Ontario Geological Survey
933 Ramsey Lake Road P3E6B5 Greater Sudbury, ON, Canada

Today is the last day of the 2020 Geological Society of America Virtual Event. Don’t forget to stop by the OGS GeoServices Section virtual booth to learn about our publications and laboratory services. Hope to see you there! https://bit.ly/3mj6Qz2

The Ontario Geological Survey GeoServices Section is at the 2020 Geological Society of America Virtual Event this week, October 26-30. Visit our virtual booth learn about OGS publications and laboratory services. Hope to see you there! https://bit.ly/3mj6Qz2

New data set and maps are now available on GeologyOntario! A geophysical airborne survey was conducted in the Sturgeon River area by the Ontario Geological Survey. The Geophysical Data Set (GDS1088) and 1:50 000 scale maps of the airborne magnetic gradiometer survey are now available for download: https://bit.ly/33a97pI

A new data release is now available on GeologyOntario! Miscellaneous Release Data 386 contains field data and photographs, as well as geochemical, geochronological and magnetic susceptibility data all related to the 1:20 000 map of the Mallard and Marion townships in the southeastern Swayze area during the summer of 2018 (Map P. 3827). Download now: https://bit.ly/30eNfaD... Get notified of new publication releases by email! Contact us at [email protected] and let us know if you’d like to be added to our Publication Release Notices list.

A new data release is now available on GeologyOntario! Miscellaneous Release Data 386 contains field data and photographs, as well as geochemical, geochronological and magnetic susceptibility data all related to the 1:20 000 map of the Mallard and Marion townships in the southeastern Swayze area during the summer of 2018 (Map P. 3827). Download now: https://bit.ly/30eNfaD... Get notified of new publication releases by email! Contact us at [email protected] and let us know if you’d like to be added to our Publication Release Notices list.

In summer 2019, OGS geologist Tom Gemmell conducted field work in the Southern Swayze area of Northeast Ontario with a team of geology summer students, as part of a multi-year bedrock mapping project. Click on the images below to view a photo gallery of one day in the life of a field geologist.

The Ontario Geological Survey GeoServices Section is at the 2020 GeoConvention Virtual Event, September 21-23. Stop by our virtual booth to learn about our current publications and laboratory services. Hope to meet you there! https://bit.ly/33G0ZMD #geocon2020 #geoscience

Did you know that your weight will vary depending on how far you are from the centre of the Earth? The force of gravity across the face of the Earth varies according to how far you are from its centre and the density of the rocks below you. Your weight on a mountaintop will be less than in the valley below! The difference is very, very small but instruments called gravimeters are sensitive enough to detect it. Gravimetric surveys can map variations in rock density, which helps us understand the geology below the surface. So, go climb a mountain you are sure to lose weight!

Some geophysical surveys require planting electrodes in the ground or taking measurements on or below the surface, but airborne geophysics is the ultimate socially distant geoscience! Specially modified small aircraft with one or two crew on board fly about 100 m above the ground to remotely measure a range of parameters, such as magnetic intensity, electrical conductivity, natural radiation and gravity. All of these tell us different things about the rocks below without ever touching the ground and always staying much further than two metres apart!

When the Earth was forming billions of years ago, it is believed that the molten outer core would have cooled to a solid without the heat generated by radioactive decay. Convection currents within the outer core are believed to be responsible for creating the Earth’s magnetic field and this field shields us from the intense radiation of the ionized gas that forms the solar wind. Without radiation within the core, life on Earth would not survive the radiation coming from the sun.

Iron formations are iron-rich and siliceous chemical rock formations that formed on ancient sea beds (possibly from black or white smokers on the sea floor). In order to form, they require a reducing atmosphere, low marine sulfate and sulfide concentrations and a high hydrothermal iron flux. The photos below show an example of an oxide-facies banded iron formation with alternating beds of white chert, red and hematite jasper, and local brown layers of carbonates. An iron formation in Garnet Township in the Swayze area of the Abitibi greenstone belt was dated at 2.7223 Ga (2.7 billion years old).

OGS geoscientist Evan Hastie appears on the Society of Economic Geologists podcast to talk about his work with gold at the OGS, while pursuing his PhD in the subject. You can hear him on Episode 8: Gold in the Abitibi New System-Scale Research. https://bit.ly/2Rv1cNe

A new Open File Report (OFR 6359) of the McFaulds Lake area, known as the Ring of Fire, has been released. Bedrock mapping of the area was carried out between 2010 to 2014 and produced 3 new maps and 2 Miscellaneous ReleasesData (MRD). This report describes the Precambrian regional geology of the 3 published map sheets. You can download the report at GeologyOntario for free! https://bit.ly/3ira4zn... Don’t forget to sign up for our publication release notices by contacting our publications office at https://bit.ly/2VLoT6V

Two new Quaternary geology maps were just released! Both maps are part of a 4-year study of the Quaternary geology along the Highway 11 corridor between Iroquois Falls and Hearst in northeastern Ontario. The two maps are of the Kapuskasing area (P3836) and Smooth Rock Falls area (P3837). The maps show the distribution and characteristics of surficial units, such as surficial deposit types, exposed bedrock, material types (till, etc.) and geological features (eskers, etc.). Do...wnload the maps on Geology Ontario at: https://bit.ly/2ZPZOKu If you would like to be notified about new publication releases by email, contact us at [email protected] and let us know you’d like to be added to our Publication Release Notices list.

The 2019 annual report of activities from our Resident Geologist Program (RGP) has been released! These reports detail activities from our six regional offices, including exploration activity in each district, property visits, recommendations for exploration, research conducted in the area, and much more! Download the reports on Geology Ontario at: http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca//publications-release-notice-apr ... If you would like to be notified about new publication releases by email, contact us at [email protected] and let us know you’d like to be added to our Publication Release Notices list.

We have released a beta compilation of lake geochemical data for Ontario, containing info for over 65,000 sample locations and 5.7 million geochemical analytical values. Download it from GeologyOntario at http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndm/mndm_dir.asp or OGSEarth at http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca//lake-geochemistry-ontario-compi. We welcome your comments and suggestions regarding changes to the query criteria and report form. Email us at [email protected]. Get notified of new publication releases by email! Contact us at [email protected] and let us know you’d like to be added to our Publication Release Notices list.