NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: South Slave Region

Tags: physical sciences, geological mapping, geology, lithology, sedimentary rocks

Objective(s): To gather more information on the depositional history of the Sosan Group.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5572. The objective of this field season is to gather more information on the depositional history of the Sosan Group. This will be accomplished through field observations, such as noting sedimentary structures and measuring detailed stratigraphic sections. This will help determine what processes deposited the sediments at each place and time. Were sediments dropped out of a flowing river, did they settle onto a lake bottom, were they blown onto a windy plain? Knowing the processes, the research team can infer what the ancient East Arm landscape was like. Maybe it was a desert in one place and a lake somewhere else. Maybe it was a mountain lake with rivers running into it. Maybe the basin was land-locked at first and then became flooded by an ocean. The research team can infer how the ancient East Arm landscape differed from place to place, and how it changed with time. Researchers will spend a total of 2 weeks in the field, from August 15, 2023 until August 28, 2023, working out of a single base-camp. Float planes will be used for camp moves and inflatable zodiac boats will be used to access areas of interest from camp. The team will examine rocks along shorelines and conduct foot traverses inland. Observations (e.g., rock lithology, structural measurement, alteration type) will be recorded in handheld devices and fist-size samples of rock will be collected for laboratory analyses. The samples are cut in the Northwest Territories Geological Survey (NTGS) warehouse and sent to various laboratories in Canada to identify their mineralogy, geochemistry, as well as ages of crystallization, deposition, and metamorphism. With the data, the team will produce stratigraphic sections, and write reports that include the field observations and interpretations. All data is available to the public once compiled and released on the NTGS website. Groups with interests in the study are kept informed on proposed field work, goals and outcomes of the study. Information about this project is disseminated through the Aurora Research Institute science license process. Visits to communities are organized upon request. Geological maps, cross-sections and reports will be produced from the data collected in the field and will be available to the public once released on the NTGS website. Presentations are given regularly at local meetings and conferences (e.g., Yellowknife Geoscience Forum), and can be given to a specific group upon request. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from August 15, 2023 to August 28, 2023.