AIPG-TX

Be sure to review the list of YouTube videos made available by the Houston Geological Society:

https://www.youtube.com/user/HGSGeoEducation/videos

Also see the First Virtual AAPG ACE Conference presentations by the Energy Minerals Division and Astrogeology Committee:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI3dyuNS2IhDZA7qjdwte3Q

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For the full versions of the Uranium (Nuclear & REE) Committee presentations:

“Uranium and Nuclear Power are on the Move … Again”
See YouTube video and reference PDF with active links in comments below:
https://i2massociates.com/downloads/UCOM-Issues2020ShortSlides.pdf

and

“Sources of Rare Earth Elements in the U.S. and around the World”
See YouTube video with reference PDF with active links in comments below:
https://i2massociates.com/downloads/REE-EMDPresentation8-31-20.pdf

By the numbers: Texas

• 54,266 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed)¹
• 7.2 billion gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal³
• $5.22 billion: value of nonfuel mineral production in 2017⁴
• 254 total disaster declarations, including 154 fire, 36 flood, and 20 hurricane disasters (1953-2017)⁶
• $70.2 million: NSF GEO grants awarded in 2017¹⁴

Your State Source for Geoscience Information

Texas Bureau of Economic Geology

Workforce in Texas

• 54,266 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed) in 2017¹
• $107,652: average median geoscience employee salary¹
• 39 academic geoscience departments²

Water Use in Texas

• 7.2 billion gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal³
• 14.1 billion gallons/day: total surface water withdrawal³
• 2.89 billion gallons/day: public supply water withdrawal³
• 5.49 billion gallons/day: water withdrawal for irrigation³
• 323 million gallons/day: industrial fresh water withdrawal³
• 95% of the population is served by public water supplies³

Energy and Minerals in Texas

• $5.22 billion: value of nonfuel mineral production in 2017⁴
• Stone (crushed), cement (Portland), sand and gravel (construction): top three nonfuel minerals in order of value produced in 2017⁴
• 39 million short tons: coal produced in 2016⁵
• 6.83 trillion cubic feet: natural gas produced in 2017⁵
• 1.28 billion barrels: crude oil produced in 2017⁵
• 67.1 million megawatt hours: wind produced in 2017⁵

Natural Hazards in Texas

• 254 total disaster declarations, including 154 fire, 36 flood, and 20 hurricane disasters (1953-2017)⁶
• $1.47 billion: individual assistance grants (2005-2017)⁶
• $1.66 billion: mitigation grants (2005-2017)⁶
• $1.95 billion: preparedness grants (2005-2017)⁶
• $3.73 billion: public assistance grants (2005-2017)⁶
• 99 weather and/or climate events, each with costs exceeding $1 billion (inflation adjusted) (1980-2017)⁷

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

• $1.15 billion: total USGS budget in FY 2018 (5.8% increase from FY 2017)⁸
• The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program funds geologic mapping projects with federal (FEDMAP), state (STATEMAP), and university (EDMAP) partners
• $2.62 million: Texas STATEMAP funding (1993-2016)⁹
• 4 Texas universities, including University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University, have participated in EDMAP⁹
• USGS streamgages collect real-time or recent streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality data throughout Texas

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• $20.7 billion: total NASA budget in FY 2018 (5.5% increase from FY 2017)¹⁰
• $1.9 billion: total NASA Earth Science budget in FY 2018 (0% change from FY 2017)¹⁰
• Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites measure groundwater changes in Texas
• Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite measures soil moisture in Texas

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

• $5.9 billion: total NOAA budget in FY 2018 (4.1% increase from FY 2017)¹¹
• Next-generation geostationary (GOES) and polar orbiting (JPSS) satellites provide weather forecasting over Texas
• Deep Space Climate Observatory (DISCOVR) satellite monitors radiation and air quality over Texas
• 71 National Weather Service Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) stations in Texas¹²
• 634 National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) sites in Texas¹²

National Science Foundation (NSF)

• $7.8 billion: total NSF budget in FY 2018 (4% increase from FY 2017)¹³
• $1.4 billion: total NSF Geosciences Directorate (GEO) awards in FY 2017 (7.2% increase from FY 2016)¹⁴
• 133 NSF GEO awards in Texas totaling $70.2 million in 2017¹⁴
• $9.7 million: NSF GEO grants awarded to the University of Texas at Austin in 2017¹⁴

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• $8.1 billion: total EPA budget in FY 2018 (0% change from FY 2017)¹⁵
• 55 active Superfund sites in Texas in 2018¹⁶
• $59.6 million: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) grants in Texas in 2017¹⁷

Federal Facilities in Texas

• USGS Texas Water Science Center, Austin
• NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences, El Paso
• NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston
• USDA ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland

