Most of our research focuses on sedimentary basins - low areas in the Earth's surface in which sediments accumulate. The sediments may be derived from:

• rock fragments (clastic sediments) transported by wind or water some distance from their place of origin (e.g. precursors of sandstone, siltstone and shale)
• precipitation from aqueous solution (e.g. precursors of limestone and dolomite)
• evaporation of saline solutions (e.g. precursors of gypsum and potash)
• plant debris (e.g. precursors of coal)
• animal organisms (e.g. precursors of reef rock and petroleum)

Following deposition and burial, sediments undergo physical and chemical changes over time. Differing types of sediment, depositional processes and physical and chemical environments are responsible for the types of rocks, fluids and gases that subsequently form.

Sources of primary information for our research are:

• bedrock exposures
• subsurface cores and cuttings
• borehole geophysical logs
• seismic surveys
• potential field surveys such as aeromagnetic and gravity
• remote sensing such as LANDSAT and RADARSAT

We have experts in the following geoscience disciplines:

• Sedimentary basin analysis
• Sequence stratigraphy
• Paleontology
• Geological mapping
• Structural geology and tectonics
• Seismic processing and interpretation
• Geochemistry
• Sedimentary and organic petrology
• Petroleum, coal and coalbed methane resource assessment
• Geoscience technology development

We have experts in the following areas of Canada:

• Appalachia and east coast
• Arctic Islands
• Cordillera and west coast
• Central Canada cratonic basins
• Northern Mainland and Mackenzie Delta - Beaufort Sea
• Western Canada Sedimentary Basin