Octavian Catuneanu

Biography

Octavian Catuneanu Professor Science Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 3-020 Centennial Centre for Interdisc Science Office: 780-492-6569.

Research Interest

Research area sedimentology, stratigraphy, basin analysis Research interest My current research focuses on the stratigraphy and evolution of the Western Interior foreland system of North America, as well as of several other sedimentary basins of Precambrian to Phanerozoic age, worldwide. Sedimentary successions are analyzed at local to regional scales, with the aim of investigating the complex interplay of allogenic and authigenic processes that control the nature and architecture of the stratigraphic record. Of special interest are the external controls on sedimentation. The study of the relative influence of climate, sea-level change and tectonism on sedimentation is at the cutting-edge of stratigraphic research, with relevance to the evaluation of (1) local and global environmental changes in the geological record; (2) origin and evolution of sedimentary basins; and (3) architecture and internal makeup of stratigraphic sequences that fill a sedimentary basin. From an economic perspective, this work rationalizes the distribution of depositional elements, stratigraphic discontinuities, regional coal seams and placer deposits within a sequence stratigraphic framework. Research techniques include outcrop and core sedimentology coupled with subsurface methods involving interpretation and correlation of well-log and seismic data.