Group photo with some of the participants and organizing committee
The 1st Canadian Geothermal Students’ Days was held at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Québec City, Canada, Nov. 21-22, 2019. This pan-Canadian event aimed to provide the growing number of young Canadian geothermal scientists with an informal platform of share knowledge, stimulate collaboration and discussion, and to offer career and networking opportunities. A total of 50 people were in attendance. Thanks to the INRS, students coming from outside of Québec City got travel grants through the Student Travel Assistance Program.
The event included 21 student presentations, a poster session, a discussion panel on the theme: “Future of geothermal within Canada’s energy portfolio: perspectives from academia, industry and government”, keynote sessions, and a field trip to Charlevoix.
Professionals from industry and academia accepted our invitation to talk about their geothermal experience in Canada and worldwide: Maurice Dusseault (University of Waterloo), Jonathan Banks (University of Alberta), John Molson (Université Laval), Kirsten Marcia (DEEP – Deep Earth Energy Production), Marc-Antoine Audy (Induktion Géothermie), Jasmin Raymond (INRS) and Lorenzo Perozzi (Geolearn and University of Geneva). A renewable energy analyst (Norbert Dy, Association Québecoise de la production d’énergie renouvelable – AQPER) came to give insights about the different forms of clean energy produced and used in Québec’s province. AQPER organizes annually a student contest about energetic transition and solutions for Québec’s province. Application call was made during the 1st Canadian Geothermal Students’ Days.
Discussion Panel
The event also included a discussion panel on the theme: “Future of geothermal within Canada’s energy portfolio: perspectives from academia, industry and government”. Stéphanie Larmagnat, researcher at the Geological Survey of Canada, moderated the debate among Jonathan Banks (University of Alberta), Kirsten Marcia (DEEP – Deep Earth Energy Production), Marc-Antoine Audy (Induktion Géothermie) and Jasmin Raymond (INRS). Topics such as energetic transition from oil and gas towards geothermal, the use of oil and gas technology for geothermal industry, geothermal research carried out by universities and industry application, were debated with a great audience participation.
Keynote Session
The second day was dedicated to keynote sessions, visit to the new geothermal laboratory of INRS, and a workshop on using aquifers as a natural infrastructure for energy-efficient cooling geothermal technology. This workshop is part of the “Aquifroid” project, a Canada-wide project being run by INRS and different Canadian partners. Félix-Antoine Comeau (INRS), Jasmin Raymond (INRS), Sophie Van Nest (INRS) and René Therrien (Université Laval) presented the project and Christine Rivard (Geological Survey of Canada) together with John Molson (Université Laval) moderated the session.
Field Trip
The conference included a full-day field trip to Charlevoix (Québec province). This region is known for the meteorite impact crater that shaped the local geomorphology. Part of the impact crater is underwater, but the majority is visible on land. The original impact structure is estimated to have been 54 km in diameter and the age of the impact is estimated to be 450 ± 20 Ma (Ordovician to Silurian in age). The asteroid was about 2 km in diameter and weight around 15 billion tonnes. The Mont des Éboulements is interpreted as the central uplift caused by the elastic rebound. The first realization of this impact structure dates 1965 as a result of the discovery of many shatter cones in the area. Further details about the Charlevoix impact structure is given in the fieldtrip guidebook “Earthquakes and faults of the Charlevoix impact structure” of the 85th Annual Meeting Eastern Section Seismological Society of America.
Student Presentations
Abstracts presented by the participants of the 1st Canadian Geothermal Studnets' Days
Abdek Aden; Bennett Braun; Bernard Dusseault; Charis Wong; Cynthia Lee; Gabrielle Beaudry; Jorge Guevara-Alday; Kayla Moore; Leo Cerclet; Mafalda Miranda; Marion Saby; Miad Jarrahi; Milad Fakhari; Nadia Mohammadi; Nicolò Giordano; Sina Heidari; Spencer Poulette; Violaine Gascuel
The best oral and poster presentations were rewarded in a total of CAD 900 $. The winners of the poster session are: 3rd place – Noemie Chagnon-Lessard (PhD candidate @ Université Laval) and Marion Saby (PhD candidate @ UQAM), 2nd place – Nicolò Giordano (Post-doc @ INRS), and 1st place – Bernard Dusseault (PhD candidate @ Polytechnique Montreal). The winners of the oral presentations are: 3rd place – Gabrielle Beaudry (PhD candidate @ Polytechnique Montreal), 2nd place – Cynthia Lee (Master student @ INRS), and 1st place – Kayla Moore (PhD candidate @ University of Manitoba).
Top, left to right: Noemie Chagnon-Lessard (3rd place poster session), Nicolò Giordano (2nd place poster session) and Bernard Dusseault (1st place poster session).
Bottom, left to right: Gabrielle Beaudry (3rd place oral presentation), Cynthia Lee (2nd place oral presentation) and Kayla Moore (1st place oral presentation)