Welcome
The Earth and Environmental Science Department offers three programs leading to degrees in Environmental Science, Geology and Environmental Geoscience at the B.Sc. level, and Geology and Applied Geomatics at the M.Sc. level. We are strongly committed to field and laboratory studies and our classes and field schools take advantage of the stunning natural setting of Nova Scotia. Small personalized classes, engaged faculty, and world class research facilities are hallmarks of our programs. Our graduates are exceptionally well positioned to take advantage of the ever increasing demand for scientists trained in Earth and Environmental disciplines.
DEPARTMENTAL NEWS
40 Graduates in Earth and Environmental Science at May Graduation
In what is likely the largest graduating class in the department's history, a total of 35 BSc degrees and 5 MSc degrees were recognised at the May convocation at Acadia. Pictured below are some of the happy faces at the graduation breakfast on 14 May.
[Back row, L-R: Vincent Murphy, Andrew Nette, Nabil Shawwa, Stu Clow, Shaun Todd; front row: Dewey Dunnington, AllisonHealey, Kerri Armstrong, Randal Evans, Sara Akin, Kaycee Morrison, Sarah Sweet]
Particular honour went to Amanda Isnor, winner of the University Medal in Environmental Geoscience; Kaycee Morrison, winner of the University Medal in Environmental Science; Mariella Nalepa, winner of the University Medal in Geology and the Mining Society of Nova Scotia Centennial Medal; and Sara Akin, winner of the Governor General's Gold Medal for excellence in graduate studies.
15 May 2012
Linda Lusby Award to Randal Evans
The inaugural Linda Lusby Award to "a graduating student whose support for the Environmental Science Program merits praise" was awarded to Randal Evans at the year-end Earth & Environmental Science banquet in April. Randal is a native of the Ottawa Valley, and has been active in the Environmental Science throughout her stay at Acadia, and president of the Environmental Science Student Organization in her final year.
Picture above are Linda Lusby and Randal Evans at the graduation breakfast in the KC Irving Centre.
15 May 2012
Governor General's Gold Medal to Sara Akin, MSc
Congratulations to Sara Akin, winner of the Governor
General's Gold Medal for 2012. The medal is awarded at the Spring
Convocation to the top student from any graduate program in the
university. Sara was supervised by Dr. Peir Pufahl and completed a thesis
on the "Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the
Paleoproterozoic Frere Formation, Western Australia: Implications for the
Evolution of the Precambrian Ocean." By logging core and mapping
outcrops, she demonstrated that the iron formation deposit in
Australia records variation in oceanic oxygen levels, and produced a model that
shows sulphidic conditions in the Precambrian ocean were not as widespread as
previously thought. After graduation, Sara is heading to
Houston, where she will be working in the oil and gas business.
30 April 2012
Donnelly Archibald wins the 2012 Gelinas Award
Donnelly Archibald is
the winner of the 2012 Gelinas Award of the Volcanology
and Igneous Petrology Division of the Geological Association of Canada for the
best MSc thesis in the field of volcanology and igneous petrology. The medal
will be presented at the business meeting of the division during GAC/MAC Annual
General Meeting in St. John’s in May. Donnelly's MSc thesis was co-supervised
by Drs. Sandra Barr (Acadia) and Brendan Murphy (St. FX) and entitled
"Field relations, petrology, and tectonic setting of the Ordovician West
Barneys River plutonic suite, southern Antigonish Highlands, Nova Scotia".
20 April 2012
Acadia Students Participate in the APGNS Ring Ceremony
Eight students from the graduating class in Geology
participated in the annual ring ceremony for the Association of
Professional Geoscientists of Nova Scotia. In doing so, they take their
second step (we hope their years at Acadia were the first step!) in the
journey to become a Professional Geoscientist. Pictured above are Jason Willson, Shaun Todd, Justin Drummond, Vincent Murphy, Amanda Isnor, Kacper Halama, Paul Kobler, and Andrew Nette, along with students from other universities in Nova Scotia. The event was held at Dalhousie University on 5 April 2012.
[Click on image for larger picture]
11 April 2012
ASU (Acadia Students’ Union) Leadership Awards
Kelli Armstrong, 4th year Environmental Science student, was
awarded the ASU Leadership Award (2011-2012) for her contributions to the
diverse needs of the student body while serving on Student Representative
Council this year as its first Equity Officer. Kelli sits on a number of
committees, not only within the ASU, but in the Acadia community in general.
