The goal of my research is to understand how ancient and modern shallow marine ecosystems have changed through time, how shifting atmospheric conditions and weathering have affected these ecosystems, and how anthropogenic-driven change may be affecting the makeup of these ecosystems today. I also study diagenesis related to large-scale tectonic events. My research is interdisciplinary, combining paleontology, sedimentology, and geochemistry.
PDRG News
Stacey, J, Corlett, H, Hollis, C, Hills, D (2024) Reservoir evaluation of dolomitized Devonian strata in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: Implications for carbon capture, utilization and storage, Journal of Sedimentary Research. Figure 10: Schematic summarizing the depositional and diagenetic controls on reservoir development in the Devonian strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.
New Article in the Journal of Sedimentary Research
Dr. Jack Stacey, now a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne, and a former co-supervised, NERC-funded PhD student at the University of Manchester, has just published the last of his PhD work. This article examines Devonian carbonate reservoirs from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in Alberta, Canada with a view of evaluating each reservoir's potential for effective long-term CO2 storage.
Please find this article published in the Journal Of Sedimentary Research, the longest running sedimentary geology journal: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/jsedres/article/doi/10.2110/jsr.2023.082/637642/Reservoir-evaluation-of-dolomitized-Devonian
Congratulations Jack! You can reach Jack at the University of Melbourne - https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/956286-jack-stacey
New Article Basin Research: Zebra Dolomites
Dr. Cole McCormick, now a Post-Doctoral Research Assistant, and a former PhD Student, co-supervised by Dr. Cathy Hollis (Manchester) and myself, has published a new open access research paper in Basin Research! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bre.12789
This paper proposes a model for zebra dolomitization involving varying sedimentological, structural, and metasomatic controls. Check it out!
Also find Dr. McCormick's contact information here:
Figure 2: Conceptual model illustrating the multi-stage development of rock textures in HTD bodies.
NSERC - Impact Stories
Dr. Hilary Corlett is an assistant professor of paleontology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. As an early-career researcher, she studies rocks that contain fossils of ancient marine life to understand the impacts of climate change at different times on Earth and learn more about the climate challenges we face today.
Full Story: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/ImpactStories-ArticlesPercutants_eng.asp
Mapping ocean productivity during Devonian forest expansion
The Devonian period saw an increase in terrestrial organic matter abundance through the development of tree root networks and forest diversification. The development and deepening of root networks from the Emsian-Eifelian (407-387 Ma) into the Givetian and Frasnian (387-372 Ma) resulted in increased pedogenesis and weathering that would have likely affected the marine realm. Several δ13C(org) excursions are recognized in Frasnian marine shales and carbonates worldwide and are referred to collectively as the punctata Event, named for the corresponding conodont zone. The cause of these excursions has been linked to the forest diversification. Trace metal proxies indicate that during this interval, increased soil weathering likely resulted in nearshore upper water column productivity, and bottom water anoxia.
Full Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-28542-y
SiEX, and δ13C(org) plotted versus depth; LWIR hyperspectral images of detected opal-A, and predicted Al2O3, and TOC (LWIR; greyscale).