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Geoscience Information and Links for
Grade School Teachers
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What is Geoscience?
Geoscience is the study of the Earth and its systems.
Geoscientist is an umbrella term that is used to describe
practitioners of geoscience. The estimated 3,000 geoscience
practitioners in Ontario are a diverse group of professionals
which includes exploration and mining geologists, geophysicists,
geochemists, petroleum geologists, hydrogeologists, terrain and
coastal geomorphologists and environmental geoscientists. These
professional geoscientists provide services to industry,
government and the public in the areas of:
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Mining: Geoscientists
design and undertake investigations to determine the
origin, location and extent of metallic and non-metallic
mineral deposits. Ontario’s mining industry, the largest
in Canada, contributes over $5 billion annually to the
Ontario economy and directly employs over 20,000 people
in well-paying jobs, most of which are in northern
Ontario. Geoscientists provide important technical and
economic information for business, securities and
investment decisions. Geoscientists also undertake
studies to determine terrain constraints and
environmentally and structurally safe locations to site
mine facilities including tailings impoundments.
Geoscientists provide technical and scientific reports
to meet securities requirements and to obtain regulatory
approval of environmental assessment reports, mine
development and closure plans.
Water Resources: Geoscientists develop and carry out
groundwater exploration, development, protection and
management programs. Ontario is the largest groundwater
user in Canada. Over 40% of Ontario’s population depends
on groundwater for their domestic and industrial water
supply. Groundwater supplies all of the natural water
flowing in creeks, streams and rivers when there is no
rainfall or melting snow. Geoscientists provide advice
about and work on the implementation of and a wide range
of programs to develop and protect Ontario’s groundwater
resources.
Environmental Protection and Remediation: Geoscientists
design and undertake studies to determine the presence,
magnitude, extent and source of chemical contamination
of soil and groundwater. This information is used to
assess the potential risk to the environment, and to
ecological and human health from contaminant exposure.
Geoscientists design soil and groundwater remediation
programs, and supervise contamination cleanup to ensure
that the site is acceptable for the intended land use,
and that the public and the environment are protected
from contaminants.
Energy: Geoscientists design and implement programs to
identify, delineate and develop oil and natural gas
deposits and reservoirs, coal deposits, oil sands and
nuclear fuels and nuclear waste repositories. The
information from these programs is used to make business
and investment decisions, and to provide information to
securities and government regulators for investment and
development approvals. Geoscientists also design
environmental investigations and programs for energy
sector activities, including cleanup and restoration of
soil and groundwater contaminated by petroleum releases,
and development of environmental impact assessments and
environmental protection plans for energy developments.
Development and Planning: Geoscientists undertake
investigations for municipalities, developers, industry
and government agencies to assess the geohazards and
terrain constraints that may affect a proposed
development. Geoscientists design and undertake
investigations to determine suitable locations for the
siting of municipal and hazardous waste disposal
facilities, and other major developments such as
industrial and agricultural facilities, residential
developments and recreational facilities, to ensure that
the water supply is adequate, groundwater resources are
protected, and that erosion and landform stability
issues are identified and addressed. Geoscientists
prepare reports for submission to municipal and
regulatory agencies to address geohazards, groundwater,
waste management and environmental impact issues that
may result from the proposed development.
Education: Geoscientists teach in high schools, colleges
and universities in Ontario ensuring that our economy
will have a constant supply of academically qualified
geoscientists to continue to serve the public,
government and industry in the province.
Geoscientists work for municipalities, provincial and
federal government departments, mining companies, oil
and gas companies, construction firms, investment and
securities firms, environmental departments in industry
and consulting firms. There are over 400 mining
companies and 100 consulting firms located in Ontario
who employ geoscientists.
Approximately 45% of Ontario geoscientists work in or
for the mining sector, 35% work in the environmental
sector and 20% are employed by various levels of
government or education. The professional expertise of
Ontario's 3,000 geoscientists supports decisions
affecting billions of dollars of investment.
APGO is a member of the Canadian Council of Professional
Geoscientists and the affiliated Canadian Geoscience
Standards Board and represents Ontario geoscientists in
their deliberations. These national bodies develop
standards for admission and for transferability of
professional geoscientists within Canada and
internationally. |
Links for Grade School Teachers
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The
following are links to websites that provide excellent
sources of information on the many fascinating areas of
geoscience and related topics.
GeoCanada 2010
Teck Cominco
Suite of Earth Sciences Galleries
GeologyLink
Mining
Matters
Natural
Resources Canada
Science
North
WebElements
Periodic Table
Geological
Timescale
A. P. Coleman Exhibit
Earth Science Literacy Initiative
Science 360
The Geological Society of America
Fun with Science
WHERE Challenge
GeoCanada 2010
Saturday, May 8: Teacher Workshop on how to integrate earth science into core science and math curricula.
Sunday, May 9: Optional field trip for teachers to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.
