Catherine Hickson | |
---|---|
Born | 1955 (age 68–69) |
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater | University of British Columbia |
Awards | Honorary Doctor of Technology - University of the Fraser Valley C.J. Westerman Memorial Award 2023 Geoscientists Canada’s Canadian Professional Geoscientist Award |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Volcanology, Geology, Lithium Exploration, Geothermal Energy |
Institutions | TTGeo, Alberta No.1 |
Thesis | Quaternary volcanism in the Wells Gray-Clearwater area, east central British Columbia (1987) |
Catherine Hickson (born 1955) is a Canadian volcanologist, formerly with the Geological Survey of Canada, part of Natural Resources Canada. Since 2014, she has been the chief operating officer for Dajin Resources Corp. and president, Tuya Terra Geo Corp. Hickson studied at the University of British Columbia and received her PhD in geology and volcanology in 1987.
Hickson grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. [1] During her childhood, family trips to Banff National Park, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone National Park [2] exposed her to the natural world, including to geysers and volcanoes. [1] As a student in 1980, Hickson was camping 14 km east of Mount St. Helens when the volcano erupted; she credited this event with changing the course of her career. [1] She completed her undergraduate degree in 1982 and her PhD in 1987, both at the University of British Columbia. [1] She undertook PhD-related field work in Wells Gray Park, British Columbia. [3]
Hickson's early career focused on assessing past and future eruptions and hazard impacts of young volcanoes in Canada and globally.
Hickson spent 25 years with Canadian federal government at the Geological Survey of Canada, part of the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada. In 1998, she worked with the Province of British Columbia on Thunderbird III, a civil protection exercise focused on a hypothetical eruption of Mount Baker, Washington state, USA.
In 2003, Hickson was one of three scientists to report on a hypothetical eruption at the Canadian volcano, Mount Cayley. [4] She also worked closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization creating pilot and airspace regulations for flight in regions impacted by volcanic ash. Furthermore, she formulated and implemented Canada's volcanic eruption response plan (Canada's Interagency Volcanic Event Notification Plan, IVENP) in the event of a volcanic event within Canada or in a neighboring jurisdiction.
Catherine moved to the private sector and joined Magma Energy Corp., a global energy company in 2008. In 2010, she became the VP Exploration & Chief Geologist at Magma Energy Corp. [5] Working at Magma, and subsequently Alterra, she expanded her geothermal expertise to Chile, Iceland, Italy, Peru and the USA. [6] After leaving Alterra in 2008, her work continues to involve harnessing electricity and heat from the hot water and steam released by volcanic activity and earth's internal heat engine.
In 2014, Catherine founded her own company, Tuya Terra Geo Corp., a geological and management services company specializing in supporting geothermal development, lithium exploration and public engagement in the earth sciences. [7]
Combining her management and volcanological expertise as well as her global experience, she became a Director and Chief Operating Officer of Dajin Resources Corp., an energy metals company surveys lithium brines. [8] Lithium brines are found in geological environments that host frequent volcanic activity and geothermal systems.
In February 2018, she and several other researchers resurrected the Canadian Geothermal Association, as Geothermal Canada. The Association was founded in 1974 and had been inactive for several decades. With increasing interest in geothermal development in Canada, the group felt the time was ripe to reestablish the organization to assist Canadian researchers and developers pushing geothermal project to fruition. The organization is officially called the "Pan Canadian Society for Geothermal Research, Innovation & Collaboration" and is registered as a not-for-profit society under the Societies Act of British Columbia.
