A one-day short course by Dr. Dr. John Clague

Glacial Landforms and Sediments of British Columbia

Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, 1133 W Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6E 3T3

Friday, 15 November 2024

The VGS will be hosting a one-day short course on Friday, November 15, 2024 on “Glacial Landforms and Sediments of British Columbia ” by Dr. John Clague, Emeritus Professor at Simon Fraser University.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided, as will snacks and beverages during the morning and afternoon breaks.

Space is limited to 100 registrants. Click here to register. Registration details are as follows:

Registration Type Early Bird (before October 11, 2024) Regular
General Registrant $350 $450
Student $200 $300

For additional information or questions, please contact Tyler Southam (tyler.southham@tetratech.com).

Course Overview

Understanding of geomorphology and geological processes is essential for engineering geologists and geotechnical engineers who characterize geohazards and interpret soil behavior. The focus of this short course will be to provide attendees with an understanding of glacial landforms and sediments of British Columbia.

Key learning objectives for short course attendees are as follows:

  • Understand the recent (Quaternary) geologic history of British Columbia and the Yukon.

  • Learn how geomorphology and stratigraphy provide information on hazardous natural processes such as earthquakes, landslides, and debris flows.

  • Understand the processes that have created and continue to shape our landscape.

  • Better understand the 3D distribution of unconsolidated sediments that cover bedrock over large areas of British Columbia and the Yukon.

  • Understand the engineering properties of the different types of surface and near-surface sediments in British Columbia and Yukon, as well as the sedimentary processes responsible for these materials.

  • Acquire knowledge of the importance of surficial geology in geotechnical practice.

This short course is aimed at engineering geologists who deal with glacial soils in their practice, and geotechnical engineers who rely on understanding of soil deposits to characterize soil behaviour.

Schedule:

7:30 AM Course Sign-in / Coffee
8:30 AM Introduction
10:00 AM Break
10:15 AM Quaternary geology of British Columbia
11:45 AM Lunch
1:00 AM Quaternary geology of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valle
2:30 PM Break
2:45 PM Applied Quaternary geology and geomorphology (examples)
4:15 PM Adjourn


Presenters:

Dr. John Clague (PGeo) is an authority in Quaternary and environmental earth sciences and climate change. He has made contributions in surficial/terrain mapping, Quaternary stratigraphic investigations, engineering and environmental interpretations of surficial geological information, and natural hazard studies. Dr. Clague is noted for local, national, and international research collaboration with other geologists, engineers, geographers, biologists, and physicists.

Dr. Clague was educated at Occidental College (B.A.), the University of California Berkeley (M.A.), and the University of British Columbia (Ph.D.). He worked as a Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada from 1975 until 1998. In 1998, he accepted a faculty position in the Department of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Clague retired from SFU in 2016 but remains an active participant in the local consulting community.

Dr. Clague is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, former President of the Geological Association of Canada, and Past-President of the International Union for Quaternary Research and the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. He is recipient of the Geological Society of America Burwell Award, the Royal Society of Canada Bancroft Award, APEGBC’s Innovation Editorial Board Award, the Geological Association of Canada’s (GAC) E.R.W Neale Medal, and GAC’s Logan Medal and Ambrose Medal. He was the 2007-2008 Richard Jahns Distinguished Lecturer for the Geological Society of America and Association of Environmental and Engineering Geology. He received an Honorary PhD from the University of Waterloo in 2017 and was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2020. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Natural Hazards.