Monday, May 10-11: Earth Science in Society, a student-focused event that will use hands-on, interactive exhibits to show the role the earth sciences play in today’s world. 1,750 students are already signed up.
GeoCanada
Teck Cominco Suite of Earth
Sciences Galleries
The ROM's former 'Dynamic Earth' exhibit will soon be
replaced by the 'Teck Cominco Suite of Earth Sciences
Galleries'. The three new galleries, scheduled to open
in December 2008, will include: the 'Inco Limited
Gallery of Minerals', the 'Gallery of Gems and Gold',
and the 'Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery'. To read
more about these galleries, please visit:
http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/nhistory/teck.php ,and to view any of the 3,300 specimens that will be on
display, look for these images in ROM's image database,
ROM Images at:
http://images.rom.on.ca/public/ .
GeologyLink
Houghton Mifflin, publisher of Geology and Essentials of
Geology, presents a public forum for all matters
geological. This area is open to students, university
instructors, geoscientists, and anyone else who seeks
insight into the world's daily geological rumblings.
Although 'The
Earth Today', 'Geology
in the News', and 'Virtual
Classroom' have not been kept up-to-date, 'Virtual
Field Trips', 'Inside
Geology', and the 'Glossary'
of geological terms, are an excellent resource on a wide
range of topics from planet earth to the solar system.
GeologyLink
Mining Matters
The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada
Mining Matters (PDACMM) is a charitable organization
that educates students about Canada's geology and
mineral resource endowment and promotes awareness of the
importance of rocks, metals, minerals and mining.
Mining Matters
Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is a federal government
department specializing in energy, minerals and metals,
forests and earth sciences. NRCan deals with natural
resource issues that are important to Canadians. They
look at these issues from both a national and
international perspective, using their expertise in
science and policy. How we manage our land and resources
today will determine the quality of life for Canadians
both now and in the future.
NRCan has an excellent site with games for kids to learn
how important resources are to our quality of life and
find out information on Canada's natural resources.
NRCan Games and Information
Science North
The mission of Science North in serving Northern Ontario
is to create and market high quality science education
and entertainment experiences and products, which
involve people in the relationship between science and
technology and everyday life. Science North provides its
customers fun, participatory experiences in English and
French. Science North, located in Sudbury, has quickly
become Northern Ontario's largest tourist attraction and
has gained international recognition as an innovative
science centre.
Science North Home Page
WebElements Periodic Table
WebElements aims to be a high quality source of
information on the WWW relating to the periodic table.
Coverage is such that professional scientists and
students at school will all find something useful. You
will find thousands of graphics showing elements
structures and periodic properties here.
WebElements Periodic Table
Geological Time Scale
If you would like to download a comprehensive Geologic
Timescale, you can do so from our site. The file is in
Adobe Acrobat PDF file format and may be viewed by
clicking here:
View Geologic Time Scale. (pdf size: 50 kb)
The time scale is reproduced with permission from "The
Art & Science of Writing Geoscience Reports" by Brian
Grant, which is distributed by the Prospectors &
Developers Association of Canada at e-mail:
info@pdac.ca or
telephone 416-362-1969.
This digital time scale is made available to you for
free and may be printed and/or distributed as widely as
you wish.
A. P. Coleman Exhibit
Canadian geologist, professor, minerals prospector, Rockies explorer, backwoods canoeist, world traveller, scientist, popular lecturer, museum administrator, memoirist. Coleman was one of Canada’s most beloved scientists. "Geology was at once his vocation, his avocation and his recreation." (J.B. Tyrell) There was always another mountain to climb; rock, clay and glacial till to examine. Read more at:
A. P. Coleman Exhibit
Earth Science Literacy Initiative
The Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI), funded by the National Science Foundation, has gathered and codified the underlying understandings of Earth sciences into a succinct document that will have broad-reaching applications in both public and private arenas. Read more at:
Earth Science Literacy Initiative
Science 360
Created by The National Science Foundation, Science 360 is a new website for science stories and videos.
Science 360
The Geological Society of America
Established in 1888, The Geological Society of America provides access to elements that are essential to the professional growth of earth scientists at all levels of expertise and from all sectors: academic, government, business, and industry. Read more at:
The Geological Society of America
Fun with Science
Jane Wynne recommends a site created by USGS seismologist John Lahr for its wonderful hands-on activities ("paper models for a subduction zone, a paper cut out that you can wrap around a tennis ball to make the earth with plate boundaries marked on it…"). Read more at:
Fun with Science
WHERE Challenge
Second annual WHERE Challenge: After receiving rave reviews from hundreds of participating Canadian teachers and students, the WHERE Challenge is back for a second year. The WHERE Challenge is a national contest endorsed by the Canadian Earth Sciences community and sponsored by EnCana that asks students aged 10 – 14 years to discover the answers to these questions: What on Earth is in your stuff and WHERE on Earth does it come from? For further details see:
WHERE Challenge
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