The 50th AGS Colloquium and Annual Meeting is being planned for the Crowne Plaza, Moncton, New Brunswick, on February 2-3, 2024. More details will be posted in the coming months.

Short Colloquium Program (Jan 30 update)
Full Colloquium Program with abstracts and reports (Jan 30 update)

50th AGS Colloquium Awards

Colloquium photos by: Howard Donohoe

Organizing Committee

The 2024 colloquium is being organized by a group of AGS members: Susan Johnson, Michael Parkhill, Jim Walker (sponsorship), Dave Lentz (sponsorship), Deanne van Rooyen (registration), Steven Rossiter (judging), Dustin Dahn (judging), Erin Smith, Olivia King, Kay Thorne, and Lynn Dafoe (website). If you are interested in helping with any aspect, please contact Susan.Johnson@gnb.ca and Michael.Parkhill@gnb.ca.

Sponsors of the Colloquium

Registration

The registration system for the AGS Colloquium on 2-3 February 2024 at the Crowne Plaza in Moncton, NB is now live: https://event.fourwaves.com/ags2024/pages. All details regarding registration costs can be found there. Requests for registration refunds must be submitted by midnight, 31 January. 

You can edit your registration form at any time if you want to add events to it. To do this, log into your Fourwaves account, select AGS 2024 from your events, click on “Edit registration”, make your changes and click “Save form”. Complete instructions with screen shots are here. 

Abstract Submission

At this point we invite you to consider submitting an abstract for the Colloquium. Presentations will be In-person only and 20 minutes in length, including time for questions. The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday January 12th, 2024. Abstracts must be in the format used by Atlantic Geoscience (see sample abstract for format). Please submit your abstracts in MSWord with a maximum of 300 words in the body of the abstract. In line with Atlantic Geoscience policy, accepted abstracts will be edited where necessary and published in Atlantic Geoscience. Abstracts are to be submitted to Michael Parkhill at Michael.Parkhill@gnb.ca   Important: Please indicate if it is for poster or oral presentation; if applicable, what special session it is for; and if you are an undergraduate (BSc) or graduate (MSc or PhD) student and would like to be considered for a student award. Note that your abstract will only be officially accepted after you register for the colloquium.

Program

The short program for the 50th AGS Colloquium and Annual Meeting is now available here, with a update from January 26th. This version will be printed and included in registration packages.

The full program for the 50th AGS Colloquium and Annual Meeting, including abstracts and committee reports is now available here.

Posters

Poster Session – please note that the poster panels are 4 ft (high) x 8 ft (wide) and are both Velcro and push pin friendly.

Workshops and Short Courses

Geochemical data collection, preparation, analysis, and presentation
½ Day (4 hours of Formal CPD)
Cliff Stanley, Ph.D., P.Geo., Professor of Applied Geochemistry, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Acadia University
Friday, February 2, 2024, 1:00-5:00 p.m., Fundy Room, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Moncton NB,

This ½ day (afternoon) short course presents to the geoscientist the basic principles that need to be considered when collecting, preparing, and analyzing geological samples for quantitative data interpretation. It describes several practical steps necessary to make such data useful, including QAQC, data censoring, and data transformation. Finally, it reviews some basic considerations related to initial data evaluation, univariate interpretation, and data presentation. While focused primarily on geochemical and mineralogical data, many of the principles presented also apply to the treatment of many forms of geophysical data.

• Sample collection
  • Spatial representativity
  • Punctual representativity
• Sample preparation
  • Mass reduction
  • Particle size reduction
    
• Geochemical analysis
  • Assays and geochemistry
  • Mass and molar concentrations
  • Oxides and elements
  • LOI, S, C, H₂O⁺, Fe⁺³
• QAQC
  • Oxide ‘Total’ as a data quality assessment tool
  • Accuracy and precision
  • CRMs, blanks, and duplicates
• Initial data treatment
  • Significant digits and rounding errors
  • Detection limits and censored data
  • Quantitative and qualitative data
• Data transformations
  • Reasons – linearity, normality, additivity, homoscedasticity, and contrast
  • Methods – logarithmic, angular, root, and unitized power transforms
• Univariate data analysis
  • Statistics and percentiles
  • Histograms and probability plots
  • Bubble plots and contouring

Special Sessions

Session S1: From Ocean Crust to Mountain Peaks: A Celebration of the Career of Sandra Barr
Co-chairs: Deanne van Rooyen and Chris White
Acadia University
This session is a celebration of the long and varied career of Dr. Sandra Barr. From her early work in seafloor rocks to her life-long interest in the Appalachians Sandra has been at the forefront of the advances in geological research for decades. Her work is recognized worldwide, and she has been a mentor and guide to countless students and professionals. We invite contributions dealing with any of the fields of research to which Sandra has made contributions to celebrate the career of one of the preeminent geologists in Canada.

