Canadian Arctic Islands Project
Principal Investigator: Hulse, Peter (2)
Licence Number: 15681
Organization: CASP
Licensed Year(s): 2016 2015
Issued: Jun 08, 2015
Project Team: Dr Berta Lopez-Mir, Dr Simon Schneider, Mr Timothy Burton

Objective(s): To characterize the nature and origin (provenance) of sedimentary rocks which were deposited in the Sverdrup Basin between the Late Paleozoic and Cenozoic (ranging from around 350 million years to 40 million years ago).

Project Description: The main objective of our research is to characterize the nature and origin (provenance) of sedimentary rocks which were deposited in the Sverdrup Basin between the Late Paleozoic and Cenozoic (ranging from around 350 million years to 40 million years ago). The Sverdrup Basin is a succession of sedimentary rocks, which were deposited in an ancient ocean, which largely covered what are today the Canadian Arctic Islands. This ocean basin experienced a series of major environmental and structural changes. The results will be integrated into existing published information and into Cambridge Arctic Shelf Program (CASP) research carried out over the past five years in the eastern Canadian Arctic Islands (Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere islands). Once dropped off at the camp site by helicopter or Twin Otter, the research team will set up small field camps. All the work will be done on foot. The research team will be mapping using notebooks, photographs, compass and handheld GPS. Rock samples of about double fist size will be collected from the surface or by using a small hammer. This will not leave more trace than natural erosion. Because the research team require rock exposure for this work, nearly all the work will take place on firm, rocky ground. No samples will be taken at any site of archaeological or biological sensitivity. Samples will be shipped to the UK and analyzed in terms of chemical and physical properties. Fossil samples will help us to date the rock samples and to characterize the paleoenvironment and will be returned to the Natural History Museum in Ottawa after analyses are completed. The research team are eager to communicate this work to local people by providing reports, posters, and/or giving presentations in the communities the team are travelling through. If the opportunity exist, the research team would be glad to receive support from a local guide or field assistant. Annual reports are written about the fieldwork and will provide theses to anyone who is interested. The research team will also can provide summary posters of the work and send them to the communities that the research team are not able to visit. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from June 18, 2015 to August 23, 2015.