Presently, Catherine is CEO of the Alberta No.1 Geothermal Energy Project, located near Grande Prairie, Alberta. A project which will provide both electrical and thermal energy to a heavy industrial district. [9]
Hickson's work has taken her to many parts of the world, including a significant amount of time in South America where some of the largest and highest volcanoes form the mountainous spine of South America. She was the creator and leader of the Multinational Andean Project (MAP), Projecto Multinacional Andeno (PMA), and Geoscience for Sustainability. This Project ran from 1996 to 2002, in partnership with Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru and was co-funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and the participating countries. The project focus was creating high quality geoscience data for resource development. A second project, Geoscience for Andean Communities (MAP: GAC), ran from 2002 to 2006, and focused on natural hazard mitigation (volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides) to create safer communities. It was expanded from the initial project to include 3 more participating countries: Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. This work garnered Hickson the prestigious C.J. Westerman Memorial Award (2010) presented by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC. [10] Other awards include the Head of the Public Service Award (1999), given by the Clerk of the Privy Council, and an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the University of the Fraser Valley in June 2015. [11] [12] [13]
In addition to her scientific contributions, she has made contributions to many publications for young people and the public, as well as being a sought-after lecturer, field trip leader and supporter of science for the public. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] She was an eyewitness to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and wrote a book in 2005 describing her experience and explaining the mechanism of the eruption for the public. [19] [20] [21] Hickson is one of a few female leaders in earth science and is an adjunct professor at The University of British Columbia where she mentors women and young managers and sits on thesis committees. [22]
As noted above, Hickson has been very involved in increasing the understanding of the public in the natural world. One of her key focuses has been Wells Gray Provincial Park. The park formed part of her PhD field work area in the early 1980s and she has been associated with it ever since. Leading field trips and lecturing about the geological heritage of the park, she brought the park to national and international attention through a bid to have it recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With colleague and lichen specialist, Trevor Goward, they presented a comprehensive application for its addition to Canada's tentative list of World Heritage sites. Although unsuccessful, they will continue to support the park with its rich geology and abundance of flora and fauna as well as critical habitat for the endangered Mountain Caribou. She is president of the Wells Gray Wilderness Society. This Society was established to increase understanding of the park through field studies, education seminars, public lectures and workshops. It is partnered with Thompson Rivers University who have a field camp in the park. She is also a board member of the "Wells Gray Gateway Protection Society". In 2018, Hickson led the first expedition to explore Sarlacc's Pit cave, a newly discovered karst cave in the Park which is the largest cave of its type. [23] Catherine was contacted about the unusual feature due to her long-standing association with Wells Gray Park – first as a geology student who did her PhD on the geological young volcanoes found mostly in the southern part of the park, and later on as a scientist who continued to work in the park. She co-authored a book on Wells Gray Park – “Nature Wells Gray” with Trevor Goward. In addition, she wrote “Wells Gray Rocks” a companion book to Trevor's “Treasure Wells Gray” in celebration of the Parks’ 75th anniversary. These books for the public are in addition to technical field guides and scientific papers on the geology of the park. In 2017 Trevor and Catherine submitted an application for Wells Gray Park to be added to Canada's tentative list for UNESCO world heritage status. The application was part of a process to add sites to Canada's tentative list in celebration of Canada’ 150th birthday celebrations in 2017. Unfortunately Wells Gray was not among the eight sites named. Hopefully, this latest discovery will provide new impetus for Wells Gray Park to achieve UNESCO world heritage status in the future.
Catherine was instrumental in recognizing the potential significance of a newly discovered cave in Wells Gray Park first reported to her in early May 2018. [24] She realized that it was unlikely to be a volcanic feature (crater or lava tube), but most likely to be a karst feature, despite it not occurring in a thick limestone sequence. Catherine quickly reached out to John Pollack, an expert on caves, and an archaeological surveyor. Catherine and John Pollack are longtime associates through the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Explorers Club. She knew that John would either know himself what the feature was, or know whom to ask about the feature. Catherine also reached out to BC Parks and her local Clearwater contacts to organize the reconnaissance work. John and Catherine co-wrote the permit application (for exploration) and John sought additional support from the caving community – he brought in Lee Hollis and Chas Yonge. At the cave site exploration in September 2018, Catherine evaluated the geology and geomorphology of the site in an effort to understand more about the cave's formation and its age. She will continue to work alongside John and Lee to support the actual exploration of the cave in the near future.
