Welcome to EES!

Earth and Environmental Science at Acadia offers programs leading to B.Sc. degrees in Environmental Science, Geology and Environmental Geoscience, and M.Sc. degrees in Geology, Environmental Science and Applied Geomatics.

Departmental News

New Book Publication!

January 2025 marked the publication of Wetland Restoration for Endangered Species Recovery: A Multidisciplinary Case Study of Big Meadow Bog, Brier Island, Nova Scotia, an academic book detailing efforts to restore the habitat of the endangered Eastern Mountain Avens (Geum peckii) and research to better understand the effects of the restoration of the plant and the wetland ecosystem. (https://link.springer.com/book/9783031713439)

Goodbye 2024!

2024 went out in style!

The end of term brought some traditional social events to our calendar. ESSA and the Fletcher Club held a study night for students, and invited teaching assistants along for snacks, hot chocolate, and exam preparation.

The traditional end-of term potluck organized and hosted by the Fletcher Club and ESSA took place at the University Club in the Little Blue Building behind Huggins. Guests shared food and fun and everyone had a great evening celebrating the end of the year!

AUGC held at Dalhousie University October 24–27, 2024

Students flocked to Halifax to attend the Atlantic Universities Geoscience Conference (AUGC) this weekend, held at Dalhousie University. Acadia was well represented with five student presenters, nine peers, and three professors at the conference.

Acadia banquet attendees: Dylan McKeen, Brook Penner, Karen Brookman, Hayley Newell, Émilie Snow, Maria O'Neill, Tiernan Davies, Abbey Smith, Tess Gates-Flaherty, Rowan Kennedy, Amy Almond, Mo Snyder, Bella MacQuarrie, and Gabriel Grover

Upcoming Events

Feb

2025

Dr. Corin Jorgensen - Research Presentation - HSH 336 1PM

A petrologists tool belt: data driven tools to understand explosive mafic volcanoes.

Dr. Corin Jorgensen

Huggins Science Hall 336 - 1PM - 2PM

Volcanic eruptions have the potential to severely impact local communities and global climate (Mani et al. 2023), thus understanding eruptive processes is crucial for informed volcano monitoring. This is especially true for volcanoes that do not fit the standard relationship between melt chemistry and eruption style. This includes mafic (low in SiO2) volcanoes which erupt explosively, even though these magmas are commonly associated with effusive eruptions. Here I present two data driven petrologic tools that advance our understanding of volcanic eruptions on a global scale.

Firstly, machine learning clinopyroxene thermobarometry, a novel approach to thermobarometry, provides robust pressure and temperature estimates of clinopyroxene crystallization (Jorgenson et al., 2022). This model offers insight into the pre-eruptive growth history of a crystal and thus the magma reservoir, while benefiting from enhanced versatility and accuracy. When applied to the large volume-explosive eruptions at Colli Albani (Italy), a mafic caldera complex, it reveals distinct stages of progressive growth and heating of the upper crustal reservoir (839 to 1200 °C) at shallow pressures (2-5 kbar; Jorgenson et al., 2024).

Secondly, high resolution X-ray computed tomography (XCT) offers novel insights into both mineral and whole rock textures. I present a dataset of 3D scans of melt inclusions from Colli Albani, which reveals inclusions with substantial vapor bubble volume fraction (up to 0.78; Jorgenson et al., in press). These findings suggest a bubble bearing reservoir during crystallization and magma accumulation, a process likely critical for the accumulation of such large volumes of magma in the upper crust. Furthermore, this method enables a reassessment of volcanic textures in mafic explosive materials, providing an unprecedented view of conduit dynamics during eruptions. When combined with traditional petrologic methods, these tools offer a data driven and petrologically sound framework to better understand mafic explosive eruptions worldwide.

