Pre-Convention Field Trip 1 sold out

Los Angeles Basin Geological Society (LABGS)

Miocene Monterey Formation of the Los Angeles Basin

Dates: Saturday, 21 April, 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Leader: Rick Behl (California State University, Long Beach, California)
Fee: Professionals $150; Students $75 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 50 people

The Miocene Monterey Formation is a distinctly siliceous and organic-rich deposit with stratigraphic equivalents that span much of coastal California and the Pacific Rim. It is California’s primary petroleum source rock and an important reservoir in many areas. It also records key middle to late Miocene climatic, oceanographic, and tectonic transitions. It has been well-studied in the Coast Ranges of central California, the Salinas basin, and Temblor Range/San Joaquin basin, however, it has been little studied in the highly petroliferous Los Angeles basin.

The Monterey and its stratigraphic equivalents — the Puente and  Modelo formations — underlie and source most of LA's oil fields, however they only crop out in the uplifted terrains that surround the basin. This field trip will visit excellent outcrop localities of the Monterey Formation in the nearby Palos Verdes Peninsula to examine some of the characteristic lithofacies and see how they differ from better studied areas in California.

Gear Preparedness: Expect generally mild weather as most of our stops will be near or on the coast. The field trip will include several steep and strenuous hikes/scrambles up and down irregular and unpaved slopes. Hiking boots, cross-trainers or running/walking shoes required. Hat, sunscreen, and a light jacket or sweater suggested, as well as a small backpack to carry warmer clothes, camera, and water while hiking. Rain is unlikely, but possible.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 2 sold out

Coast Geological Society (CGS)

Oil Seeps and Geology of the Santa Barbara Channel

Dates: Saturday, 21 April, 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Leaders: Jim Boles and Dave Valentine (University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California), Marc Kammerling and Mike Edwards (Venoco, Carpinteria, California)
Fees: Professionals $225; Students $113 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, boat transportation, lunch, refreshments and guidebook
Limit: 50 people

The second largest field of natural marine hydrocarbon seeps in the world is located in the Santa Barbara Channel near Coal Oil Point, 10 miles west of Santa Barbara, adjacent to the UCSB campus. The seeps are sourced from the famous Miocene Monterey Formation, a prolific source and reservoir rock in California coastal basins. About 150 barrels of oil and 5 million cubic feet of natural gas seep into the ocean in this area every day.

The purpose of this trip is to study the controls on the distribution and expression of these seeps, understand the Monterey Formation as a source, reservoir, and migration pathway, and review the structural setting and tectonic history of the Channel. We will visit the seeps by boat, cruise near offshore platforms, view coastal outcrops, and observe marine life. We expect to see dolphins and sea lions, and may see otters and even migrating whales. Back onshore, we will visit coastal outcrops of Monterey Formation and associated seeps along coastal bluffs in nearby Carpinteria. At Casitas pier, we will see only one of only four Harbor Seal rookeries on the mainland where pups are born to the local population of nearly 400 pinnipeds. This trip may be of interests to guests.

The field trip bus will stop in Ventura at 8:45 a.m. on the way to Santa Barbara to pick up local field trip registrants in Ventura County. The bus will stop at the Carrows Restaurant parking lot (2401 Harbor Blvd) at the Seaward Avenue off ramp of the 101 Freeway. The bus will make the same stop on the return trip. Santa Barbara County registrants can meet at the first field trip stop at 9:45 a.m. at the Condor Express Sea Landing at the Santa Barbara Harbor (301 W. Cabrillo Blvd).

Pre-Convention Field Trip 3 sold out

Los Angeles Basin Geological Society (LABGS) and Division of Environmental Geosciences (DEG)

A Historical Look at Oil Production in the Los Angeles Basin

Dates: Saturday, 21 April, 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Leaders: Don Clarke (Consultant, Lakewood, California), Jon Kuespert (Breitburn Energy, Los Angeles, California), John Jepson (Long Beach Gas and Oil Department, Long Beach, California) and Chris Phillips(Oxy, Long Beach, California)
Fee: Professionals $150; Students $75 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments and guidebook
Limit: 46 people

We will visit the Los Angeles City oil field where Edward Doheney, inspiration for the movie “There Will Be Blood” and participant in the Teapot Dome scandal, and Charlie Canfield started the oil boom in southern California. You will learn how Emma Summers, “California’s Oil Queen,” outdid the experts and took over the field. We will visit and learn about oil in Beverly Hills and the Gilmore family—inspiration for the Beverly Hillbillies television show, and how Erin Brockovich went after oil development.

