It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Andre Lytviak on Tuesday, November 29, after a battle with cancer.

The Mineral Core Research Facility is undergoing a major facelift to create a special collection of core from key stratigraphic units, making it more accessible for clients and more efficient fo Alberta Geological Survey staff to locate, layout, and rack individual core.

Alberta Environment and Alberta Geological Survey began a cross-ministry plan to inventory Alberta's groundwater resources. The first area of study was the Edmonton-Calgary Corridor.

The oil sands and surveillance monitoring project is piloting the use of Earth Observation technologies to evaluate their potential application as tools to aid in energy industry regulation in Alberta.

The American Geological Institute and the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences launched CanGeoRef on September 15, 2011.

As part of a multi-year initiative, the Alberta Geological survey is continuing its regional surficial geology mapping program in northern Alberta.

Mr. Hsi-Hung from the Central Geological Survey of Taiwan visited the Alberta Geological Survey for a three-day field trip to Turtle Mountain in south-western Alberta to view the monitoring network on the South Peak of Turtle Mountain.

Alberta Geological Survey's Mark Fenton has been awarded the Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton Award for Science and Technology.

This article outlines the main projects at the AGS and the top field projects for the summer of 2011.

Natural gas is found in many of the geological formations occurring in the subsurface of Alberta.

The Alberta Geological Survey has initiated the Induced Seismicity Project to document both natural and induced (or triggered) earthquakes. The goal is to understand the distribution and nature of earthquakes within Alberta.

As part of its ongoing mandate to map and understand the geology of Alberta, Alberta Geological Survey is conducting a multiyear project to create a new, three-dimensional digital geological atlas of Alberta.

On December 13, 2010, Dr. Matthias Grobe was appointed to the position of provincial geologist with the Alberta Geological Survey.

This article outlines the title and role of a provincial geologist since its first use in 1838. It also gives an outline of the Alberta provincial geologist and how that role has changed over time.

Alberta Geological Survey has released two provincial-scale maps depicting the bedrock topography and sediment thickness overlying bedrock in Alberta.

In conjunction with the semi-annual meeting of the National Geological Surveys Committee, held in Montreal in September 2010, a field trip was held for members of all provincial, territorial and federal surveys. The goal of the field trip was to observe and understand the geology along a section of Highway 10 between Montreal and the copper mines in Estri-Beauce region, New Sherbrooke.

Alberta Geological Survey is pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Fenton has been awarded the 2010 Provincial Geologists Medal. This medal is awarded annually to recognize major contributions in geoscientific research.

Although it can't be definitively said, it is quite possible that Fran Hein might just literally love rocks. Her passion for geology is obvious to anyone who has worked with her, and her knowledge of the geology of Alberta's oil sands area is encyclopaedic. This passion for geology has taken her, at various times, from Canada's east coast to the west coast of the United States to Canada's northern coast. It has infected the students she has supervised in her many university positions, as well as with the colleagues she has worked.

The Geology, Environmental Science and Economics Branch and the Oil Sands Branch of the ERCB began work in a pilot study area to characterize the stratigraphy above and below the bitumen deposits where resources are proposed to be extracted through in situ means.

Alberta has historically been a seismically quiet part of North America. Monitoring of seismic activity within Alberta began in earnest during the mid-1960s. In 1977, there was a significant increase in recorded events and the reason for the apparent increase is unclear. Alberta Geological Survey is collaborating with the universities of Alberta and Calgary to understand seismicity patterns in Alberta and their causes.