Session S2: Gold in the Northern Appalachians Co-chairs: Aaron Bustard and Mitchell Kerr
Geological Surveys Branch, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development, Saint Mary’s University
Given heightened interest in gold mineralization throughout the region in recent years, this session will focus on work that is advancing our understanding of gold mineralization in Atlantic Canada. We invite papers from industry, government, and academia related to all aspects of gold deposits including transport and deposition, geochronology, structural controls, geochemistry, and refinement of genetic and exploration models. This session will provide an avenue for discussing the current and future work to further our understanding of gold in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Session S3: Sedimentary Successions through Time
Co-chairs: Lynn Dafoe, Jade Atkins, Olivia King, and Luke Allen
Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Joggins Fossil Institute, Saint Mary’s University, University of New Brunswick
The nature of the stratigraphic record varies through geological time because of factors such as biological and landscape evolution, as well as broader plate tectonic activity. The application of sedimentological and paleontological principles, however, remains key in understanding ancient and modern depositional settings. In some instances, “the present is key to the past”, but this is not necessarily the case as the rock record is punctuated by catastrophic events and represents an incomplete record. The goal of the session is to show linkages and dissimilarities between sedimentary studies through geologic time. Accordingly, we invite contributions that focus on paleontology, sedimentology, and stratigraphic sections from the Precambrian through Holocene.

Session S4: Igneous-hydrothermal systems and critical metals in the northeast
Co-chairs: Michael Powell and Pēteris Rozenbaks, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University
The global race to build greener economies, coupled with recent federal and provincial government initiatives, have spurred a growing demand for critical metals. Enhancing our understanding of the formation of critical metal resources during igneous and hydrothermal ore system evolution is key to maximizing our discovery and extraction of such resources. This session aims to gather the latest studies of critical metals related to magmatic and hydrothermal systems within eastern Canada and the northeast USA. Contributions are welcome from all domains of igneous petrology, hydrothermal environments, and economic geology.

Session S5: Educational outreach, EdGEO, and outreach opportunities Co-chairs: Tracy Webb and Jason Loxton
Chair of Education Committee; Cape Breton University Geology
This will be an open session to discuss the EdGEO program and look for ways to further extend the resources and workshops for outreach. EdGEO has a proven success record in this nationally, and we would like to support this more in the Maritimes, along with other sources of educational outreach. Please join us and feel free to share your outreach stories, ideas and successes!

Session S6: Environmental geoscience and sustainability Co-chairs: Cameron Greaves and Carla Skinner
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University and Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic)
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children” (Unknown). Ongoing announcements by all levels of government on greenhouse gas reduction, renewable energy, critical minerals, waste disposal, and environmental assessments mean there is a critical need for geoscience data and research. This session calls for research from all geosciences to share their work on these topics, and may include other areas such as geohazards, shallow seismic, coastal/nearshore mapping, sediment mobility, carbon capture, offshore wind, etc. We invite a broad range of topics associated with environmental geoscience and sustainability because the future requires a broad range of solutions.

Session S7: The Energy Transition and Achieving Carbon Neutrality
Chair: Grant Wach, Basin and reservoir lab, Dalhousie University
Throughout human history, as societies evolve and improve, our actions have been contributing to a shift in the natural order of the Earth. From the advent of agriculture, the age of industrialization, advancements in technology, and exponential population growth, there is no doubt about the impact we have made on the globe. While much of this progress is seen as essential for the development of humanity, some of the negative influences – pollution, deforestation, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – have been compounding into significant issues. Our emissions have been of rising concern as of late, as GHGs such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) absorb and trap heat within the atmosphere, leading to rising global temperatures. As temperature is intrinsically connected to numerous earth processes and cycles, the effects had on sea level, agriculture, and general quality of life could be catastrophic if not dealt with.
With hopeful emission reduction targets in place both federally and provincially for 2030 and beyond, it is apparent that action is needed to change our approach to energy usage, manufacturing, and our relation to the land we reside within. While emission amounts vary between nations due to differences in levels of industrial and technological development, we can only be responsible for dealing with our own emissions; and as one of the most advanced countries in terms of economy and technology, with the means to address the issues head on, Canada should be setting the precedent for making progress in the fight against climate change.

General sessions

Geoscience Research Developments

Call for Nominations for AGS Awards

The Atlantic Geoscience Society is accepting nominations by January 5, 2024 in the following categories:
AGS Distinguished Scientist Award (Gesner Medal)
AGS Distinguished Service Award (Laing Ferguson Award)
AGS Nelly Koziel Award

The call for nominations contains the criteria for each award and the requirement for each nomination package.

Details of past award winners can be found here. Nominations, supporting letters, and all documentation should be submitted electronically to allow easy transmission to award adjudicators.

Student Travel Grants

The AGS Student Travel Grant enables up to 4 students to attend and present at the AGS Annual Colloquium. Students can apply for up to $400 in funding in the first instance. Priority will be given to students who are travelling more than 500 km to attend the conference, presenting talks or posters and who wish to attend a workshop offered as part of the conference. Students should send their applications directly to Rob Raeside, attaching a single pdf with a short cover letter including a statement indicating their degree program, why they wish to attend the meeting and how they expect to benefit from it, a copy of the abstract as planned to be submitted to the AGS Colloquium and a budget of the costs associated with attendance, including travel, and other sources of funding available. The submission deadline for a travel grant is 5 January and applicants will be informed of the results in early January to provide time for travel planning and conference registration. Successful applicants will be required to provide receipts after travel (or a travel claim from their institution). The funds will be provided to the student at the colloquium.

Colloquium location

Accommodations at the Crowne Plaza in Moncton, New Brunswick are being held in a block booking for $154 a night (including parking) until 9^th January, whereupon they will be released. After January 9^th availability at the hotel cannot be guaranteed. To receive the conference rate please indicate when booking that you are part of the Atlantic Geoscience Society. The hotel is located at 1005 Main Street, Moncton. Reservations can be made by calling 506-854-6340.