​Patrick McLaren

Patrick McLaren is a geologist who was a Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. He then founded a consulting company while a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge. He has had an exciting life, including encounters with bears, snakes (and the odd rabbit), surviving helicopter crashes, and being the first scientist to dive under the ice at the North Pole.
As a consultant, he lived on his sailboat, travelling the west coast of North America to collect sediment samples for his technique known as Sediment Trend Analysis (STA). The theory for STA was the result of his under-ice diving activities in the High Arctic. Used to understand the pathways of sediment transport in rivers, lakes and marine environments, STA is now commonly applied to assess coastal erosion, the effects of dredging, and where contaminants in the sediment have come from.
During his career, he was always concerned about the fate of the planet, and he has fought against fraudulent science being applied for economic gain by "so-called" research. In his field, Dr. McLaren has written and published extensively in books and scientific journals.
Now retired, Magic Travels: The Unlikely Adventures of a Geologist is Dr. McLaren’s first writing excursion outside of science, and is the first of four volumes about his life. The second, A Year Around Earth is soon to be published, and Volume 3 (That Was Lucky) is anticipated to be finished in 2024. The fourth is still being planned and not yet titled.
He lives with his partner, Susan, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.