Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Evaluation Of The Lithologies And Geochemistry Of The Upper Beaver Deposit Of The Kirkland Lake Area, Katherine E. Feick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Upper Beaver Cu-Au deposit contains a unique style of mineralization in the Larder Lake and Kirkland Lake areas in terms of mineralization, alteration style, and age. This study aims to use company-provided data, supplemented with focused data collection, to evaluate what information can be attained from company-provided geochemical data. The evaluation uses a combination of hand sample, petrographic, geochemical, statistical, and microprobe analytical methods.

Lithogeochemical analyses indicated that the altered igneous host rock is calc-alkaline in composition and is most likely part of the diorite-monzonite suite. Further, exploratory data analysis of Au and Cu mineralization identified that there are …

Sedimentology And Geochemistry Of The Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Espanola Formation, Paleoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup, Bruce Mines-Elliot Lake Area, Ontario, Canada, Mansour H. Al-Hashim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Espanola Formation of the Paleoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup is a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic succession. Detailed sedimentological analysis of the formation in the Bruce Mines-Elliot Lake region reveals 17 sedimentary lithofacies, which comprise three distinct lithofacies associations. The lithofacies associations represent, in ascending order, shoreface, offshore, and nearshore (or lagoon) depositional environments along a wave- and storm-dominated shallow siliciclastic marine shelf. Major, trace, and rare earth element analyses of the siliciclastic component indicate derivation from a mainly granodioritic Archean upper continental crust with some contributions from mafic volcanic and/or sedimentary rocks. The results show that the source rocks were subjected to relatively …

Channel Form And Processes In A Formerly Glaciated Terrain, Nathaniel Bergman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite that many places around the world in general, and North America in particular, were glaciated during the last ice age, relatively little is known about rivers that evolved over these landscapes once they deglaciated. These rivers are commonly categorized as alluvial with a glacial legacy, and often described as plain gravel-bed or sand-bed rivers. Alternatively, they are considered to be bedrock rivers when the glacial deposits were eroded and underlying rock was exposed. However, ignoring the glacial history of these rivers is scientifically wrong and they should be termed "semi-alluvial". This work shows that classification is important, not only …

Evolution Of Mafic Impact Melt Bodies At The Crater Floor Interfaces Of The Vredefort And Sudbury Impact Structures, Carmela Lisa Cupelli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Vredefort and Sudbury impact basins in South Africa and Canada, respectively, are currently the world’s oldest and largest impact structures. Over a hundred years of study on both impacts has still not answered all the questions surrounding these sites. The 2019 Ma Vredefort structure is thought to have an original diameter of 300 km, however, due to erosion all that is left of the structure is the basement of the central uplift. Small pockets and dykes of melt rock still remain but in the case of the gabbronorite its origin remains to be proven. The Sudbury structure is 1850 …

Geochemical Constraints Of The Gold Mineralization Sources From The South Mine Complex And The Main/’04 Breaks, Macassa Mine, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Liana K.T. Stammers

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Kirkland Lake Gold’s Macassa Mine is a lode gold deposit in the Abitibi Greenstone. It has two systems of mineralization: the Main/’04 Breaks, and the South Mine Complex (SMC). The objective of this work was to constrain mineralization sources between these systems using geochemical signatures. The SMC has different structure, mineralogy, alteration, trace- and major-elements composition, and δ¹⁸O values. The Main/’04 is a series of faults with thin alteration dipping south 60-85º. The SMC is a series of structurally controlled zones dipping southeast 25-50° with wide alteration. It is interpreted to be a Riedel Shear between the ’04 …

A Stable Isotope Investigation Of Pollen From Pinery Provincial Park, Southwestern Ontario, Canada, Deana M. Schwarz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pollen is a useful proxy for reconstructing paleoclimate; however, the relationship between its stable isotopic composition and the environment in which it forms is still poorly understood. We examine the stable oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen isotope compositions of pollen from tree (coniferous and deciduous), grass (C₃ and C₄), and marsh species from Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, and its environs, and maple and oak tree species from eight localities across the United States of America, to (i) determine the major environmental influences on pollen δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, and δ¹⁵N values, (ii) examine the …

