Winter 2011 Newsletter, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Congratulations to:

Natalie Senger, M.Sc. candidate on being the 2011 recipient of the Farvolden Scholarship. Natalie’s

research is on examining 30 year changes in the water quality in the Lake Algonquin Sand Aquifer

(LASA) with a focus on nitrate. The multi-level wells that Natalie has relocated and sampled for her

study were originally installed as part of Robert Starr’s Ph.D. work under the supervision of

Professor Robert Gillham, this year’s Farvolden Lecturer.

Luke Brough (M.Sc. candidate) and Colby Steelman (Ph.D. candidate) on being recipients of

NSERC postgraduate scholarships.

Maddy Rosamond (Ph.D. candidate) on receiving the Arcadis Graduate Scholarship 2012 from the

Water Institute.

Paul Reginato (B.Sc., Hydrogeology Specialization, Year 4) for the Alan Freeze award.

Undergraduate students, Alexander Yard (BSc., Honours Geology Specialization, Year 2), Matthew

Yee (B.Sc., Honours Geology Specialization, Year 2), Elaine Owens (B.Sc., Honours Geology, Year 3)

and Alyssa Segato (B.Sc., Honours Geology, Year 3) on being this year’s recipients of awards from

the Brantford Lapidary and Mineral Society.

Taylor Maavara (B.Sc., Honours Hydrogeology Specialization, Year 4) for winning the Worley-

Parsons Scholarship.

Phil van Lane (B.Sc., Geology Specialization, Year 2) and Emily Saurette (B.Env. Sci, Geoscience

Specialization, Year 2) are this year’s recipients of scholarships from the Bickell Foundation.

Amy Kenwell (B.Sc., Hydrogeology Specialization, Year 4), Adam Lentz (B.Sc, Geochemistry

Specialization, Year 4), and Honghao Shao (B.Sc., Geology Specialization, Year 4) are recipients of

the J.P. Bickell Mining Foundation Scholarships.

Suncor Emerging Leaders Scholarships went to Amy Kenwell (B.Sc., Hydrogeology Specialization,

Year 4), and Phil van Lane (B.Sc., Geology Specialization, Year 2) this year.

Ben Daniels (B.Sc, Geology Specialization, Year 4) was selected for this year’s Geological

Association of Canada Student Prize

The first recipient of our new Duncan McIvor Memorial Award is Nader Mostaghimi (B.Sc.,

Geology Specialization, Year 4). An endowment for this award was established by classmates,

friends, and family of the late Duncan McIvor (B.Sc., Earth Sciences, 1982) who passed away in April

2010. Duncan was the founding President CEO and Director of Endurance Gold Corporation in

Delta, B.C.

Happy retirement to:

Patty Foerester, our Undergraduate Secretary, retired October 12, 2011 after 20 years of service in

the department. All of our undergraduate students certainly know Patty when they sign up for

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courses, purchase their hand lenses and streak plates for Mineralogy, and pay their fees for the

Whitefish Falls field trip. Congratulations for a happy and restful retirement!

We are saddened by:

The loss of Professor R. Gwillym Roberts who passed away peacefully

with his family by his side on September 17, 2011, at the age of 77. He is

the loving husband for 52 years to Ann and caring father to Linden and

Owen. His laughter will be sorely missed by his grandchildren Morgan,

Jacob and Caden, sister Cambria and brother Brinley and their families.

Gwilym joined the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of

Waterloo in the fall of 1967. Gwilym introduced many young geologists to

mapping skills in Northern Ontario, where he would quietly track his student before appearing

suddenly out of the bush much to their surprise. After retiring from the university in 1996, Gwilym

continued to work as a consultant geologist for a number of years before discovering that the rocks

and earth in his own gardens were of even greater interest and enjoyment to him. Gwilym also

grew to appreciate the arts and became a regular enthusiast of the local art galleries and symphony.

Ron Kellerman, longtime technician in the Aqueous Geochemistry

Laboratory between 1980 and 1997, passed away suddenly from Acute

Leukemia on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at Victoria Hospital in London.

Our alumni continue to make us proud:

(photograph taken from Field Notes, the newsletter of the

APGO)

Peter Gray (B.Sc. 1979), Earth Sciences alumnus, on being

awarded the American Association of Petroleum Geologists,

Division of Environmental Geosciences Public Outreach

Award on April 13, 2011 at the Annual AAPG Convention in

Austin, Texas. This award recognizes his contributions for

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promoting geosciences. Peter has volunteered for 20 years and is one of the founders of the

Children’s Groundwater Festival.

Past (alumni) meets present

(current students), in this

photograph taken in the Earth

Sciences Museum at a

gathering of our alumni 21-23

October, 2011. Several of the

alumni have not been back to

campus since they graduated

in the 1970s. Thanks to Susan

Stipp (M.Sc., 1983) and Dirk

Gaevert (M.Sc. 1979) for

organizing this event. A good

time was had by all.

