Mountjoy IV - TopicsMountjoy Legacy Session: In this session, we invite all prior students and colleagues of Eric’s to present studies or research accomplished while working with or studying under Eric’s direction. This session is intended to be broad and cover any topic that is connected to Eric’s contributions or areas of expertise. Come one, come all and let’s share our memories of Eric by presenting the legacy of geoscience that he shared with us. Structural Geology and Fractures: Professor Eric Mountjoy spent most of his career exploring the Canadian Rockies contributing both to the understanding of the deposition and diagenesis of the carbonate sediments, but also to the structural evolution of these mountains. This session showcases similar studies that feature the structural geology of carbonates. Presentations can range from regional-scale structure and tectonics to outcrop scale fracture studies down to sample scale geomechanics of carbonates. Carbonate Diagenesis/Dolomitization: Carbonate sedimentary rocks are invaluable geological archives that provide insights into modern and ancient environments on Earth. However, the constituent carbonate minerals that form these sediments are often metastable and undergo a range of post-depositional diagenetic transformations. Such physical, biological, and chemical processes begin as the sediment is deposited, continue during burial and uplift, and can dramatically transform the petrophysical and geochemical properties of carbonate rocks. This session highlights process-based approaches to characterize carbonate diagenesis, including dolomitization, in the geological record. We particularly encourage novel contributions that utilize fieldwork, petrographic analysis, geochemical methods, experimental studies, or quantitative modeling techniques to evaluate diagenetic processes and reservoir properties in carbonate sedimentary systems. Carbonate Cyclicity: Coastal carbonate sequence stratigraphic models have changed little since they were first developed in the 1990s for characterization of subsurface sedimentary limestone bodies. Since then, many additional coastal studies have been undertaken in these carbonate-producing areas, as well as other regions. Carbonate coastal systems appear to act similarly to siliciclastic coastal systems, in that shallow-water transgressive deposits, long assumed by early workers to be missing from the carbonate rock record, or only represented by a lag interval, in fact make up an important component of modern carbonate depositional successions. The implications of this discovery are wide-ranging and have generated a need for updated sequence stratigraphic models for coastal carbonates, one that is meaningfully different with respect to predictions of large-scale subsurface connectivity and fluid-flow pathways from those generated by the models currently in use. In this session we are looking to explore how coastal carbonate cycles are being defined in your ancient system, how variable the cycles are, and how they compare with modern systems observations. Carb Cycles full description.pdf Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)/Critical Mineral Resources (CMR): There has been significant development and progress in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) during last 20 years thanks to the desire to reduce CO₂ emissions. Recently there is an increasing interest in exploration of critical mineral resources (CMR). This section would highlight current work and address challenges related to CCUS and CMR work, especially with case studies associated with carbonate rocks. Karst: This session highlights the fundamentals of fluid-rock interaction and dissolution processes in carbonate sedimentary rocks, including the development of modern and ancient karst terrains and their societal implications. We invite presentations that evaluate modern karst hazards (e.g., sinkholes, contaminant hydrogeology, quantitative modeling, and policy implications) or the interpretation of sedimentary/paleoclimate records within ancient karst terrains (e.g., carbonate stratigraphy, subaerial unconformities, cave deposits, and speleothems). Abstracts that highlight the characterization of subsurface reservoirs that are active targets of energy exploitation, waste disposal, and/or carbon storage are particularly encouraged. Hydrogeology: Hydrogeological studies of aquifers within carbonate successions have long been important for identification of water sources for both industrial and domestic use, disposal zones for wastewater from oil and gas operations, and for understanding of potential contaminant transport pathways in industrial sites, amongst many other important purposes. These applications remain crucial for oil and gas, and other industries, and new aquifer characterization and modeling techniques continue to evolve. In more recent years, there has been further expansion of the field, in conjunction with the developing low-carbon space. Hydrogeological understanding is required to effectively develop brine-hosted lithium plays, conduct CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers, and progress hydrothermal projects, which opens exciting doors for broader advancement of carbonate geology and hydrogeological skillsets. Biogeochemistry of carbonates: One of the ways that carbonate sediments are different from siliciclastic sediments is the degree of influence that biological organisms have to the production and modification of carbonate sediments. Both macro-organisms and micro-organisms affect how carbonate minerals are precipitated and altered. This session will provide a opportunity to present research on the bio-geo-chemistry of carbonate rocks in the modern and ancient record. Blast from the past: Early in our careers, we all remember learning those scientific controversies in carbonate sedimentology and diagenesis. But some of those have slowly disappeared from the literature. Do you have new thoughts and ideas about these? Perhaps new technology has allowed us to investigate these controversies. This session is dedicated to bringing up a topic you have not seen recently but would like to address. General session: Carbonate Depositional Systems Presentations will include research on the carbonate depositional systems, both modern and ancient. Studies may focus on outcrop geology, subsurface characterization, laboratory experiments or a combination of all the above. This session is not limited to only deposition of carbonate rocks but also on any modification that might have occurred afterwards. If your study does not fit into any of the other sessions, then this one is for you. ABSTRACTS SUBMISSION We invite abstracts (300-word limit) to be submitted by January 17, 2025 using the below form: |
