The Science Atlantic Geology Speaker Tour is co-sponsored by the Atlantic Geoscience Society. In this annual speaker tour, prominent scientists visit several post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada. The lectures are free and open to anyone interested in attending. More details can be found on the Science Atlantic website.
2025-2026 Speaker Tour
What is at the bottom of Archean crust?
Dr. Jillian Kendrick, Department of Earth Science, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS
Abstract: The Archean Eon (4 Ga to 2.5 Ga) was a critical period in Earth’s history. During this time, the planet saw the start of plate tectonics, rise of continents, and evolution of primitive life forms. The only evidence remaining of these important milestones is in rocks of the crust, the outermost layer of the Earth, however preserved Archean crust is limited. Most currently exposed Archean rocks were formed in the upper crust and provide crucial insights into surficial and shallow-level processes but contain limited information on larger-scale tectonic processes and sources of felsic magmatism. Although the deepest levels of Earth’s crust are largely inaccessible, they hold the key to understanding how continents were constructed from the Archean to today. Indirect methods have been developed to shed light on unexposed deep crust, such as those based on geophysical data. However, ancient deep crust can be directly observed in high-grade metamorphic terranes, which are sporadically exposed around the world. In this talk, I will showcase a rare and spectacular example of Archean deep crust known as the Kapuskasing Structural Zone, located in northern Ontario. These rocks preserve evidence of key early Earth processes, including crustal melting, which may have been responsible for the formation of most Archean continental crust. Questions remain unanswered, however, surrounding the nature of this deep crust and the clues it may hold to understanding the evolution of early Earth.
Bio: Jillian Kendrick is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Science at Saint Mary’s University. She completed her PhD at University of Waterloo in 2022, where she investigated the origins of Archean granitoids. Jill’s research background is primarily in metamorphic petrology with crossover into igneous petrology, as her work has a strong focus on high-grade metamorphism, crustal melting, and the evolution of associated granitoid magma. In her research program, Jill employs a broad methodological approach (field methods, geochemical analysis, computer modelling) to understand the record of crustal evolution preserved in metamorphic and igneous rocks throughout Earth’s history.
The present is the key to the past, and to the future: Investigations of modern sedimentary environments in contrasting hot and cold environments
Dr. Hilary Corlett, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s NL
Abstract: The principle of uniformitarianism states that the present is the key to the past, but can we also learn more to help predict our future? The modern sedimentary record holds clues for where we are headed in our ever-changing coastlines and shallow to deep marine environments. In this talk, I will discuss approaches to modern sedimentary studies in varied climates. From the hot, restricted inland Persian Gulf sabkha to the fjords of Canada’s northeastern coast, we will examine modern sedimentary processes, changes to these processes through time, and how burrowing organisms affect fluid flow and the preservation of inorganic and organic carbon in carbonate and in mixed clastic-carbonate environments. Studying our recent sedimentary record has always taught us more about how to understand our geological history, but it can also help us to predict where we are headed in the future.
Bio: Hilary Corlett is an Associate Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s Campus. She joined the Earth Science Department in 2022 after four years as an Assistant Professor at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. Dr. Corlett’s Paleoenvironment and Diagenesis Research Group focuses on topics ranging from understanding the effects of terrestrial nutrient on modern and ancient carbonate platforms to basin-scale dolomitization in rift and post-rift settings. She is currently working on three large research programs investigating the storage of carbon in modern sediments, and injection of carbon into ancient carbonate and mixed carbonate-clastic successions. Additionally, she is investigating the effect of nutrients associated with the Earth’s first expansion of forests on Devonian reef systems. All of Dr. Corlett’s studies integrate field or core work with detailed petrographic analysis, stable and trace element geochemistry and identification of fossils that may be used as indicators of environmental change.