Oil at 10 cents per barrel became the energy driver that built the local economy and eventually fueled the ships of war in WWII. Cheap transportation and slick marketing of the Washington Orange introduced California to the rest of the country.

The result was a huge influx of immigrants from the rest of the country and the resulting population growth. The urban development grew over the oil operations resulting in co-existence. This is why there is a vital concern about the environmental issues in California.

The trip will visit 8 to 12 oil fields along the way and conclude on top of Signal Hill with a wrap up and look to the future. The fields include La Cienega, Beverly Hills, Salt Lake, Cheviot Hills, Inglewood, Howard Townsite, Rosecrans, Dominguez, Long Beach, Bandini, Wilmington and Los Angeles City.

Notes: Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a hat for the sun and a light sweater. Some sites may require you to wear a hard hat and protective goggles. These will be provided.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 4 sold out

Coast Geological Society (CGS)

Wine and Geology of the Central California Coast

Dates: Saturday, 21 April, 8:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.
Leaders: Ed Magdaleno (Dcor LLC, Ventura, California)
Fee: Professionals $250; Students $125 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, dinner, refreshments
Limit: 40 people

This will be a one-day excursion to the Central Coast area around San Luis Obispo. We will leave early Saturday morning from Long Beach for a three-hour bus trip along the California coast via Carpinteria pier to view the Monterey Formation on our way to San Luis Obispo. Geology explanations along the trip. We will have lunch at the Old Inn, Avila Beach.

We will then drive to Edna Valley, stopping at several wineries and geologically interesting features along the way. Our field trip ends with a geology and enology tour through the Wolff Vineyard on Orcutt Road, with explanations on modern, ecologically conscientious viticulture by Jean-Pierre Wolff. The finale will be a wine-paired dinner served at Wolff Vineyard.

Notes: Wine-tasting portion of field trip is only open to persons 21 years of age or older. This trip may be of interest to guests.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 5 sold out

San Joaquin Geological Society (SJGS)

Structure and Hydrocarbon Exploration in the Transpressive Basins of Southern California

Dates: Saturday, 21 April, 7:00 a.m.–Sunday, 22 April, 6:00 p.m.
Leaders: Jay Namson (Namson Consulting, Inc, San Clemente, California), Thomas Davis (Thomas L. Davis, Consultant, Ventura, California) and Stuart Gordon (Vintage Petroleum, Bakersfield, California)
Fee: Professionals $500; Students $250 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, one night’s lodging based on double occupancy, lunch both days, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 25 people

This field trip is an overview and reappraisal of the prolific oil basins of southern California using exploration methods common in international exploration. We have used balanced cross sections and other types of structural analyses integrated with basin modeling, geochemical and geophysical data to gain new insights into the structure, trapping mechanisms, and petroleum systems in a setting combining strikeslip and convergence (transpression).

Southern California geology also has the scientific advantage, but societal disadvantage, of earthquakes which provide useful data about the deeper structure which will be presented during the trip. Our field examples are in the eastern Ventura basin, Ridge Basin, southern San Joaquin basin, Cuyama basin and western Ventura basin as well as a transect of the western Transverse Ranges.

During the field trip we will show that the southern California oil basins and petroleum systems have had a similar history during the last 2-3 Ma and there are a number of structural features common to all of the basins. Burial history modeling supported by geochemical data show that the petroleum systems have only recently begun (<5 Ma) to generate oil which provides us with a unique view of an active petroleum system.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 6 CANCELED

San Joaquin Geological Society (SJGS)

Neotectonics and Geomorphology Along the San Andreas Fault, Carrizo Plain, California

Dates: Saturday, 21 April, 4:00 p.m. - Sunday, 22 April, 6:00 p.m.
Leaders: J. Ramon Arrowsmith (Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona) and Dallas Rhodes (Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia)
Fee: Professionals $400; Students $200 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, one night’s lodging based on double occupancy, lunch on 22 April, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 30 people

This field trip will provide an overview of the structural geology of the active San Andreas Fault zone and the geomorphic response to motion along the faults and among the blocks that comprise it in the world famous landscape of the Carrizo Plain.

