Backyard Geology

Episode summary introduction: In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to St. John’s Newfoundland. The southeastern tip of the peninsula, 130km down the coast from the city, host to the oldest known forms of large, complex life dating back 565 million years ago from the Ediacaran Period. The exposed sedimentary rocks, which make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site, provide a window into the elusive and understudied inhabitants of the Precambrian sea floor.Resources:Darroch, S.A.F., Sperling, E.A., Boag, T.H., Racicot, R.A., Mason, S.J., Morgan, A.S., Tweedt, S., Myrow, P., Johnston, D.T., Erwin, D.H. and Laflamme, M., 2015. Biotic replacement and mass extinction of the Ediacara biota. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1814), p.20151003. Laflamme, M., Darroch, S.A.F., Tweedt, S.M., Peterson, K.J. and Erwin, D.H., 2013. The end of the Ediacara biota: Extinction, biotic replacement, or Cheshire Cat? Gondwana Research, 23(2), pp.558–573. Liu, A.G. and Matthews, J.J., 2017. Great Canadian Lagerstätten 6. Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, Southeast Newfoundland. Geoscience Canada, 44(2), pp.63–76. https://doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2017.44.117.Misra, S.B., 1969. Late Precambrian (?) Fossils from Southeastern Newfoundland. GSA Bulletin, 80(11), pp.2133–2140. David Attenborough’s “First Life”, Episode 1 (2010)Host Information: Serena is a Canadian graduate student currently studying geochemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her research focuses on isotopic analysis of Hawaiian volcanos to understand the dynamic and complicated evolution of the Hawaiian mantle plume. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the exposed sedimentary rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and enthusiastic professors quickly fostered a love for all things geology. Like other member of the Geology Podcast Network, Serena loves to talk rocks and is invested in sharing her love for our planet through podcasts, educational programs for kids, and even museum exhibits. Despite heavy seasonal rains in Vancouver, she is an avid cyclist, which unfortunately does not bode well with inevitable stop for round hounding, but is an excellent way to thoroughly explore the Earth and all its glorious geologic features.

We can’t get enough of fossils, and I hope we can say the same about you. That’s why Serena met with fossil lover and fellow Traveling Geologist team member Noelle Lin to follow up on the wonders of Mistaken Point. Check out this bonus episode of Backyard Geology: Canada Edition to learn about paleoenvironmental reconstruction!Host Information: Serena is a Canadian graduate student currently studying geochemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her research focuses on isotopic analysis of Hawaiian volcanos to understand the dynamic and complicated evolution of the Hawaiian mantle plume. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the exposed sedimentary rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and enthusiastic professors quickly fostered a love for all things geology. Like other member of the Geology Podcast Network, Serena loves to talk rocks and is invested in sharing her love for our planet through podcasts, educational programs for kids, and even museum exhibits. Despite heavy seasonal rains in Vancouver, she is an avid cyclist, which unfortunately does not bode well with inevitable stop for round hounding, but is an excellent way to thoroughly explore the Earth and all its glorious geologic features.

Episode summary introduction: In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to Hamilton, ON to look at the sedimentary structure that locals call “The Mountain”. The Niagara Escarpment is a steep cliff face that bisects southern Ontario. The cliff face is home to scenic hiking trails and countless waterfalls. For geologists, the Escarpment showcases over 100m of relatively undisturbed sedimentary rock beds, hosting fossils from an ancient tropical sea that once existed on the edge of Laurentia. Resources:The Bruce Trail Conservancy. Webinar – Ancient Seas, Glaciers and Waterfalls: The Geologic History of the Niagara Escarpment (2020) presented by Dr. Carolyn Eyles and Rebecca Lee.Armstrong, D.K. and Dodge, J.E.P., 2007. Paleozoic Geology of Southern Ontario. Sedimentary Geoscience Section, Ontario Geological Survey, p.30.Hewitt, D.F., 1971. The Niagara Escarpment.Host Information: Serena is a Canadian graduate student currently studying geochemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her research focuses on isotopic analysis of Hawaiian volcanos to understand the dynamic and complicated evolution of the Hawaiian mantle plume. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the exposed sedimentary rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and enthusiastic professors quickly fostered a love for all things geology. Like other member of the Geology Podcast Network, Serena loves to talk rocks and is invested in sharing her love for our planet through podcasts, educational programs for kids, and even museum exhibits. Despite heavy seasonal rains in Vancouver, she is an avid cyclist, which unfortunately does not bode well with inevitable stop for round hounding, but is an excellent way to thoroughly explore the Earth and all its glorious geologic features.

