1. Department of Geography & Environment
  2. Preparing Your Abstract

Preparing Your Abstract

Preparing your Abstract (oral and poster presentations)

Please use MS Word to create your document using the format and font type/size as instructed below. Abstracts should be 250 words maximum, not including the title and author information. Note that abstracts will not be edited by the organizers, nor will changes be accepted after submission. The submitted version will be what appears in the conference program. Below the abstract, please indicate on separate lines if the submission is:

  1. an “Oral” or “Poster” presentation.
  2. a “Student competition” entry, and if so the level of study (Undergraduate, Masters, PhD).

If you are faculty or a PhD student please indicate if you are (i) able and willing to chair an oral session during the conference, and/or (ii) able and willing to judge student oral and poster presentations in your field. In either case, please indicate the areas of expertise in which you can help.

Your abstract should include the following information in the order shown:

  • TITLE OF PRESENTATION (ARIAL 14 pt, IN CAPITALS).
  • Authors (Arial 12 pt, presenter underlined, authors separated by commas).
  • Author affiliation(s) (Arial 12 pt, in parentheses); use superscript numbers to connect authors with different affiliations (e.g. 1University of Lethbridge, 2Environment Canada).
  • Authors’ email addresses (Arial 12 pt).
  • Abstract body (250 words maximum, Arial 12 pt).

Sample Abstract (fictitious; correct font size not shown)

Assessing Tributary-Trunk Interaction with Structural Glaciology and Ice Flow

Thomas Fox, Hester Jiskoot

(University of Lethbridge)

thomas.fox@uleth.ca, hester.jiskoot@uleth.ca

Global glacier recession results in tributary glaciers detaching from their trunks and contiguous glacier units separating into smaller units. Glacier fragmentation is particularly evident in dendritic glaciers and has in some cases led to enhanced retreat compared to adjacent glaciers. It has been suggested that this enhanced retreat results from a combination of changes in mass balance and ice dynamics. In order to quantify the dynamic effect of a tributary on its trunk we analysed the structural glaciology and ice flow of Shackleton Glacier, an outlet of Clemenceau Icefield, Canadian Rockies. Our study combines field data with SPOT satellite image data. Structures and flow patterns were mapped and evaluated using GIS and structural geology software. A medial moraine divided Shackleton’s trunk into two flow units: one proximal and one distal to the tributary. Crevasse and ogive patterns give evidence of enhanced upstream compressive stress and enhanced downstream extensional stress in the proximal flow unit. Lateral acceleration towards the distal side occurred across the trunk’s width. Upstream build-up of ice was not observed as the proximal flow unit discharged through a narrow outlet. A prominent topographic step at the tributary-trunk confluence, resulting in an icefall, suggests enhanced erosion due to increased flux. Multiple lines of evidence point to an absence of blocking by the tributary glacier. This leads us to suggest that tributaries that actively push into their trunk may not always restrict outflow. Our observations have implications for glacier surging and alpine landscape evolution.

Oral presentation

Student competition (Undergraduate, BSc)

The second author (HJ) is willing to chair a session and judge students presentations in Physical Geography