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

GEOL/ENGO Field School

The 2nd year Geology Field School was taught in April this year and we had a wonderful time in cold and sunny weather. Students learned from a variety of instructors in the EES department during a week in Wolfville, with the first three days joint with the ENVS Field School. In this week they learned about making geological mapping and cross sections, and completed several exercises in the Valley. Students then spent a week on the Northumberland Strait mapping rocks from Proterozoic granite to Carboniferous carbonates. Looking forward to next year!

Dr. Snyder explaining the Pembroke breccia at Cheverie.

GEOL field school students mapping in McArras Brook.

Student on the famous Whale Tail basalt...

Sunset over the Northumberland Strait.

ENVS Field School 2024

The 2nd year Environmental Science Field School was taught in April this year and we had fantastic sunny weather for most of the week! We had 18 ENVS students enrolled and help from a wide variety of instructors from Academia, Government, and NGOs. The students learned practical multidisciplinary field skills and hands on training both outside and in the labs. The field school program this year covered many topics including geological mapping, research design, salt marsh biogeochemistry, sand barren ecology, plant identification, forest ecology, mycology, invertebrate collection and identification, and plastic pollution / bioaccumulation. Looking forward to next year!

Dr. Mark Mallory and students in a K.C. Irving Environmental Laboratory.

ENVS Field School class

Working on fine motor skills!

Tree coring!

Shelburne and Yarmouth field trip 2024

Third and fourth-year students from the igneous, metamorphic, and tectonics classes this year took part in a 2-day field trip around the southern half of Nova Scotia lead by Dr. Barr and Dr. van Rooyen. Students and Dr. Donnelly Archibald from St.FX also came along, and the trip was generously supported by a Nova Scotia MRDF Education Grant.

The trip started in the Bridgewater area at the contact between the Goldenville and Halifax Groups, and continued down the coast to Shelburne for some spectacular metamorphic rocks and beautiful plutons which were great even in the rain. The second day started from the Yarmouth lighthouse and continued up the Fundy coast to Bear River, fortunately in beautiful sunshine!

Students examining the Cunard Formation.

A spectacular peperite!

Halifax Group rocks at Cape St. Mary, geologist for scale...

Upcoming Events

Nov

2025

GEOL 5900 Seminar Presentation - Leslie Boateng-Dwomoh - 4PM HSH 336

Huggins Science Hall 334 @ 4pm

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AVALONIA AND MEGUMA: CONTIGUOUS OR DISTANT TERRANES?

LESLIE BOATENG-DWOMOH

MSc GEOLOGY STUDENT, ACADIA UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

The evolutionary and accretionary relationships between peri-Gondwanan terranes that accreted to the composite Laurentian margin in the Canadian Appalachian orogen has been a controversial topic in geoscience. A specific challenge has been understanding these dynamics between Avalonia and Meguma terranes. Some research suggests that Meguma and Avalonia were part of the same microcontinental block that separated from Gondwana and accreted to the Laurentian margin during the Acadian orogeny. In contrast, other research suggests that an ocean existed between the two terranes before accretion and that these two terranes were not part of the same microcontinental block. Detrital zircon ages and Sm-Nd signatures of the Silurian-Devonian Rockville Notch (RNG) in the Meguma terrane have been compared with the Arisaig Group in Avalonia, with some research indicating that the similarities between the two groups are the consequence of an overstep sequence in the Silurian. They further propose that Meguma rocks were directly deposited on Avalonian basement in the Silurian. Supporting research suggests that metasedimentary granulite xenoliths, inferred to be from the structural basement of Meguma, show similarity to Avalonian rocks than Meguma, leading to the interpretation of Meguma being deposited on Avalonian basement or thrust over Avalonia. In contrast, a comparison of Meguma terrane to the Harlech Dome in Wales and Cadomian rocks in Germany appears to indicate that the Meguma terrane shows more similarity with those terranes than the Avalonian rocks. The occurrence of a 30-37 Ma hiatus before deposition of RNG in Meguma and its relative absence in Avalonia, coupled with lithological differences, defeats the assumption of an overstep sequence and contiguous relationship between Meguma and Avalonia

Nov

2025

GEOL 5900 Seminar Presentations - 4PM-5PM HSH 336

GEOL 5900 Seminar Presentations - 4PM-5PM HSH 336 - Pizza Provided

The Anthropocene Debate: What happened to Earth’s latest Epoch?

Ethan Geraci (M.Sc. Environmental Science) 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm

In 2000, atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen and limnologist Eugene Stoermer proposed the Anthropocene Epoch as a new, human-defined unit of geologic time that would succeed the Holocene. Crutzen and Stoermer originally assigned a late 18th-century start date to the Anthropocene that coincided with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. By 2009, the idea had gained enough traction to merit the creation of a working group within the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) to assess the Anthropocene Epoch’s stratigraphic existence. In 2015, the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) officially set a controversial, mid-20th century start date for the Anthropocene based primarily on radioisotopes from nuclear weapons testing. Despite nearly 15 years of research by the AWG, in early 2024, members of the SQS formally voted to reject the Anthropocene Epoch based on a lack of convincing stratigraphic evidence. Although it was rejected as a unit of geologic time, the Anthropocene’s place in academia remains unresolved. This presentation will cover a brief history of the Anthropocene Epoch in peer-reviewed literature, including official statements from the International Union of Geological Sciences (IGUS), and documents published by the AWG. Controversey around the Anthropocene’s start date, the requirements and processes behind defining a new interval of geologic time, key arguments in favor of the Anthropocene, and why it was rejected by the SQS will also be discussed. Further points of discussion include alternatives to the Anthropocene Epoch, reactions to its rejection from outside academia, and the Anthropocene’s future.

Sophie McGuinness 4:30 - 5:00 pm (M.Sc. AG)

Wind Energy: Sustainable Solution or Ecological Dilemma?

Abstract

Wind energy has evolved into one of the most promising and quickly developing renewable energy sources globally. A consequence has been the wind energy industry being promoted as a core strategic pathway for achieving deep decarbonization and reducing future global dependence on fossil fuels.

With heavy governmental and industry focus on sustainability, green energy, and expanding wind power infrastructure to meet climate goals; it’s vital to critically and impartially evaluate wind energy as a sustainable energy source through examination of scientific literature and public discourse, as both a promising sustainable solution and an ecological concern. Several advantages of wind power are commonly discussed, such as significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and rapidly improving technology against wildlife mortality and community disturbances. Other studies counter this, and do not recommend proceeding with further development.

This seminar will discuss this controversy using recent scientific studies, policy reports, and environmental assessments to clarify exactly where wind energy thrives as a sustainable method and where it does not. It will also discuss various recommended approaches and improvement strategies from supporters and critics, such as improved turbine siting, technological innovations, wildlife monitoring, adaptive management, and low-impact approaches to recycling turbine materials.

Nov

2025

GEOL 5900 Seminar Presentations - 4PM-5PM HSH 336

GEOL 5900 Seminar Presentations - 4PM-5PM HSH 336

Bella MacQuarrie 4:00- 4:30 pm (M.Sc. Geol)

AI Use in Academic Writing: A Present-day Dilemma

Deanne Watts 4:30 - 5:00 pm (M.Sc. AG)

Identity in Crisis: Cartography’s disciplinary place in the modern era

Dec

2025

GEOL 5900 Seminar Presentations 4PM HSH 336

Ben Gooley 4:00- 4:30 pm (M.Sc. ENVS)