The Distinguished Lecture Series for 2007-2009 is presented by Dr. Kurt Kyser

Kurt Kyser is director of QFIR, the Queen’s Facility for Isotope Research, with research interests that include isotope geochemistry, evolution of fluids in basins, environmental and exploration geochemistry, and fluid-rock interactions. He received his BSc in chemistry from UC San Diego and his MA and PhD in geology from UC Berkeley. He came to Canada in 1981, first to the University of Saskatchewan and then to Queen’s University in 1996. He has been a contributor to understanding the processes associated with water-rock interactions and has helped developed or refine several novel analytical techniques for complex natural materials. His interests include sedimentary basins and many of the chemical processes that go on in these complex structures, as well as the processes by which elements move in the near-surface environment.

Details of Lectures

Three talks are offered as part of this lecture series:

1. Controls on ore forming processes in sedimentary basins and their implications for exploration strategies.
   
   
2. Using isotopes as tracers of sources and processes for element migration: new frontiers that add value to exploration geochemistry.
   
   
3. Using new techniques in biogeochemistry to monitor the environment and find undercover ore deposits.
   
   

Organizations interested in putting on a lecture should contact Robert Bowell for further information.

Past Distinguished Lecturers

2005-2006 : Stew Hamilton

1. Reduced chimneys and electrochemical transport over oxidizable geological features
2. "Forest rings" and their implications to geochemical exploration for oil, gas and mineral deposits
3. Deep penetrating geochemistry using selective leach methods over mineral deposits

2002 : Dr. Clemens Reimann
Two of Dr Reimann's lectures, described briefly here, are available from the AAG office:

1. "The Kola Geochemistry Project: An environmental investigation in Arctic Europe" : The Kola Geochemistry Project presentation describes the work behind the collaborative volume, "Environmental Geochemical Atlas of the Central Barents Region". This beautifully illustrated work was completed by the Geological Surveys of Norway and Finland and the Central Kola Expedition from Russia. The atlas documents regional multi-element (>50) dispersion patterns in moss, humus, B- and C-horizon soils over 200,000 km2 of the Kola Peninsula. The talk illustrates the power of different media and their chemistry to quantify and understand the influences of anthropogenic (e.g. Ni smelting and refining) and geogenic (e.g. surficial and bedrock geology, marine) sources of elements. Comparison of the regional distribution of different chemical elements in different sample materials over such a large area provides a better understanding of their sources, levels, cycling and fate in the environment.
2. "Geochemical Provinces: Do they exist and what is their relation to regional geology?" This presentation is a stimulating discussion of the significance of large scale, regional element patterns seen in nature. The results presented demonstrate that there exists a need for a better understanding of the regional distribution of chemical elements at the earth surface. To be able to detect large-scale geochemical anomalies, mapping on a continental or even global scale is necessary. Such data could then provide valuable input to the interpretation of the geological evolution of large regions. Although there may be no direct relation between metallogenic provinces and large geochemical anomalies, results of low-density geochemical mapping can also be used to define prospective areas for more detailed mineral exploration.

The presentations are available, on CD-ROM, at $20 from the AAG business office.