Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
John Adam Fraser, Per Kent Pedersen
Summary: This study presents a reservoir characterization of the offshore to shoreface unconventional reservoirs of the Cardium Formation in central Alberta, with the most prospective area identified as a 4-km wide zone immediately to the west of the legacy west Pembina Pool boundary. The significant production in these shallow-marine reservoirs is attributed to thin sandstone beds and bioturbated muddy sandstone reservoir facies, explaining the lateral heterogeneity and production variability.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nathan J. Enriquez, Nicolas E. Campione, Matt A. White, Federico Fanti, Robin L. Sissons, Corwin Sullivan, Matthew J. Vavrek, Phil R. Bell
Summary: The Wapiti Formation in Canada is important for understanding the ecology, diversity, and distribution of terrestrial vertebrates during the late Cretaceous. The Tyrants Aisle locality within the Wapiti Formation represents the largest in-situ tracksite, providing valuable information about the presence and behavior of various dinosaur species. Hadrosaurid tracks are the most abundant, suggesting their dominance in the late Campanian period. The discovery also raises questions about possible social behavior among these dinosaurs.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Abdullah M. Wahbi, Michael D. Blum, Caroline Nazworth Doerger
Summary: Alternative depositional models for the Early Cretaceous McMurray Formation are controversial. New detrital zircon U-Pb ages from 31 samples were analyzed to identify source terranes and estimate maximum depositional ages. The results indicate multiple source terranes within a paleodrainage basin and support the mixing of primary and recycled sources in the axial system of the McMurray Formation. The maximum depositional age of the McMurray Formation is estimated to be significantly younger than previously reported.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Geology
Katrina Mayo, Ricardo L. Silva, Paul R. Durkin
Summary: This study refines the paleoenvironmental reconstructions of Late Cretaceous rivers through facies and facies associations analysis, meander-belt architecture characterization, and paleohydraulic parameter calculations. The results demonstrate that the meander-belt deposits of the Dinosaur Park Formation were deposited in a fluvial environment upstream of the fluvial-marine transition zone, changing our understanding of the paleogeography of the Western Interior Seaway in western Canada. This study contributes to the validation and development of a systematic approach to the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of ancient river systems based on paleohydraulic analysis.
SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geology
Andrew D. La Croix, Murray K. Gingras, Kevin Taylor
Summary: This study investigates the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Medicine Hat Member in Alberta, Canada, revealing its depositional framework in a mud-dominated subaqueous delta system. The results indicate that the member was deposited in shallow water under the influence of various environmental factors, such as river flow, waves, storms, and longshore currents.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Waqar Ahmad, Murray K. Gingras
Summary: This study characterizes the depositional environments of the Lower Cretaceous Wabiskaw Member using sedimentology and ichnology. It identifies four sedimentary facies associations and their corresponding ichnofacies, providing insights into the wave-influenced nearshore settings during that time period.
MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sydney R. R. Mohr, John H. H. Acorn, Philip J. Currie
Summary: Isolated bird teeth from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta are common but lack distinguishing features. They resemble teeth of non-avian theropods and crocodilians. Quantitative analysis showed limited overlap with known Cretaceous birds, crocodilians, and non-avian theropods. The reassignment of these teeth to crocodilians has significant implications for understanding Cretaceous bird evolution.
Article
Paleontology
Alison M. M. Murray, Luke E. E. Nelson, Donald B. B. Brinkman
Summary: A sturgeon skull fragment was found in the latest Campanian sediments in Edmonton, Canada. It represents a new genus and species of Acipenseriformes and is the first documentation of sturgeon in this geological period in North America. The skull exhibits different surface ornamentation patterns on different bones, making it of particular interest.
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nathaniel L. Edmonds, Ruth A. Stockey, Gar W. Rothwell
Summary: This research identifies and studies fossils of a new floating aquatic angiosperm from the Late Cretaceous period. The plant exhibits similar growth habits to several extant taxa, but differs in leaf venation and presence of compound leaves. The fossils are described as a new genus and species, Tolmania aquatica, which is similar to a previously known fossil species Quereuxia angulata.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Nathan J. Enriquez, Nicolas E. Campione, Corwin Sullivan, Matthew Vavrek, Robin L. Sissons, Matt A. White, Phil R. Bell
Summary: This study describes the first probable deinonychosaur tracks from Canada, with characteristics such as a rounded heel margin and absence of a digit II proximal pad impression. The presence of monodactyl tracks in association with didactyl tracks provides additional support for interpreting these as deinonychosaurian traces, which contribute to a greater North American deinonychosaur ichnodiversity.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Bradley D. McFeeters, David C. Evans, Michael J. Ryan, Hillary C. Maddin
Summary: This study presents a new partial skull with braincase of a Maiasaura hadrosaurid, the first diagnostic occurrence of Maiasaura in Canada, providing insights into its evolutionary history. The material supports the assignment of the specimen to Maiasaura rather than Brachylophosaurus, and the geographic distribution suggests potential cladogenesis in the evolutionary history of Maiasaurini.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ruarri J. Day-Stirrat, Stephen Hillier, Anton Nikitin, Ronny Hofmann, Robert Mahood, Gilles Mertens
Summary: The detailed examination of mineralogy in the Cretaceous McMurray Formation provides insights into the use of natural gamma-ray spectroscopy and a pulsed neutron generator tool in delineating variations in clay mineral and bitumen contents. The study helps improve understanding of clay interaction in bitumen processing and tailings settling behavior, crucial for mine planning and tailings remediation schemes. The diverse mineral composition of the McMurray Formation was determined using various analytical techniques, showing distinct facies associations and clay mineral signatures in cores, which can be used to assess ore and tailings behavior in real time.
Article
Ecology
Anna Dabros, Kellina L. Higgins, Jaime Pinzon
Summary: The study assessed the edge effects of seismic lines on a boreal peatland in Alberta. It found differences in vegetation cover and composition between the seismic lines and the adjacent peatland, with reduced abundance of lichens in the edge zone.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Tristan Joubarne, Francois Therrien, Darla K. Zelenitsky
Summary: This study describes three indeterminate hadrosaurid fossils with extensive skin impressions, providing new insights into the diversity of integument patterns and manus soft-tissue morphology within Hadrosauridae.
JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Sydney R. Mohr, John H. Acorn, Gregory F. Funston, Philip J. Currie
Summary: The study describes a fossilized avian coracoid from Alberta, Canada, representing a potentially early member of the Ornithurae, a group of Cretaceous birds. However, due to poor preservation, a complete diagnosis cannot be made.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)