ATLANTIC GEOSCIENCE SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER

The new year was once again introduced in fine style with the annual Atlantic Geoscience Society Colloquium, and the traditional changing of the executive at the Annual General Meeting. This event is summarized by Peter Wallace elsewhere in this Newsletter, but I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of Laing Ferguson, Peter Wallace, and the numerous student volunteers that organized this successful event. I am impressed by the increased participation of students and professional geoscientists and I hope this indicates a trend! 

On behalf of the Atlantic Geoscience Society I wish to thank the efforts of the departing Councillors, namely Laing Ferguson, Don Fox, John Hill, and Bruce Broster for their time, dedication and contribution to the Society. A list of the new Executive and Councillors are included in this Newsletter for your information. The Council is geared up and ready to take on the challenges of the new year - supporting traditional programs and introducing some new initiatives.

The Atlantic Geoscience Society undertakes a wide range of special projects directed toward the geoscience community and the general public to increase the awareness of Earth Science and the geology of the Atlantic Provinces. We recently cosponsored, with APICS, the "Distinguished Lecturer Tour". Dr. Tom Martel from Corridor Resources gave a well received presentation at Saint Mary's, Acadia, St. Francis Xavier, and Memorial universities on the application of new technologies for hydrocarbon exploration in eastern Canadian Paleozoic rocks. Special thanks goes to Ian Spooner for successfully organizing this tour. This is an annual event and we are open to suggestions from our membership on potential topics/speakers for this year's tour.

As always, the Education Committee remains active developing EarthNet and the EdGEO program. These outreach initiatives are important and highly successful components of the overall public education facet of Atlantic Geoscience Society. "The Last Billion Years", a book on the geological history of the Maritime Provinces and a video guide on the Mineral Wealth of Atlantic Canada are two other works in progress.

The Atlantic Geoscience Society continues to produce videos, books, and field guides on the Geology and Mineral Resources of the Atlantic Provinces. A new field guide produced by Peter Wallace and contributors entitled "Discovering Rocks, Minerals and Fossils in Atlantic Canada" is the most recent Atlantic Geoscience Society publication. The third edition of the very popular Nova Scotia Highway Map is scheduled for printing in March, complete with updates. The demand for this map by the public is so great that the original and the second printing are sold out! Thanks to Howard Donohoe for negotiating all the details of publication on behalf of the Atlantic Geoscience Society

One of this years exciting new initiatives is the compilation of an updated version of the existing Lexicon of stratigraphic names in the Maritime Provinces. This long over due project provides an opportunity to develop a lithostratigraphic database for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Scotian Margin. The final product will be useful to anyone working or interested in the geology of the Maritime Region

As you can see, the Atlantic Geoscience Society is a very active and dynamic volunteer organization. But all of this is not possible without the hard work and dedication of volunteers like you. Have you considered joining one of our active committees or just pitching in when we need a hand? Our most valuable resource is our membership - is your membership up to date?

As a rookie President, I look forward to learning the ropes and working with you to meet the challenges of the coming year. I welcome your comments and input on any issue you consider important to Atlantic Geoscience Society.

Until the next time ... 

Chris White, AGS President

May 26-28, 1999 Annual GAC-MAC Conference, Sudbury, Ontario 

June 5-6, 1999 (tentative dates) International Workshop for a Climatic, Biotic, and Tectonic Transect Across Triassic-Jurassic Pangea, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia 

The Atlantic Geoscience Society held a very successful Annual General Meeting and Colloquium at the Wandlyn Inn, Amherst, Nova Scotia, on February 5-6, 1999. The Colloquium's themes on Geoscience Software, Geology of the Maritimes Basin, Offshore Petroleum Geology and Geological Resources, and Current Research in the Atlantic Provinces produced 55 excellent oral and poster presentations. The Rupert MacNeill Award for best student oral presentation went to Krista Page (Photo 1) of Dalhousie University. The Graham Williams Award for best poster presentation went to Loretta Ransom (Photo 2) of St. Francis Xavier University. Noranda gave its award of a sack full of field goodies and an offer of a summer job to Geoff Allaby (Photo 3), a student at the University of New Brunswick, for the best paper on an Economic Geology theme. Hugh Miller, the President of the GAC was our guest at the meeting and he presented a one-time GAC award to Jerry DeWolfe of Saint Mary's University for his noteworthy presentation. (I know this equal distribution of awards all sounds contrived but the judges maintain it worked out this way with no collusion!)

