Boischatel’s karst topography and Montmorency Falls’ geology

Date: Thursday, September 24^th, 2015
Departing and returning time (from and to) the hotel: 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM
Registration fees: $ 150 before August 1^st 2015 ($ 165 after August 1^st 2015)
Number of participants: Limited to 18

 
In June 2013, problematic terrain subsidence in Courville, a suburb of Quebec city, led to the evacuation of four apartment buildings and forced some twenty families onto the streets. These sinkholes were due to karstic processes following groundwater flow in the Trenton limestone formation about 460 million years old in the area.   

This one-day field excursion in Boischatel near Courville, about 15 minutes away from Quebec city, will be a unique opportunity to visit the natural caves of Boischatel as well as many other karstic features such as dolines, water losses along the Ferrée river, the dry river bed of the Ferrée river and water resurgences along the Montmorency river. Moreover, the tour will guide us to one of the most spectacular site of Quebec city: the  Montmorency Falls, where a stunning 80 m-high waterfall results from a normal fault between the Grenville  and the St. Lawrence Platform.

*For the visit of the caves, please bring your waterproof boots and coat. Prepare to get muddy! Not recommended to claustrophobic people. Safety gear (helmet and headlight) will be provided.

       
 

Risk Analysis and risk management in the Charlevoix region
 
Date: Thursday, September 24^th, 2015
Departing and returning time (from and to) the hotel: 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM
Registration fees: 150 $ before August 1^st 2015, 165 $ after August 1^st 2015.
Number of participants: Limited to 25
 
This all-day excursion will take place in Charlevoix, designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1988. Located about a hundred kilometers north-east of Quebec city, along the St-Lawrence River, this area is the second strongest seismic zone in Canada, after Vancouver. Five earthquakes of magnitude higher than 6 were reported in recent history, including a major event in 1663, with an estimated magnitude of 7.5. That event triggered some very large landslides in the marine clay deposits that are found in the two main valleys of the area and along the coast of the St.Lawrence River. Important liquefaction phenomena associated with the 1870 earthquake (M 6.4) were also documented, particularly along the Du Gouffre river. The technical tour will be an opportunity to study the impacts of these earthquakes on the lands of Charlevoix and to present various mitigation strategies against geological risks. The excursion will also be an opportunity to discuss mapping of landslide-prone areas and to visit some sites affected by active erosion along the Du Gouffre river, where landslides often occur.

The visit of Charlevoix will combine geological and geotechnical aspects, along with risk analysis, risk management, and, of course, local gastronome delights.
 

  

Exploitation of Niobium at the Niobec Mine and the Moncouche Dyke (Kenogami lake reservoir)

Date: Thursday, September 24^th 2015
Departing and returning time (from/to the hotel): 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM
Registration fees: 150 $ before August 1^st (165 $ after August 1^st)
Number of participants: Limited to 25
 

The Niobec mine is located in the municipality of Saint-Honoré in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, approximately 200 kilometers north of Québec city. It is the only underground niobium mine, and one of the three main niobium producers in the world. The mine’s current production accounts for approximately 8 to 10% of the world’s production which varies according to the shifts in global supply and demand from year to year. In operation for over 37 years, Niobec currently employs more than 500 people.
 
The participants in this tour will be provided an overview of Niobec’s mine complex. Upon arrival, a presentation will be held and then a visit will be carried out at the Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) including as well a tour of the related works (ditches, polishing ponds, treatment plant, etc.). If access is available and if time permits, a tour of the underground mine could be done.
 
Also, on the way, a stopover is planned to visit the Moncouche Dyke, a 8.7 m high dam built on a V-shapped valley filled with granular pervious fluvioglacial deposits, as a retaining structure for the Kenogami reservoir. Some relief wells were installed in 2009 as the optimal solution proposed to overcome leakage issues that were threatening the global stability of the dam.

    
 

 

During this field trip along the east coast of Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec, two sites of ice-rich permafrost mounds will be visited: 1) the palsas south of the Great Whale River close to the northern village of Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik and 2) the lithalsas in the Tasiapik Valley near Umiujaq. Thermokarstic processes will be observed in these two sites. In addition to the relationships between the permafrost, frost heaving, vegetation and snow cover, the impacts of permafrost degradation on man-made infrastructures, hydrology and groundwater will be described and discussed. The problematics of land use management and planning in zone of degrading permafrost to guaranty the sustainable development of northern villages will be discussed too.

Lithalsas in the Tasiapik Valley at Umiujaq, Northern Quebec, Canada.

Personal belongings to bring: Only one luggage not heavier than 9 kg (20 pounds) is allowed by participant. The personal belongings shall include personal care products and a bath towel. Good walking boots, warm clothes including hat and gloves, and a rain coat are highly recommended.

Guides: Michel Allard, Research member
               Najat Bhiry, Director
               Richard Fortier, Research member
               Centre for Northern Studies (CEN)
               Laval University