Tech Division Events
Palaeontology Division
For more information concerning this Division, please contact the Division Chair, Philip Benham, Shell Canada, at (403) 691-3343 or via e-mail at Philip.Benham@shell.com.
Division Profile
The Palaeontology Division runs in association with the Alberta Palaeontological Society (APS) and the Mount Royal College Earth Science Department. Its mandate is to provide a forum for CSPG members and the general public who are interested in palaeontological issues and applications. Topics are wide-ranging and range from technical dissertations on application to the oil industry to general interest such as dinosaur art and palaeontological expeditions. This is to accomodate the diverse group of 30-80 people that typically attend each talk. Unlike most of the other technical divisions the talks are held in the evenings (7:30 PM), typically the third Friday of every month. Facilities and multimedia access are provided by Mount Royal College Earth Science Department. Talks typically average about 45 minutes followed by a short question/discussion period. They are held in Mount Royal College (Lincoln Park Campus) Science Wing room B108 and B101. Speakers for the luncheons are sought from industry, museums, universities and even the art world. Talks run from September through May with a break through the summer. Once a year a two day Palaeontological Symposium is held at Mount Royal College. Events include a full day of lectures, a poster session and educational workshops. Most events are free so as to be accessible to the general public. While these talks are held in association with the APS, that societies' summer field trips require an APS membership.
If you are interested in joining the Palaeontology Division e-mail listing which currently provides monthly event reminders, or if you care to suggest a technical topic or present a talk to the division, please contact Philip Benham (Shell Canada Limited), the current Division Chair. He can be contacted at 403-691-3343 or via e-mail at programs@albertapaleo.org.
Division Talks
Global Warming, Global Cooling, Extinctions and Petroleum Source Rocks: The Volcanic Connection During Oceanic Anoxic Events
Speaker
Dr. Steven Turgeon
Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta
12:00 Noon
October 17, 2008
Mount Royal College,
Room B108
Calgary, Alberta
Abstract
In addition to a selective extinction most severely affecting deep-sea fauna, this episode of carbon sequestration led to a short-lived but significant reduction in atmospheric CO2 and cooling of surface temperatures, making this interval of particular interest for studies of the effects of climate change. As well, petroleum source rocks from this period – many of which are associated with OAEs – account for a significant proportion of original recoverable oil and gas reserves in the world.
Although the carbon burial during OAEs can be explained either through an increase in organic matter production and/or enhanced preservation due to oxygen-deficient bottom waters, the actual "trigger" mechanism, corresponding closely with the onset of these episodes, had not been clearly identified. Under such oxygen-depleted conditions, however, several redox-sensitive or sulphide forming trace elements are enriched within the sediments and are therefore useful for reconstructing paleo-environmental conditions.
For this presentation, Turgeon will present several of these geochemical proxies and discuss their implications, including the importance of the seawater osmium isotope record. This record changes dramatically at the beginning of OAE2, and indicates that a massive and widespread magmatic pulse triggered the deposition of these large amounts of organic matter.
Biography
Steven Turgeon received a B.Sc. in Physical Geography in 1991, an M.Sc. in seismostratigraphy from the Université de Sherbrooke in 1993, and a Ph.D. in 2001 from Carleton University in Ottawa. From 2001 to 2003, he lived and worked in Germany as a European Union Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oldenburg studying inorganic geochemical parameters in black shales as part of an international research network. He then moved to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee where he was involved in mass spectrometry research from 2003 to 2005. Since 2006, he has joined Robert Creaser's group at the University of Alberta as a research associate where he has been looking at rhenium and osmium systematics in organic-rich sediments and hydrocarbons.
Alberta Palaeontological Society Open House and Fossil Clinic
7:30-9:30pm
Friday, September 19, 2008
Mount Royal College,
Room B108
Calgary, Alberta
The Alberta Palaeontological Society (APS) welcomes CSPG members, families and the general public to their Open House and Fossil Clinic. APS members and guests will have specimens on display and resident experts will be on hand to help identify fossils that are brought in to the clinic. Fossils found on the summer's field trips and expeditions will also be presented and discussed.
Information
This event is jointly presented by the Alberta Palaeontological Society, Mount Royal College and the CSPG Palaeontology Division. For details or to present a talk in the future please contact CSPG Palaeontology Division Chair Philip Benham at (403) 691-3343 or programs@albertapaleo.org. Visit the APS website for confirmation of event times and upcoming speakers: http://www.albertapaleo.org/.
Information
For further information about this event and registration please
go to www.tyrrellmuseum.com and
click on the Horned Dinosaur Symposium Button or contact Don Brinkman
at (403) 820-6214.
To present a talk at a future Palentology Division event please contact Division Chair Philip Benham at 403-691-3343 or programs@albertapaleo.org. Visit the APS website for confirmation of event times and upcoming speakers: http://www.albertapaleo.org/
