Annual Geoscience Forum
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Technical Program Call for Abstracts/Summaries
The 49th Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum
November 24th – 26th, 2021
This year's Yellowknife Geoscience Forum will be a virtual event with a dedicated interactive online platform for delegates from industry, academia, and government to exchange information on resource exploration, mining activities, and geoscience research in Canada’s North. The technical program committee for the 2021 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum is seeking oral and poster presentations on the following topics:
- Geoscience & Exploration
- Diamond Geology & Exploration
- Energy in Canada’s North
- Environmental Monitoring & Research
- Changing Permafrost Landscapes
- Community Engagement & Education
- Regulatory & Policy Updates
- Mining and Advanced Project Updates
- Critical Minerals Geology and Exploration
The program sessions are described on the website.
Abstract/Summary Submission
• Abstracts/Summaries are required for both oral and poster presentations with a maximum limit of 500 words.
• Presenters can choose to participate in a thirty-minute chat-style Q&A.
• Presentations from all relevant disciplines are welcome.
• All abstracts must be submitted before 11:59 pm MT on Friday, October 15th via online submission.
Presentation Submission
Posters and pre-recorded oral presentations must be submitted before 11:59 pm MT on Monday, November 15th.
Registration
• Registration for the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum will be available in October via a link on the Northwest Territories Geoscience Forum website.
• All speakers, poster presenters, and session chairs must register for the conference.
Abstract/Summary Submission Contact
• Contact Sarah Gervais regarding issues with the online abstract/summary submission website.
Presentation Submission Contacts
• Contact Anne Turner regarding general conference questions.
• Contact events@csrmanagement.ca regarding technical issues and presentation submissions.
Instructions on where and how to upload presentation files will be sent to the corresponding author upon acceptance of abstract or summary.
Poster Presentations
• Maximum poster size: 16:9 image size (e.g., 720 x 405; 1920 x 1080)
• Format: PNG
• File name ‘SessionTitle_Last Name of corresponding author.pdf’
Oral Presentations
• Pre-recorded oral presentation
• Maximum 20 minutes
• Maximum file size: 1000 MB
• Minimum file size: 250 MB
• Video quality: 1080p
• Video file format: .mp4
• File name ‘SessionTitle_Last Name of Presenter.mp4’
Session Descriptions
Geoscience and Exploration
This session will showcase a variety of mineral prospects in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, summarize mineral-exploration activities that took place in both territories over the past year, and provide the latest results of geoscience research and mapping projects. Presenters are from government, academia, and industry.
Diamond Geology and Exploration
Exploration for, and the development of, diamond resources have played an enormous role in the evolution of the Northwest Territories for nearly 25 years. As the diamond mines mature, exploration for new diamond resources is also becoming more mature. A depressed exploration market around the world has slowed diamond exploration for several years. Now exploration financings are showing signs of recovery and diamonds are returning as an exploration target of choice. This session will explore the state of existing mines and producers, as well as showcase the latest diamond exploration projects and techniques at play in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Energy in Canada’s North
This year’s Energy Geoscience Session will feature energy resource topics that will range from petroleum geoscientific studies in the Central Mackenzie Corridor and Peel Plateau to geoscience-related alternative energy resources such as geothermal energy and natural gas. Speakers from government, academia, and industry will highlight current research pertaining to resource exploration and energy-related issues.
Environmental Monitoring and Research
This session will focus on topics of direct interest to the oil and gas and mining sectors, including research on environmental geochemistry, ecotoxicology, legacy contamination, permafrost, hydrology, reclamation and remediation and the design of monitoring and management programs. Presentations will highlight targeted decision makers and how they may apply this information.
Changing Permafrost Landscapes
Permafrost thaw is the main cause of climate-driven landscape change in the north and has a major effect on ecosystems and infrastructure. This session will showcase research that contributes to understanding the distribution of thaw-sensitive terrain across the north. This is critical to predict the future state of the environment and water resources of the Northwest Territories and for climate change adaptation planning.
Community Engagement and Education
This session targets presenters involved in community engagement, outreach programs, and capacity building initiatives in resource development. We invite abstracts and summaries that showcase a variety of perspectives for community training and learning, and supporting the development of sustainable communities related to exploration, mining, and petroleum development in the north.
Regulatory and Policy Updates
This session will feature talks on the regulatory operating environment in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut including recent changes in legislation, policies and guidelines, both to the territorial and federal regimes. This session will also focus on some important aspects of land use planning and the linkages with northern regulatory boards.
Mining and Advanced Project Updates
Northern operating mines are the largest private-sector contributor to the territorial economies and provide significant benefits to the North. Operating mines and projects in advanced phases will provide updates on their operations over the past year and provide outlooks for the coming year.
Critical Minerals Geology and Exploration
Canada is primed to capitalize on the rising global demand for critical minerals, driven in large part by their role in the transition to a low-carbon and digitized economy. Essential for renewable energy and clean technology applications (batteries, permanent magnets, solar panels, and wind turbines), they are also required inputs for advanced manufacturing supply chains, including defence and security technologies, consumer electronics, agriculture, medical applications, and critical infrastructure.
Potential Awards
Finnigan Award for Northern Research
This year the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (NAPEG) is pleased to offer an award designed to provide a student with funding to attend the Geoscience Forum. The Finnigan Award for Northern Research is inspired by Dr. Craig Finnigan.
Dr. Craig Finnigan was a Professional Geoscientist who spent the majority of his short career working across the Canadian north for industry, government and academia. Craig passed away in 2014 at the age of 45, however his passion for geoscientific field work and exploration has left an imprint on those who worked with him over the years. He was recognized in 2014 with the prestigious Huestis Award (AMEBC) for his role in the discovery of the Coffee gold deposits in the Yukon. Craig was an adamant supporter of students and education. As an Adjunct Professor at Western University, he co-supervised a number of graduate student theses, including studies on the Coffee gold deposits in Yukon and uranium mineralization at the Lac Cinquante uranium deposit in Nunavut. To honour Craig’s memory, a student focused scholarship that encourages presentation at northern conferences has been established.
NAPEG encourages the achievement of excellence in the engineering and geosciences professions through the promotion of advanced studies and research programs. By providing financial assistance to researchers working in the northern territories the Association seeks to encourage young geoscientists to communicate effectively to their peers and the public, an important skill in the development of a professional practitioner.
To be eligible, the applicant must be enrolled in a Canadian university and registered in a Geology or Earth Sciences program that includes a thesis with a subject relevant to the territory in which the results would be presented. The applicant must also have submitted an abstract (or similar document) for a talk or poster presentation at the conference indicated on their application form. The applicant must attend this conference and give the presentation in order to receive scholarship funding.
Please visit NAPEG to apply for the Finnigan Award.
NAPEG Student Presentation Awards
Cash prizes of $1000 each for the best technical oral and poster presentations. Please note that to be eligible for the poster award, students are required to give a soap box talk. Oral presentations are automatically eligible. The conference organisers thank the NAPEG Education Foundation for sponsoring these awards.