We will present a brief overview of the tectonic evolution of the southern Coast Ranges of California. Detailed neotectonic studies of the San Andreas fault zone in the Carrizo Plain have provided documentation of geomorphic activity in the Temblor Range covering the last 100 kyr.

Cores recovered from Soda Lake provide paleoclimatic data for at least the last ~20 kyr. Dates from the clay dunes fringing the lake document their age and periods of wetting and drying of the lake system. A picture of synchronous response of the geomorphic system to climate change has emerged from these studies.

We will emphasize a review of the evolving landscape along the active fault zone at spatial scales of tens of kilometers to meters and over million-year to centennial time scales. The manifestation of fault related deformation and landscape response is of relevance to testing reservoir development models associated with evolving continental strike-slip fault systems, including the adjacent sedimentary basins.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 7 sold out

AAPG Pacific Section (PSAAPG)

Sedimentology and Facies Architecture of a Channelized Slope System: Capistrano Formation, San Clemente, Southern California

Dates: Sunday, 22 April, 7:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Leaders: Kirt Campion (Marathon, Houston, Texas), Morgan Sullivan (Chevron, Houston, Texas) and Anthony Sprague (ExxonMobil, Houston, Texas)
Fee: Professionals $200; Students $50 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 30 people

The objectives of this trip are to show the detailed channel architecture and turbidite lithofacies associations in the Capistrano Formation, a classical deep-water, Miocene age outcrop in California. Exposures of the sandstone-dominated system are about 20 m thick and 1.3 km wide and serve as a model for confined channels that typically are represented seismically by a single cycle.

Architecture of the Capistrano channels is well exposed and the hierarchical arrangement of these channels is analogous to subsurface datasets in various basins, particularly West Africa. The connection from the outcrop to subsurface will be emphasized using core and seismic data from producing deep-water fields. In terms of linking to reservoirs, the trip will focus on architectural and lithofacies elements that may adversely affect fluid flow. In particular, we will look at the distribution of mud layers, including their width, thickness and distribution within channels, and discuss their recognition and prediction with subsurface datasets.

Along with the bad, we will examine the distribution of high-permeability zones, such as gravels and massive sands that can have significant positive effect on flow properties in channelized systems. We will wrap up with a summary of outcrop observations and review reservoir modeling experiments that show the effects of mud layers, gravel zones, and channel architecture on fluid flow.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 8

Registration for this field trip has closed.

Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM)/SEPM Pacific Section (PSSEPM)

The Great Debate: Sequence Stratigraphic and Tectonic Evolution of Deltaic Facies in the Ridge Basin, California

Dates: Sunday, 22 April, 7:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Leaders: Dave Larue and Jon Allen (Chevron, Bakersfield, California)
Fees: Professionals $125; Students $50 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 40 people

This field trip is an overview and critical examination of the depositional controls on the stratal architecture within the famous Ridge Basin. The Neogene Ridge Basin of southern California contains some of the most spectacular and intriguing outcrops of fluvial, lacustrine and shallow water deposits, arguably, in North America.

The basin has been the focus of numerous studies by several world-class geologists. Given this level of exposure and analysis, it is notable that there are significantly different interpretations about the stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the basin.

These differing interpretations will be discussed on the field trip as participants explore reservoir scale outcrop exposures. The field trip will focus on the debate surrounding the origin of the different scales of strata architecture and packaging, review and provide examples of shallow marine sequence stratigraphic architecture, with discussion of deltaic, fan-delta and lacustrine depositional systems. This trip may be of interest to guests.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 9 sold out

Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG)

OXY Long Beach (THUMS) Island Tour, Long Beach Harbor, California

Dates: Sunday, 22 April, 9:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Leader: Katie Kovac (Oxy, Long Beach, California)
Fee: Professionals $50; Students $50
Includes: Transportation by boat to the Island
Limit: 20 people
Note: Participants are responsible for their own transportation to Long Beach Harbor, Pier J

Ever wonder what those lovely islands in Long Beach Harbor are? Many Long Beach natives themselves wonder just that. They are in fact the four Oxy Long Beach (THUMS) production islands producing the eastern portion of the Wilmington Oil Field. The Wilmington field, discovered in 1932, is one of the 5 largest oilfields in the US. The THUMS islands, built in the 1960s, allow the eastern portion of the field to be produced with environmental, spatial and logistical efficiency. Come and learn how these islands are both beautiful and practical.

