Schedule

Breakfast is included in your registration.

Deglacial Ice Sheet Dynamics Associated with Abrupt Climatic Change Accurate reconstructions of the timing, rate, and dynamics of past ice sheet evolution are critical for predicting their response to ongoing and future climatic changes. Within Canada, the deglacial timing of the last North American Ice Sheet complex influenced the evolution of some of the world's largest glacial lakes and controlled the timing of early flora and faunal migration into the Americas. Drawing on a multi-method approach that combines high-resolution geomorphological mapping using newly available LiDAR, radiocarbon and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide geochronology techniques and numerical modelling methods, this talk will discuss the rapid deglacial evolution of western Canada. Examples that draw on recently published work, as well as several preliminary datasets, will be used to highlight the sensitivity of these past ice sheets to abrupt climate change at the transition from the last glacial to interglacial.

Coffee is included in your registration.

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

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.

Lunch is included in your registration.

Michelle Hanson, geologist and editor for the Saskatchewan Geological Survey will teach a practical workshop on key aspects of scientific writing. This is a great workshop if you are writing your thesis, articles or any communication.

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.

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.

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.

Coffee is included in your registration. A cash bar will be set up.

1st bus to Local Market YQR departs.

2nd bus to Local Market YQR departs.

An informal dinner with local Saskatchewan fare and beer, plus awards. 6:30-8:00 p.m. Eat and try out local SK beer. 8:00-9:00 p.m. Awards. 9:00-10.00 p.m. Socialize and try out local SK beer.

Bus departs from Local Market YQR to the University of Regina. Bus may come back if necessary.