems, which we don’t have,” he said.
“The population is relatively small in these hamlets up there, but they’re rapidly growing … there [will be] a greater need to take care of our people there.”
He said the hope is to record what’s happening offshore to better understand what’s causing these earthquakes.
The new lab will take in data from more than 100 sensors placed in a horseshoe around Canada’s coastlines to measure offshore seismic activity. (Getty Images)
For example, in the North, the cause could be tectonic plate movements, but it could also be connected to shifts with the melting ice caps, Nedimovic said.
However, he said it’s not only the causes that are important to understand, but also the frequency.
“That’s the key,” he said.
“If we can find those [recurrence] rates, then we’re collecting key scientific information to know how to respond to this hazard.”
I am very pleased to report that the Dalhousie team were excellent and finished 3rd in the World behind Memorial University and IFP from France!
The students were finalists in the Laurie Wake FIELD competition. Nearly 50 teams entered the competition several months ago, analysing a complex North Sea field dataset provided by Total (Maresk)..
Based on the results they submitted in the first round eight teams were selected to compete at the European Association of Geologists and Engineers (EAGE) Copenhagen conference with two North American teams invited to the finals, Dalhousie and Memorial University. The students presented their analysis and then were grilled in a tough question period by a panel of senior industry experts.
Please join me in congratulating these students on their fantastic accomplishment!
Team Members: Graham Kerford, Jennifer Lee, Masoud Aali. Missing: Colton Bentley
The FIELD Challenge – a Fully Integrated EvaLuation and Development” task, now also known as the “Laurie Dake” Challenge was inaugurated in 2011 and every year about half of the active EAGE student chapters in the worldwide pit their skills for a grand prize and all the recognition provided by EAGE and the data set sponsors
The Laurie Dake Challenge is created with the aim to promote cross‐disciplinary geoscience and engineering integration within universities. Each participating university will have a multi‐disciplinary team of full time geoscience and petroleum engineering students, with a maximum of one PhD student per team.
The competition stars with a first round with an assignment that is prepared by each team. Ten teams will be selected and will be required to analyze and propose a Field development plan for a discovered hydrocarbon resource. Each team is required to submit the Field plan and development in the format requested by the judges, and based on this submission, the six finalist teams are selected. All teams work with the same data set, which is provided by a different company each year.
Visiting TOTA headquarter in Copenhagen
Congratulations to Dalhousie’s Team entered into the EAGE Laurie Dake Challenge, and now proceeding to the world finals in Copenhagen.
Teams are required to analyze and propose a Field development plan for a discovered hydrocarbon resource. Each team is required to submit the Field plan and development in the format requested by the judges, and based on this submission, the six finalist teams are selected. All teams work with the same data set, which is provided by a different company each year.
The Dal Team: Graham Kerford, Masoud Aali; Jennifer Lee; Colton Bentley; Kenneth Martyns-Yellowe;
Faculty advisors Bill Richards and Grant Wach
The list of finalists:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) team 1
IFP SCHOOL
NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) team 2
University of Oslo
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Dalhousie University
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
University of Manchester
