Robert W.DalrymplePh.D., McMaster, 1977 | Professor, Queen's University at Kingston Mailing address: Department of
Geological Sciences, Phone (613) 533-6186 Fax: (613) 533-6592 Email: dalrymple@geol.queensu.ca |
R.W. Dalrymple is a clastic sedimentologist with wide-ranging interests. Ongoing research projects include: the sedimentology and high-resolution seismic stratigraphy of the tide-dominated, Fly River delta, Papua New Guinea; the sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, and chemostratigraphy of Neoproterozoic and early Cambrian strata of the Mackenzie and Wernecke Mtns, N.W.T. and Yukon; the influence of physical sedimentary processes and biological controls on the textures, facies, and stratigraphy of bioclastic carbonates in the Oligo-Miocene, Te Kuiti Group, New Zealand; and the sedimentology and stratigraphy of transgressive, wave-influenced (dominated?) tidal flats, South Korea.
These projects are linked by three interrelated, long-term objectives: 1) to increase our understanding of tide-dominated depositional systems, which are less thoroughly studied and inherently more complex than wave-dominated systems, due to the development of mutually- evasive channel-bar complexes; 2) to document the influence of relative sea-level rise and transgression on the nature of the stratigraphic record, with particular emphasis on incised-valley systems and the proposed link between tide-dominated sedimentation and transgressions; and 3) to understand physical sedimentation in settings with "boundary conditions" that differ from those typifying Phanerozoic siliciclastics (i.e., Proterozoic siliciclastics and Phanerozoic, bioclastic carbonates). In the former case, the lack of metazoans and terrestrial plants creates a "non- actualistic" situation that is not mimicked anywhere in the modern world. In the second case, the sedimentary particles are produced in situ and thus are not transported to the depositional site from an external source. By examining how these changes in fundamental conditions influence the resulting deposits, the nature of the physical environments will be understood more fully.
Research opportunities for students (M.Sc. and Ph.D.) include projects on tide-dominated carbonate grainstones in the Miocene of southern France, Proterozoic fluvial strata in the Thelon Basin, Northwestern Territories, and subsurface studies in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, using core and industry well-log data. Dr. Dalrymple is also involved with the new School of Environmental Studies at Queen's University and would be interested in supervising students involved in interdisciplinary environmental projects, both in the local bioregion and elsewhere.
Links to courses taught
Recent Publications
Crowder, A., Smol, J., Dalrymple, R.W., Gilbert, R., Mathers, A. &
Price, J., 1996, Rates of natural and anthropogenic change in shoreline habitats
in the Kingston Basin, Lake Ontario. Can. Jour. Fish. Aquatic Sci., in press.
Dalrymple, R.W. & Narbonne, G.M., 1996, Continental slope sedimentation in the Sheepbed Formation (Neoproterozoic), Mackenzie Mtns., N.W.T. Can. Jour. Earth Sci., in press.
Harris, P.T., Pattiaratchi, C.B., Keene, J.B., Dalrymple, R.W., Gardner, G.V., Baker, E.K., Cole, A.R., Mitchell, D., Gibbs, P. & Schroeder, W.W., 1996, Late Quaternary deltaic and carbonate sedimentation in the Gulf of Papua foreland basin: Response to sea-level change. Jour. Sed. Res., v. A66, p. 801-819.
Dalrymple, R.W. & Rhodes, R.N., 1995, Estuarine dunes and barforms, in Geomorphology and Sedimentology of Estuaries, G.M. Perillo, ed.: Developments in Sedimentology, v. 53, Amsterdam, Elsevier, p. 359-422.
Harris, P.T., Pattiaratchi, C.B., Collins, M.B. & Dalrymple, R.W., 1995, What is a bedload parting?: In Tidal Signatures in Modern and Ancient Sediments, Edited by B.W. Flemming & A. Bartoloma, International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication 24, 2- 10.
Dalrymple, R.W., Boyd, R. & Zaitlin, B.A., eds., 1994, Incised-Valley Systems: Origin and Sedimentary Sequences: Soc. Sediment. Geol. (SEPM) Spec. Publ. 51, 391p.
Dalrymple, R.W. & Zaitlin, B.A., 1994, High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of a complex, incised valley succession, the Cobequid Bay- Salmon River estuary, Bay of Fundy, Canada. Sedimentology, v. 41, 1069-1091.
Dalrymple, R.W., Boyd, R. & Zaitlin, B.A., 1994, History of research, definitions and internal organization of incised-valley systems: Introduction to the volume, in Incised-Valley Systems: Origin and Sedimentary Sequences, R.W. Dalrymple, R. Boyd & B.A. Zaitlin, eds.: Soc. Sediment. Geol. (SEPM) Spec. Publ. 51, 3-10.
Spooner, I. & Dalrymple, R.W., 1994, Sedimentary facies relationships in esker-ridge/esker-fan complexes, Southeastern Ontario, Canada: Application to the exploration for asphalt blending sand. Quaternary International, v. 20, p. 81-92.
Zaitlin, B.A., Dalrymple, R.W., Boyd, R., Leckie, D. & MacEachern, J., 1995, The Stratigraphic Organization of Incised Valley Systems: Implications to Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production (2nd ed.). Can. Soc. Petrol. Geol., 189 p.
Zaitlin, B.A., Dalrymple, R.W. & Boyd, R., 1994, The stratigraphic organization of incised-valley systems, in Incised-Valley Systems: Origin and Sedimentary Sequences, R.W. Dalrymple, R. Boyd & B.A. Zaitlin, eds.: Soc. Sediment. Geol. (SEPM) Spec. Publ. 51, p. 45-60.
For more information, please email me at dalrymple@geol.queensu.ca
Back to Faculty Homepage
This page and its contents are Copyright © of the Department of Geological
Sciences, Queen's University 1998-99 (except as noted).
For information or
comments about this web service, email badham@geol.queensu.ca
Back to Queen's Geology Home Page
Last revision: 9 December 1998