The Colloquium had 163 registrants of which 82 were students and 20 gave presentations. The AGS tends to view the Annual Colloquium as a forum to help students towards professionalism and this level of participation is encouraging. The corporate sponsor- ship from Noranda Mining and Exploration, Etruscan Resources, and Voisey's Bay Nickel Company in helping to keep costs down goes towards this end as well

On the business side of things, the Annual General Meeting brought no surprises and ended quite quickly after electing the new slate of officers. After the technical session, Hugh Miller lead an informal discussion on Professional Registration and the views of the Canadian Geoscience Council. This was not a one-sided nor peaceful debate and from reviewing the history of the AGS, not new. The debate on Professional Registration has been going on for over 25 years in Nova Scotia.

The Colloquium ended with the inevitable banquet where we had an excellent meal preceding the awards presentations. The AGS has been helped tremendously over the past two and a half decades by Laing Ferguson of Mount Allison University and this year he retired from that institution. Because we do not want to lose him, the Society awarded Laing with a Life Time Membership, the first ever awarded (Photo 4). After all the awards were distributed, Mike MacDonald gave an excellent illustrated talk on his adventures in Mongolia while on leave last year from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (Photo 5). The evening then wound down with a few members sticking around to sing not too ribald songs accompanied by guitars and a mandolin into the wee hours of the night

The AGS Colloquiums have been a great venue to see what research is being done in the Atlantic region and who's doing it. Every university and government geoscience division in the region participates, we know each other, and we are all congenial (Photo 6). We work well together and I think we are all working towards the same goal - the dissemination of knowledge. I hope to next AGS Colloquium, to be held in Fredericton in 2000, will bring us together again to discuss and debate Atlantic geology. 

Peter Wallace, Dalhousie University

Legislation governing the licensing of geoscientists has been passed by the New Brunswick Legislature. Bill 26, An Act to Amend the Engineering Profession Act, was introduced for first reading on February 2nd. The Legislatures Standing Committee for Private Bills conducted hearings on February 18th and March 9th, after which a recommendation for approval of the Bill was made to the Legislature. Second and third readings occurred on March 11th. When APENB and APGNB have completed preparations for the registration of geoscientists, the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act will be proclaimed by the New Brunswick government. Copies of the new Act should be available in the near future, depending on the schedule and priorities of the Queens Printer.

The procedures which the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick will implement in registering geoscientists will be discussed by representatives of the two groups in the coming weeks. Two members of the APGNB Executive will be appointed to APE(G)NB Council, and several additional New Brunswick geoscientists have volunteered to assist in the admissions process and coordinate with APENBs existing Admissions Committee. Our committee will represent a cross- section of geoscience professionals in New Brunswick, including the mining industry, mineral exploration and environmental consultants, and the university community. In addition, these individuals are presently registered as professional geoscientists in various other jurisdictions.

Additional information will be distributed to geoscientists in New Brunswick (and other members of APGNB) as it becomes available. Queries may be directed to Reg Wilson at (506) 547-2070, e-mail: rawilson@gov.nb.ca 

Reg Wilson, President, APGNB

Past-President

Robert Raeside

Acadia University, Department of Geology

Wolfville, NS, B0P 1X0

Phone: (902) 585-1323

Fax: (902) 585-1074

E-Mail: rob.raeside@acadiau.ca

President

Chris White

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

P.O. Box 698

Halifax, NS, B3J 2T9

Phone: (902) 424-2519

Fax: 

E-Mail: whitece@gov.ns.ca

Vice-President

Mike MacDonald 

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

P.O. Box 698 

Halifax, NS, B3J 2T9 

Phone: (902) 424-2523 

Fax: (902) 424-7735 

E-Mail: mamacdon@gov.ns.ca

Secretary

Peter Giles

Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), B.I.O.

