Publications

Explorer Article By Emily Llinás

AAPG Members Mobilize Support for Ukrainian Geologist Refugees

Wars and international conflicts often bring out the worst in humanity, but they also inspire acts of resilience, solidarity and generosity. The 2022 war between Russia and Ukraine is no exception. While images shared through news broadcasts and social media posts have shocked a global audience and led many to despair, they have also served to mobilize others to reach out and do their part to relieve the suffering. This article is the first in a two-part series about Ukrainian geologist refugees who fled the conflict in their homeland and received assistance from the geoscience community in Poland and abroad. Their stories provide a glimmer of hope and a call to action during a time of tremendous challenge and opportunity.

Added on 01 June, 2022

Explorer President’s Column By Gretchen Gillis

Making a Difference for People Who Are Different

Listening to “King of the Mountain” by Midnight Oil, a song about a foot race up the wickedly steep Mount Cooroora in Australia, prompted me to think about whether it is good to be the king, or to be in a position to just help others get to the top of the mountain. We do not need royal powers or superhuman running ability to make a difference for people participating in AAPG activities. Making a difference can be much simpler and just requires the will to make the climb and help others along the way.

Added on 01 May, 2022

Explorer Historical Highlights By Jean-Jacques Biteau,Jean-Marie Masset

Exploration Adventures in France’s Aquitaine Basin

There are two main oil and gas producing sedimentary areas in France: the Paris Basin and the Aquitaine Basin. The presence of oil seeps and bitumen deposits has been known since ancient times in the western part of the Aquitaine basin, a 35,000-square-kilometer triangular polygon bordered to the north by the city of Bordeaux, to the east by Toulouse and to the south by the Pyrenees Mountain chain separating France from Spain. These hydrocarbon shows were observed close to surface anticlinal structures such as the Sainte-Suzanne dome, southwest of Pau or in the caprocks of salt diapirs at Salies de Bearn and Dax to the north.

Added on 01 May, 2022

Explorer Article By Charles Sternbach,John Casiano,Kristie Luchtel-Ferguson,William DeMis

Destroying the Environment to Save It

In the first part of this series, we showed the energy transition will follow an “all of the above” trajectory, irrespective of aspirational messages. Our conclusions are based on the inherent limitations of wind and solar low-density energy machines for generating base-load power: low-density energy machines would cover hundreds of millions of acres. Also in part 1, we discussed Princeton University’s Net Zero America report, an outstanding, 18-author study of five models to de-carbonize the United States by 2050. The report does not mention environmental impact of LDEMs.

Added on 01 May, 2022

Explorer Emphasis Article By David Brown

Upstream Oil and Gas: Now Hiring

What seemed like excellent news for the oil and gas jobs outlook turned into something less positive for companies in the first months of 2022. Hiring increased, but a few areas saw more openings than applicants. However, job hunters and even those already employed in oil and gas got some welcome security and relief, as recent cycles of industry layoffs finally turned into a round of rehires and new hires. Analysts expect this job growth to continue for the foreseeable future.

Added on 01 May, 2022

Explorer Article By Barry Friedman

Geoscientists Protect Vulnerable Populations Against Natural Disasters

This is the story of two tragedies – one in Nepal, one in India – but more importantly, how humanitarian projects by Geoscientists without Borders may help prevent the devastation of the next two. And the tragedies after that. In 2015, an earthquake struck near Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu, which is in the central part of the country. Almost 10,000 people were killed, many thousands more injured and more than 600,000 structures in Kathmandu and other nearby towns were either damaged or destroyed. Václav Kuna, a postdoctoral geophysics researcher was moved to do something about it.

Added on 01 May, 2022

Explorer President’s Column By Gretchen Gillis

Seeking Informed Dissonance

Listening to “Marcia Funebre” from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 as I write prompted me to think about what I have been hearing. Certainly, a wide range of emotions, from triumph and happiness to the misery of loss, along with beautiful dissonance. That’s why people listen to Beethoven again and again. Leaders are reminded repeatedly to publicly support decisions made by boards, even when they disagree. However, when decisions are made in an environment of misinformation, that best practice of publicly supporting decisions becomes insupportable.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Director’s Corner By David Curtiss

And Suddenly, Energy Security is an Urgent Global Concern

As we watched the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation, amid tremendous suffering and grievous loss of human life – in an instant, the balance of power that had defined central and western Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall was shattered. And this reality – Russia’s prominence as an energy supplier – shifted the topic of energy security firmly into the spotlight, both in Europe and across the globe.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Division Column DPA By Don Burdick

Petroleum Geology – Yes, Petroleum

Petroleum, liquid hydrocarbons, natural gas, fossil fuel, black gold, Texas tea … call it what you like, but if not for the talented geologists who find this naturally occurring organic substance deep in our planet Earth, the modern economy with cell phones, Instagram, Teslas, extreme sports and Starbucks would not exist. Yet hydrocarbons, and the people who find them, are facing the most uncertain and politically-charged future since our emergence on the world stage.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Historical Highlights By Brent Greenhalgh

Frontier Exploration in the Rocky Mountain West

There are times when national and local forces combine in such a way that the entire hydrocarbon value chain is realized in a frontier area over the course of only a few years. Such was the case for the natural gas fields in southwestern Wyoming over the decades of the 1920s to the ‘40s.

Added on 01 April, 2022

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