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Nicholas Utting,
Ph.D. Candidate
I grew up in Calgary,
Alberta, and have spent
a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies. Having spent so much time in
the Rockies, Geology was a natural choice, and I pursued my degree at
the University
of Calgary.
During my degree I dabbled in different aspects of geology including
field mapping, petroleum and hydrogeology.
The Canadian Rockies… a geologic inspiration!!
Being in Canada’s
oil capital, it made sense to go work in the petroleum industry after
graduation. Once at work, I had cold feet as to being a career oil
man, and wanted to go back to school and see more of Canada.
In that spirit I packed up my old Jetta and hit the road, east, to Ottawa to pursue
graduate studies with Ian Clark.
Nicholas in the Swiss Alps
The focus of my research is on groundwater flow in permafrost
terrain. My primary field site is on the Fishing Branch
(Ni’iinlii’Njik) River in Yukon. This site is west of Eagle
Plains and is almost on the arctic circle. This is a fascinating site
as there are groundwater springs at this location which discharge
perennially and keep the river from freezing over. What is exciting
is the interaction between the earth system and the ecology. Because
of these springs, salmon come up the river to this location to spawn
each fall, and in turn the bears come for a fall feast!
The Fishing
Branch River,
Yukon.
I have samples on the Fishing Branch in June 2006 and July 2007,
sampling in these two summers has focused on finding groundwater
springs, as well as sampling the river to determine the various
sources of river water. A major component of my research is to use
noble gases to determine recharge temperature and groundwater age.
Heidelberg, Germany
In the fall of 2007 I visited the University of Heidelberg,
Germany
where I conducted analysis in there noble gas lab and collaborated
with Dr.
Werner Aeschback-Hertig. In 2008 I will be sampling again on the
Fishing Branch, as well as rivers near Normal Wells, and Inuvik. The grand objective
being to better understand groundwater flow in permafrost terrain.
- Nicholas.uttingATuottawa.ca (replace
AT with @)
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