She has been most involved with the ASU Wellness Committee, the WGS (Women
& Gender Studies) Program Committee and the Review Committee for Acadia’s
Policy against Harassment & Discrimination; the latter of which, she is the
only student representative.
Sarah Sweet, also a 4th year Environmental Science
student, received the Senior of the Year Award (awarded to a student who excels
in leadership in their fourth year of studies at Acadia) for her work for the
Student Representative Council, Acadia Senate, Senate Committees, Organization
of the Sprout a 7 Campaign, and for the combined initiative (Sarah and William
Roberts) to bring new water fountains to campus.
Patrick Englehardt, Environmental Geoscience major,
received The Ruth Petrykanyn Memorial Award. It is presented annually to a
student entering the final year of undergraduate studies, who has made
significant contributions to the enhancement of student life at Acadia
University. This award is in memory of Ruth Petrykanyn.
Dr. Ian Spooner received the ASU Leadership in Teaching
Award.
Congratulations to all!
Kelli Armstrong, Ian Spooner, Patrick Englehardt, and Sarah Sweet.
Environmental Science Alumnus nominated for BC Premier's Award
Tony Pesklevits, alumnus of 2002, now works for the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation in British Columbia, and recently was nominated for a Premier's Award for the work he does with the aboriginal communities in northern BC, focussing on negotiations for land, mining and resource issues development. A short video of his nomination is posted on Youtube: Tony Pesklevits: A Well-liked Guy and Go-To Problem-Solver.
27 March 2012
Named Chairs Awarded to Sandra Barr and Rob Raeside
The two named chairs in Geology were awarded at a ceremony in the KC Irving Environmental Science Centre on Tuesday, 13 March. The J. Austin Bancroft Chair was awarded to Sandra Barr in recognition of her extensive research, teaching and service record in the department since 1976. Previously held by Reg Moore, the chair was endowed in 1963 in memory of Austin Bancroft, graduate of 1903, and professor in the early 20th century. The Edwin David King Chair was awarded to Rob Raeside, in recognition of his activities since 1982. The chair was endowed in 1930, in recognition of Edwin King, graduate of 1863, prominent lawyer in Halifax, and member of the Acadia Board of Governors for 46 years.
Sandra Barr and Rob Raeside receive the Bancroft and King chairs.
13 March 2012
Science Atlantic (Environment) conference at Mt Allison University
Four Acadia students recently attended Science Atlantic, a conference hosted this year by Mount Allison University, in Sackville New Brunswick. The conference highlighted current graduate and undergraduate work in the disciplines of Biology, Aquaculture and Fisheries, and the Environment. From the Environmental Science program, Emily Walker gave an impressive presentation on her honours research, which focuses on the symbiotic relationship between white spruce and fungal endophytes. Kaycee Morrisson, also an environmental science undergraduate honours researcher, presented her work on the benthic habitat of the FORCE tidal energy area of the Minas Passage. Kaycee was awarded 2nd place in the oral presentation undergraduate category.
The three day conference included many other presentations from students across the Maritime region. Presented research focused on a multitude of environmental topics ranging from dendrochronology as a teaching tool, to the power held by NGOs and their role in climate change negotiations, to new wastewater treatment techniques. The conference hosted two keynote speakers; Dr. Ian Mauro, Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Environmental Change, speaking of how the Inuit perceive and are affected by climate change from their point of view, and Dr. Paul Snelgrove, Canada Research Chair in Boreal and Cold Ocean Systems, who is intimately involved with the Census for Marine Life and an advocate for protecting the biodiversity of our oceans.
Adam Godfrey and Monica Reed, both environmental science students with plans of pursuing honours, also attended the conference. The two enjoyed the experience, gained a lot of insight, and would encourage other students wishing to pursue honours to attend a conference as an observer. We (Monica, Emily, Kaycee and Adam) would like to thank Dr. Nelson O'Driscoll for taking us to the conference!
