Improved maps, old school pencils, await UBC geology students this summer

This May, UBC geology students doing field studies will be able to put theory into practise -- and avoid cliffs -- using new base maps funded through Shell Canada’s Campus Ambassador Program (CAP).

Every summer UBC geology students hone their field techniques at the Geological Field School based near Oliver, BC, charting the type and location of rock outcrops onto base maps. However, the program’s old maps don’t show the topography at the same detail the students are expected to map at.

“In the past, the map would show a nice ridge, but you’d get there, and there would be a cliff at the end of it,” says Kenneth Hickey, a professor with UBC’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS). “The new maps, based on detailed aerial imagery, show much greater detail.”

While there are computerized ways of mapping outcrops, students still complete this assignment with pencils, sketching the rocks as accurately as possible on their printed maps. Completing the assignment on paper ensures that students understand the fundamentals of the process. Once an area is mapped, students can make logical inferences based on the mineral outcroppings they’ve viewed, determining what areas might be worth mining.

In addition to funding the department’s new field maps, Shell Canada has also established mapping prizes for UBC graduate and undergraduate students. The 2013 undergraduate Shell Mapping Prizes for the Oliver Field School went to Melissa Friend, Patrick Hill, Tim Jusupov and Moses Towell. Sergio Gamonal, Graham Leroux, Matt Manor, and Irene del Real were declared the winners in the graduate category. Shell CAP also provides funds for a variety of field trips, and other learning and networking activities for geography students.

Background

Shell Canada Limited is an integrated energy and petrochemical company. In 2012, Shell committed $250,000 to CAP in support of student activities in the faculties of Science, Applied Science, and the Sauder School of Business at UBC over three years, the renewal of a commitment initiated in 2006.