DALHOUSIE 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: Willow McLeod Norberg Department of Earth Sciences Dalhousie University June 24, 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction... [ 2 ] Trip Details & Background Information... [ 2 ] Benefits of Travel... [ 4 ] Outcomes of Travel... [ 4 ] Significance to Nova Scotia... [ 4 ] Acknowledgements... [ 5 ] 1
INTRODUCTION Advanced Field School is a 4 th year course that ran in 2017 from April 30 th until May 28 th. It is an opportunity for geology students to incorporate all that they have learned, and apply it to the field in a month long, intensive field course. It takes place primarily in California and Nevada, and consists of four separate projects. These projects each have different focuses including interpreting depositional environments from stratigraphy, metamorphosis and metamorphic mineral assemblages, mineral deposits in a skarn, and mapping of structural geology. This field school was an opportunity to work at a professional level, under professional conditions. The camp was run primarily by the students and overseen by the teaching assistants. We were challenged with a different type of teamwork and collaboration when put in charge of cooking meals and cleaning in small groups. It focused on teamwork and group discussions through partnered field work, as well as independence from the direction of professors and teaching assistants. This culminated at our last project which was an independent, structural mapping project that lasted nine days. This field course incorporated aspects from every area of our undergraduate studies, and presented them in a problem solving capacity. TRIP DETAILS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION 2
Figure 1. Advanced Field School 2017 itinerary from Field Guide (Mike Young). This field course ran from April 30 th until May 28 th, 2017. It consisted of four projects at three different camps throughout Nevada and California. A schedule of the field school can be seen in Figure 1. The Rainbow Gardens Exercise consisted of producing a stratigraphic column and interpreting the depositional environment and overall geologic history based on our field work. This area consisted primarily of fluvial, playa lake, and tuffaceous deposits with mudslides. This exercise gave us field experience with deposits such as playa lakes and mudslides that we had only seen in textbooks previously. The Monarch Canyon exercise focused on metamorphic rocks. This was a mapping and cross section exercise that incorporated stress indicators, cross cutting relationships, and mineral assemblages. By using all the aforementioned indicators, a geologic history of the area was developed, including the metamorphic history and the various structural levels within the area. The Big Pine Skarn exercise introduced us to skarns and mineral exploration. We used comparisons between mineral quantities and mineral locations to identify the skarn and map the region. The final exercise at Big Poleta was an independent mapping exercise that focused on the complex structural relationships within the mapping area. These included folds, thrust and normal faults, drag folds and more, fold interference, and overall represented the basin and range system through a series of normal faults. The first exercise was conducted out of camp at the Valley of Fire in Nevada, the second exercise was out of camp in Death Valley, California, and the last two were from Westgard Pass, California. Every exercise camp move was introduced by a day or two of field trips which would introduce us to the geology of the area and give us information about regional geology that would be significant in our next exercise. 3
BENEFITS OF TRAVEL Advanced Field School was a unique experience that introduced me to a new type of geology I hadn t been lucky enough to encounter earlier in my degree. While there were certainly many continuities between the geology of Nova Scotia and the geology of California and Nevada, there were many new experiences as well. The geology in the desert is perfectly preserved with very new complete exposure in many areas. This allows for large scale structural deconstruction and mapping. It is much more difficult to gain an understanding of geologic processes such as fold interference when the only exposed area is a cliff face. These large areas of exposure allowed for a better learning experience as it was possible to gain an understanding of the entire geologic process in a three dimensional perspective. This environment was also a great opportunity to not only observe arid deposits in the stratigraphic column, but actually see them being created such as playa lakes. This field course was also an opportunity to accustom myself to working in different field conditions. In Nova Scotia we frequently experience cold temperatures or extensive precipitation while working in the field, but never persistent, dry heat. Field geology requires a geologist to be able to adapt to drastic changes in the weather and still work comfortably. I was certainly trained for that in this course as some days temperatures would vary from 5 C when we left camp to 30 C in the field. OUTCOMES OF TRAVEL Field work has always been my favourite aspect of geology. I find that what I learn in the field sticks with me differently than what I learn in class and I truly enjoy the problem solving aspect. This was by far the longest field course that I have ever participated in and it was encouraging to learn that I successfully completed it and continue to enjoy field work. I learned extensively about the sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic, and structural components of a basin and range system, both at a local and regional scale. SIGNIFICANCE TO NOVA SCOTIA This field course taught me many invaluable skills as well as geologic knowledge. It was highly significant because it taught me to be a better field geologist and geologist in general so that I could return to Nova Scotia with a new skill set. It is paramount that we have the most highly trained geologist in Nova Scotia to further our research. This course helped ensure that I am even more knowledgeable in my field and can bring more to the table as a geologist than ever before. Having training outside of Nova Scotia also gave me a different perspective than I would have had otherwise. This will allow me to bring fresh ideas to Nova Scotian geology and possibly make new connections that wouldn't be available to me had I not had outside training as well. It is important to have such new ideas in science to push our understanding forward. There were also similarities between the geology of Nevada and California and Nova Scotian geology. In this field course we were observing a basin and range system. In Nova Scotia we also have an extensional system. The in depth study of the normal faults and other structural elements of this basin and range system is easily applied to the graben system seen in the Bay of Fundy. These similarities ensure that what I spent the month of May observing will be applicable to Nova Scotia, and allow me to make fresh connections about the geology I spent the majority of my undergraduate degree studying. 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dalhousie University For offering this exceptional field course, including the Dalhousie Science Society, and SWIF for offering funding for this experience. Mike Young For putting his heart and soul into organizing this field course, none of this would have been possible without him. Also to our three teaching assistants Carolina Chang, Nick Hosek, and Sean Kelly. OERA For offering funding for this exceptional experience. It would not have been possible without outside funding. 5