Nelson O'Driscoll, Adam Godfrey, Emily Walker, Kaycee Morrison and Monica Reed at the conference
9 March 2012
Shaun Todd on Trinidad field course
Fourth year student Shaun Todd participated with invited
representatives from Acadia, St. FX, St. Mary's and Dalhousie in
Dalhousie's Petroleum Geoscience Fields Methods Course in Trinidad. Led by Dr. Grant Wach, students
ventured across the island from February 18-25th, following "the sand grain to the sea", seeing excellent examples of distal to near-shore
environments. Students then turned the knowledge gained from the
outcrop, to core logging, sequence stratigraphy and reservoir characterization
exercises. This course is a great experience and introduction to the oil and
gas industry. Many thanks go to Grant Wach and Hasley Vincent for organizing a
fantastic trip and making sure no students were lost and preserved in Pitch
Lake.
Shaun, safely distant from the Pitch Lake.
4 March 2012
Paper on "Oxygenation of the Earth's Atmosphere-Ocean System" released
Peir Pufahl and Eric Hiatt's paper on the oxygenation of the early
Earth is currently one of the most downloaded papers in Marine and Petroleum
Geology and one of the most accessed articles through SciVerse's Science
Direct. This invited review paper evaluates the Great Oxidation Event, the most
significant change in atmosphere-ocean chemistry in Earth history. This
rise in oxygen occurred between 2.4 and 2.3 billion years ago and set the stage
for the evolution of multicelluar life. A balanced, multi-disciplinary
approach is advocated for understanding the Great Oxidation Event so that we can begin to
fine-tune what is known about this important event. The paper will be
available in hardcopy in the April volume of Marine and Petroleum Geology.
1 March 2012
Atlantic Geoscience Society Colloquium, 2012
The
Department of Earth and Environmental Science was well represented at the 38th Colloquium and Annual General Meeting of the Atlantic Geoscience Society, held
on Feb. 3rd and 4th at the Delta Beauséjour in Moncton,
New Brunswick. A total of 24
undergraduate and graduate students and 4 professors attended the conference,
which included both oral presentations and posters on Friday evening and all
day on Saturday. Also as part of the
meeting on Friday, 12 of the Acadia students went on the tour of an underground
potash mine in Sussex, New Brunswick, as guests of PotashCorp. Some students were excited to have been given an opportunity to try their hands at operating some of the heavy equipment in
the mine!
Eight Acadia students presented results of their thesis work in poster presentations, and BSc Honours student Amy MacFadzen won honourable mention as runner-up for the Graham Williams best poster award for her poster entitled “Petrology of the Indian Lake and Leadbetter Road plutons, Antigonish Highlands, Nova Scotia”. Ronald Massawe gave an oral presentation on his MSc thesis work, co-authored with his supervisor Dr. Cliff Stanley and entitled “Lithogeochemistry of host rocks to the Bisha Cu-Zn-Au volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposit, Eritrea”. Dr. Stanley also gave a presentation co-authored by former MSc student Biniam Bisrat, and John Murimboh on “Partial digestion geochemistry of Nova Scotia soil samples: monitoring digestion conditions to understand how samples leach”. Sandra Barr received an informal “award” for being a co-author on the most presentations (2 oral and 5 posters) while managing to avoid being the lead presenter on any of them.
Amy MacFadzen presents her poster
In addition to the conference presentations, Acadia faculty participated in a number of business meetings, including Atlantic Geology Editors, Atlantic Geoscience Society council, Atlantic Geoscience Society business meeting, and Science Atlantic Earth Science Committee, and Dr. Ian Spooner served as coordinator for the projection equipment for the oral presentations.
In
addition to the formal proceedings, the conference provided an opportunity to
liaise with faculty from other universities and industry representatives about
on-going research projects and collaborations. Acadia students seemed impressed
by the range of earth science topics covered in the conference presentations
and a number of continuing students are looking forward to their turns to present
next February, when the conference will be held in Dartmouth, NS!
13 February 2012
Students visit Paleontology lab
A short article in the Halifax News relates the fun two school students had when they visited Peir Pufahl's lab last Christmas. "[Dr.]Pufahl
gave us a private tour of the laboratories and his own classroom
showing us fascinating specimens of animals, minerals and fossils. We
looked through microscopes at incredibly thin slices of igneous and
sedimentary rocks which were surprisingly beautiful in polarized light.