The tour will include a boat ride around Long Beach Harbor, a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the islands, a close-up view of an active drill rig, the production office where all the island wells are monitored, and award-winning landscaping. If we’re lucky, we may also see some marine life along the way!

Notes: The entire tour should take less than 2 hours. Promptness is necessary, otherwise you might miss the boat. Boat capacity is limited, so first come, first served. This trip may be of interest to guests.

Weather: Generally mild. Sunglasses or a hat for the boat ride encouraged.

Safety/Personal Protective Equipment: All must wear closed-toed, flat shoes (no heels or open-toed shoes allowed). Goggles and hardhats will be provided. No children under 12 years old.

This trip is offered at different dates and times. See listings for Field Trips 10 and 11 below.

Pre-Convention Field Trip 10 sold out

Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG)

OXY Long Beach (THUMS) Island Tour, Long Beach Harbor, California

Dates: Sunday, 22 April, 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Leaders: Katie Kovac (Oxy, Long Beach, California)
Fee: Professionals $50; Students $50
Includes: Transportation by boat to the island
Limit: 20 people

Note: Participants are responsible for their own transportation to Long Beach Harbor, Pier J

Post-Convention Field Trip 11 sold out

Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG)

OXY Long Beach (THUMS) Island Tour, Long Beach Harbor, California

Dates: Wednesday, 25 April, 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Leaders: Katie Kovac (Oxy, Long Beach, California)
Fee: Professionals $50; Students $50
Includes: Transportation by boat to the island
Limit: 20 people

Note: Participants are responsible for their own transportation to Long Beach Harbor, Pier J

Post-Convention Field Trip 12 sold out

Coast Geological Society (CGS)

Sequence Stratigraphy & Reservoir Characterization of Fine-Grained Rocks: Monterey Formation, Coastal California

Dates: Wednesday, 25 April, 7:00 p.m.–Friday, 27 April, 6:00 p.m.
Leaders: Jon Schwalbach (Aera, Bakersfield, California), Kevin Bohacs (ExxonMobil, Houston, Texas) and Margaret Keller (USGS, Menlo Park, California)
Fee: Professionals single occupancy $675; Professionals double occupancy $525; Students double occupancy $263
Includes: Ground transportation, two nights’ lodging based on double occupancy, lunch on 26 and 27 April, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 40 people

The Monterey Formation is a key element of many of California’s petroleum systems, functioning in various settings as prolific source rock and/or significant fractured reservoir. We will visit classic Monterey Formation localities along the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria/Pismo Basins to discuss techniques for the stratigraphic evaluation of mudrocks, including observations of bed and bedset variation, lithofacies stacking patterns, and the identification of key stratigraphic surfaces.

These observations form the basis for interpreting paleoceanographic conditions and depositional processes, linking to compositional and geochemical variations that control the reservoir and source rock quality of these hemipelagic sediments. Rock properties are a function of initial deposition as well as burial diagenesis. Mechanical rock properties and structural deformation determine the style of fracturing and reservoir quality for the porcelanites, siliceous shales, cherts and dolomites that comprise Monterey reservoirs.

Post-Convention Field Trip 13 sold out

AAPG Student Chapter/Society for Sedimentary Geology (AAPG-SC/SEPM)

Rifting, Transpression, and Neotectonics of the Salton Trough, Southern California

Dates: Wednesday, 25 April, 3:00 p.m.–Friday, 27 April, 7:00 p.m.
Leaders: Arthur Sylvester (University of California, Santa Barbara, California) and Robert Clarke (Consultant, Irving, Texas)
Fee: Students/Faculty $50
Includes: Ground transportation, two nights’ lodging based on double occupancy, breakfast and lunch on 26 and 27 April, dinner on 25 and 26 April, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 35 people (Note: this field trip is restricted to students and faculty advisors)

This popular trip visits two world-class geologic exposures in the tectonically active Salton Trough: the remarkable geologic structure of the Mecca Hills with their deeply dissected, vegetation-free badlands cut into colorful Proterozoic gneiss and migmatite, Mesozoic schist, and late Tertiary alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine strata; and the starkly beautiful Split Mountain Gorge with its red, yellow, white, black, and gray exposures of Miocene, Pliocene debris-flow dominated fans, gypsiferous evaporite, monolithologic slides, marine and lacustrine turbidites — all displaced by a fault of controversial character.

