The primary research of my group is focused on the Cretaceous rocks of the Western Canada foreland basin. Fundamentally, we are interested in understanding the processes (tectonism, eustatic change, sediment supply) that controlled deposition, erosion and depositional cyclicity. We have access to all public drilling records (well logs) for the basin, which allows construction of very detailed stratigraphic cross-sections. We employ an allostratigraphic (sequence stratigraphic) approach which permits division of the basin fill into genetic units, related to relative sea-level changes. Mapping of sequence-bounding surfaces allows isopach maps to be constructed, which reveal the complex subsidence history of the basin. This approach also permits mapping of facies belts, and hence regional paleogeography can be reconstructed. The excellent subsurface stratigraphic framework allows correlation to outcrop on the periphery of the basin, allowing sedimentological detail from outcrop to be integrated into the regional picture.

Recent projects have involved both marine and nonmarine units ranging in age from late Albian to early Campanian. Several projects focused on thick mudstone successions which, although superficially monotonous, preserve a very detailed history of tectonic movement of the basin floor. Other studies have revealed evidence for small scale (~10 m) but high frequency (20-100 ky) relative sea level oscillations which are most reasonably explained in terms of glacio-eustasy - despite the popular notion of a mid-Cretaceous ‘greenhouse’ climate. Other studies have examined the relationship between subsidence rate and the character of alluvial environments, including the nature of fluvial systems, and paleosols. Major paleovalley and interfluve systems have been mapped in detail, and drainage patterns can be related to flexural tectonics and to more localised fault movement.