The latter teemed with signs of ancient life in the form of minuscule
clams and brachiopods." See the full story at http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca
20 January 2012
New book by Nelson O'Driscoll
Congratulations to Nelson and co-editors Guangliang Liu and Yong Cai on the release of their text "Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Mercury", published by Wiley. The book explains the environmental behaviour and toxicological effects of mercury on humans and other organisms, and provides a baseline for what is known and what uncertainties remain in respect to mercury cycling. The chapters focus on the fundamental science underlying the environmental chemistry and fate of mercury. Comprised of four parts that present an overview of mercury in the environment, mercury transformations, transport, and bioaccumulation and toxicology, each chapter of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Mercury includes the basic concepts of the targeted subject, a critical review of that subject, and the future research needs. This work will be invaluable to a wide range of policy experts, environ-mental scientists, and other people requiring a comprehensive source for the state of the science in this field.
ISBN: 978-0-470-57872-8 - available from Wiley also as an ebook
8 January 2012
Fletcher Club visits Pioneer Club
On 10 November, members of the Fletcher Geology Club participated in the Kentville Salvation Army Pioneer Club activities, taking their expertise to identify rocks collected by the Pioneers, and showing them some of their own collections. Here Amy, Kacper, Kevin and Raya wield the tools of the trade, while the Pioneers display meteorites and fossils.
16 September 2011
E&ES Students Lead Charge in Loney Bowl
Congratulations to Kyle Graves,
Stu Clow, Kirby Fletcher, Nabil Shawwa and the rest of the Acadia Axemen
football team, the 2011 Subway Loney Bowl champions! Kyle, the AUS player of the year, rushed for
3 touchdowns and was 12-of-16 passing for 170 yards in the Axemen’s decisive 39
to 20 win against the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
Stu led the air by catching 4 passes for 96 yards. Way to go guys! We’re proud of you and all of our varsity
athletes.
14 November 2011
ESSO Morton Centre Trip
This past weekend ESSO (Environmental Science Student's Organization) visited the Morton Centre, the department field research station, located near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The trip was a success, introducing new students and reacquainting old ones with the property and the vision of the Morton Centre and in the spirit of Halloween a pumpkin was carved too!
Standing with the pumpkin: Nicole, Dewey, Erin, Randal and Drake
31 October 2011
Seasonal sights in Huggins halls
Encountered late on Friday afternoon on the third floor were Jack and Sally, preparing for a night haunting town. Rumour has it that Drake and Amy were involved in this charade.
28 October 2011
Congratulations to Dewey and Mariella - double winners at the AUGC
Ten senior students attended the 61st Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference, held 20-22 October 2011 in Memorial University, St. John's, NL. After a Meet & Greet session and the CSEG Challenge Bowl on Thursday night (and no doubt a first visit to George St.), the conference participants took part in field trips to various parts of the Avalon Peninsula, including Signal Hill, Bell Island, Flat Rock and (via the core lab) the Jeanne d'Arc Basin. Saturday was the conference proper, with 17 papers and 4 posters presented. Winner of the Poster Award was Mariella Nalepa, an honours student in Geology at Acadia, for a poster on "Investigation of the form and age of the Bloody Creek Crater, southwestern Nova Scotia", and winner of the APICS (Science Atlantic)-NSERC Award was Dewey Dunnington, honours in Environmental Science, for his paper on "Tracking Late Holocene Environmental Change at Long Lake, New Brunswick-Nova Scotia Border Region, Canada".
Acadia students at the AUGC: Kacper, Amy, Allie, Dewey, Christianne, Mariella, Drew, Vince, Raoul and Andrew.
[Click on photo for larger image.]
25 October 2011
Visiting student, Aranzazu Bulnes
Aranzazu Bulnes Beniscelli,
a graduate student at the Universidad de Chile, Santiago is visiting the
department for the month of October to learn about and undertake the
lithogeochemical aspects of her M.Sc. thesis. Aranzazu is co-supervised by Dr.
Cliff Stanley (Acadia) and Dr. Brian Townley (Universidad de Chile), and is
studying the geochemistry, mineralogy, fluids, timing, and genesis of early,
dark, micaceous (EDM) veins within the Radomir Tomic porphyry copper mine. Her
study area located just north of the famous Chuquicamata copper mine in the
Atacama desert, Chile, and is supported by Corporacion
Nacional del Cobre (CODELCO). Join us in saying 'Hola' to Aranzazu!