Transpression associated with right slip along the San Andreas fault has produced a long, narrow zone of tight folds and numerous faults in the Mecca Hills that constitute a tectonic welt and a topographic barrier to sediment transport along the northeast edge of the Salton Trough. Offset stream courses, scarps, uplifted fluvial terraces, interpretations of trench exposures, and a few earthquakes attest to the presently active nature of the fault in this area.

On the first morning of the field trip, we will traverse the Mecca Hills in Box Canyon to become familiar with the stratigraphy, facies changes, and nature of fault exposures. Later that day we will hike in Painted Canyon to obtain a detailed cross-section of the palm-tree structural style of the main deformation zone. During our hike up the floor of Split Mountain Gorge on the second day we will be able to study the sedimentary succession, the sundry modes of deposition and their disruption by faulting during the time of basin formation and rifting.

This scenic and informative trip is a spectacular one intended especially for intrepid scholars of structural geology, geophysics, tectonic sedimentology, stratigraphy, basin analysis and geomorphology.

Post-Convention Field Trip 14

Registration for this field trip has closed.

Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM)/SEPM Pacific Section (PSSEPM)

Terrestrial Microbial Limestones in the Miocene Horse Spring Formation, Lake Mead Area, Southern Nevada

Dates: Wednesday, 25 April, 7:00 p.m.–Saturday, 28 April, 4:00 p.m. (Field trip starts at 7:00 p.m. at Fiesta Hotel & Casino in Henderson, NV and ends at Las Vegas Airport at 4:00 p.m.)
Leaders: Thomas Hickson (University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota), and Paul Umhoefer and Zachary Anderson (Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona)
Fee: Professionals $500; Students $250 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, three nights’ lodging based on double occupancy, lunch on 26, 27 and 28 April, dinner on 26 and 27 April, refreshments, guidebook
Note: Travel to/from Nevada is not included. (October 2011 estimated airfare Long Beach to Las Vegas $175).
Limit: 25 people

Microbial limestones comprise important and sometimes volumetrically significant portions of terrestrial lacustrine sedimentary sections. These units represent a critical facies in important hydrocarbon settings, yet thick, laterally continuous, and well-exposed outcrop analogs are somewhat uncommon. Miocene-age microbial limestones in the Horse Spring Formation of the Basin and Range near Lake Mead east of Las Vegas, Nevada, satisfy all of these conditions and provide a unique opportunity to discern both the detailed sedimentology and facies architecture of ancient, microbial-dominated lake systems. The goal of this field trip is to examine microbial limestones and their associated lithofacies in moderate- to small-sized lakes in an extensional – transtensional setting.

We will highlight these aspects of the limestones:

• Tectonic setting
• Lithofacies in detailed transects through key members of the formation
• Litho- and chemofacies variations both laterally and vertically including changes approaching well exposed lake-basin margins
• Data on changes in the limestones through time
• Our interpretations of the relation of the limestones to changes in climate and tectonics

Post-Convention Field Trip 15

Registration for this field trip has closed.

Energy Minerals Division (EMD) and San Joaquin Geological Society (SJGS)

Heavy Oil Production and Outcrops on the East Flank of the San Joaquin Valley

Dates: Thursday, 26 April, 7:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Leaders: Jerry McNaboe and Brian Blackstone (Chevron, Bakersfield, California)
Fee: Professionals $150; Students $75 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 45 people

We will be touring the outrops and production facilities in and around the Kern River Oil Field. Just northeast of the city limits of Bakersfield in Kern County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley approximately 2 hours north of Long Beach. This field has a cumulative production of over 2 billion barrels of heavy oil, with API gravities ranging from 12 to 15 degrees. The Kern River field produces from the Kern River Formation which is a Miocene-Pliocene fluvial braided stream and channel depositional environment where the oil has accumulated in a potentiometric surface trap.

Gear Preparedness: The weather in late April can vary from pleasant to cool and occasionally wet. Please be prepared for the variable weather conditions. Since we will be touring the oilfields, hard hats and safety glasses will be required (will be provided if you don’t already have your own). Steel-toed shoes are recommended, but any closed shoe will suffice for this trip.

