1/7 Alumni Event Jan 19th as part of the Earth Sciences 25 year anniversary. My pictures are mostly fuzzy, and such a good time was had by all, not many pictures were taken. I will post a few here. Thanks to SFU Alumni @SFUalumni for providing funding and some swag #SFU25Years!
@SFUalumni 2/7 Early Faculty/undergrad cohort. Ted Hickin, one of the founders, Robbie Donald, the first hire, James MacEachern and Derek Thorkelson, two of the first research hires, John Clague, Shrum Chair, Antigone D-W, first grad student. @SFUalumni@SFUEarthScience
3/7 Me giving an inspirational speech, OK, OK just kidding, I talked briefly about the early department and then gave out the door prizes. @SFUalumni@SFUEarthScience
4/7 Fuzzy movie from just after I gave out the door prizes. I think we were at peak attendance. @SFUalumni@SFUEarthScience
7/7 Random fuzzy crowd picture. Need a better camera! And name tags next time. Next alumni event is May 11 in Calgary associated with Geoconvention. We are having alumni speakers all this term: sfu.ca/earth-sciences…@SFUalumni@SFUEarthScience
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On August 29 examined some active layer detachment slides Near Arch and Quill creeks, SW Yukon. Around 25-30 slides occured on August 17, the same time the Alaska Highway was blocked by debris flows. A thread of these. This is the slides near where we landed. 1/10
Landed on the deposition zone of one of the landslides and flew the drone. Helicopter indicated for scale. 2/10
This is part of Crey Ackerson’s MSc thesis supported by Kristy Kennedy from the Yukon Geological Survey. 3/10
Finally some pictures of the Koidern Landslide. Start with some aerial pictures and then some more details. Some really interesting mollards, and some have remobilized! It is a long thread as it was a really cool landslide! 1/10
Looks like several phases. Initial failure crossed the small valley and then turned the corner. Then remobilization with a more fluid flow down the valley, blocking the larger stream. Then a smaller failure from the headscarp, where we first landed the helicopter. 2/10
Margin of the slide with lots of mollards. Nice streaking of the bedrock. 3/10
Spent a beautiful Friday at Point Grey (aka Wreck Beach) looking at the stratigraphy. He we have two advance sub-units below the till. The lower is interstratified sand and silt with peats, with ages from 26-24 ka, the upper, cross stratified sand. 1/
These advance sediments are called Quadra Sands and some diatoms in the lower sub-unit sediments indicate marine incursion. The upper sands show tidal influence. With eustatic sea level at this time, indicates >100 m of isostatic depression! 2/
The accumulation of ~70 m of Quadra sands indicates significant accommodation space. The two sub-units are exposed all along the escarpment. 3/
Friday’s Seymour valley fieldtrip examined the stratigraphy of the thick valley fill. The base is 42-29 ka MIS 3 gravel, sand and peat, indicating warmest climate at the base and progressively cooler to the top. 1/9
The MIS 2 Fraser Glaciation, has two advance stades. These are advance glaciolacustrine sediments of the older Coquitlam Stade, a mix of laminated to finely bedded silt and sand and diamicton. 2/9
Indicates ice blocked the mouth of the Seymour valley, forming this lake. There is wood in these advance sediments, dating to around 21 ka. Implies there is a spruce-fir forest in the area as ice advanced. 3/9