12 October 2011
Acadia students attend 2011 IMPACT
Monica Reed and Kelli Armstrong, two students in Environmental Science, recently attended the 2011 IMPACT sustainability conference in Guelph, Ontario. Monica writes:
"The 2011 IMPACT Sustainability Conference was an
incredible weekend full of learning, engaging, and connecting. It was an
educational and empowering event that I will draw inspiration from throughout
the course of my life. The conference metamorphosed my views on sustainability,
shedding light which has allowed me to see the feasibility of sustainable
societies. I learned about business, and social sustainability, areas I have
not focused on much previously. I was also able to share my knowledge
pertaining to environmental sustainability, as well as enhance it. The
speakers, academics, and industry professionals contributed hugely to the
success of the conference. I would have to say that the most inspiring aspect
of the conference was connecting with the other 164 attendees. Gathered
together was a group of young people from across Canada who all share my
passion for the natural environment and sustainability within our society.
Seeing others who are so devoted and successful, each in their own right, was
truly lifting. We now have a cross country network of peers which we can all
look to for advice, ideas, and inspiration."
Read Kelli's news release and her comments about IMPACT 2011.
1 October 2011
Paul Hoffman, Huggins Science Speaker 2011
The Department was honoured to host Dr. Paul Hoffman as the 2011 Huggins Science Speaker. Dr. Hoffman has worked at the Geological Survey of Canada, the University of Victoria, and Harvard University, and now lives in Victoria. His expertise ranges from extensive mapping of the Canadian Shield, to international field work where he has unravelled the story of the Precambrian Snowball Earth, to most recently investigations into the history of Geology, surrounding the discovery of Ice Ages. He presented a riveting lecture on the Snowball Earth to an audience of about 150 in Huggins Science Hall on 26 September, and thoroughly researched lecture on the 19th century Diluvian Controversy to the department on 27 September. Made possible by the estate of Charles Huggins, graduate of Acadia, and eminent medical researcher, and recipient of a Nobel Prize, the Huggins Science Seminar is offered each year and rotates around disciplines in the faculty.
28 September 2011
Fletcher Club crosses the Minas Channel
On 16-18 September, the Fletcher Club, led by Kacper Halama and Rob Raeside, ably assisted by Andrew Fage and Christiane Theriault visited the breath-taking shores of the Parrsboro side of the Minas Channel, and the Joggins outcrops at Chignecto Bay. In spectacular warm and sunny weather we enjoyed the beaches and sea-stacks at Wassons Bluff and Clark Head, not to mention the breccias, conglomerates, gypsum veins, gneiss and basalt, before visiting the magnificent outcrops of mud-cracked and ripple-marked sandstone at West Bay:
Fletcher Club group photo under the ripple marks at West Bay (click to see the ripple marks)
Most of the group joined Christianne and Dewey who performed at the River Hebert community singalong on Saturday night, before retiring to prepare for an early tide-sensitive start at Cape d'Or, which was serene in the early morning sunlight with a calm-as-a-millpond ocean. The remainder of the trip took us to Joggins, where we got the full two-hour tour by Christiane from the clam coal south of the visitor centre to the Lepidodendron log jam to the north, followed by a tour of the museum as well as behind the scenes. It was a perfect weekend for a visit to some world-famous localities. Watch the video by Drake Tymstra on this field trip.
19 September 2011
Fletcher Club hike to Cape Split
Students in Earth and Environmental Science participated in a hike to Cape Split. In brilliant clear weather they enjoyed the trail, with spectacular views at the point. Here the assembled crew cooperated for a group shot.
[full size photo available here]
Excitement ensued when the Canadian Navy decided to pay a visit. The helicopter came by, landed right by the group, out jumped the pilot to photograph them (wonder who they were looking for?), and took off again:
12 September 2011
Click here for our older events archive.
Upcoming Events
27-29 May 2012
GAC-MAC Conference, St. John's, Newfoundland. Conference website: http://stjohns2012.ca
24-29 June 2012
V.M.
Goldschmidt Conference, Montreal, Quebec. The 22nd Goldschmidt™
conference will focus on the Earth in Evolution. For more information
18-20 October 2012
62nd AUGC, Dalhousie University. See www.augc2012.com for more details.
1-2 February 2013
Atlantic Geoscience Society Colloquium, Holiday Inn, Dartmouth. Contact Bob Ryan for details