Giant Beaver (Castoroides) Palaeoecology Inferred From Stable Isotopes, Tessa Plint

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Stable isotope analysis was used to explore unresolved questions about the palaeoecology of the extinct Pleistocene giant beaver (Castoroides). The δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ¹⁸O of bone collagen and structural carbonate from enamel served as proxies for palaeodiet and palaeoclimate. A new baseline for freshwater and terrestrial plant δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N was utilized in a mixing model (SIAR) to assess rodent feeding niche. SIAR analysis indicated that Castoroides’ consumed a diet of predominantly macrophytes, making them reliant on wetland habitat for food. Based on isotopic data for potential …

A Regional Chemical Characterization And Analysis Of Groundwater In Eastern Ontario, Laura M. Colgrove

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study utilizes 234 samples to provide a regional characterization and analysis of groundwater chemistry in eastern Ontario, Canada, where elevated TDS, Na and halogens occur in shallow groundwater. Water-types, PCA and mapping are used to investigate the processes and features controlling the chemistry. The chemical patterns are associated with glaciomarine deposits (extent, thickness) and bedrock topography, which modulate residence time and flow-path of groundwater. These determine the relative effects of recharge, ion exchange, salinization and organic breakdown on groundwater chemistry. Anomalous chemistry east of Ottawa (brackish-to-saline TDS; elevated water δ¹⁸O; elevated Na, Cl, I, CH₄, …

Evolution, Paleoecology, And Paleobiogeography Of The Late Ordovician Brachiopod Fauna Of Laurentia, Colin D. Sproat

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

During the early Katian (Late Ordovician), the North American craton was being inundated due to a major eustatic sea level rise and regional subsidence associated with the ongoing Taconic orogeny. The Trentonian brachiopod fauna, as a dominant group of the marine shelly benthos at that time, evolved and invaded the expanding epicontinental seas.

Three Trentonian brachiopod lineages were studied to trace their evolution. The Rostricellula-Rhynchotrema-Hiscobeccus lineage was characterized by an increase in shell size, globosity, and frilled lamellae, with Hiscobeccus becoming a prominent component of the Late Ordovician epicontinental brachiopod fauna.

Parastrophina is a widely reported but non-dominant taxon of …

The Sudbury Impact Structure - New Insights Into The Origin And Emplacement Of The Basal Onaping Intrusion And The Parkin, Trill And Foy Offset Dykes Of The North Range, Denise Anders

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure is considered a remnant of a multi-ring basin with an estimated original diameter of 150-200 km. The so-called “Basal Onaping Intrusion” form discontinuous sheets between the Granophyre of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) and the Sandcherry Member of the Onaping Formation and had been considered part of the complex breccia series of the Onaping Formation. Based on the investigation of core and field samples from the North Range we conclude that the Basal Onaping Intrusion, in fact, are the roof rocks of the SIC and, thus, may represent the initial bulk composition of the …

The Character And Distribution Of Cu-Pge Mineralization At The Geordie Lake Deposit Within The Coldwell Complex, Ontario, Imran Meghji

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cu-PGE mineralization at the Geordie Lake Deposit (GLD) is spatially associated with weak to intense actinolite and albite alteration within gabbro and troctolite. Previous studies have determined a magmatic, and magmatic-hydrothermal origin of the deposit. The most significant Cu-PGE occurrence in the GLD is dominantly stratiform, and in contact with a basal syenite. Similar patterns of REE with progressive enrichment from troctolite, to gabbro, and basal syenite indicate that these lithologies are genetically linked. Major element geochemistry shows no discernable variation between the altered and unaltered samples. Whole rock δ¹⁸O analyses were conducted in equal intervals down the …

