Base de données de recherche des TNO

Régions: Sahtu Settlement Area

étiquettes: physical sciences, fossils, paleontology, stratigraphy, lithology, rock outcrops, fossil coral reefs

Objectif(s): Reefs are rigid limestone bodies that are constructed by the activities of marine organisms, and that rise above the surrounding sea floor. 800 million year old fossil reefs are present in the Mackenzie Mountains, NWT. These reefs were constructed by primitive single-celled organisms (microbes), at a time when no multicellular plants or animals existed. They provide an unparalleled opportunity to assess fundamental controls on where, why and how reefs develop. These are basic concepts to sedimentology, paleontology. This research will form part of a PhD thesis in progress at Queen's University, and will build upon field work already performed in 1994, 1992, and 1991.

Description du projet: Two people will be transported to the field sites via helicopter from Norman Wells. All ground work is done on foot. Data collection involves photography of rock outcrops, measurement of stratigraphic sections using a tape measure, description of outcrops, and selective sampling of about 100 fist-sized rock samples using a geological hammer.