GAC008FT Glaciation and Climate Change in the Canadian Rockies
The purpose of this two day trip is to give the participant an appreciation of how climate change has contributed to the marvelous landscape that we enjoy today in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. We will travel and make stops in parts of Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks discussing the general bedrock geology including Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic stratigraphy and structure. However, the trip will focus on the glacial history, by viewing a variety of glacial and post-glacial deposits, and erosional features that were formed during the last glaciation and during the Little Ice Age. These include glacial till and outwash, lateral and end moraines, eskers, drumlins, river diversions, U-shaped valleys,and landslide deposits. We will observe the evidence for multiple glaciation events that took place during the Pleistocene and Holocene Periods. Stops will include the Athabasca Glacier, viewing and discussing how the dynamics of an active glacier has altered the landscape in the last 100 years. In addition, we will discuss the forcing mechanisms of climate change. This trip, hopefully, will equip the participant to have a greater understanding, beyond the scenery, of the geological evolution of this beautiful part of Canada.
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Day 1: We will leave Calgary at 8:00 AM and travel toward Banff where we will make a number of geological stops on the way, and in and around Banff town site. Next, we will travel north on the Trans Canada highway, viewing among other things, Peyto Lake and the Athabasca Glacier. Then on to Jasper where we will spend the night.
Day 2: During the morning we will view glacial and bedrock outcrops in the vicinity of Jasper town site. If time permits we will travel on and off the Yellowhead Highway towards Edmonton where there are spectacular views of dissected drumlins and eskers. We will then turn around, and head back to Calgary, making only a few short stops. We hope to be back in Calgary by 6:00 PM.
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Nat has spent most of his career working on scientific problems concerning the Quaternary Period, the last 2.6 million years of Earth history. As an undergraduate student, he worked as a student assistant in the Arctic and Greenland. After graduating with his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, he joined the Geological Survey of Canada in Calgary, spending most of his time investigating the glacial history and climate change of western and northern Canada. He also taught geology courses to archaeologists and geologists at the University of Calgary. After a short stint as Environmental Advisor with the National Energy Board in Ottawa, he returned to the University of Alberta as Professor and then as Chairman of the Department of Geology. He and his graduate students continued climate change research not only in Canada but also in China, Siberia, Europe, Africa and South America. He has over 300 publications to his credit. He is currently Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
He has been a member of many scientific committees and organizations, including President of the International Union for Quaternary Research and on the Scientific Board (Geology) of UNESCO. He was one of the founding members of the international program on Past Global Change. Nat is the founder and first editor-in-chief of the scientific periodical Quaternary International.
His many honours include Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Officer of the Order of Canada, Honourary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Honourary Doctor of Science degrees. He has distinguished career awards from the Geological Association of Canada, the Geological Society of America and the Canadian Quaternary Association. In 2007 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Alberta.
