[1] In 1957, Paterson emigrated for work to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, before beginning his studies for a PhD in glaciology at the University of British Columbia the following year.

[2] In 1958, Paterson joined a Scottish East Greenland Expedition to measure the flow rate of a coastal glacier.

[1] Paterson completed his PhD in 1962 and was then appointed to the Canadian Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP) as a glaciologist.

[3] Each ice core was analysed in terms of its structure and chemistry and provided pioneering data on the Earth's climate reaching back 100,000 years into history.

[4][5] Paterson left the PCSP in 1980, and continued his interests of writing and teaching with sabbaticals in Copenhagen, Seattle, Melbourne and China.