1. The Growth and Demise of the Keewatin Dome: New Insights From and Beyond an Inner Core Region of the LIS
Session Conveners: Michelle Gauthier (Michelle.Gauthier@gov.mb.ca, Manitoba Geological Survey), Pierre-Marc Godbout (pierre-marc.godbout@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca, Geological Survey of Canada), Tyler Hodder (Tyler.Hodder@gov.mb.ca, Manitoba Geological Survey) and Isabelle McMartin (isabelle.mcmartin@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca, Geological Survey of Canada)
The Keewatin Dome was a major ice-dispersal centre of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during the last glacial cycle(s) in north-central Canada. Its sheer size and foremost effects on glacio-isostatic adjustments and sea levels are important incentives to provide accurate paleo-ice sheet reconstructions. From the early field observations of Tyrrell suggesting a "Keewatin Glacier" to the remote mapping of glacial landform assemblages, subglacial meltwater routes and glacial lake/marine shorelines, the history of this inner core region of the LIS continues to generate important discussions amongst field geologists, glacial geomorphologists and ice-sheet modellers. Recently, modern techniques and approaches for dating glaciated terrains, and for exploring compositional datasets, combined with new high-resolution digital elevation models (i.e., ArcticDEM, LIDAR), have provided new constraints for interpreting glacial landscapes. Important new parameters are available for identifying basal ice thermal regimes, refining the glacial history, and modelling the paleotopography of the LIS over time. Here we seek to bring together contributions from regions influenced by the Keewatin Dome or from other core regions of the LIS with similar or contrasting glacial dynamics, hoping this venue will stimulate new ideas for future Quaternary research in northern Canada.
2. Holocene Paleoclimates and Paleohydrology
Session Conveners: David Sauchyn (David.Sauchyn@uregina.ca, University of Regina) and Samantha Kerr (s.kerr@saskwatersheds.ca, Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds)
Reconstructions of Holocene hydroclimate have been applied to an expanding range of scientific and practical problems as the temporal resolution and spatial density of proxy records have improved. This special session will highlight advances in methodology and applications in the fields of paleoclimatology and paleohydrology, and aims to facilitate information and knowledge sharing. We welcome contributions on topics such as:
· Advances in paleoclimatic and paleohydrology research
· New methods and tools of data collection and analysis
· Paleo perspectives on drought and excess surface water
· Using reconstructions of regional hydroclimate to constrain model simulations of future climate and hydrology
· Multi-proxy and high-resolution paleo research
· Informing water resource management and climate change adaptation planning
3. Cold Cores, Cordilleran Coalescences, and Coastal Collapse: a Cacophony of Canadian Quaternary Research!
Session Conveners: Jessey Rice (jessey.rice@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa), Riley Mulligan (Riley.Mulligan@ontario.ca, Ontario Geological Survey, Sudbury), Grant Hagedorn (Grant.Hagedorn@ontario.ca, Ontario Geological Survey, Sudbury) and April S. Dalton (aprils.dalton@gmail.com, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s)
The repeated advance and retreat of ice sheets during the Quaternary has created diverse glacial land systems that characterize much of the Canadian landscape. Understanding the physical characteristics of these landsystems and the chemical properties of their sediments is critical for responsible resource development and land use planning while improving knowledge of landsystem origin and broader ice sheet evolution during periods of climate change. The study of glacial landsystems has undergone several improvements in recent years. For example, the acquisition of high-resolution and regional-scale remote sensing data, combined with continued field-based studies in critical regions, has revealed more complex subglacial thermal organization of past ice sheets than previously recognized.
In this session, we bring together studies from the eastern Laurentide, Cordilleran, and Innuitian ice sheets. This session aims to highlight the diverse and evolving glacier dynamics that affect the timing and patterns of landform development and regional sediment depositional systems of ice sheets. We invite contributions ranging from regional data compilations and sediment sampling programs to detailed site-scale investigations and/or reviews of complex issues facing Quaternary research from the inner regions of the ice sheets to their margins.
4. Pushing the Limits of Quaternary Geochronology: Techniques and Applications Understanding
Session Conveners: Matthew Bolton (bolton1@ualberta.ca, University of Alberta), Serhiy Buryak (buryak@ualberta.ca, U of A), Sophie Norris (sophienorris@uvic.ca, University of Victoria), Alberto Reyes (areyes@ualberta.ca, University of Alberta), Olav Lian (olav.lian@ufv.ca, University of the Fraser Valley) and Britta Jensen (bjjensen@ualberta.ca, University of Alberta)
Understanding the timing and sequence of events is critical to Quaternary studies. Precise and accurate dating methods are essential for resolving the temporal context of events, whether they extend over long or short timespans. By developing chronologic frameworks, we add a new dimension to Quaternary research, permitting a better understanding of rates of change, frequency of events, and more. This session invites contributions on novel methods and models for constructing Quaternary chronologies. While this session is intended to include a broad cross-section of Quaternary chronological research, we particularly welcome submissions on:
• Innovations in absolute, relative, or correlational dating techniques,
• Statistical modelling of chronological data (e.g., Bayesian methods),
• New ways to interpret chronological data, including multi-chronometer methods,
• Innovative analytical techniques,
• And broader applications of age data, including the relationships between dates.
5. Glacier Paleohydrology: Insights into Paleo-Glacial Dynamics from Landforms and Deposits
Session Conveners: Alexander D. Sodeman (alex_sodeman@sfu.ca, Simon Fraser University) and Tracy A. Brennand (tabrenna@sfu.ca, Simon Fraser University)
As modern ice sheets and glaciers continue to respond to global climate change, contributing more than any other source to average mean sea level rise and causing destructive and life-threatening glacial lake outburst floods in mountainous regions, the importance of understanding glacial hydrology and how it evolves is needed to navigate these growing hazards. Paleo ice sheets left behind copious amounts of evidence of the impact of meltwater on previously glaciated landscapes in the form of a wide variety of landforms and deposits, which give insights into glacial hydrology that is currently inaccessible in modern ice sheets. These include but are not limited to: outwash plains, ice contact fans, proglacial lakes, eskers, kames and kettles, tunnel channels, meltwater corridors, murtoos, and glacial curvilineations (arguably). Studying these landforms and deposits can give valuable insight into how paleo ice sheets underwent deglaciation, and how modern ice sheets may operate in the future. We encourage contributions on any aspect of glacier paleohydrology including field-based data collection, morphology and remote mapping, and/or modelling to advance understanding of the formation of meltwater landforms and deposits and their implications for glacial dynamics.
6. Digital Quaternary: Enhancing Geomorphic Research with Big Earth Data and Techniques
Session Conveners: Meaghan Dinney (meaghan_dinney@sfu.ca, Simon Fraser University) and Dr. Tracy Brennand (tabrenna@sfu.ca. Simon Fraser University)
The current revolution in Earth observation (EO) data sources, including SAR, optical, and LiDAR data from terrestrial, aerial, and spaceborne sensors, allows for the detailed analysis of the land surface at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. With this comes major advances in processing and feature extraction techniques, utilizing innovative methods including big data and artificial intelligence for more efficient landscape analyses. In addition, the fusion of multi-scale EO products with field-based data can result in more precise estimates of landscape processes. The breadth of available products and techniques has seemingly unlimited applications, but challenges exist in the selection and optimization of data for specific disciplines.
This session welcomes contributions from researchers using big Earth data and techniques to solve geomorphic problems. Examples include (but are not limited to) automated feature extraction, remote predictive mapping, and morphometric analysis of landforms. Our goal for this session is to highlight projects that use innovative, data-driven methods for geomorphic analysis, and to understand the potential limitations of such approaches.
7. Soils as Records of Geomorphic Change and Processes
Session Conveners: Ulrike Hardenbicker (Ulrike.Hardenbicker@uregina.ca, Department of Geography, University of Regina) and Jan Franssen (janf@geomorphix.com, GEO Morphix Ltd.)
