RASC Regular Meeting
TELUS World of Science
FREE and open to the public.

7:30 PM Guest Speaker

Douglas Schmitt
Professor of Geophysics and Physics
Canada Research Chair in Rock Physics
University of Alberta, Department of Physics
Peering into a Possible Impact Crater: Bow City Alberta

The Earth was formed from the bombardment by smaller bodies within the solar system, a bombardment that continues to the present day. In Alberta alone there are a number of known and potential impact sites many of which are only known because of geophysical surveying. Statistics of impacts suggests that there likely remain a great deal more. In this talk, Dr. Schmitt described his team’s studies of one such potential impact crater with a diameter of about 8 km recently discovered by the Alberta Geological Survey. In this work they peered into the structure using seismic reflection techniques to see many of the features one would expect for a ‘complex’ impact crater including faults and a central uplift.

Douglas Schmitt is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Rock Physics and a Professor of Geophysics and Physics at the University of Alberta. His research group carries out a unique blend of field and laboratory experiments that focus primarily on understanding of rock physics and mechanics and how they influence geophysical observations. He has and is playing active roles in international scientific drilling projects on 5 continents.