A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, collect eruptive products including tephra, rock and lava samples. One major focus of inquiry in recent times is the prediction of eruptions to alleviate the impact on surrounding populations and monitor natural hazards associated with volcanic activity. Geologists who research volcanic materials that make up the solid Earth are referred to as igneous petrologists.
Mount Garibaldi is a dormant stratovolcano in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has a maximum elevation of 2,678 metres and rises above the surrounding landscape on the east side of the Cheakamus River in New Westminster Land District. In addition to the main peak, Mount Garibaldi has two named sub-peaks. Atwell Peak is a sharp, conical peak slightly higher than the more rounded peak of Dalton Dome. Both were volcanically active at different times throughout Mount Garibaldi's eruptive history. The northern and eastern flanks of Mount Garibaldi are obscured by the Garibaldi Névé, a large snowfield containing several radiating glaciers. Flowing from the steep western face of Mount Garibaldi is the Cheekye River, a tributary of the Cheakamus River. Opal Cone on the southeastern flank is a small volcanic cone from which a lengthy lava flow descends. The western face is a landslide feature that formed in a series of collapses between 12,800 and 11,500 years ago. These collapses resulted in the formation of a large debris flow deposit that fans out into the Squamish Valley.
The Mount Meager massif is a group of volcanic peaks in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc of western North America, it is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Vancouver at the northern end of the Pemberton Valley and reaches a maximum elevation of 2,680 m (8,790 ft). The massif is capped by several eroded volcanic edifices, including lava domes, volcanic plugs and overlapping piles of lava flows; these form at least six major summits including Mount Meager which is the second highest of the massif.
Mount Price is a small stratovolcano in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has an elevation of 2,049 metres and rises above the surrounding landscape on the western side of Garibaldi Lake in New Westminster Land District. The mountain contains a number of subfeatures, including Clinker Peak on its western flank, which was the source of two thick lava flows between 15,000 and 8,000 years ago that ponded against glacial ice. These lava flows are structurally unstable, having produced large landslides as recently as the 1850s. A large provincial park surrounds Mount Price and other volcanoes in its vicinity. It lies within an ecological region that surrounds much of the Pacific Ranges.
Pyramid Mountain is a subglacial mound located on the Murtle Plateau in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.
McLeod Hill is a tuya, located 41 km (25 mi) north of Clearwater in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.
The Anahim hotspot is a hypothesized hotspot in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It has been proposed as the candidate source for volcanism in the Anahim Volcanic Belt, a 300 kilometres long chain of volcanoes and other magmatic features that have undergone erosion. This chain extends from the community of Bella Bella in the west to near the small city of Quesnel in the east. While most volcanoes are created by geological activity at tectonic plate boundaries, the Anahim hotspot is located hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest plate boundary.
The Franklin Glacier Complex is a deeply eroded volcano in the Waddington Range of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located about 65 km (40 mi) northeast of Kingcome, this sketchily known complex resides at Franklin Glacier near Mount Waddington. It is over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in elevation and because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the complex is covered by glacial ice.
The Silverthrone Caldera is a potentially active caldera complex in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located over 350 kilometres (220 mi) northwest of the city of Vancouver and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Mount Waddington in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The caldera is one of the largest of the few calderas in western Canada, measuring about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long (north-south) and 20 kilometres (12 mi) wide (east-west). Mount Silverthrone, an eroded lava dome on the caldera's northern flank that is 2,864 metres (9,396 ft) high, may be the highest volcano in Canada.
Ray Lake is a lake located in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is fed by and drained by Falls Creek which flows into the Clearwater River at its outlet from Clearwater Lake.
The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group, is a potentially active monogenetic volcanic field in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 130 km (81 mi) north of Kamloops. It is situated in the Cariboo Mountains of the Columbia Mountains and on the Quesnel and Shuswap Highlands. As a monogenetic volcanic field, it is a place with numerous small basaltic volcanoes and extensive lava flows.
