Goldschmidt2008 is pleased to offer delegates numerous short courses and workshops focusing on applications in analytical geochemistry. For more information on the professional development workshops, held on the Wednesday afternoon of the conference, please click here.
The following short courses and workshops will be held in conjunction with Goldschmidt2008:
NEPTUNE Canada: Potential for sensing (bio)geochemical cycles across the Juan de Fuca Plate - from the shelf to the deep sea across air-sea-sediment interfaces
| Date and Time: | 16 July 2008; from 16:00 to 18:00 |
| Location: | Arbutus Room, Ponderosa Centre |
| Convenor: | Dr. Mairi Best, Associate Director (Science), NEPTUNE Canada (mmrbest@uvic.ca) |
This is an information and discussion session to provide an update on the initial suite of sensors planned for NEPTUNE Canada, and to exchange information on future potential developments in chemical sensors on cabled observatories. Points of discussion will include, current sensors, data access and informatics, future sensor development and deployment.
NEPTUNE Canada is installing a regional cabled ocean observatory across the northern Juan de Fuca Plate in the northeastern Pacific. When completed in 2009, this system will provide the continuous power and bandwidth to collect integrated data on physical, chemical, geological, and biological gradients at temporal resolutions relevant to the dynamics of the earth-ocean system. The similar adjacent US OOI Regional Scale Nodes should be operational within a few years. These observatories will transform our understanding of biological, chemical, physical, and geological processes across an entire tectonic plate from the shelf to the deep sea (17-2700m). Real-time continuous monitoring and archiving will allow scientists to capture the temporal nature, characteristics, and linkages of these natural processes in a way never before possible.
Laser-Ablation-ICPMS in the Earth Sciences: Current Practices and Outstanding Issues
Short course sponsored by the Mineralogical Association of Canada
Convenor: Paul Sylvester, Memorial University (pauls@esd.mun.ca)
| Date and Time: | 19-20 July 2008 |
| Location: | Room 100, Neville Scarfe Building |
Laser-Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry is a powerful technique that is capable of providing micron-scale analyses of trace element concentrations and isotopic ratios in a variety of minerals and other objects of geologic interest. Seven years ago, the Mineralogical Association of Canada sponsored a landmark short course that helped bring the potential of laser-ablation ICPMS to the attention of Earth scientists around the world. Since then the technique has become arguably the fastest growing analytical method in the Earth sciences, with tremendous advances in the understanding of basic laser-sample interactions and the practices used to obtain the most precise and accurate data possible. The purpose of the new course is to update Earth scientists on this remarkable period of research, and provide a practical guide to the optimal procedures used by leading analysts today.
More details on this workshop and information on how to register can be found at: http://www.mineralogicalassociation.ca/devOnline/index.php.
Quality Assurance in Analytical Geochemistry
Pre-conference workshop at Goldschmidt 2008
| Date and Time: | 13 July 2008; from 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Location: | University of British Columbia; Chemistry Building Room 126 |
| Participation Charge: | UK£ 15 |
The International Association of Geoanalysts will be hosting a one-day workshop devoted to quality assurance and best practices for the chemical and isotopic analysis of Earth materials. The main focus of this workshop will be the analysis of silicates using both whole rock and micro-analytical techniques, though other fields of interest to the analytical geochemist will also be presented.
More details on this workshop and information on how to register can be found at: http://geoanalyst.org/VancouverWorkshop/.
Registration Deadline: 1 July 2008
The Geochemist's Workbench Standard/Professional Training Workshop
Date: 10-11 July 2008
Location: Room M210, Earth and Ocean Sciences Building
This workshop is designed for users of GWB Standard and GWB Professional who wish to become more familiar with the software's interface and features, as well as current users of GWB Essentials who are considering upgrading. You will be guided along a two-day journey that begins with a comprehensive walk through reaction path modeling, and ends with an introduction to reactive transport models.
For more details, please contact Tom Meuzelaar.
Email: tom@rockware.com
Tel: 303 278 3534 (ext. 104)
More details on this workshop and information on how to register can be found at: www.rockware.com/training/trainingDetail.php?workshop=3.
A Hands-On Introductory Tour of Kimberlites - Cancelled
Date: 11-12 July 2008
Speaker: Barbara H. Scott Smith, UBC and Scott-Smith Petrology Inc.
Laboratory Assistant and Organizer: Maya Kopylova, UBC (mkopylov@eos.ubc.ca)
This hands-on course offers an opportunity to examine kimberlite rock samples in both hand specimen and thin section. The course comprises two parts. Part 1, the lectures, introduces participants to kimberlites: geology, mineralogy and textures and their application during exploration, evaluation and mining. Contrasting emplacement processes will be demonstrated by means of animations. In Part 2, the practical, participants examine kimberlite rock samples from both the UBC and Scott-Smith Petrology Inc. collections. The course focuses on the many new discoveries in Canada over the last two decades.
The one day short course is limited to 45 participants. The course is held at the Earth and Ocean Sciences Department (UBC) over two days with each participant attending two half day sections (totaling one day). All participants will attend the Part 1 lectures in the morning of July 11. Each participant will attend one of the three subsequent Part 2 laboratory practicals (up to 15 participants per practical sessions). The practical will use student binocular and petrographic microscopes. The practical will be more beneficial for participants who have some previous experience with petrographic microscopes. The course is aimed at academic and student geologists who would like a hands on introduction to kimberlite petrography and diamond deposits.
