Earth and Environmental Science

In July Dr. Cees van Staal spent three weeks in EES as a Harrison McCain Visiting Professor. The grant to Dr. Deanne van Rooyen made it possible to bring Dr. van Staal to Acadia University to see the geology of the Meguma terrane, and collaborate with EES faculty and students.

Dr. van Staal’s current research is focused on understanding the operation of Earth systems during construction of the supercontinent Pangea from 650 to 300 million years ago. He has been active in Appalachian research for decades and has produced some of the most influential papers about the Appalachian orogenic system. He is very familiar with the more inland parts of the Appalachian mountain belt and has worked extensively in New Brunswick and Newfoundland, but has not worked in Nova Scotia.

Mainland Nova Scotia (the Meguma terrane) is especially important as it was located at a pivotal position in the centre of Pangea. Hence Dr. van Staal currently has a strong interest in its geology and is very eager to collaborate with Dr. Deanne van Rooyen, Professor Emerita Sandra Barr, and Acadia adjunct professors John Waldron and Chris White, who collectively have 140 years of experience working on the geology of Nova Scotia generally and the Meguma terrane in particular. For the first time all are currently based at Acadia University. This summer was a unique opportunity for this group to share their knowledge with one another in the field together in southern Nova Scotia.

The visit is also timely because Dr. van Rooyen has been awarded funding from the Province of Nova Scotia to undertake a major project in the Meguma terrane which includes three student projects. Dr. van Staal was able to see the student project sites, share his expertise with current MSc student Leslie Boateng-Dwomoh, BSc honours student Rowan Kennedy, and co-op student Megan Earley, all of whom are doing projects in the Meguma terrane and will work with students again on his return trip in February 2026 when he will be back in the department for a week.

Thank you to the Harrison McCain Foundation and Acadia University for making this possible!

 

Dr. van Staal in Fales River with students Leslie Boateng-Dwomoh and Mega Earley.

Ferry to Tancook Island with John Waldron, Cees van Staal, Sandra Barr, Leslie Boateng-Dwomoh, and Chris White.

Cees van Staal, Chris White, and Sandra Barr examining the St. Peter's gabbro at Battery Provincial Park.