P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2

Phone: (902) 426-8928

Fax: (902) 426-6152

E-Mail: giles@agc.bio.ns.ca

Treasurer

Ken Howells

27 John Cross Drive

Dartmouth, NS, B2W 1X1

Phone: (902) 434-4884

Fax: 

E-Mail howells@agc.bio.ns.ca

Tom Al

University of New Brunswick, Department of Geology

P.O. Box 4400

Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3

Phone: (506) 453-4804

Fax:

E-Mail: tal@unb.ca

Jennifer Bates

Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), B.I.O.

P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2

Phone: (902) 426-4386

Fax: (902) 426-4848

E-Mail: bates@agc.bio.ns.ca

Hugo Beltrami

St. Francis Xavier University, Department of Geology

Antigonish, NS, B2G 1C0

Phone: (902) 867-2326

Fax: 

E-Mail: hugo@justine.stfx.ca

Paul Durling

Corridor Resources

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Phone: (902) 429-4511

Fax:

E-Mail:

Linda Ham

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources

P.O. Box 698, Halifax, NS, B3J 2T9

Phone: (902) 424-2522

Fax: 

E-Mail: ljham@gov.ns.ca

Randy Miller

New Brunswick Museum, Natural Science Division

277 Douglas Ave., Saint John, NB, E2K 1E5

Phone: (506) 643-2361

Fax: 

E-Mail: millerrf@nbnet.nb.ca

Dave Mossman

Mount Allison University, Dept. of Physics, Engineering and Geology

Sackville, NB, E0A 3C0

Phone: (506) 364-2312

Fax: (506) 364-2583

E-Mail: dmossman@mta.ca

Mike Parkhill

New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy

Geological Surveys Branch

P.O. Box 50, Bathurst, NB, E2A 3Z1

Phone: (506) 547-2070

Fax: 

E-Mail: mparkhill@gov.nb.ca

Georgia Pe-Piper

St. Mary's University, Department of Geology

Halifax, NS, B2Y 4A2

Phone: (902) 420-5744

Fax: 

E-Mail: gpiper@shark.stmarys.ca

Alan Ruffman

Geomarine Associates Ltd.

P.O. Box 41, Station M, Halifax, NS, B3J 2L4

Phone: (902) 422-6482

Fax: 

E-Mail: 

Clint St. Peter 

New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy

P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5H1

Phone: (506) 453-2206

Fax: 

E-Mail: cstpeter@gov.nb.ca

Ian Spooner

Acadia University, Department of Geology

Wolfville, NS, B0P 1X0

Phone: (902) 585-1312

Fax: (902) 585-1074

E-Mail: ian.spooner@acadiau.ca

Peter Wallace

Dalhousie University Department of Earth Sciences

Halifax, NS, B3H 3J5

Phone: (902) 494-2364/2358

Fax: (902) 494-6889

E-Mail: peter.wallace@dal.ca

Dick Wardle

Newfoundland Dept. of Mines and Energy, Geological Surveys Branch

P.O. Box 8700, St. John's, NF, A1B 4T6

Phone: (709) 729-2107

Fax: 

E-Mail: rjw@zeppo.geosurv.gov.nf.ca

Tim Webster

College of Geographic Sciences

R.R. No. 1, Lawrencetown, NS, B0S 1M0

Phone: (902) 584-2226

Fax:

E-Mail: tim@cogs.ns.ca

This note is a friendly reminder to those of you who did not attend the Annual General Meeting and Colloquium in Amherst. Please renew your Atlantic Geology Membership. The cost for Professionals is only $10.00 and for students $5.00. Click here to download a membership form.. Please make cheques payable to the Atlantic Geoscience Society and mail to: Ken Howells, 27 John Cross Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2W 1X1. 

For more information please consult our Web Site at: http://ags.earthsciences.dal.ca/ags.php. 

Chris White, AGS President