Soils are useful tools and archives for reconstructing geomorphic dynamics and for retracing geomorphological processes.
The use of soil and palaeosols as records of present and former environments, both on local and regional scale, linking pedogenesis and sedimentary processes is well established.
The results can also be used to predict future soil and sediment changes based on observed past responses to environmental changes.
This session welcomes research contributions using soils as records of present and former environments and geomorphogical processes, and contributions from all areas of geomorphology monitoring and modelling of all types of soil and sediment transport.
8. Quaternary Palaeontology and Palaeoecology
Session Convener: Christina Barron-Ortiz (Christina.Barron-Ortiz@gov.ab.ca, Royal Alberta Museum)
The Quaternary fossil record of northern North America, particularly Canada, is complex. Recent advances in analytical methodologies, and analyses of new and previously collected fossil finds, are allowing us to elucidate new patterns in the spatial and temporal distribution of organisms, their ecological interactions, and the environments in which they lived.
This session aims to bring together scientist working on different aspects of Quaternary palaeontology and palaeoecology. We welcome contributions on a variety of topics, including morphological studies of Quaternary fossils, studies of ancient DNA (including environmental DNA), and studies of isotope geochemistry of Pleistocene and Holocene fossils.
9. Glacial Geomorphology of the Canadian Interior Plains: Implications for Soft-Bedded Glaciated Terrains
Session Conveners: David J. A. Evans (Durham University, UK), Nigel Atkinson (Alberta Geological Survey), Emrys Phillips (British Geological Survey, UK) and Sophie Norris (University of Victoria)
The soft bedrock of the Canadian Interior Plains has been influential in the dynamics of the former Laurentide Ice Sheet, creating the conditions suitable for fast glacier flow (ice streaming) and regional surging in particular. This has resulted in the production of a wide range of glacial landforms of significant size and extent and which have figured as textbook examples since the early 20th century. Regional patterns of various landform assemblages have been employed in palaeoglaciological reconstructions of the western sector of the last Laurentide Ice Sheet, leading to the recognition of complex, cross-cutting ice stream footprints, shifting proglacial lake extents and spillway incisions, inset sequences of genetically variable moraine belts, and spatio-temporal changes in ice dynamics and thermal regimes. This special session will showcase the range of recent research related to these various aspects of ice sheet interactions with soft bedrock terrain, from southern Alberta to Banks Island. The implications of this research for applied geology will also be discussed. The following sub-themes are envisaged:
· Ice sheet subglacial bedform genesis and palaeo-ice stream reconstructions
· Moraine belt genesis and implications for spatio-temporal thermal regime changes
· Landforms of proglacial lakes
· Regional till stratigraphies and architecture
· Glacitectonic features and their palaeoglaciological and applied geology implications
10. Aerial Photographs to LiDAR: Discussions on Quaternary Mapping Methodologies
Session Conveners: Jennifer Organ (jenniferorgan@gov.nl.ca, Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador) and Andrea Marich (Andrea.Marich@ontario.ca, Ontario Geological Survey)
Many developments over the past decade have led to the shift from using paper air photos, stereoscopy and topographic maps to high-resolution aerial imagery and digital elevation models when producing Quaternary geological maps. The aim of this session is to encourage discussions around methods, software, types of data being used to create maps, and how final maps are presented (e.g. paper, digital GIS files, or as online interactive maps). Discussions will focus on the entire mapping process from field data collection to production of the final maps. Additional components of this session will be around best practices, tips and tricks, digital data types, how data is utilized, and its limitations.
