Gems of Geoscience

Melinda Yurkowski, P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.)

Melinda Yurkowski is the Assistant Chief Geologist with the Ministry of Energy and Resources. She manages the Petroleum Geology Unit at the Subsurface Geological Lab in Regina.

I grew up on a farm in central Saskatchewan in an area where I am sure the joke about seeing your dog run away for days originated. With four siblings, cousins nearby and more pets of varying species than you can count, it was a busy and a happy place where there was always something to do.

Finding geology

Like a lot of other geologists, I fell into it when I went to the University of Regina. When I was a kid, I could look at maps for hours on end (and still do) and was always digging around on the rock piles or in the sand and mud. In high school, I knew I wanted to study astronomy in part fuelled by the science fiction books and movies that I had consumed a teenager. The astronomy class was full by the time I registered for my first year of classes, so my counsellor in the physics department recommended that I take a geology class in the meantime.

I really enjoyed the class, but what really caught me was the lab. I loved making and interpreting those simple maps and cross sections and identifying the rocks. I signed up for another geology class and was hooked. What sealed the deal was my first geological field trip, which was to Yellowstone through the Bearpaw Mountains. It was an eye-opening experience. I had driven through the mountains before, but never bothered to stop and really look at the rocks.

I have two degrees in geology, both from the University of Regina. I started in the late ‘70s and graduated with a Bachelor’s in 1984. At the time, the Geology Department was small compared to other universities’ geology departments, but I appreciated that it was small. We were taught the foundational blocks of geology. It was a collegial environment where the staff and students knew each other which encouraged both teamwork and personal responsibility.

While working towards my undergraduate degree, I had a couple of summer jobs working in the Precambrian Shield. Those were amazing experiences, but I found myself gravitating to sedimentary rocks, and as a result, my career has evolved primarily around the hydrocarbon industry, and a great majority of it with the Geological Survey with the Government of Saskatchewan.

Working as a geologist

Shortly after receiving my undergraduate degree, I started work at a local oil company as a petroleum geologist. The experience there was fantastic as I was exposed to many different aspects of the oil and gas industry. Unfortunately, it was short lived as about two years after I started, the price of oil dropped to a quarter of its value overnight and soon layoffs were happening across the industry, mine included.

I went back to the university to start a business degree. I quickly realized that I was missing the rocks, so switched back to geology to do a Master’s degree specializing in carbonate sedimentology.

I was fortunate to have Dr. Don Kent, P.Geo., as my supervisor. He is well-known for his vast knowledge of carbonate rocks. I was also fortunate to be able to look at and analyze the well bore rocks (known as cores) for my study area that were stored at the core repository at the Subsurface Geological Lab in Regina.

Getting the graduate degree became a long and protracted process as I wound up working part-time and had children at the same time. It was during this time that I also started to work part time with the Ministry of Energy and Resources (then Energy and Mines) with the Geological Survey at the Subsurface Geological Lab, determining geological markers for the Government of Saskatchewan’s oil and gas database.

To be honest, it was pure stubbornness on my part that I finished my Masters. I am glad I did as it has allowed me to progress in my career.

After a brief hiatus, I returned to the same job at the ministry full time under contract. Since then, I have held a couple of different geological jobs with the ministry, including a research position in geology with the Geological Survey. Using the available core at the repository, I focused on the sedimentology and stratigraphy on shallow gas deposits in Saskatchewan.

In February 2000, I became a registered geoscientist with APEGS. Then, in 2011, I moved into my current position, where I manage the Petroleum Geology Unit at the Subsurface Geological Lab. I also recently finished writing a report on helium potential in southern Saskatchewan.

I’ve been in the industry for a while now, and I still love looking at the rocks. I’ve been on some great field trips, looking at outcrops of rock across Western Canada and the U.S. I still get a charge out of opening the boxes of a core and trying to figure out what type of environment the rocks inside might have been laid down in.

The only thing that makes it better is looking at the core with colleagues. I would say that the wonderful people that I have met and worked with over the years is what makes it the best career in the world. I’ve also been very fortunate to have also been mentored by some fantastic colleagues over the years. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much from them.

Finding my favourite rock

Asking me to name my favourite rock is almost like asking me to pick a favourite child! It’s hard to pick just one, but if pressed, I would have to say it’s the one that I have had the longest.

I found it on a rock pile on the farm when I was just a kid. At the time, I did not know what it was, but to me, it looked like the head of an alien. Or maybe the head of a small dinosaur. While I never truly did believe it was alien, being the science fiction bug I was, part of me secretly hoped it was.

After I had a few geology classes under my belt, the alien theory died as I realized it was a cobble-sized fossiliferous limestone. It had most likely travelled from the outcrops in northern Saskatchewan to our farm and had been sculpted to its present form by glaciation processes. It’s fascinating to reflect on the conditions under which it was deposited and how it traveled to where I picked it up off the rockpile in the middle of the grassland Prairies. Rocko – as I have affectionately named it — has been with me for over 50 years, and even now has a place of honour on my desk at work.

Aside of it having great sentimental value, it serves as a constant reminder to me that geological ideas and interpretations change with new information and so I should always be open to new ideas and not get too attached to my theories. It’s not the prettiest nor the most exotic rock I own, but my little alien companion is the best.

Yurkowski’s favourite rock is this cobble-sized fossiliferous limestone.