Raymond Thorsteinsson, OC FRSC (January 21, 1921 – April 23, 2012)[1] was a Canadian geologist who focused on the geology of the high Arctic.
His work and that of his fellow geologists at the GSC led to extensive land acquisitions during the late 1950s and early 1960s by oil and mining companies.
These surveys have resulted in the production of detailed geological maps and reports covering approximately 250,000 square miles of territory in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
He made fundamental advances in the knowledge of graptolites and of the extinct, primitive jawless fishes referred to as ostracoderm that lived some 400 million years ago.
Thorsteinsson was officially retired from the Geological Survey of Canada in 1992, but continued his studies in Arctic Research as an emeritus scientist with the GSC until his death in 2012.