Proterozoic reefs in the Mackenzie Mountains
Principal Investigator: Narbonne, Guy (13)
Licence Number: 13043
Organization: Queen's University
Licensed Year(s): 2001 1999 1998 1996 1994 1992 1991 1989 1988
Issued: May 13, 1999
Project Team: N.P. James

Objective(s): The Mackenzie Mountains contain a rock unit called the Ice Brook Formation. This formation contains deposits of an ice age that happened more than 600 million years ago. For several years researchers have been examining part of the Ice Brook Formation called the Sheepbed Formation. In 1998 fossil reefs were located in this structure. The goal of the 1999 field season is to identify the types of organisms which created the reef structures and determine what the climate was like when they were built.

Project Description: For several years researchers have been examining a rock unit called the Sheepbed Formation in the Mackenzie Mountains. In 1998 fossil reefs were located in this structure. The goal of the 1999 field season is to identify the types of organisms which created the reef structures and what the climate was like when they were built. Members of the field party will be transported to the base camps by helicopter, and all ground work will be done on foot. Data is collected by measuring and taking pictures of rock outcrops. Between 100 and 300 small rock samples will be taken with a geological hammer and transported to Queen's University for detailed examination