Dr. Shahin Dashtgard

Research Focus

My current research is focused in three areas: 1) resolving depositional cyclicity and evolution of convergent-margin basins (CMBs); 2) assessing the CO₂ storage potential of convergent-margin basin strata; and, 3) assessing the neoichnology and sedimentology of shallow marine depositional environments.

My work on CMBs occurs in both the Georgia Basin, Canada and the Western Foreland Basin, Taiwan. In the Georgia Basin, my students and I have developed and continue to refine a genetic stratigraphic framework for strata therein. We have used this framework to reconstruct the paleogeographic evolution of Canada's west coast and to predict the long-term CO₂ storage potential of sedimentary strata below Vancouver and the surrounding area. In the Western Foreland Basin (WFB), Taiwan we are using cyclostratigraphy, geochemistry and both outcrop and subsurface geophysical datasets through the Pliocene and Pleistocene to resolve depositional and climatic cycles and assess the evolution of Taiwan and the adjacent strait. Our Taiwan research is being conducted in collaboration with members of the international research group, Paleoclimate Records In Shallow-Marine Strata (PRISMS).

My work on the neoichnology and sedimentology of shallow marine depositional environments includes characterizing modern coastal and shallow marine systems as analogs for the rock record, but also for considering the impacts of depositional processes and infauna on the distribution of microplastics. My research team and I have worked extensively (and continue to work) on the fluvio-tidal zone in the Fraser River, Canada, and on the coastal areas of the Fraser Delta. Our work on microplastics in this region is only just beginning.

Undergraduate Teaching

Graduate Classes Taught

EASC 610 - Subsurface Energy Resources 

EASC 611 - Advanced Sedimentology

EASC 622 - Principles of Ichnology

EASC 707 - Special Topics - Scientific Writing

EASC 711 - Special Topics - Introduction to Sediment Geochemistry