Bernadette Conant (M.Sc., 1991), Executive Director of the

Canadian Water Network (seen here) was interviewed for an

article entitled: “Tides of Change” in the 2011 Annual David

Johnston Research + Technology Park Magazine. Here is the

link:

http://www.rtpark.uwaterloo.ca/media/documents/WatchMagazine2011.pdf

Peter Churcher (BSc ‘84, MSc ‘87), currently Executive Vice President for Eagle Energy Trust in

Calgary, was on campus September 28, 2011 to present his talk: “Building a Solid Base for Your

Future in Oil and Gas: Making the Most of Your University Education”. His inspirational talk to a full

room of both graduate and undergraduate students included lots of invaluable advice and tips.

Thanks Peter!

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Oh baby ....

Ph.D. candidate, Ying Ying Liu and her husband Peng welcomed Christina Yuan Liu on December 4,

2010. Baby Christina and mom and dad are all thriving!

Proud parents Sylvia Kenny and Antonio Barroso Chulve are pleased to announce the birth of

their son, Leandro Marcial Barroso, born February 4, 2011 in Nanaimo, BC. He weighed in at 8 lbs,

15 ozs. His mom Sylvia is a PT M.Sc. candidate.

The department continues to grow:

We announced the imminent arrival of Dr. Philippe van Capellan as the Canada Excellence

Research Chair holder in Ecohydrology in the last department newsletter. Philippe has now arrived

and is busily setting up his new laboratories and getting his research program up and running.

Details are available on his website: http://ecohydrology.uwaterloo.ca/people.html

Dr. Raoul-Marie Couture who joined the department this summer as a

Research Assistant Professor, specializes in the study of trace elements

and nutrients in the aquatic environment, particularly under fluctuating

geochemical conditions. He is part of the CERC Ecohydrology initiative.

It has been a busy fall as we were engaged in efforts to recruit new faculty members. We conducted

searches for a total of four new faculty positions: Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology,

Ecohydrological Modelling, Economic Geology, and Solid Earth Earth Sciences. The search and

interview process has been completed. We expect all four people will be joining the department in

the coming months. Stayed tuned…we will introduce you to our new roster of faculty members in

the next newsletter.

Undergraduate news:

The numbers continue to grow in our Honours Earth Sciences and Honours Environmental Science

(Geoscience Specialization) programs. The number of students directly entering these programs

doubled this fall at a time when the Faculty of Science has been gradually increasing the minimum

average to a minimum of 80% for acceptance into all Science program. The majority are in the Co-

op stream. This Fall we had 15 students admitted to our regular Earth programs, 9 into the new

Environmental Sciences (Geoscience option) program and 21 new China 2+2 students! It is great to

see all of our Co-op Earth Sciences students were successful in getting geoscience job placements

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even during these rather tough economic times for some. There is room for our enrolments to

grow even more.

The 4th Year field trip continues to be an annual event:

The EARTH 490 Field Trip went to Peru to examine aspects of the geology, engineering geology, and geomorphology of the Cordillera Blanca, a major mountain chain within the Central Peruvian Andes. One of the highlights is the Antamina Mine. There are some spaces for any alumni interested in joining the 2012 trip this April. For details on the trip see the article in a recent issue of What on Earth (http://earth.uwaterloo.ca/pdf/volume6.pdf).

The photograph shows the Earth 490

students at a moraine dammed lake in

the Cordillera Blanca (Laguna LLaca).

What’s new in the Earth Sciences Museum?

The Earth Sciences Museum, which we would like to think is the best of its kind at a university in

Canada, is an integral part of our recruitment and outreach efforts in the department. Alumni,

friends, corporations, and foundations clearly think so too by being exceptionally generous in

recent months.

We reported on the establishment of the Reimer Family Gallery with donations from Jim (B.Sc.,

Earth Sciences, 1978, M.Sc., Earth Sciences, 1980) and Peggy Reimer in our last newsletter.

Specimens continue to be added to the collection and efforts continue to develop the interactive

computer modules that will be added to the Gallery in the coming months.

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The University of Waterloo has a new tunnel, mine tunnel that is which connects the EIT and ESC

Buildings. The tunnel provides the opportunity to introduce students and all visitors in southern

Ontario to the importance of Ontario’s early

and contemporary mining industry. The

theme of the new exhibit is: Ontario’s

Mininig: Exploration, Extraction, and

Rehabilitation. The tunnel is about 24 m

long with rock walls, bolts and wire meshing,

mucking carts, and display cases. An early

1940s era mine office with cores and ore

specimens and lockers and safety gear stands

outside the tunnel. An article about the mine

tunnel was the subject of an article in the

local Record newspaper:

http://www.therecord.com/living/article/616452--uw-recreates-old-mining-tunnel-on-campus.