The Application Of Geophysical Inversion Techniques To The Nechalacho Rare Earth Element Deposit, Nt, Derek W. Kouhi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Nechalacho deposit is a world-class rare earth element deposit located in the Thor Lake region approximately 100 kilometers southwest of Yellowknife, NT, Canada. Located within the Blatchford Lake Intrusion Complex, this deposit has the potential to be a large-scale economic asset due to its relatively shallow and sub-horizontal geometry. In this study, geophysical inversion techniques are used to model subsurface magnetic susceptibility and density in order to delineate the deposit. Isolated and joint inversion of both magnetic and gravity data provides similar models. Each inversion procedure delineates a shallow, sub-horizontal layer of high susceptibility and density in approximately the …

Utilization Of Lidar Intensity Data And Passive Visible Imagery For Geological Mapping Of Planetary Surfaces, Taylor M. Haid

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

While lidar has been historically used for generating digital terrain maps and as a navigation tool, recent research demonstrates that lidar has many potential scientific applications, including high resolution analysis of geological outcrops. Case studies were completed at the Tunnunik impact structure, Victoria Island, Arctic Canada, and the Nickel Rim South mine, Sudbury, Canada, to assess the fidelity of characterizing and differentiating mineralogical and lithological units remotely by integrating passive visible imagery with lidar intensity data. Unsupervised classification via k-means clustering was performed on the fused datasets, with results indicating that lithologies can indeed be successfully differentiated with minor a …

Microstructural Geochronology Of Zircon Across The Central Uplift Of The Vredefort Impact Structure, South Africa, Connor Lawrence Davis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Vredefort central uplift, or ‘dome,’ represents the erosional remnant of one of the largest (~300 km diameter) and oldest (~2.020 Ga) terrestrial impact structures. This investigation was performed to help elucidate the complexity of the shock process on zircon, incorporating various electron beam methods, including BSE and SE imaging, EBSD, CL, and EDS (mapping and semi-quantitative compositional analysis). A new shock microstructural progression in terrestrial zircon is suggested, as well as a complete structure-wide analysis of impact melt inclusions in zircon. Regional trends in the effects of shock on zircon are included. Impact melt glass inclusion compositions vary widely, …

Emplacement Of The Foy, Hess And Pele Offset Dykes At The Sudbury Impact Structure, Canada, Eric A. Pilles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure is the remnant of what is generally considered to have been an ~150–200 km diameter impact basin in central Ontario, Canada. The so-called Offset Dykes are impact melt dykes that are found concentrically around – and extending radially outward from – the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC), a ~3 km thick differentiated impact melt sheet. The dykes are typically composed of two main phases of granodiorite: an inclusion- and sulfide-rich granodiorite in the centre of the dyke, and an inclusion- and sulfide-poor granodiorite along the margins of the dyke. This study uses a combination of …

Constraining The Formation And Alteration Of Sudbury Breccia, Ontario, Canada: Implications For Footwall Cu-Ni-Pge Exploration, Jonathan W. O'Callaghan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sudbury breccia is an impactite situated in the footwall of the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure, situated in Ontario. Developing exploration vectors towards Sudbury breccia-hosted Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization is inhibited by an insufficient understanding of the relative contributions of footwall lithologies versus impact melt. By combining whole-rock geochemistry, field observations, statistical modelling and petrography, this study has determined that Sudbury breccia is a parautochthonous shock melt, which does not require a melt sheet contribution. Furthermore, the trace metal content of the breccia is largely controlled by the assimilation of mafic footwall lithologies, the exception being breccia proximal to mineralization, where a …

Hydraulic And Electrokinetic Delivery Of Remediants For In-Situ Remediation, Ahmed I. A. Chowdhury

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nano-scale zero valent iron (nZVI) has shown promising mobility and in-situ reactivity with chlorinated volatile organic compounds when injected into saturated porous media. The current study evaluated nZVI mobility and subsequent reactivity with in-situ contaminants in a variably saturated porous media. The nZVI particles, synthesized onsite at subzero temperatures, demonstrated complete trichloroethene (TCE) degradation within the target area. Furthermore, a three dimensional finite difference model (CompSim) was utilized to investigate nZVI mobility in variably saturated zones. Model predicted well head data were in very good agreement with field observations. Simulation results showed that the injected slurry migrated radially outward from …

