Esker Myths and Misconceptions

• In-person event
• A220, Loeb Building, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

• Contact
• Natalia Fierro Marquez, natalia.fierromarquez@carleton.ca

FOUNDERS SEMINAR

Presents
Dr. Don I. Cummings
DCGeo Consulting, Aylmer, Quebec. ­­

Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Carleton University

ESKER MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

When: Friday November 13, 2015
Time: 2:30- 4:00
Location: Loeb A220
(Light refreshments will be available) ALL WELCOME

Abstract:

Eskers are one of the most recognizable landforms in glaciated landscapes.  Despite this, their origin remains controversial.  Based on 15 years of industry- and government-sponsored field work throughout Canada and USA using large integrated datasets (seismic, ground penetrating radar, cores, geophysical well logs, outcrops, LiDAR, digital elevation models, indicator mineral samples, geochemical samples), in addition to a review of all existing esker literature from the 1800s onward, this talk will describe what is currently known about eskers in terms of their morphology, internal heterogeneity, stratigraphic context, and provenance.  This information will then be used as a platform to dispell several myths and misconceptions related to how eskers form, and to instigate a broader discussion of how glaciers interact with the Earth’s surface.  Application to resource exploration (groundwater, diamonds) will be discussed.

Bio:

Don Cummings is an Ottawa-based consultant and Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University.  For the past 20 years, he has worked to better understand interactions between geophysical fluids (air, water, glacier ice) and the Earth’s surface, and the landscapes and sedimentary deposits produced as a result, at scales ranging from the microscopic to the planetary.  His current research focuses on the glacial sedimentary cover of Canada, and he maintains an interest in fluvial and coastal systems.  His book “The Tide-Dominated Han River Delta, Korea: Geomorphology, Sedimentology and Stratigraphic Architecture” is scheduled to be published by Elsevier in October 2015.