Post-Convention Field Trip 16A SOLD OUT

Los Angeles Basin Geological Society (LABGS)

Remote Field Work; Mars, via JPL

Dates: Thursday, 26 April, 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Leaders: Don Clarke (Consultant, Lakewood, California) and Brenda Franklin (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California)
Fee: Professionals $150; Students $75 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments
Limit: 45 people

This one-day field trip to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will give AAPG visitors an exciting overview of space exploration conducted by the laboratory. JPL has been conducting unmanned space exploration for over 40 years and has explored every planet in the solar system except Pluto. Currently JPL is operating 18 spacecraft across the solar system and beyond. As a NASA center, JPL has programmatic responsibility as the primary center for planetary science and exploration and as lead center for Earth science instrument technology.

After our ride to Pasadena from Long Beach, we will begin by getting a welcome and overview of JPL’s history in our museum where engineering models and full-size mock-ups of spacecraft can be seen. Then we will visit several facilities to see and learn about current and future missions. Included will be the Mars Exploration Rovers exploring the surface of Mars; the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter now in operational orbit around Mars; and the Cassini mission to Saturn, its moons and rings, where lakes (hydrocarbon?) and dunes have been discovered on the mysterious satellite Titan. We will also visit the Mars yard where new surface experiments and missions are tested. In addition we will visit the Deep Space Network operations center. In order to communicate with spacecraft throughout the solar system, JPL has developed and operates the Deep Space Network, with facilities in the Mojave Desert, Spain and Australia.

Closer to home, we will learn about recent results from several Earth observing instruments. ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) is a visible thru thermal imaging system that provides unique data used by scientists interested in the surface of the Earth. ASTER data have been used to map the full extent of the 2004 tsunami and changes in glaciers around the world, to provide data on wildfires and in addition for geological and geophysical applications. Recent results from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) that provided the first-ever globally consistent topographic data set will be reviewed. We will also hear about plans for a new radar mission to make InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) observations to precisely map surface deformation. Existing radar satellites capable of InSAR have mapped deformation related to earthquakes, volcanic processes and even oil and water extraction.

Notes: Much of the tour will be outside, so dress for the weather. Please wear comfortable walking shoes as JPL covers over 177 acres in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The tour involves a considerable amount of walking and stair climbing. Wheelchair access can be accommodated with advance notice. Wheelchairs cannot be provided however.

JPL requires that all U.S. citizens present official government-issued photo identification (driver’s license or passport) before being allowed entry. All non-U.S. citizens must present a passport or resident visa (green card) before being allowed entry. Individuals without proper identification will not be admitted to the Laboratory.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is operated for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by the California Institute of Technology. This trip may be of interest to guests.

Post-Convention Field Trip 16B

Los Angeles Basin Geological Society (LABGS)

Visit to SpaceX

Dates: Friday, 27 April, 8:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Leaders: Jim Reilly (Astronaut, Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Don Clarke (Consultant, Lakewood, California)
Fee: Professionals $135; Students $68
Includes: Ground transportation, lunch, refreshments
Limit: 45 people

We will visit the Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX) factory and view the construction of the Falcon launch vehicle and the Dragon Spacecraft. This is the embodiment of Billionaire Elon Musk’s vision of private space travel. The Falcon Dragon combination is the first ever venture where a space craft was launched and recovered by a private company. SpaceX produces three rockets, Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and FalconHeavy. The Dragon is a reusable freeflying spacecraft being developed under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/ or 7 crew members. Several resupply missions are planned for the International Space Station in the next two years. This trip may be of interest to guests.

