Home

August 2014

Independent companies, both large and small, are widely acknowledged for spearheading the shale play phenomenon. “Nimble” usually is the operative word here.

Determining the Origin of Stray Gas

Imagine it’s early in the morning and you’re collecting water from the kitchen faucet to start a cup of joe. Suddenly, the water ignites. Scary, huh? Such far-out stories and more continue to circulate as foes of the myriad shale plays ratchet up their attempts to curtail drilling and, perhaps above all, hydraulic fracturing.

Downey: Thinking Like Oil

I would like to suggest that far too much of the technical work purporting to guide exploration for petroleum is trivial, redundant and has little of use to offer toward finding new oil and gas accumulations. All geology is interesting; some geologic work is novel; damn little of the work we see is useful in finding new oil and gas fields!

Little Known TMS Play Sees Drilling Surge

Despite its “fits and starts” drilling history, the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale has begun to garner some respect– specifically, it appears to be on the brink of becoming a bona fide commercially productive play.

Emphasis: Geoscience Education

British TV Star Teaches Down-to-Earth Geoscience

“Geoscience Communication” is appealing to an emerging generation of scientists who are realizing that, in many cases, the value of their technical knowledge is only as great as their ability to communicate it – whether to their peers or to the public.

Prof-Turned-'Rock Star' Makes Geology Cool

Call it a mid-life crisis. Call it geology on fire. Whatever it was, something compelled Iain Stewart to leave his job as a college professor in London 12 years ago and essentially stay unemployed with a wife and two children while he figured out the next step in his career.

Geology, Interrupted

Big changes in the world have brought big challenges for university educators in the geosciences. Four professors – all of them AAPG members, and all winners of AAPG awards for teaching – described the realities of geoscience education today.

Ahead of the Curve

Jeannette Wolak, an AAPG member and assistant earth sciences professor at Tennessee Tech University, decided that some experience with seismic was essential for students considering a career in oil and gas.

UK Creates Centre of Doctoral Training

For the first time in a generation, oil and gas doctoral programs in the United Kingdom have received a surge of financial support from the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), the main governmental funding body for academic research and training in geosciences in the United Kingdom.

Raising the Bar on Science Awareness

“These days, shows like The Big Bang Theory seem to pass for science content.” That’s Scott Sampson, one of this year’s AAPG Geosciences in the Media Award winners.

Student Expos See Exponential Growth

It made sense. You bring together members of the industry, academia, students and, of course, AAPG, in hopes of ensuring a brighter, more secure future for the profession. That was the plan and the philosophy behind the AAPG-SEG Student Expo. And it worked.

Evolving Education

AAPG’s Education and Professional Development offers a wide array of short courses, schools, field seminars, Hedberg research conferences and education conferences.

Online pilot course takes off

Thanks to a $48,000 grant from the AAPG Foundation, 17 teachers from across the country recently completed an online pilot course on “Teaching Earth Science at the High School Level,” which is expected to expand to help meet a growing national need in geoscience education.

Standing Columns

President’s Column

What Does AAPG Mean to You?

Some people dominantly think of AAPG as a scientific association; some as a professional association; some as something that provides networking opportunities, and to some it is simply an association to which they belong.

Director’s Corner

Cybersecurity Is Critical Infrastructure

How are you working to protect your company’s information systems and physical assets? How are you working to protect your own digital information and assets? Both are critical infrastructure.

Division Column EMD

Symposium to Address Science, Social Responsibility

To address some of what appear to be competing issues, the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG) and the AAPG will host a joint, multidisciplinary technical symposium on oil sands and heavy oil: “Oil Sands and Heavy Oil Symposium: A Local to Global Multidisciplinary Collaboration.”

Geophysical Corner

Spectral Decomposition for 3-D Geomodeling

In recent years, a number of workflows have been developed to use spectral decomposition for 3-D geomodeling to extract architectural elements such as channels.

Historical Highlights

Persistence Paid Off for Liuhua - Eventually

The discovery of giant oil fields in new basins typically occurs only after multiple exploration periods and numerous unsuccessful wells. The first explorers might or might not have the right technical concepts, but for various reasons they fail to find the big prize. This pattern was repeated prior to the discovery of the giant (in place) Liuhua 11-1 Field, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea.

Regions and Sections

Asia-Pacific Region Sees Continued Growth

Foundation Update

Geo 'Firsts' - Remember When?

Chances are if you’ve always been innately passionate about earth science, you probably remember one or more of your geological “firsts.” Do you remember the first time you picked up a rock and wondered what it was made of, and where did it originate? Do you remember from this first initial spark, the other firsts that led you to where you are today?

Policy Watch

Employment Pipeline Eyed By Policymakers

Over the course of four months the House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), or its Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, chaired by Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), hosted seven hearings celebrating energy education and employment.

News & Features

Inbox Flooded? We Can Help!
Member

By Janet Brister
Joining AAPG - Good Idea, or Great?

By Emily Fisher
ICE 2014: History in the Making
Alternative Resources, Basin Modeling and Geochemistry, Geophysics, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Structure, Tectonics (General), Environmental
URTeC II: 'Not Your Father’s Convention'
Petrophysics and Well Logs

By Ken Milam

August 2014

Table of Contents

Emphasis: Geoscience Education

Standing Columns

News & Features

Download August 2014 PDF

STAY CONNECTED: