DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY ADVANCED FIELD SCHOOL SUMMARY REPORT

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DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY ADVANCED FIELD SCHOOL SUMMARY REPORT Submitted to: Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia (OERA) to fulfill

1 DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY ADVANCED FIELD SCHOOL SUMMARY REPORT Submitted to: Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia (OERA) to fulfill the requirements of the Student Research Travel Program Submitted by: KATE WOODS DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY 28 JUNE 2016

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...[2] Trip Details & Background Information...[2] Benefits of Travel...[4] Outcomes of Travel...[5] Significance to Nova Scotia...[5] Acknowledgements...[6] 1

INTRODUCTION Students from Halifax, Nova Scotia joined Dalhousie University instructors in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 26 th, 2016, to commence a four-week camp-based experiential learning course.

3 INTRODUCTION Students from Halifax, Nova Scotia joined Dalhousie University instructors in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 26 th, 2016, to commence a four-week camp-based experiential learning course. Four major projects were undertaken: stratigraphic measured sections; mapping a faulted alluvial fan in an active tectonic zone; metamorphic and structural field geology of a metamorphic core complex; and mapping tectonic structures in the Poleta Folds area. I returned May 31 st, TRIP DETAILS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION After a brief overview of the Basin and Range in the form of a field lecture and exercises at the Great Unconformity (outcropping at Frenchman s Mountain), the Advanced Field School group set up first camp in the Valley of Fire, Nevada. Over the following three days, the first major project took place at Lake Mead Recreational area outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. This was a stratigraphic measured section of the Rainbow Gardens and Thumb members of the Horse Spring Formation; each group of 2 or 3 students was assigned ~60-80 vertical metres. We learned to use Jacob s staffs and refined our note-taking skills. The final report consisted of a set of detailed unit descriptions, a stratigraphic column, and an interpretation of the geologic history of the overall study area. Rainbow Gardens stratigraphic column project, Lake Mead Recreational Area, Nevada. The next day, camp broke down and packed up to move to Furnace Creek, California, in central Death Valley. The route through Amargosa Valley was incorporated into a field trip, introducing to the class some examples of features we would be mapping for our projects in Death Valley. Quaternary-aged fault features; alluvial fan characteristics; pedogenic carbonate criteria; and desert patina development were all new concepts to those of us accustomed to practicing field work in Nova Scotia. These tools became essential for the second major project, which was three days of mapping faults in a 12km 2 section of an alluvial fan in northern Death Valley. In order to relate the fault features, we needed the aforementioned characteristics to determine the relative ages of the fan surfaces, which we also mapped with our partners. The final report included our complete maps, estimates of relative and 2

absolute ages based on pedogenic carbonate development and cross-cutting relationships, and a vector calculation for the spreading rate and direction of Death Valley based on our data.

4 absolute ages based on pedogenic carbonate development and cross-cutting relationships, and a vector calculation for the spreading rate and direction of Death Valley based on our data. My partner appraising a route down from the alluvial fan surface. Kit Fox Hills, Death Valley, California. After this project, there was a field trip day to the Turtlebacks, a set of metamorphic core complexes exposed in southern Death Valley. Here, we were introduced to mylonites, detachment faults, and high-grade metamorphic minerals in the field. Interpreting these features in the field is wildly different to working in the petrology lab. This field trip served to prepare us for mapping the structural zones exposed in Monarch Canyon, defined by their degrees of gneissosity and mylonitization as well as their dominant prograde mineral assemblages. Three days were spent working with a partner in the canyon, largely independently, and an additional day was granted to compile the maps, cross-sections, and tectonic histories for our reports. From Death Valley, the final camp move was to Westgard Pass in the Inyo-White range in Northern California. After several day-trips spent in the Owen Valley area, both to adjust to the altitude and become familiar with the local geology, the final project took place over six days, plus an additional compilation day. We worked with field partners for safety, but completed our maps individually. The study area was in the Poleta Folds region, on a well-loved tract of land commonly used by field schools in the southwestern United States. This project was physically, mentally, and emotionally trying. It was largely independent; it was a way for me to show not only my instructors, but myself, exactly how much I had learned over the course of field school. The Poleta Folds mapping project was the most challenging and most rewarding of the exercises at Advanced Field School. 3

The Vale of Tears subsection of Big Poleta, Westgard Pass, California. BENEFITS OF TRAVEL This field school was an immersive experience for myself and for my classmates.

