General: Geoscience Research Developments

Chairs: Matthew Stimson, Olivia King, Eleanor Spence

New Brunswick Museum & Saint Mary's University, Carleton University, Carleton University

This is a general geoscience session for talks and posters that were not submitted for a special session. It compromises a wide range of exciting geoscience research.

Panel 1: Social and Personal challenges in Earth Sciences

Chairs: Jade Atkins, Mo Snyder, Lexie Arnott

Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Acadia University, Dalhousie University

Twenty-minute roundtable discussions centred on issues facing Earth Scientists today. Each discussion will be led by individuals with experience in social or personal challenges related to aspects of mental health, inclusion and safety in the field, and navigating career development. We will share experiences and brainstorm ideas to navigate and overcome these issues. The goal of the session is to build community around shared challenges. We invite discussion leaders with personal knowledge in Inclusion, Safety, and Social Justice who are willing to share their lived experiences.

Session 1: Appalachian Orogen: tectonic history, mineral potential, and more

Chairs: Jared Butler, Shawna White

Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada - Atlantic Region; Saint Mary's University

From the breakup of Rodinia and formation of new ocean basins, to later subduction and accretion during amalgamation of Pangea, this session will explore the complex geological evolution of the Appalachian orogen. We invite contributions focused on all aspects of the Appalachian system, including the provenance and tectonic history of its constituent terranes, the nature of associated magmatism, the distribution and origin of its numerous ore deposits, and more.

Session 2: Celebrating the more than 50 year-long career of Graham Williams: stratigraphy, paleoenvironments, and outreach

Chairs: Vânia Correia, Lynn Dafoe, Rob Fensome

Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada - Atlantic Region

This session celebrates the long career of Graham Williams and his contributions to geology, especially to Canada’s offshore Atlantic and Arctic regions, as well as to the Atlantic Geoscience Society (AGS) and to education and outreach. Through palynology, he has applied his work to biostratigraphic studies, paleoenvironmental interpretations, and to their integration more broadly with sedimentology and stratigraphy. As a founding member of AGS and past president from 1977-1978, Graham has been involved with the instigation and progress of many aspects of the Society. We invite contributions to the session that reflect Graham’s scientific and outreach interests.

Session 3: Critical Metals: Measurements, Models, and More

Chair: Michael Powell

Dalhousie University

Critical metals are mineable resources considered as vital to the transition to a decarbonized economy. Such a transition will require a massive expansion in domestic critical metal production. Recent federal, provincial, and state level research and exploration funding initiatives are aimed at advancing our understanding of the critical metal endowment of the igneous-hydrothermal systems in the Northeast, and the eventual exploitation of these resources as economic engines. This session invites all contributions that enhance our understanding of critical metal resources in Eastern Canada and the Northeast USA, from field mapping to geochemical surveys to theoretical contributions and beyond. Abstracts are welcome from all domains of economic geology and related fields. Researchers based in the Northeast who study critical metal resources but have applicable field locations elsewhere are also welcomed.

Session 4: Ongoing developments in coastal and marine geoscience in Atlantic Canada

Chairs: Celeste Cunningham, Cameron Greaves, Mitch Maracle

St. Francis Xavier University, Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada - Atlantic Region; Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables

The provincial and federal governments are actively investing in research and policy development in preparation for an offshore wind energy industry in the coming years. With this, there are many interested stakeholders seeking geological and geotechnical data that characterizes Atlantic Canada’s complex offshore region. Additionally, research on Atlantic Canada’s coastlines is needed to better understand the increasing pressures from rising sea levels, coastal erosion, severe weather events, and anthropogenic stressors. By integrating geomorphological data, sediment dynamics, and coastal processes, a holistic approach connecting the onshore and offshore is needed to monitor and manage long-term change along Atlantic Canada’s continental margin and inform science and policy on sustainable development activities. This session invites research from government, industry, and academia on all aspects of coastal to marine sedimentary processes and products, including transport and deposition, geohazards, geophysics, geochemistry, and paleontology.