References

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2017
2. American Geosciences Institute, Directory of Geoscience Departments, 53rd Edition (2018)
3. U.S. Geological Survey, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2015
4. U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018
5. U.S. Energy Information Administration
6. FEMA Data Visualization: Summary of Disaster Declarations and Grants (accessed May 2, 2018)
7. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters from 1980 to 2018 (accessed April 6, 2018)
8. U.S. Department of the Interior, FY 2019 Budet in Brief
9. U.S. Geological Survey, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program
10. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, FY 2019 Budget Estimates
11. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, FY 2019 Bluebook
12. NOAA In Your State and Territory
13. U.S. House of Representatives, FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Bill (Division B) – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
14. National Science Foundation, Budget Information System
15. U.S. House of Representatives, FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Bill (Division G) – Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
16. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund Sites
17. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund National Information Management System Reports

Henry Wise, P.G., CPG, President of the AIPG Texas Section, announced the Texas Board approval and appointment of Dr. Melissa Hill, P.G.,CPG as the new Vice-President for Western Texas. Dr. Hill began her professional career at Southwest Research Institute while working on her M.S. in Geology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She pursued a Ph.D. in Geology at the University of South Florida while working as a hydrologist at the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Her Ph.D. research focused on karst springs and numerical simulations of both laminar and turbulent flow in the Upper Floridan Aquifer. After earning her doctorate, Dr. Hill worked at the Texas Water Development Board, where she conducted predictive simulations using alternate recharge and pumping scenarios to estimate groundwater availability. After moving to Alaska, she served as the State Hydrologist and managed the Alaska Hydrologic Survey. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Dr. Hill currently resides in San Antonio and works as an Environmental Specialist at the fourth largest school district in the state. She is a licensed professional geoscientist in the states of Texas, Florida, and Alaska (more).

Michael D. Campbell, I2M’s Chief Geologist (and VP-Eastern Texas – AIPG Texas Chapter), and Chairman of UCOM said in a recent AAPG – EMD virtual conference that serious competition is now underway to determine which energy source will dominate the power-grid of the foreseeable future. With coal declining rapidly, only natural gas, uranium (and nuclear power), hydroelectric power, and renewables (wind and solar) are in the running. Both natural gas and nuclear power are providing back-up to the power grid because of the inherent drawbacks of wind and solar, (where the former does not blow all the time and the latter is intermittent because there are cloudy days and the sun only shines during the day, of course). Because California and Germany  have retired many of their nuclear power plants, natural gas has taken their place in the power grid in supporting California’s renewable energy systems and may also in Germany.

Inherent Failings of Wind and Solar
Renewables’ inherent failings have been identified and this is made even more apparent by the need for back-up batteries during zero or low-power output, which are unusually expensive to buy and maintain. Furthermore, as recently constructed wind and solar projects mature, the cost of the electricity they are producing is going up rapidly, not only because of low energy conversion production efficiencies, but also because the costs of operation and maintenance of these projects have been overlooked and underestimated during the economic evaluations in the project design stages.

Campbell indicated that the Committee has concluded that nuclear power is a sustainable, reliable, climate- and business-friendly source of energy available at various scales to be fueled by current resources and new discoveries that will provide hundreds of years of available uranium supplies from a variety of secure sources.

For the rest of the UCOM report, see (here).  In the meantime, the World Nuclear News has reported on the UCOM report (here).

The Two-Year On-Ramp for Geoscience Training

and

Editorial: How to Combat Bullying and Discrimination in the Geosciences of Academia

Also see AIPG All-Texas Student Chapter (Here).

For any questions, e-mail:

Senior Student Councilor-at-Large

Christian Martinez, B.S.

or

President of the Texas Section of AIPG

Henry M. Wise, P.G., C.P.G.

Presented by: Ron Wallace, CPG

One hour webinar on Environmental Career Opportunities for Geologists.

-Different Services Consultants Offer
-Types of Work for New Employees
-Other Companies that Offer Services to Consultants that Hire Geologists
-Geotechnical Services
-State and Federal Programs

Texas Section President, Henry Wise and  Christian Martinez, the Senior Student Councilor of the AIPG Texas Section announced today the winner of the very first AIPG Texas Section geophoto contest:

“Miss Emery Green is the winner of the very first AIPG Texas Section geophoto contest. Her submission “Morning Rolling into the Grand Canyon, AZ”, captivated the attention of the Texas Section Board members and proved to mix the scenery, photo quality, and interesting caption to win it all.

Join the experts to hear breaking news about the status of unconventional and alternative energy development in the U.S. and the world from the Energy Minerals Division’s Commodity Chairs, including tight-gas reservoirs, uranium for nuclear power, natural gas hydrates, bitumen/heavy oil, coal-bed methane, and status of energy economics: YouTube: https://youtu.be/LwKqFugKvxw

EMD Commodity Committees: https://www.aapg.org/about/aapg/overview/committees/emd-committees
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