NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area

Tags: physical sciences, geology

Objective(s): To understand the distribution of marine environments in northwestern and northern Canada between 540 and 450 million years ago.

Project Description: The research proposed here is part of a long-term project aimed at understanding the distribution of marine environments in northwestern and northern Canada between 540 and 450 million years ago. The research team will measure, describe, and sample rock layers that are of roughly the same age but in different locations to see how ancient Earth-surface environments varied geographically about 540 to 450 million years ago. The 2-person camp will be placed by helicopter, after which all work will be done on foot. Fist-sized samples will be collected using a rock hammer for later laboratory analysis. There will be no motorised equipment and no chemicals other than 10 litres of cooking fuel. The field data will contribute to a large project based on multiple areas, gathered in different parts of NWT over the last 5 years. The activities proposed are brief, low-budget, and scientifically focussed, and unfortunately do not provide significant potential for local employment. Long-term benefits may come from the production of modern geoscience knowledge, including resource potential, for a region that is geologically very poorly known and hence underexplored. In terms of making the science accessible, in addition to publicly available science publications, the research products are frequently presented at Yellowknife Geoscience Forum. The work will be published in international science journals, and the papers sent to Aurora Research Institute and the communities. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from June 15, 2017 to September 9, 2017.