The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a group of volcanoes and associated lava flows in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located on the Tahltan Highland, it is 40 kilometres southeast of Telegraph Creek and 85 kilometres southwest of Dease Lake. The complex encompasses a broad, steep-sided lava plateau that extends over 1,000 square kilometres. Its highest summit is 2,786 metres in elevation, making the MEVC the highest of four large complexes in an extensive north–south trending volcanic region. It is obscured by an ice cap characterized by several outlet glaciers that stretch out to lower altitudes.
The Volcano, also known as Lava Fork volcano, is a small cinder cone in the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located approximately 60 km (40 mi) northwest of the small community of Stewart near the head of Lava Fork. With a summit elevation of 1,656 m (5,433 ft) and a topographic prominence of 311 m (1,020 ft), it rises above the surrounding rugged landscape on a remote mountain ridge that represents the northern flank of a glaciated U-shaped valley.
A series of small volcanic earthquakes measuring less than 4.0 on the Richter magnitude scale took place in the sparsely populated Nazko area of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, from October 9, 2007, to June 12, 2008. They occurred just west of Nazko Cone, a small tree-covered cinder cone that last erupted about 7,200 years ago.
Jack Gordon Souther was an American-born Canadian geologist, volcanologist, professor and engineer. He contributed significantly to the early understanding of recent volcanic activity in the Canadian Cordillera. Many of his publications continue to be regarded as classics in their field, even now several decades after they were written.
The Canadian Cascade Arc, also called the Canadian Cascades, is the Canadian segment of the North American Cascade Volcanic Arc. Located entirely within the Canadian province of British Columbia, it extends from the Cascade Mountains in the south to the Coast Mountains in the north. Specifically, the southern end of the Canadian Cascades begin at the Canada–United States border. However, the specific boundaries of the northern end are not precisely known and the geology in this part of the volcanic arc is poorly understood. It is widely accepted by geologists that the Canadian Cascade Arc extends through the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. However, others have expressed concern that the volcanic arc possibly extends further north into the Kitimat Ranges, another subdivision of the Coast Mountains, and even as far north as Haida Gwaii.
The Mount Cayley volcanic field (MCVF) is a remote volcanic zone on the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada, stretching 31 km (19 mi) from the Pemberton Icefield to the Squamish River. It forms a segment of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, the Canadian portion of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which extends from Northern California to southwestern British Columbia. Most of the MCVF volcanoes were formed during periods of volcanism under sheets of glacial ice throughout the last glacial period. These subglacial eruptions formed steep, flat-topped volcanoes and subglacial lava domes, most of which have been entirely exposed by deglaciation. However, at least two volcanoes predate the last glacial period and both are highly eroded. The field gets its name from Mount Cayley, a volcanic peak located at the southern end of the Powder Mountain Icefield. This icefield covers much of the central portion of the volcanic field and is one of the several glacial fields in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains.
Barry Voight is an American geologist, volcanologist, author, and engineer. After earning his Ph.D. at Columbia University, Voight worked as a professor of geology at several universities, including Pennsylvania State University, where he taught from 1964 until his retirement in 2005. He remains an emeritus professor there and still conducts research, focusing on rock mechanics, plate tectonics, disaster prevention, and geotechnical engineering.
Janine Krippner is a physical volcanologist from New Zealand who uses remote sensing to study pyroclastic flows and is a popular science communicator.
Mount Cayley is an eroded but potentially active stratovolcano in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located 45 km (28 mi) north of Squamish and 24 km (15 mi) west of Whistler, the volcano resides on the edge of the Powder Mountain Icefield. It consists of massif that towers over the Cheakamus and Squamish river valleys. All major summits have elevations greater than 2,000 m (6,600 ft), Mount Cayley being the highest at 2,385 m (7,825 ft). The surrounding area has been inhabited by indigenous peoples for more than 7,000 years while geothermal exploration has taken place there for the last four decades.