While much has been completed, a few finishing touches remain. The tunnel will be completed in

time for the official opening of the new exhibit in the spring. Again, our thanks to all who have

contributed to make this project a reality.

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The Peter Russell Rock Garden continues to grow with three new rocks added this summer:

Columbus Limestone from Ingersoll, Ontario donated by Dr. Jim Barker, aphyric syenite dike from

Timmins, Ontario donated by Lakeshore Gold Corp., and folded marble from Marmor, Ontario was

funded by the UW recreation committee on behalf of uWaterloo employees.

The department is celebrating its 46th anniversary!

....and not quite but nearly as old are the microscopes used in the petrography, mineralogy,

sedimentology, and economic geology courses. It is time to replace them. At $12,000 each, less

about a 30% education discount from the vendor, we need about $200,000 to replace about 25

petrographic microscopes used in each lab class. We have about $50,000 in the kitty, but need

some more. Anyone interested in helping out can contact Rosie Triebner, Science Development

Officer (rtriebner@uwaterloo.ca). Remember all donations get a charitable tax receipt!

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“Wat is in the AIR??: Introducing WatAIR”

We announce the birth of WatAIR, the Waterloo Atmosphere-land Interactions Research group (see

http://www.air.uwaterloo.ca). Led by “Chief Airhead” John Lin (who also happens to be an

Assistant Prof), WatAIR will be a locus of research activity in the Department of Earth and

Environmental Sciences to study the atmosphere and the land surface in an integrated fashion. The

properties of the air that we breathe, live, and play in are controlled by atmosphere-land

interactions. Accordingly, many of the environmental issues confronted by human society lie at the

same atmosphere-land interface. For instance, the weather and climate we experience depend to a

great deal upon the energy exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. Furthermore,

the availability of water resources is controlled significantly by soil moisture, land cover, and the

hydrometeorological processes of evaporation and precipitation. Thirdly, greenhouse gases and

pollutants impacting air quality are sensitive to the conditions of the land surface. WatAIR will be

studying these environmental problems using a combination of computer models and observations.

The computer models simulate both the atmosphere as well as the land surface, incorporating the

physical, biological, and hydrological processes within a single framework. The observations derive

from diverse sources such as satellites, ecological experiments, and atmospheric sampling towers.

NOTE: the logo is designed by Eric Chan (echchan@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca ), a Master's student

member of WatAIR. The logo is intended to highlight WatAIR's research foci through use of

simplified graphical representations of clouds, mountains, and the human-modified environment

to indicate the physical domain of WatAIR's research interests. Enclosing the physical domain is a

rounded-triangle with sides in green, red and yellow, which represent how the different elements

of interest—i.e., 1) greenhouse gases; 2) pollutants; and 3) water, energy, and momentum—

circulate between the atmospheric and geo (mountains and human-modified) systems.

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And last but not least .....

Wreck of the Earth Science Student

(Attributed to Michel (Mike) Beaulne (B.Sc. 1980) who is now working in Calgary.

(sung to the tune of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”)

The legend lives on from the grad house on down

of the faculty they all call geology,

the course it is said never gives up its dead

cause they transferred in from physics and biology.

With a load of science cores 26,000 hours more

than a normal human can carry,

the students all knew that their chances were screwed

with three prof's for geomorphology.

A course was the pride of the Earth Science side

and it was rumoured to be hydrogeology

and as hydro schools go it was tougher than most

with a pre-requisite frontal lobotomy.

After concluding work terms with a couple of rock firms

to Bancroft we went fully loaded,

and later that night with the bus out of sight

several misfired rounds were exploded.

The prof in the hall made a dry coughing sound

as the students snored over his wailings,

and every man knew as the prof should have too,

twas exams of December they'd been stealing.

OSAP came late and the food had to wait

as the December marks took a gassing,

and January came in with more lectures again

but little hope in some courses of passing.

The mid-terms were trounced and the prof he announced

saying "fellas its too rough to pass ya"

then finals came through and these marks caved in too

he said, "fellas its been good to know ya"!

The rumours were true, that the essays were due

and now every typist in town was in peril,

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and later that night as they flew down a flight

came the wreck of the earth science student.

Does anyone know where the love of god goes

when exams turn the hours to minutes?

The T.A.'s all say they'd have made graduate day,

if they'd put 15 more full terms behind them.

They may have transferred or they may have shipped out

or they may still be lost in the forest,

but all that remains are the sketches and names

of the rocks and the slides and the fossils.

From the grad house on down to the Earth Science lounge

to the big rooms they call laboratories,

assignments were due and the students were screwed

when the gales and the cherries came early.

In a dusty old bar in the Yukon they prayed,

in the Earth Science students cathedral

and the cash register rang and it rang 69 times

for each jugs on the Earth Science table.

We extend best wishes for the holiday season and all the best for 2012!!