Stratigraphy, Sedimentology And Paleogeography Of The Lower Cretaceous (Upper Albian) Peace River, Joli Fou And Pelican Formations, Northern Alberta, Canada, Kathleen Vannelli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Late Albian (~ 104-101 Ma) strata in northern Alberta are assigned to the marginal-marine Paddy Member, and the marine Joli Fou, Pelican and Viking formations. Temporal relationships between these units have never been established in detail. This study shows that the marine Joli Fou mudstone forms a sheet that onlaps westward against a subaerial ridge (?forebulge); coeval fluvio-lagoonal lower Paddy strata onlap against the opposite side. The ridge crest was buried by upper Paddy strata, of Cordilleran provenance, that grade eastward into deltaic lower Pelican quartz arenites derived from the Canadian Shield. The presence of quartz arenites in the Peace …

Martian Gully Formation And Evolution: Studies From The Local To Global Scale, Tanya Nicole Harrison

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Gullies in the mid- and high-latitudes of Mars were first observed in Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images in 1997. Appearing to be geologically young, they quickly became a feature of interest due to the implication of liquid water in their formation based on distinct morphological characteristics including incised channels, many exhibiting features indicative of fluid flow. However, the temperature and pressure conditions on the surface of Mars during its most recent geologic era have not been conducive to sustaining water in the liquid phase for extended periods of time; therefore, a number of “wet” (water-related) and …

First Major Appearance Of Brachiopod-Dominated Benthic Shelly Communities In The Reef Ecosystem During The Early Silurian, Cale A.C. Gushulak

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The early Silurian reefs of the Attawapiskat Formation in the Hudson Bay Basin preserved the oldest record of major invasion of the coral-stromatoporoid skeletal reefs by brachiopods and other marine shelly benthos, providing an excellent opportunity for studying the early evolution, functional morphology, and community organization of the rich and diverse reef-dwelling brachiopods. Biometric and multivariate analysis demonstrate that the reef-dwelling Pentameroides septentrionalis evolved from the level-bottom-dwelling Pentameroides subrectus to develop a larger and more globular shell. The reef-dwelling brachiopods in the paleoequatorial Hudson Bay Basin were more diverse than contemporaneous higher latitude reef-dwelling brachiopod faunas, with ten distinct …

Using Physical And Social Sensors In Real-Time Data Streaming For Natural Hazard Monitoring And Response, Yelena Kropivnitskaya

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Technological breakthroughs in computing over the last few decades have resulted in important advances in natural hazards analysis. In particular, integration of a wide variety of information sources, including observations from spatially-referenced physical sensors and new social media sources, enables better estimates of real-time hazard. The main goal of this work is to utilize innovative streaming algorithms for improved real-time seismic hazard analysis by integrating different data sources and processing tools into cloud applications. In streaming algorithms, a sequence of items from physical and social sensors can be processed in as little as one pass with no need to store …

Anisotropic Waveform Tomography: Application To Crosshole Data For Transversely Isotropic Media, Shaun Michael Hadden

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Anisotropic Traveltime Tomography and Full Waveform Inversion were applied first to synthetic and then to real data following the development of a transversely isotropic model for handling anisotropy. Best-fitting models of seismic velocity and Thomsen's anisotropy parameters were initially obtained from traveltime tomography, and then used as the starting models for Full Waveform Inversion. The use of a Laplace transform approach effectively damps late arriving S-wave artifacts that introduce errors into the modelling process. The results of the synthetic study highlights the tradeoffs in resolution between the two parameter classes, but verify anisotropic traveltime tomography as a valid method for …