Post-Convention Field Trip 17 sold out

AAPG Pacific Section (PSAAPG)

Sedimentology, Facies Architecture, & Seismic Modeling of Channelized Deep-Water Systems: La Jolla, California

Dates: Thursday, 26 April, 7:00 a.m. - Friday, 27 April, 6:00 p.m. (field trip will depart and return to the Convention Center)
Leaders: Kirt Campion (Marathon, Houston, Texas), Mike Farrell and Maija Brown (Third Coast Geoscience, Katy, Texas), Lisa Stright (University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah), Jonathan Stewart ( ExxonMobil, Houston, Texas)
Fee: Professionals $450; Students $225 (limited)
Includes: Transportation, one night’s lodging based on double occupancy, refreshements, guidebook
Limit: 30 people

The objectives of this trip are to review the stratigraphy of two seismic-scale, middle- Eocene, deep-water systems in the La Jolla area. The first part will focus on the turbidite lithofacies and channel stacking arrangement within the Ardath Formation in the vicinity of Torrey Pines State Reserve. The Ardath displays a vertical change from laterally amalgamated channels with sand- and gravel-rich turbidite fill at the base of the system to a mud-dominated channel levee system in the upper part of the system, a stacking pattern frequently observed in slope systems of West Africa.

The second part will focus on seismic modeling and prediction of turbidite lithofacies from seismic data. This exercise is based on seismic models of the Scripps Formation that the field trip leaders have built using architecture and lithofacies data in the vicinity of Blacks Beach. Attendees will get first-hand experience at interpretation of different frequency seismic data and a comparison of different angle offsets (AVO). The idea is to demystify part of the seismic interpretation process and provide attendees with a clear picture regarding what architectural elements are resolved in seismics data and how one can predict reservoir versus non-reservoir facies using seismic data.

Post-Convention Field Trip 18

Registration for this field trip has closed.

San Joaquin Geological Society (SJGS)

Subtleties of Extensional Faulting — Things You Might Miss but Hydrocarbons Won’t: Volcanic Tableland, Bishop, California

Dates: Thursday, 26 April, 2:30 p.m.–Saturday, 28 April, 6:00 p.m.
Leaders: David Ferrill and Alan Morris (Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas)
Fee: Professionals $700; Students $350 (limited)
Includes: Ground transportation, two nights’ lodging based on double occupancy, lunch on 27 and 28 April, dinner on 27 April, refreshments, guidebook
Limit: 25 people

This trip focuses on the extensional faulting beautifully exposed on the Volcanic Tableland north of Bishop, California. Normal faults with displacements ranging from a few meters (“subseismic scale”) to 150 meters (“reservoir scale”) cut the 0.75-million-year-old Bishop tuff.

You will get to see and walk on:

• Segmented faults and relay ramps across two orders of magnitude of scale;
• Relay ramps in a crestal collapse graben system;
• Flipping faults (crossing conjugate faults);

These unparalleled exposures will alter your mental paradigm of normal fault systems forever – for the better.

Notes: Sturdy footwear is essential; long pants, sunscreen, and shade clothing are recommended. Check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. It can be hot (most likely), cold (in winter), and wet (rarely).

This field trip is being offered in conjunction with short course #10 on Extensional Faulting. Participants are encouraged to attend both short course and field trip if time permits. If you are an expert in structural geology and don’t need the introductory short course, enroll in the field trip. Otherwise, please enroll in both short course and field trip for the best experience.

Post-Convention Field Trip 19

Registration for this field trip has closed.

San Joaquin Geological Society (SJGS)

Sedimentary Geology of a Mid-Plate Volcanic Mountain-Island Chain: The Islands of Hawaii and Kauai

Dates: Thursday, 26 April, 6:00 p.m. (meet at the Dolphin Bay Hotel, Hilo, Hawaii) – Wednesday, 2 May, 8:00 a.m. (returns to the hotel on Tuesday night, transportation will be provided to the airport on Wednesday morning)
Leader: Charles Siemers-Blay (TEOK Investigations, Poipu, Hawaii)
Fee: Professionals $1095; Students $1095 (1 March deadline)
Includes: Transportation in Hawaii, six nights’ lodging based on double occupancy ($450 extra for single occupancy), lunch on 27, 28, 29, 30 April and 1 May, refreshments, guidebook. Does NOT include transport to and from Hawaii nor the interisland flight from Hilo, Hawaii, to Lihue, Kauai. Does NOT include breakfast or dinner on most evenings.
Limit: 20 people

This 5-day, 6-night, two-island field trip is designed for professional petroleum geologists. A principal objective will be to observe a wide variety of Earth processes and products in a complex volcanic-sedimentary geologic setting. Emphasis will be on the recognition and evaluation of potential reservoirs in an unconventional setting with respect to petroleum potential. A secondary objective is the consideration of the impact of past (geologic) and present global climatic fluctuations.