What do Glaciers tell us when they Growl

Friday February 19 – 7:30 p.m. at the Almonte United Church Social Hall

Speaker: Denis A. St-Onge, O.C.

Topic: What do Glaciers tell us when they Growl

Synopsis:

The lecture will examine the role of glaciers, past and present, in shaping the landscape, as well as the causes for their rapid retreat since the early 1900s. Also included will be a discussion of the disappearance of sea ice in the past decades, and its consequences. The lecturer is truly an authority in his field:

Speaker’s Profile:

Denis A. St-Onge began his career as a geoscientist at the University of Manitoba where, through the Collège de St-Boniface, he received his bachelor’s degree in 1951. In 1957 he obtained a L.Sc. from l’université de Louvain, Belgium and, soon after, joined the Geographical Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. He was a member of the original group of the Polar Continental Shelf Project which took him to Ellef Ringnes Island where he carried out geomorphological surveys during the summers of 1959 to 1961. He was awarded his D.Sc. by l’université de Louvain in 1962.

St-Onge worked as a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada and Professor at the University of Ottawa where he held a series of positions, among them Chair of the Department of Geography and Vice-dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. At the Geological Survey he was Director of the Terrain Sciences Division and Scientific advisor to the Polar Continental Shelf Project. St-Onge has also been active in many national and international bodies.

Among the honours St-Onge has received in recognition for his scientific research are Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Manitoba in 1990. In September 1994, he was awarded the Scottish Geographical Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. His induction as an Officer of the Order of Canada in May1996 was in recognition of his long and distinguished career. In 2002 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2005 the Royal Canadian Geographical Society awarded him with the Camsell medal for exceptional service to the Society.