Alberta Geological Survey Geology Podcasts

The Neale Medal, named after the legendary geologist E.R. Ward Neale, is awarded by the Geological Association of Canada to an individual for sustained outstanding efforts in sharing earth science knowledge with Canadians.

Alberta entered Canada's modern era of diamond exploration in the 1990s, when diamond exploration companies discovered three separate areas of kimberlitic rocks in northern Alberta.

The understanding of the bedrock topography, buried bedrock valleys and channels, drift thickness and glacial aquifers in the surface-mineable and in situ-recovery oil sands north of Fort McMurray has be updated.

As of April 2, 2207, the Base of Groundwater Protection information is now available at the legal subdivision level through a web tool.

Recently, a surficial mapping web page was added to the AGS website. You are greeted with a map showing generalized surficial mapping coverage for Alberta. By clicking any of the NTS tiles, you can download surficial maps and reports for that area.

The Alberta Geological Survey library is an excellent resource for geoscience information. The collection includes books, journals, maps, atlases, directories, federal and provincial geological documents and some Energy Resources Conversation Board publications.

For the past 5 years, Alberta Geological Survey, as part of a consortium of federal and provincial government agencies and industry partners, conducted a number of projects characterizing the subsurface geology and hydrogeology of acid gas injection operations. Drs. Maja Buschkuehle and Shahin Dashtgard led a field trip in September 2006, for representatives of the consortium. The field trip was entitled "Source to Sink - Sour Gas Production and Acid Gas Injection in the Rocky Mountain Foothills and Alberta Plains.

On April 1st, 2005, the Alberta Geological Survey assumed the responsibility for the long-term monitoring of Turtle Mountain, the site of the famous 1903 Frank Slide. With funding from the Alberta government and the addition of staff in August 2005, the Geohazards Program was created. This article outlines the objectives and accomplishments of the program to date.

The Alberta Geological Survey has some great teaching resources available on-line. This article outlines the details of four new maps. Fall 2006 Rock Chips newsletter.

Part 1, a synoptic history of discovery of the Clear Hills ooidal ironstones was published in the Winter 2005 Rock Chips. Part 2 provides an overview of the geology and summarizes the iron resources within the Bad Heart Formation.

Following the retirement of Rick Richardson, Dr. Kevin Parks, P. Geol., has taken on the roles of manager of the Alberta Geological Survey and provincial geologist. Learn about his plans for AGS.

Alberta Geological Survey has initiated a project to evaluate shale gas resources in Alberta. The project will first evaluate the Colorado Group and progress to deeper strata.

Story 1. On March 1st 2006, the Alberta Geological Survey and Geological Survey of Canada released the joint publication EUB/AGS Special Report 77/GSC Open File 5121, which has since prompted significant mineral staking activity by mineral exploration companies. The report presents heavy mineral and geochemical results from glacial drift samples collected in the Zama Lake and Bistcho Lake map areas. Story 2. On May 5, 2006, five geologists of the Alberta Geological Survey led a river-raft field trip down the North Saskatchewan River as part of Alberta's Environment Conference. The journey offered a glimpse of the past 60 million years of Edmonton's natural history, made possible by one of nature's time machines: the North Saskatchewan River.

During the summers of 2004 to 2006, the surficial mapping of the rugged and remote terrain of the western Steen River map area was completed. This article outlines some of the findings of this study.

Alberta Geological Survey has five core programs supported by five technical sections. This article outlines the agenda for these programs for the upcoming fiscal year.