FTPST05

Geology of the Athabasca Oil Sands

Leaders: Mike Ranger & Murray Gingras
Date: May 26 - 28, 2008
Max. Attendance: 20 participants
Trip Fee: $1,950 (Trip begins and ends in Ft. McMurray -- Airfare not included)

This three day field excursion to the Fort McMurray area provides an excellent opportunity to observe the geology of the Athabasca Oil Sands, as well as the engineering and mining technology related to recovery of the bitumen. Numerous outcrops along the Athabasca, Christina and Steepbank Rivers will be visited by high speed jet boat and helicopter. These and other outcrops in and around the City of Fort McMurray will be explored in order to expose the participants to the stratigraphy, sedimentology and facies associations of the McMurray Formation. A highlight of this trip is a tour of one of the operating oil sand mines.

The McMurray Formation appears to be an example of a complex deltaic system, initially tide-dominated and evolving to become wave-dominated towards the top. Alluvial, estuarine and marine distal, as well as offshore marine environments will be examined in detail and placed in regional context. Concepts regarding the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the McMurray Formation will be discussed and demonstrated.

Trace fossils have provided key evidence for the interpretation of the McMurray Formation. This trip provides a unique opportunity to observe this evidence, which can also be directly applied to core studies. Brackish trace fossil suites are well-developed in the McMurray Formation, and will be compared to marine trace fossil suites in the overlying Wabiskaw Member of the Clearwater Formation.

The basal bitumen/water contact is exposed at several locations. Examination of these outcrops provides the context for a field discussion of the migration, timing, and trapping mechanism of the Athabasca bitumen as well as the regional structure of the basin.