The more rocks you talk about, the more you learn! Tune in for another bonus episode of Backyard Geology: Canada Edition where Serena talks with Henry Gage, who studies freeze-thaw weathering in the Niagara Escarpment. When it comes to urban landscapes, geologists play a key role in predicting, understanding and preventing  geohazards.Host Information: Serena is a Canadian graduate student currently studying geochemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her research focuses on isotopic analysis of Hawaiian volcanos to understand the dynamic and complicated evolution of the Hawaiian mantle plume. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the exposed sedimentary rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and enthusiastic professors quickly fostered a love for all things geology. Like other member of the Geology Podcast Network, Serena loves to talk rocks and is invested in sharing her love for our planet through podcasts, educational programs for kids, and even museum exhibits. Despite heavy seasonal rains in Vancouver, she is an avid cyclist, which unfortunately does not bode well with inevitable stop for round hounding, but is an excellent way to thoroughly explore the Earth and all its glorious geologic features.

Episode summary introduction: In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to Sudbury, ON where a massive meteorite impact 1.85 billion years ago left an economically significant scar on the terrane. Now one of the top global producers of nickel, Sudbury’s owes it fame to Earth’s own natural smelting event that brought precious metals up to the surface where they can be mined today.Resources:Barnes, S.J., Holwell, D.A. and Le Vaillant, M., 2017. Magmatic Sulfide Ore Deposits. Elements, 13(2), pp.89–95.Lightfoot, P., 2016. Nickel Sulfide Ores and Impact Melts: Origin of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. 1st ed. Nickel Sulfide Ores and Impact Melts: Origin of the Sudbury Igneous Complex.Mungall, J.E., Ames, D.E. and Hanley, J.J., 2004. Geochemical evidence from the Sudbury structure for crustal redistribution by large bolide impacts. Nature, 429(6991), pp.546–548.Natural Resources Canada, 2021. Minerals and Mining. [online] Government of Canada.Host Information: Serena is a Canadian graduate student currently studying geochemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her research focuses on isotopic analysis of Hawaiian volcanos to understand the dynamic and complicated evolution of the Hawaiian mantle plume. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the exposed sedimentary rocks of the Niagara Escarpment and enthusiastic professors quickly fostered a love for all things geology. Like other member of the Geology Podcast Network, Serena loves to talk rocks and is invested in sharing her love for our planet through podcasts, educational programs for kids, and even museum exhibits. Despite heavy seasonal rains in Vancouver, she is an avid cyclist, which unfortunately does not bode well with inevitable stop for round hounding, but is an excellent way to thoroughly explore the Earth and all its glorious geologic features.

Geology students: this is NOT an episode to miss! Check out Serena’s talk with geologist and businesswoman extraordinaire Dr. Catherine Farrow. In this bonus episode of Backyard Geology: Canada Edition, Dr. Farrow shares her experiences working alongside mining companies and her rich career history here in Canada. 

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to Regina, Saskatchewan to explore one of the greatest puzzles in Canadian geologic history. The Trans-Hudson Orogeny was a massive Paleoproterozoic mountain building event that built a large portion of North America. Over a billion years of erosion now conceals the Himalaya-sized event in the flat landscape of the Canadian prairies. Learn about how the movement of continents has changed over time and how North America came together through a spectacular accretionary event.

Geologists have eyes for the subsurface, and that is especially true for geophysicists like Dr. Fiona Darbyshire who studies the complicated structure of Earth’s crust. Parts of the Canadian prairies hide the remnants of an ancient, colossal mountain building event, preserved in the crust. Dr. Darbyshire explains how geologists study these events by examining the subsurface.

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to the Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories. Here, a field of kimberlite dikes host Earth’s famous hitchhikers: diamonds. Learn how diamonds made their way to the Northwest Territories and how kimberlites rule the world of hard-rock mining. 

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to Drumheller, Alberta, home to the largest known assembly of cretaceous fossils, including those of dinosaurs. Sedimentation on the coastal region of the Western Interior Seaway about 70 million years ago preserved the remains of dinosaurs, amphibians and fish and more recent erosional processes have uncovered these fossils to be excavated and studies by paleontologists. Today, Drumheller is a popular tourist destination for its fossils, badlands and spectacular sunsets.