Feb

2025

Dr. Corin Jorgensen - Teaching Lecture 9:30am HSH 336

Dr. Corin Jorgensen - Teaching Lecture

9:30am-10:30am HSH 336

Feb

2025

AGS meeting – AGS Colloquium 2025, 7-8 February,

AGS meeting – and 51^st AGS Colloquium 2025, 7-8 February, Delta Hotel, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
more information to follow

Feb

2025

Dr. Kevin Neyedley - Research Presentation - HSH 336 1PM

Tracking Magmatic Processes Integrating Zircon Petrochronology with Melt Inclusion Studies

Dr. Kevin Neyedley - Department of Geology, Saint Mary’s University

Huggins Science Hall 336 - 1PM - 2PM

To understand the variety of magmatic processes that can lead to the development of an economic or subeconomic critical mineral intrusive magmatic system, a multidisciplinary approach that involves innovative methodology needs to be applied. Zircon is a ubiquitous accessory magmatic mineral in felsic-intermediate magmas that has long been utilized as a geochronometer. Increasingly, this mineral is being realized as one that also provides important isotopic and geochemical constraints on the magmatic evolution of intrusive igneous complexes. The trace element composition of zircon is dictated by compositional variations in the magma from which it crystallizes and as an igneous complex evolves, zircon will record these changes in its trace element composition, allowing one to track magmatic processes (e.g., accessory mineral fractionation and magma mixing). Zircon is also a reliable geothermometer to estimate the temperature of crystallization and when combined with other mineral thermometers and barometers can provide constraints on the pressure of crystallization. Additional magmatic parameters can be constrained by analyzing silicate and sulphide melt inclusions that are hosted in the same zircon for which age and magma compositional constraints are simultaneously determined. Since bulk rock compositions are commonly modified during deformational, metamorphic, and alteration events, the analysis of melt inclusions provide an avenue to constrain the original magma composition of a system and provide constraints on major element (measuring the degree of alkalinity and aluminosity), magmatic metal endowment, and volatile concentrations (H2O, Fl, and Cl). Coupled with the analysis of sulphide melt inclusions in zircon, this provides an avenue to determine the timing of sulphide saturation and potentially identify the causative magmatic intrusion(s) in mineralized systems. Combining information obtained for zircon melt inclusion chemical compositions with geochronological data provides a means to track changes in magma chemistry over time and processes such as wall-rock assimilation, fractionation, magma mixing, and volatile and sulphide saturation to be evaluated. Additionally, the composition and age of zircon can be used in tandem to constrain the magmatic fO2 conditions, which has implications for the solubility and transport of critical metals in magmas. Overall, zircon and the diversity of mineral and melt inclusions it hosts provide insights into the time-temperature-chemistry-fO2 history of an igneous system, making it a powerful accessory mineral to study the magmatic processes leading to the development of economic or subeconomic magmatic systems. In this presentation, the results from recent studies of zircon-melt inclusion studies in felsic-intermediate volcanic and plutonic systems from the Archean Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Quebec and the northeastern Cobequid Highlands of Nova Scotia will be discussed.

Feb

2025

Dr. Kevin Neyedley - Teaching Lecture 9:30am HSH 336

Dr. Kevin Neyedley - Teaching Lecture

9:30am - 10:30am HSH 336

Feb

2025

Dr. Zhenhao Zhou Research Talk - TEAMS - 11:30am

Dr. Zhenhao Zhou Research Talk - TEAMS ----> click here to join.

11:30am-12:30pm

Feb

2025

Dr. Zhenhao Zhou Teaching Talk - TEAMS - 9:30am

Dr. Zhenhao Zhou Teaching Talk - TEAMS ----> click here to join.

9:30am-10:30pm

Feb

2025

Kate Beaton - Reading from Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (7:00 pm)

Kate Beaton

Room 10 - HSH

Reading from Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
7pm Tuesday, February 25

Mar

2025

Science Atlantic Environmental Conference March 21st-23rd

https://event.fourwaves.com/SAEC2025/

Between March 21 and 23, we are expecting 75+ attendees from all four Atlantic provinces to visit Mount Allison in Sackville, NB. Science Atlantic Env Conference (SAEC) is a great venue for students studying env-themes (BA, BASc, BSc, MSc, etc.) to share their research and network. All env disciplines welcome: sci, policy, soc sci, other knowledge systems, etc.

Registration is $120 for students and $150 for faculty.

Abstracts due March 1. Registration due March 1 for presenters and March 12 for attendees.

May

2025

GAC-MAC-IAH-CNC 2025 Ottawa May 11th-14th

Visit the website for more information and to register!: https://event.fourwaves.com/ottawa2025/pages

Welcome to GAC-MAC-IAH-CNC 2025 !

We look forward to hosting GAC-MAC-IAH-CNC 2025 at the University of Ottawa in Ontario. You can expect an exciting scientific program including field trips, workshops, short courses, and technical sessions.

Registration will open February 3^rd 2025