GEOSCIENCE AND CANADA UNDERST ANDING OUR EARTH THE VIT AL ROLE OF CANADAS GEOSCIE NTISTS 7 GE O T O URISM A ND PR O T E CT IN G A RE A S O F GE O L O GI CA L SI GNIFI CA N C E Ge oscie nt ist s cont rib ut e t o t he pr ot e ction st ud y pr e se rv a t ion and displa y of sit e s and landscape s of ge ological signifcance Man y Canadian sit e s ar e r e cognise d f or t heir e x ce pt ional ge ological v al ue and pr ot e cte d f or e duca t ional and scie nt ifc pur pose s t hr ough t he UNES CO W or ld He rit age sit e pr og ram T he se include Ne wf oundland s Gr os Mor ne Na t ional P ar k w he r e r e mnant s of ancie nt ocean crust ar e pr e se rv e d a t surface as w e ll as se v e ral inte r na t ional ly signifcant f ossil site s including t he J og gins F ossil Clifs in No v a S cot ia Mist ake n P oint in Ne wf oundland Miguasha Na t ional P ar k in Que be c and t he Bur ge ss S hal e in Canadian R ock y Mount ain P ar ks Brit ish Columbia Canada al so par t icipa te s in t he UNESCO Global Ge opar ks pr og ram sit e s t ha t ar e manage d wit h an e mphasis on e duca t ion pr ot e ction and sust ainab le de v e lopme nt As of 2017 t he r e w e r e t w o de signa t e d Global Ge opar ks in Canada t he S t one hamme r UNES CO Global Ge opar k in Ne w Brunswick and T umb le r Ridge UNES CO Global Ge opar k in Brit ish Columbia P r e se rv a t ion of t he se ge ologically int e r e st ing or signifcant sit e s can al so pr o vide an al t e r na t iv e e conom y e spe cial ly in rural ar e as as millions of t ourist s ar e a t t ract e d t o t he se st riking ly be aut iful ge ological landscape s CAS E S TU D Y MININ G W AS TEW A TE R M A N A GEMEN T TH RO U G H G E NOM ICS Geoscientists are currently studying the ability of naturally occurring bacteria present in mine waste waters to biodegrade and cleanse mine waste water and materials ie tailings By studying these microorganisms genes and their functions genomics promising ne w adaptive and fe xible solutions can be identifed to better assess monitor and remediate mining waste Remediation is defned as the removal of pollution or contaminants from soil g roundwater sediment or sur face water for the protection of human health and the environment T he term rehabilitation is used in the agg regate and building stone sectors to describe the restoration of quarry or pit lands to their former use or condition or another use or condition that is compatible with that of adjacent lands T he term reclamation is used in the mining sector to describe the restoration of soil vegetation and sur face water features modifed during the life of a mine to a quality quantity and appearance that represents predevelopment conditions or the baseline environmental conditions measured and described during the beg inning of mine development Adapted from T urner et alF B Y R F ensomeN RCan T AltWikimedia Commons