Galen P. Halverson
James McGill Professor and T.H. Clark Chair of Sedimentology and Petroleum Geology
galen.halverson () mcgill.ca
I integrate sedimentology, stratigraphy, and isotope geochemistry to reconstruct ancient environments within the context of secular and progressive tectonic, biospheric, and climatic evolution of the earth. The underlying theme of my research is paleoenvironmental change spanning from the late Proterozoic to the early Phanerozoic (~ 1200 to 500 ma). My goal is to document and understand the interconnections between tectonics, chemistry and oxidation state of seawater, severe climatic fluctuations (including snowball Earth), and the diversification of eukaryotes. This research is fundamentally field-based and centered on detailed geological studies of sedimentary basins that archive clues to how the Earth evolved during this time. Recent field areas include northwestern Canada, Svalbard, Saudi Arabia, Namibia, and Australia. The geochemical techniques my students, colleagues, and I employ to interrogate the sedimentary rock record include both trace element geochemistry, traditional isotopic systems (C, O, S, N, Sr) and non-traditional isotopes (e.g. Fe, Zn, Cu, and Hg).
Courses
- Field School II/III (EPSC 331/341).
- Earth & Life History (EPSC 233). Fall 2016–2018
- Sedimentary Geology (EPSC 355). Fall 2016, 2018
- Sediments to Sequences (EPSC 425). Winter 2016
- Sedimentary Basins (EPSC 551). Winter 2016, 2018
Recent Field Trips
- Permian Capitan Reef, West Texas. February 2012
- Neogene Basins of Southern Spain. March 2014
- Neogene Basins of Southern Spain. February–March 2016
- Cretaceous–Neogene Basins of Spain. March 2018
- Advanced Earth Systems History Field Trip, South Australia, May 2019
Current graduate students and postdocs
- Sarah Wörndle, PhD (2013–)
- Pascale Doust, PhD, co-supervised by Prof. Mucci (2017–)
- Wilder Greenman, PhD (2018–)
- Angelo dos Santos, PhD (2018–)
- Chen Shen, PhD (2018–)
- Victoria Houde, PhD, co-supervised by Prof. Léveillé (2018–_
- Teegan Ojala, MSc
Recently completed graduate students
- Timothy Gibson, PhD (2013–2018)
- Kelsey Lamothe, MSc (2016–2018)
- Peter Crockford, PhD, co-supervised by Prof. Wing (2013–2017)
Current Projects
- Late Proterozoic Stratigraphy of Northwestern Canada and its Record of Earth System Evolution
- The ca. 1 Ga record of early eukaryotic evolution and ocean oxygenation in northeastern Canada
- Age and Evolution of Late Mesoproterozoic—Early Neoproterozoic Basins of Northern Canada
- Descent into Cryogenian Glaciation