Inter- And Intra-Annual C And N Isotopic Variability Of C3 And C4 Grasses In A Temperate-Humid Dune Environment, Roshni R. Patel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Seasonal and annual variations in foliar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of a C₃ grass Ammophila breviligulata and a C₄ grass Calamovilfa longifolia from the sand dunes of Pinery Provincial Park in southern Ontario, Canada were investigated to assess isotopic variability at a single site within a temperate-humid climatic zone. This work quantifies seasonal δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N variation, tests for correlation of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N with weather parameters, and evaluates the isotopic responses of these grasses to location within the dune system. Throughout the 2014 growing season, there …

Ground-Motion Prediction Equations For Central And Eastern North America, With Emphasis On Site Effects, Behzad Hassani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The works presented in this thesis are aimed at understanding and modeling earthquake ground motions in central and eastern North America (CENA), with an emphasis on the modeling of site effects. A number of approaches are taken, beginning with analysing of the observed ground-motion amplitudes with respect to a ground-motion prediction equation model (GMPE) of a well recorded region (California) (referenced empirical approach). In this work, we show that the ground-motion amplitudes of CENA earthquakes are very similar to the equivalent California values of Boore et al. (2014; BSSA14) at close distances, at low to moderate frequencies. At regional distances …

Gold Mineralisation At The Fat Deposit, Courageous Lake Greenstone Belt, Northwest Territories, Canada, Marcus A. Adam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Courageous Lake Greenstone Belt (CLGB) is hosted in the Yellowknife Supergroup of the Central Slave Province, NWT, Canada: a fertile gold district that includes the former Giant, Con and Lupin orogenic gold mines. The largest deposit in the CLGB is the FAT deposit, which has a proven and probable reserve of 91MT at 2.20gpt gold owned by Seabridge Gold Inc. The FAT deposit differs from other gold deposits in the Yellowknife Supergroup in that deformation and shear textures are intermittent, and where present, deformation does not correlate spatially with mineralisation. The CLGB formed as a volcanic succession that was …

Reframing The Mammoth Steppe: Examining Mammoth Steppe Ecology Using Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopic Compositions Of Megafauna Collagen, Rachel E. Schwartz-Narbonne

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Pleistocene mammoth steppe was a vast biome that stretched from northwestern Europe to central Canada. A diverse set of megaherbivore and megacarnivore species lived within this biome and there was significant ecosystem faunal and floral homogeneity. At the end of the Pleistocene, this biome disappeared, with the extinction or extirpation of many of the megafaunal species that inhabited it. This thesis reconstructs the ecology of the mammoth steppe using the isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen from megafaunal collagen. The reconstruction is done at a variety of ecological scales, beginning with individual animal- and season-specific isotopic studies of antlers, …

Stable Isotope Paleolimnology Of Barry Lake, Ontario, Canada Since Ad - 1268, Zijun Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The paleolimnology of Barry Lake, SE Ontario, Canada is described using mineralogy, magnetic susceptibility, carbon:nitrogen ratio, mass accumulation rates, grain-size, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of authigenic calcite and mollusc aragonite, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of organic matter, and archival records. These sediments span the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), Little Ice Age (LIA), and human settlement. Interval I proxies (AD 1268-1350, MWP) indicate warmer and drier conditions and elevated lacustrine production. Interval II (AD 1350-1615) was cooler and wetter, with lower lacustrine production and low-oxygen conditions causing loss of shelly fauna. Interval III (AD 1615-1850, …

Dissolved Organic Matter In Subarctic Streams And Rivers: Direct And Proxy Measures Of Quantity, Quality, And Mercury, Tara M. Despault

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The drainage network of the Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) peatland complex regulates the transport of freshwater and solutes, including dissolved organic matter (DOM) and mercury, to Hudson Bay. Due to the remoteness and areal extent of the HBL, traditional, campaign-based sampling programs are unable to fully elucidate the region’s hydrology and biogeochemistry. This study investigated seasonal variability of DOM quantity and quality in two distinct stream orders to explore DOM sources to surface waters in the region, and assessed optical measurements as proxies for riverine DOM and mercury. In-stream primary production and enhanced microbial processing influenced DOM characteristics during base …