11. Towards Improving the Understanding of Natural Hazards and Risk
Session Conveners: Greg Brooks (greg.brooks@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca, Geological Survey of Canada), Joe Young (jmyoung1@ualberta.ca, University of Alberta), Andree Blais-Stevens (andree.blais-stevens@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca, Geological Survey of Canada) and Marc-Andre Brideau (MBrideau@bgcengineering.ca, BGC Engineering)
The late Quaternary has been marked by a myriad of natural hazards that have shaped landscapes and ecosystems, and affected human societies. This session aims to showcase interdisciplinary geological and geomorphological research that explores the spectrum of natural hazards, including landslides, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, permafrost degradation, and wildfires. Many of these are increasing in magnitude and frequency with anthropogenic climate change and there is an increasing trend of cascading effects during major hazardous events. This session welcomes oral and poster presentations on natural hazard research, societal consequences, and risk reduction.
12. Melting, Burning, Flooding, or All-Out Destruction: Addressing the Effects of Climate and Industrial Pressures on the Archaeological Record
Session Conveners: Robin Woywitka (WoywitkaR@macewan.ca, MacEwan University) and Kirsta Gilliland (kgilliland@westernheritage.ca, Western Heritage Inc.)
The Canadian Archaeological Association’s Statement on Climate Change and Archaeology recognizes the impact of climate change as one of the defining challenges of Canadian archaeology. Although the most well-publicized losses occur in coastal zones and ice patches, climate damage has now reached interior settings in the form of increased flood erosion, wildfire intensity, and permafrost thaw. These threats are layered onto ever-present industrial expansion impacts, and Indigenous communities, researchers, and governments across the country are struggling to keep pace. We invite contributions that address methodological approaches to impact mitigation, provide thoughtful discussion of regional assessments of climate or industrial risks to archaeological sites and landscapes, and/or present relevant case studies for consideration.
13. Fluvial Geomorphology
Session Conveners: Jan Franssen (janf@geomorphix.com, GEO Morphix Ltd.) and Paul Villard (paulv@geomorphix.com, GEO Morphix Ltd.)
Decades of innovative research by Canadian researchers and research groups have illuminated the pivotal role of fluvial geomorphology in shaping landscapes, creating habitat structures, and determining the ecological health of riverine ecosystems. Ongoing research into sediment transport processes and channel morphodynamics offer important new insights into how fluvial process shape river channels, how human activities and climate change alter fluvial habitats, and the strategies necessary for effective river management and restoration. For this session we invite you to share research that advances our understanding of river channel hydraulics; and the mechanisms governing sediment transport dynamics and river channel evolution. We encourage investigations that specifically delve into the role of woody debris and/or ice in shaping natural channels, as well as investigations that examine the interconnections and potential feedbacks between sediment transport, channel morphology, and biological processes in river ecosystems. Furthermore, we seek studies that explore the interconnections between landscape change, climate change and fluvial geomorphology, including how shifts in precipitation patterns, temperature regimes, and extreme weather can influence riverine environments. In particular, we welcome studies that explore innovative methodologies, utilize cutting-edge technologies, numerical models, and/or which incorporate interdisciplinary approaches to gain new insights into the processes that shape river channels.
14. Applied Geomorphology
Session Conveners: Paul Villard (paulv@geomorphix.com, GEO Morphix Ltd., ) and Jan Franssen (janf@geomorphix.com, GEO Morphix Ltd.)
This session showcases the practical applications of geomorphological principles to address real-world challenges. Applied geomorphology uses geomorphic knowledge to address problems related to natural hazards, land-use planning, and environmental management. We invite contributions that: (i) highlight successful applications of knowledge derived from geomorphological research to address specific environmental challenges in areas related to land-use planning, hazard assessment, and infrastructure development; (ii) present case studies illustrating the integration of geomorphic principles into the conservation, management, and restoration of environmental systems; (iii) explore innovative methodologies and technologies employed in the application of geomorphology ; and (iv) investigate the role of geomorphology in assessing and managing anthropogenic impacts on landscapes from urbanization, forestry, mining, and agricultural activities. We are particularly interested in contributions that discuss approaches that bridge the gap between the research and applied fields and which provide practical guidance for addressing contemporary environmental and social challenges using geomorphic knowledge. This session aims to bring together and foster a dialog between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in applied geomorphology.
