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We study and diagnose the architecture
of the Cordilleran structure, which is still being built on this active
margin, by applying the many techniques available through our expertise.
By acquiring and combining various types of data, we are able to map
and to model underground structures and ongoing processes.
The processes that formed and are forming this region control the surface
we live on, produce hazards and created the distribution of minerals.
By understanding and delimiting these processes better using multi-disciplinary
studies, we are able to provide the information necessary for hazard
evaluations, for exploration for mineral deposits, for assessment of
unconventional gas reserves, and for understanding climate change.
 Programs
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determining thermal structure of
the continental lithosphere and lithospheric strength
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constraints and models of megathrust
and other earthquakes
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investigation of recent(?) offshore
faulting
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modelling of lithospheric deformation
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determining paleomagnetic constraints
on orogenic processes
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modelling of subduction processes
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systematic mapping of bed rock geology
and research on mineral deposits
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spatial variations in past climate
change
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distribution and formation of continental
margin gas hydrates
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histories of terrain movements from
paleomagnetic data and geologic mapping
Objectives
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location and size constraints on
the next megathrust earthquake, input for seismic hazards
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define crustal movements associated
with north-south compression related to seismicity
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definition of offshore unconventional
gas reserves
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contribution of methane in gas hydrates
to global warming
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long term average planet temperatures
and present values averaged over tens of years
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determination of past regional variations
in global warming, needed to determine its cause
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the maximum depth of earthquakes,
related to the thermally controlled brittle-ductile transition
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defining the Cordilleran structure
and geodynamic, thermal and fluid flow history, with applications
to the exploration industry
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understanding the genesis and distribution
of economic deposits within the Cordillera
Disciplines
Affiliated personnel
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