Spring 2021
| Speaker: |
Murray Gingras |
| Title: | "Ichnology, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the McMurray Formation, a Giant Oilfield in Alberta, Canada" |
| Date: | January 29, 2021 |
| Time: | 11:45am |
| Location: | Contact instructor for details. jemezger@alaska.edu |
ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ:
Murray received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the Northern
Alberta Institute of Technology in 1987, a BSc from the University of Alberta in 1995
and PhD from the University of Alberta in 1999. He has worked professionally in the
hydrocarbon industry, at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and as an Assistant
Professor at the University of New Brunswick. Murray’s research focuses on using sedimentology
and ichnology to interpret sedimentary rock successions. This broad field has strong
links to the hydrocarbon industry, is used extensively in paleoclimatology, and is
applied in modern sedimentary environments.
Abstract:
The McMurray Formation is one of the largest oilfields in the world. It is up to 120
m thick and is at least 180 km x 120 km in size. The reservoir is heterolithic and
complex, and so detailed ichnology and sedimentology are used to resolve spatial aspects
of the deposit with particular focus on predicting the presence of sand reservoir.
The ichnology (or trace fossil analysis) indicates that much of the McMurray Formation
was deposited under conditions of brackish water, although some parts of the McMurray
were clearly deposited in fresh water and others in nearly marine conditions. Sedimentologically,
the McMurray is dominated by sandstones and siltstones and in some areas good evidence
for tidal reworking is present. Broadly speaking, large fluvial and estuary channels
comprise much of the stratigraphy, which is thereby complicated. This presentation
will review the ichnological and sedimentological bases used to constrain the stratigraphic
framework and depositional environments of the McMurray Formation in Alberta, Canada.
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