Since last reporting to this newsletter, the palynology programme at Memorial University has continued to expand into new, uncharted areas of study.

Randy Batten, our most recent arrival from the Biology programme at MUN, was immediately thrown into the unknowns of palynology. His masters thesis on Chitinozoa from the petroliferous shelf and basin strata of western Newfoundland will build on sporadic reports published over the last 30 years to become the first comprehensive biostratigraphic study of this fossil group on the island. Partial funding to support Randy's studies comes from a scholarship provided by the Canada Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board.

After taking a partial leave of absence to conduct thesis studies, Helen Gillespie has returned to her regular duties in the Department of Earth Sciences. Helen's masters thesis on acritarch biostratigraphy of the upper Ordovician Winterhouse Formation is well on its way towards completion. Detailed analysis of outcrop has resulted in the definition of distinctive acritarch zones which can be readily linked to core and cuttings from hydrocarbon exploration wells recently drilled in western Newfoundland. This high resolution biostratigraphy contributes towards our understanding some of the dynamics of Ordovician Taconic forelands in one of Canada's least explored hydrocarbon basins. Funding for this project comes from Pan Canadian Petroleum of Calgary.

A recently completed Honours thesis by Michael DeLorme explored the thermal properties of "basement" rocks from a number of sites on the Grand Banks. Core samples revealed a surprisingly complex picture of an incompletely understood biostratigraphy. Many samples contained fossil evidence indicating significantly different ages from previous reports. In addition, thermal properties suggest some sites on the Grand Banks still contain significant thicknesses of Paleozoic strata which lie within the oil window.

Doctoral studies by Terry Christopher on the environmental geology of the St John's urban area are nearing completion. Canada's oldest European city has had a lengthy history of urban and industrial growth. Terry's thesis reports on the impact of 500 years of settlement, therein laying the groundwork for policy decisions by governments interested in protecting urban watersheds in boreal regions. Everyone involved with supervision of Terry's study is looking forward to seeing this important work in the public domain. In addition to University scholarship support, Terry's study contains substantial in-kind support from the Newfoundland Department of Mines and Energy

Not to be outdone, Alexei Smirnov is completing his doctoral dissertation on environmental geology of rural outport Newfoundland communities. In examining modern and post-glacial records of pollen, chemicals, weather, vegetation, trees, oceanographic properties and fish, Alexei has developed a comprehensive database tracking natural phenomena which affect the sustainability of the maritime based economy of some of Newfoundland's rural fishing communities. At this time of fisheries crisis and stock collapse, this study offers insights and guidance into future policy decisions. Alexei's study is supported from a major Tri-Council Green Plan grant to Memorial University to study the science, social science and economics of sustainable growth in Newfoundland outports.

Though technically retired, Dr Joyce MacPherson continues to explore the palynology of strata deposited at the end of the last ice age. In the office many, if not most days, Joyce is putting the final touches on a study of Holocene sequences in and around St. John's.

Elliott Burden, while on sabbatical leave, has spent the better part of this past year researching, writing, and speaking on a variety of topics, including Proterozoic cyanobacteria of northern Labrador, middle Cretaceous angiosperms of Alberta, and modern pollen and dinoflagellates of Trinity Bay. Significant on the agenda is the imminent release from confidentiality of the palynomorph and graptolite biostratigraphy and thermal maturation history of hydrocarbon prospects in Paleozoic strata in western Newfoundland. Both Elliott and co-author Henry Williams, are looking forward to discussing the implications of this work to future petroleum exploration in this area.

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Note: This aricle first appeared in CAP Newsletter 20(1):10-11, 1997.