14,000 Years of Saanich Inlet's Natural History Revealed
Two years ago the international Ocean Drilling Program's research
vessel JOIDES Resolution drilled deep into the bottom of Saanich
Inlet and took samples of age-old sediment for research into the
natural history of southern Vancouver Island.
On Jan. 21, members of the UVic Centre for Earth and Ocean Research present findings from their ongoing research on the sediment samples in a free public lecture tailored for non-specialists.
Researchers will talk about what the Saanich Inlet seafloor reveals about the climatic and oceanographic conditions around Vancouver Island in the 14,000 years since glaciation and the clues it offers for the future of the region's environment.
The inlet's sediment core samples, for example, show evidence of a massive flood--caused when ice dams broke up on the Lower Mainland, sending flood waters across Georgia Strait to southern Vancouver Island.
Seismic events measuring greater than 4.5 on the Richter scale have also left their mark on the sediment.
Changes in the ocean food-chain are visible, as are remnants of mud carried from rivers, pollen from trees and shrubs, charcoal from forest fires, bones and scales from fish, and invertebrate shells.
In August 1996 the JOIDES Resolution drilled as deep as 118 metres below the seafloor and took eight sediment core samples from Saanich Inlet.
The inlet is ideal for this type of research since the deepest sections are almost oxygen-free and the sediment layers remain virtually undisturbed by life forms found in more common conditions.
Talks will be presented by members of the UVic Centre for Earth and Ocean Research--Drs. Michael Whiticar, Richard Hebda, Louis Hobson, David Mosher and Melissa McQuoid.
Visual displays and a question-and-answer session are also included.
The free public lecture is at 7:00 p.m. Jan. 21 in UVic's David Lam Auditorium (MacLaurin Building, room A144). Seating is limited.
On Jan. 21, members of the UVic Centre for Earth and Ocean Research present findings from their ongoing research on the sediment samples in a free public lecture tailored for non-specialists.
Researchers will talk about what the Saanich Inlet seafloor reveals about the climatic and oceanographic conditions around Vancouver Island in the 14,000 years since glaciation and the clues it offers for the future of the region's environment.
The inlet's sediment core samples, for example, show evidence of a massive flood--caused when ice dams broke up on the Lower Mainland, sending flood waters across Georgia Strait to southern Vancouver Island.
Seismic events measuring greater than 4.5 on the Richter scale have also left their mark on the sediment.
Changes in the ocean food-chain are visible, as are remnants of mud carried from rivers, pollen from trees and shrubs, charcoal from forest fires, bones and scales from fish, and invertebrate shells.
In August 1996 the JOIDES Resolution drilled as deep as 118 metres below the seafloor and took eight sediment core samples from Saanich Inlet.
The inlet is ideal for this type of research since the deepest sections are almost oxygen-free and the sediment layers remain virtually undisturbed by life forms found in more common conditions.
Talks will be presented by members of the UVic Centre for Earth and Ocean Research--Drs. Michael Whiticar, Richard Hebda, Louis Hobson, David Mosher and Melissa McQuoid.
Visual displays and a question-and-answer session are also included.
The free public lecture is at 7:00 p.m. Jan. 21 in UVic's David Lam Auditorium (MacLaurin Building, room A144). Seating is limited.
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