Spring has been a busy time for DEG with the AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif., and the Southwest Section meeting in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The DEG had an excellent technical program and a well-attended luncheon in Long Beach. Many thanks to Don Clarke, DEG vice chair/oral and poster session co-chair/awards chair, and Bob Menzie, DEG oral/poster session co-chair, for their outstanding efforts and hard work.
Thanks, also, to our DEG luncheon speaker, Lee Gerhard, for his thought-provoking presentation, and to our DEG luncheon sponsors -- Tidelands Oil Production and D.B. Stephens and Assoc.
The Southwest Section meeting in Wichita Falls, Texas had a first-rate program and outstanding hospitality. Thanks to Southwest Section president Craig Reynolds, general chair Bill Stephens and DEG Southwest Section representative Kevin Hopson for all their efforts.
Much effort is going into the preparation for DEG programs and activities at upcoming meetings. A summary of DEG programs and activities for the 2008 AAPG Annual Convention in San Antonio includes:
Sessions
- Innovative Methods for Management of Produced Waters.
- Karst Hydrology and Edwards/Trinity Aquifer Case Studies.
- Application of Near-Surface and Borehole Geophysics to Site Characterization.
- Integrated Approaches to Site Characterization and Remediation.
- Climate-Change Impact on Petroleum Facilities: Planning for Sustained Energy Flow (AAPG/DEG).
- Uranium and Ground Water: Issues and Solutions (DEG/EMD).
- CO2Sequestration: Geologic Challenges and Successes (EMD/DEG).
- Recent Advances in Oil Shale Technology (includes environmental impact) (EMD/DEG).
- GIS and Remote Sensing for Hurricane Monitoring and Environmental Assessment (EMD/DEG).
Forums
- Global Climate Change: Past and Present.
Short Courses
- Seismic and Near-Surface Geophysical Techniques for Environmental Assessment and Remediation.
- 3-D Environmental Site Characterization and Groundwater Modeling: Computer Applications.
- Field Safety for Field Trip Leaders.
Field Trips
- Hydrology of the Edwards Group: A Karst Aquifer Under Stress.
Preparation also is under way for the 2008 AAPG International Convention and Exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa, which will include DEG-related themes and involvement. Michael Jacobs and Chip Groat are working on DEG participation; Jacobs has been working with the Cape Town chairs, and contacts have been made to solicit technical participation in environmental session talks/programs/forums.
Update: AAPG Special Volume On CO2Sequestration
Matthias Grobe, chair of the EMD/DEG CO2Book Committee and lead editor, reports a total of 45 papers have been submitted and have received technical reviews.
The current target date for submission to the AAPG publications department is October.
Proposed chapters are:
- Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Geological Media -- Current Status and Challenges.
- Regional Assessment of CO2Geological Sequestration Potential.
- Methodologies for Evaluation of Sites for Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration.
- Experience and New Results from Current Geological Sequestration Projects.
- Modeling and Simulation of Carbon Dioxide Geological Sequestration.
- Insights from Natural Carbon Dioxide occurrences.
- Monitoring Sequestration Performance.
- New Approaches to Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Geological Media.
- Economics and Regulatory Aspects of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration.
As AAPG’s Division of Environmental Geosciences marks its 15th anniversary this year, it is most appropriate to recognize the hard work of the many individuals and groups that have contributed to the success of DEG and its quarterly peer-reviewed journalEnvironmental Geosciences(EG).
Many thanks to the DEG membership who support the Division and the EG through their dues, to all who have contributed and those who continue to contribute to the success of the DEG.