Explorer Geophysical Corner

This month’s column deals with seismic curvature attributes: mapping faults and fractures.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

There’s an undeniable historical and cultural mystique about Egypt – but for geoscientists, the allure goes far deeper.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Andrew Miall writes a book called 'Canada Rocks, The Geologic Journey'. It takes you into a geologic (and scenic) tour of Canada, that celebrates the role geology has played in the country’s history.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The Western Desert of Egypt turns out to be a hot gas field. A good thing since Egypt’s demand for natural gas as an energy source is growing right along with its population.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Being in the black is almost always a good thing. Being a player in the booming Black Sea region can be even better.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

This month’s column discusses next year’s AAPG International Conference and Exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

An issue to consider is, “Is it necessary to position station flags accurately before a seismic survey begins, or is it only necessary to know station coordinates accurately after they have been occupied?”

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

It's common in Louisiana for oyster leaseholders to generate to types of profit: oyster cultivation and money from oil and gas companies. They pay compensation for damage to bottomlands.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

You’d have to call leasing in the Gulf of Mexico more focused than frenetic.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Fred F. Meissner, an honored college professor who pioneered the concept that methane gas could be extracted from coalbeds, has been named the 2008 recipient of the Sidney Powers Memorial Award. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) seismic-reflection surveys provide one of the most important data types for understanding subsurface depositional systems. Quantitative analysis is commonly restricted to geophysical interpretation of elastic properties of rocks in the subsurface. Wide availability of 3D seismic-reflection data and integration provide opportunities for quantitative analysis of subsurface stratigraphic sequences. Here, we integrate traditional seismic-stratigraphic interpretation with quantitative geomorphologic analysis and numerical modeling to explore new insights into submarine-channel evolution.

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Request a visit from Jacob Covault!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Around 170 million years ago, the Gulf of Mexico basin flooded catastrophically, and the pre-existing landscape, which had been a very rugged, arid, semi-desert world, was drowned beneath an inland sea of salt water. The drowned landscape was then buried under kilometers of salt, perfectly preserving the older topography. Now, with high-quality 3D seismic data, the salt appears as a transparent layer, and the details of the drowned world can be seen in exquisite detail, providing a unique snapshot of the world on the eve of the flooding event. We can map out hills and valleys, and a system of river gullies and a large, meandering river system. These rivers in turn fed into a deep central lake, whose surface was about 750m below global sea level. This new knowledge also reveals how the Louann Salt was deposited. In contrast to published models, the salt was deposited in a deep water, hypersaline sea. We can estimate the rate of deposition, and it was very fast; we believe that the entire thickness of several kilometers of salt was laid down in a few tens of thousands of years, making it possibly the fastest sustained deposition seen so far in the geological record.

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Request a visit from Frank Peel!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

In comparison with the known boundary conditions that promote salt deformation and flow in sedimentary basins, the processes involved with the mobilization of clay-rich detrital sediments are far less well established. This talk will use seismic examples in different tectonic settings to document the variety of shale geometries that can be formed under brittle and ductile deformations.

Request a visit from Juan I. Soto!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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