Overview
Carson Kinney is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Earth Science at Saint Mary’s University. He completed his PhD at the University of Waterloo in 2025 focusing on the evolution of Earth’s continental crust, particularly the processes that control heat production and transfer within the crust. Carson is a field geologist who uses quantitative/numerical approaches to understand crustal processes work by combining field observations, petrography, geochemistry, and numerical modelling to investigate how rocks respond to the high temperatures and pressures associated with mountain building, metamorphism, and crustal melting.
Additional Interests
An additional area of interest is the application of Earth science to challenges facing northern communities. Earlier research investigated the potential for geothermal energy to provide heating for food production in remote northern communities, exploring how locally available geothermal resources could contribute to more sustainable greenhouse agriculture in Canada's North.
Teaching
As an Assistant Teaching Professor, Carson is particularly interested in hands-on, field-based, and inquiry-driven approaches to teaching Earth science. He enjoys helping students connect observations made in the field and laboratory with the physical processes that shape the Earth. His teaching interests include introductory geology, mineralogy and petrology, geological mapping, and field methods. He is especially interested in developing students' abilities to observe rocks critically, interpret geological evidence, and use quantitative and computational approaches to understand geological processes.
Teaching Courses:
· ERTH 1204· ERTH 2400· ERTH 3305· ERTH 4301
Selected Publications
Kinney, C., Gareau, J., Bergelt, S., van Staal, C.R., & Yakymchuk, C. (2026). Advection-driven (ultra-) high temperature metamorphism: a case study from the Shawinigan orogeny in the Frontenac Terrane, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
Kinney, C., Little, H., & Yakymchuk, C. (2025). High-Titanium Zircon Rims in Rhyolite – A Reflection of Adiabatic Ascent? Geological Journal, 61, 1029–1040.
Kinney, C., Kendrick, J., Duguet, M., & Yakymchuk, C. (2023). Redistribution of heat-producing elements during melting of Archean crust. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 42, 197–224.
Drever, C., Kinney, C., & Yakymchuk, C. (2022). Petrogenesis of extra-large flake graphite at the Bissett Creek deposit, Canada. Mineralium Deposita, 58, 731–750.
Yakymchuk, C., van Hinsberg, V., Kirkland, C.L., Szilas, K., Kinney, C., Kendrick, J., & Hollis, J.A. (2021). Corundum (ruby) growth during the final assembly of the Archean North Atlantic Craton, southern West Greenland. Ore Geology Reviews, 138, 104417.
Waterton, P., Hyde, W.R., Tusch, J., Hollis, J.A., Kirkland, C.L., Kinney, C., et al. (2020). Geodynamic implications of synchronous norite and TTG formation in the 3 Ga Maniitsoq Norite Belt, West Greenland. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8, 562062.
Kinney, C., Dehghani-Sanij, A., Mahbaz, S., Dusseault, M.B., Nathwani, J.S., & Fraser, R.A. (2019). Geothermal Energy for Sustainable Food Production in Canada’s Remote Northern Communities. Energies, 12, 4058.