5 The Vale of Tears subsection of Big Poleta, Westgard Pass, California. BENEFITS OF TRAVEL This field school was an immersive experience for myself and for my classmates. I learned new ways to record data in the field, and how to collect efficient, useful notes. Not only did I acquire technical skills, but I gained confidence in my own work. Confidence, without a doubt, has been the most trying and elusive skill to develop as a student. In many ways, I was able to improve and build upon the knowledge I brought with me to camp. In many other ways, I found that field school was a safe and constructive space in which I was able to dismantle and re-learn my experience of field work. While I have participated in Nova Scotia-based field schools earlier on in my degree program, the setting provided through Advanced Field School was completely new to me. Working in an area so removed from familiarity allowed me to draw only from my skills, but not from old ideas about the place. Applying these skills in new ways, on new ground, exercised my critical thinking and problem-solving abilities while challenging my own ego. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this field school was that my goal, as a field geologist, is not necessarily to understand and know everything it is to collect and interpret data, and re-interpret those data as many times as necessary to paint a fuller picture of the studied processes. There may always be a better, more complete solution to a problem. My confidence grew more through trials and adjustments to my work than anything else. The successes for which I worked hardest, those hidden behind near-invisible mistakes and the ones I could find only upon taking a step back and a deep breath, to look at my map with fresh eyes? Those were the successes that brought with them the most improvement and growth. Geology would be an impossible science, were we always searching for the right answer. We must, then, look for a best answer that can be supported by the available data. Each new interpretation or step in an interpretation is a step forward, a deeper thought, a brighter idea. I have heard this many times over, but working through it with my own hands, my own compass and hammer, delivered the message in a way I now understand. I truly do not believe I could have grasped this concept as a student were I not able to participate in Advanced Field School. 4

OUTCOMES OF TRAVEL Reflecting on my travel with the Advanced Field School offered by Dalhousie University s Department of Earth Sciences, I have great difficulty describing the outcomes of the

6 OUTCOMES OF TRAVEL Reflecting on my travel with the Advanced Field School offered by Dalhousie University s Department of Earth Sciences, I have great difficulty describing the outcomes of the experience in words. I know I have returned to Nova Scotia and to Dalhousie a more skilled geologist, a more confident scientist, and a more competent team-worker. I know that I could not have achieved as much as I did in so little time had I not had the chance to completely immerse myself in my work, as was the case with this field school. The learning curve was steep. At times, it was frustrating. It was also rewarding. In every way, from sleeping in a tent for 30 days to trying to conserve the water we trucked into our campsites to working long days in the heat of the Mojave, I was tested. In every way, I succeeded (even if I have retrospectively recategorized some of my frustrations as successes!). I learned that I am adaptable. I learned that I am capable. Moreover, I learned that if I am not yet something, I can learn to be it. On completing this course and returning to Nova Scotia, I would say that I am ready and eager to work in my field of study. SIGNIFICANCE TO NOVA SCOTIA Nova Scotia is home both to myself and to Dalhousie University. As an alum of the Advanced Field School, I can confidently say that the field programs offered by Dalhousie are incredibly worthwhile. In supporting students attending the Advanced Field School, OERA has supported young Nova Scotian geologists. As each of us graduates from our degree programs to enter our respective careers, we will have a competitive edge. Not only will we have the foundational skill set under our belts, whether we pursue futures in research or industry, but we will have the ability and ambition to develop them as we work. I know, too, that Nova Scotia is teaching young scientists to be critical thinkers, problem-solvers, selfstarters, and cooperative teammates. I am proud to be a Dalhousie Student and a Nova Scotian. ERTH 4002/2016 Staff and students, Westgard Pass, California. 5

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Michael Young, Director of the Advanced Field School, for his efforts in coordinating ERTH Without his encouragement, I would not even have considered myself a candidate for Advanced Field School. Thank you to John Gosse I have a new appreciation and respect for sediments and the sun. Thank you to Rachel Milligan, Art Fitzpatrick, and Nick Hosek for their patient guidance, chauffeuring, camp management, and good humour. Finally, many thanks to OERA for the financial support, without which this course would have been inaccessible to me. As a full-time student with a developmental disability, I rely heavily on student loans and bursaries to fund my education. These loans and bursaries are not sufficient to cover travel expenses. I must acknowledge the difference that this kind of support can make for those of us who are capable and enthusiastic, but experience financial limitations. I cannot understate the appreciation I have for having been granted the opportunity to participate in this incredible course alongside my peers. Thank you, Offshore Energy Research Association, for levelling the proverbial footing so that I could play, too. 6

Dalhousie University Advanced Field School 2017 SUMMARY REPORT

Dalhousie University Advanced Field School 2017 SUMMARY REPORT Submitted to: Offshore Energy Research Association of Nova Scotia (OERA) to fulfill the requirements of the Student Research Travel Program