Session 5: Educational Outreach

Chair: Tracy Webb

Chair of Education Committee

Over the years this special education outreach session has evolved into a mix of presentations showcasing projects, new programs for outreach, and EdGEO ideas, to lively geological discussions among the participants. With the demands on the earth’s resources, it is increasingly important to encourage and support earth science education at all levels. Please feel free to join us, and if you have a presentation you’d like to share, we’d welcome the opportunity to learn about it!

Session 6: Geoscience in the Energy Transition

Chair: Carla Skinner

Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada - Atlantic Region

Decarbonization of energy systems requires significant expertise from subsurface geoscience (geology, geophysics, and geoengineering) to responsibly source, manage, and refine operations while minimizing impacts to environment and society. A low-carbon economy will be heavily reliant on materials from Earth's subsurface to build infrastructure, technologies, and for storage. It will also require a diverse array of decarbonized energy options including geothermal and geological energy storage (e.g., hydrogen) to support grid-balancing, price stability, and energy security. Anthropogenic warming must be limited, requiring removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and injection into the subsurface for permanent storage. This session invites research on geoscience for the energy transition, especially quantitative assessments, proposed solutions and expected outcomes, and geoscience and policy in Atlantic Canada.

Session 7: Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology in a changing world

Chairs: Barret Kurylyk, Lauren Somers

Dalhousie University

Groundwater processes strongly influence surface and subsurface hydrological and biogeochemical conditions, and thus hydrogeologists increasingly interact with many other scientific disciplines. We welcome abstracts detailing desktop data analysis, field studies, or modeling investigations of groundwater flow and storage, groundwater as a drinking water resource, subsurface contamination, surface or subsurface chemical or thermal transport, coastal groundwater issues, groundwater-dependent ecosystems, or climate change impacts on hydrologic systems.

Session 8: Quaternary Geoscience: Advances in geomorphology, geochronology, glacial geology, and geohazards

Chairs: Lauren MacLellan, Maureen Matthew

Dalhousie University

From wide-spread ice sheets transforming landscapes to rapid changes in climate and sea level to megafauna extinction and human evolution, the last 2.6 million years of Earth’s history has experienced a wealth of change and excites a broad range of research. This session aims to unite geoscientists that share a common interest in the Quaternary Period, including present-day processes, and welcomes topics on natural hazards, geomorphology, geochronology, glacial geology, paleoclimatology, surficial geology, and more.

Session 9: Social media geocommunication and digital resources to promote Geosciences

Chair: Lilian Navarro

Cape Breton University

Over the past few years, numerous digital tools and resources (including social media sites and platforms, webinars, podcasts, vlogs, apps, blogs, and websites) have been utilized to reach large audiences, distribute valuable content, bring awareness, and increase literacy on diverse topics of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Thus, social media geocommunication is increasingly thriving across various platforms and has a pivotal role to engage the public and to foster peer networking and collaboration. This session aims to delve into how social media is actively being used for geoscience communication and education, and also ascertain what opportunities and challenges geoscientists are facing on showcasing the critical importance of Geosciences to society. Academics, students, researchers, industry professionals, and others are welcome in this session to share their experiences, measurements, projects, and/or strategies related to content creation and publishing, and community building, while embracing social media platforms and digital resources to further expand and promote their knowledge and understanding of the Earth system.

Session 10: The Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone: a multiphase structure with critical mineral potential

Chairs: Dana Šilerová, Ryan Pippy

Saint Mary’s University

The Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone is a major crustal structure separating Avalonia and Meguma terranes in the Canadian Appalachians. The long-lived structural corridor preserves a complex history of overprinting deformation, magmatism, alteration, and metallogeny. The goal of this session is to provide a forum for discussing ongoing and future research on the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault Zone and to showcase its potential for critical and base metals. We welcome contributions related to all aspects of the structure, including (but not limited to) structural displacement, relative timing and geochronology, local geology, alteration, mineralization and geo-heritage.