AIPG-TX

The happy geologists shown in the above photo have indicated that the AIPG-TX West Texas Field Trip was a success all around. The field trip was under the able leadership provided by Bruce Darling, Ph.D., P.G., C.P.G., Michael Jacobs, MS, P.G., and Phil Goodell, Ph.D., UTEP Dept. of Geological Sciences, supported by Bruce Handley, P.G., C.P.G., the Health & Safety Manager for the trip. The weather was outstanding; the accommodations were fine; the food was as expected; and the guidebook materials that were distributed will be consolidated into a publication by AIPG in the next few months.

Henry Wise, P.G., C.P.G., President of the AIPG Texas Section provided general oversight for the field trip (here).

All accounts are that the field trip was not only a practical success, it was also deemed by the AIPG-TX Treasurer, Boyd Handley, P.G., JD, C.P.G., as a financial success. Therefore, there will scholarships awarded in early 2024 (the AIPG-TX Shoemaker Scholarship (for Texas Graduate Students) and the Foss Scholarship (for Texas Undergraduate Students). Students should apply in January, 2024 or before (more).

Planning has begun for the 2025 West Texas Field Trip.

Regina M. Capuano, Ph. D., P.G., CPG, Chair of the AIPG Texas Section’s Scholarship Committee announced that the Gene M. Shoemaker Graduate Scholarship ($2,500.00) has been awarded for 2023 to the following student in Texas:

For those of you who haven’t heard or received the announcement, over the past 8 months, Michael D. Campbell, P.G., P.H., CPG has been working on his memoirs. He said, “It’s better now than never.” Titled: “Anecdotes of a Lifetime: Memoirs of a Professional Geologist,” the book is now available. He said that his primary objective was to make a print and digital record for his grandchildren and their grandchildren of the life of their grandfather, his family, friends, and professional associates who lived in the mid-late 20th Century and worked well into the 21st Century as a Professional Geologist.

Dr. Jonathan Arthur, PG, has served as the Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute since August 2021.  He served as the Director of the Florida Geological Survey from 2009-2021  emphasizing the need for student and professional courses and webinars on business strategy, fiscal planning, communications, applied geoscience, data access, innovation, and survey sustainability. He also serves on the Water Science Technology Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Dr. Arthur has served the geoscience community in leadership posts as President of the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) and President of the Florida Association of Professional Geologists (FAPG). As a former member of the AGI Board of Directors, he served on various committees, including the Strategic Outlook Committee. He has received recognition for research, leadership, and public service from geoscience organizations including the AASG, the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). He earned his Ph.D.in Geology from Florida State University.

Although you may have missed his lecture, here is a PDF containing his talking points:

https://cdn.ymaws.com/aipg.org/resource/resmgr/documents/members_only/2023next-generation_arthur.pdf

“USING ALTERATION AS A HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION TOOL:

REMOTE SENSING AT LISBON VALLEY REVISITED”

The Lisbon Valley, UT, area is one of the classical locations for the study of surface mineral alteration associated with the presence of an underlying hydrocarbon field. The Wingate sandstone at surface over the Lisbon Valley field is bleached and kaolinized.  However, the geology at Lisbon Valley is complicated: hydrothermal copper and uranium deposits, and clay alteration occur along the Lisbon Valley Fault, and the Lisbon Valley field lies beneath several thousand feet of bedded evaporites, casting some doubt on the alteration being due to microseepage from the oilfield.  On the other hand, relatively recent soil surveys suggest that hydrocarbon gases are still moving vertically upward from the field.  The speaker discusses how he attempted to resolve these issues by quantitatively estimating the amount of seepage required to create the observed alteration, and by examining the stratigraphic, structural  and thermal history of the area to determine when the field matured and when the trap formed.

 SPEAKER

John Berry has over 50 years of geological experience in metals and hydrocarbon exploration on six continents and in deep-water basins offshore.  During the latter part of his career he specialized in the application of remote sensing techniques to on- and offshore hydrocarbon exploration as well as base and precious metals exploration.  He holds an AB degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in geology and geophysics from Columbia University, where he workd in the Arctic Section at Lamont-Docherty Observatory.

LINK: Register at https://aipg.org/default.aspx. On the lower right hand side of the page is a box “CALENDAR”.  This event is in the list. Click on it to register

COST (Includes certificate for 0.1 ceu/1.0 PDH; please request this via the Zoom chat facility):

AIPG Members: $10.    Non-Members:     $25   AIPG Student Members: Free         Other Students:  $5.00

AIPG-TX SCHOLARSHIP FUND All moneys generated by this series go to the AIPG-TX Scholarship Fund

 NEXT MONTH’S TALK: February 21^st, 7.00pm:  Brian Hunt, Texas  Bureau of Econ. Geology:  “Integrating Digital and Traditional Field Methods into Geologic Mapping: An Example from Central Texas”