Almost one year ago, Alberta Geological Survey initiated a pilot for it regional Saline Aquifer Mapping project. This first study area is in the Alberta Industrial Heartland, centred near Edmonton.

We feature the career of Dr. Robert Farvolden.

This is part 2 of 3 in a continuing series of summaries of igneous activity in Alberta. This article reviews metal potential of the Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) intrusive and volcanic rocks in southwestern Alberta.

In this edition of Rock chips, we begin regular feature on geologists and engineers who have made or are continuing to make important contributions to our understanding of geology and geological engineering through their careers in Alberta. In this edition, we examine the career of Dr. Jozsef Toth.

In response to increasing rates of urbanization and industrialization in the ECC and the foreseeable pressures that this will have on existing groundwater supplies, Alberta Geological Survey (AGS), in partnership with AENV, has initiated a multiyear project to characterize nonsaline aquifer complexes in the ECC.

In 2006, Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) initiated a program to assess the regional uranium potential of southern Alberta. This program was started after more than 1 million hectares were staked by junior exploration companies to renew exploration efforts in this area after a 20-year-long hiatus, when uranium prices were depressed and the prospect of developing nuclear energy was very unpopular.

As part of the ongoing revision of the provincial metallogenic inventory and development of an up-to-date systematics of the potential metallic deposits in Alberta, AGS conducted a reconnaissance field study and outcrop sampling of igneous and sedimentary hostrocks in southern and southwestern Alberta in summer 2008. This is part one of the study findings.

Declining reserves and the associated increasing cost of oil and gas have prompted industry to look at alternative sources of energy. Alberta contains a great amount of coal resources at shallow depths that facilitate economical power generation; however, there are huge coal resources at depth that are currently not economic to mine. This represents a large untapped potential energy source for the province.

By measuring the spring's changes in flow volume over time and the chemical constituents in the water, we can tell a great deal about groundwater flow and the rocks or soil hosting the water. Knowing the locations of the springs throughout Alberta provides the first step in understanding groundwater - all without drilling a well.

The goal of the Alberta Geological Survey's Saline Aquifer Mapping project, or SAM for short, will be to provide public-domain, digital maps of the major saline aquifers from the crystalline basement to the lowermost aquifer of the Colorado Group.