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Astrogeology

Explorer Article By Doug Cook,William Ambrose

Perseverance, Ingenuity are Exploring Jezero Crater

The Mars Perseverance rover has achieved many milestones with more than 100 sols of exploration on the Red Planet. Perseverance and its operators at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have tested all of the rover’s cameras and instruments. The rover has returned more than 76,000 raw images that are loaded in the mission multimedia catalog available online to everyone. The Ingenuity Mars helicopter has been deployed while Perseverance monitored and relayed all seven successful flights. Now, with three more flight credits, Perseverance and Ingenuity are traveling south exploring Jezero crater together.

Added on 01 July, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Flight Tests in Jezero Crater

At the time of this writing, it is May 15, 2021 that is Sol 83 for the Perseverance “Percy” Rover on Mars. Last month, we witnessed the deployment and first flight of the Mars Ingenuity helicopter. With the world watching the first powered aerial flight on another planet, Ingenuity has accomplished successively more difficult flight tests this month while Percy observes and relays flight data and images to Earth.

Added on 01 June, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

Exploring Mars with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

A series of articles in AAPG EXPLORER has been following the progress of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover since its launch on July 30, 2020. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021 with an EXPLORER Live! panel and audience. Perseverance has been performing systems checks, executed its first drives, and zapped a few rocks for analysis with its SuperCam laser. Now we have witnessed the deployment of the Ingenuity helicopter for the first-in-history aerial, powered flight on another planet.

Added on 01 May, 2021

Explorer President’s Column By Rick Fritz

Innovation Causation

It is sometimes said that every good idea and every innovation needs a good story. After 2020 we are now re-writing our individual and collective stories. Post COVID-19 reality has allowed AAPG members to reach beyond their normal geographical areas of influence. It is said that “necessity is the mother of all invention.” If that’s the case, then as a corollary I say that “failure is the father of most innovation.”

Added on 01 May, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

Perseverance Gets a Full Checkup, Test Drive Before Getting Down to Geology

The Perseverance rover touched down on Feb. 18 with live play-by-play straight from JPL Mission control. Within moments after touchdown, during celebration and high-fives, a picture emerged from the rover on the surface of Mars. The rover and landing system later returned spectacular images of the landing and the first 360-degree panorama of the landing zone. Already hundreds of images have been sent home. Most of these first images are from camera systems and subsystem checkouts.

Added on 01 April, 2021

Learn! Blog By Susan Nash

The Geology of Mars: Dr. Kirsten Siebach's List of Reliable Information Sources

Those who attended AAPG's Mars Perseverance Watch Party and also the AAPG webinar that featured a discussion of what the Perseverance and earlier missions have shown us about the geology of Mars are eager to learn more.

Added on 22 March, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

Exploring with the Rovers

The AAPG EXPLORER has been following the progress of the Perseverance rover and the history of the search for life on Mars. Perseverance’s journey in space culminated in its safe landing in Jezero Crater near Mars’ equator on Feb. 18, 2021. Now, Perseverance begins its journey of geologic exploration, fieldwork and the search for signs of past Martian life. NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have deployed a series of successful and ever-more-sophisticated rovers. They have been deployed across the planet at carefully selected landing sites to explore for signs of Mars’ warmer and wetter past when it may have hosted the evolution of life.

Added on 01 March, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover and International Mars Fleet Arrival

As this EXPLORER issue goes to press, there are three international robotic missions headed to their encounters with Mars this February. The United Arab Emirates’ Hope Mission will enter Mars orbit on Feb. 9, 2021. Its goal is to study Martian atmospheric dynamics and weather. China’s Tianwen-1 Mission is expected to enter Mars orbit on Feb. 10, 2021. A lander with a Mars rover will be deployed in May 2021 for a proposed landing zone in Utopia Planitia. The mission goals are to find evidence for current and past life, characterize Martian soil composition, and map water ice distribution. The NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to land at Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

Added on 01 February, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

The Search for Life on Mars

Last month, the EXPLORER featured an article on the geology of Jezero crater on Mars where NASA’s Perseverance rover will land on Feb. 18, 2021. After a successful landing, Perseverance will begin an astrogeology mission to search for signs of past life on the Red Planet and to gain knowledge to prepare for human exploration. In this month’s installment on the Perseverance mission, we will take a look back at our historical search for life on Mars. There have been intriguing findings, but no conclusive proof that life has or does exist there.

Added on 01 January, 2021

Explorer Article By Doug Cook

Perseverance Rover Cruising to the Red Planet

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launched on July 30, 2020, toward Mars. The Perseverance landing is planned for Feb. 18, 2021 at Jezero Crater in the Nili Fossae region of Mars. According to rover science team members Sanjeev Gupta and Briony Horgan, the mission science goal will be “to explore the history of water and chemistry in an ancient crater lake basin and associated river-delta environments to probe early Martian climates and search for life.” The Mars 2020 spacecraft is currently halfway to Mars, traveling at about 100,000 kilometers per hour, relative to the Sun. It will take about six months (203 days) to traverse the 480 million kilometers from Earth to Mars on a sweeping Hohmann Transfer Orbit.

Added on 01 November, 2020

Workshop

Houston, Texas

Tuesday, 10 December – Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.

AI, Machine Learning and Analytics for Subsurface Energy

Join us for an AI and analytics workshop that focuses specifically on subsurface energy, and provides the needed knowledge, tools, and insights. Opportunities are emerging, and those who have the tools, skills, and knowledge will be at the forefront Specifically, the conference will bring together AI and Machine Learning and a wide range of data issues in the form of technical presentations, probing panel discussions and poster sessions.

Added on 05 September, 2024

Webinar By Vitor Abreu

Virtual Webinar

Thursday, 24 September 2020, 8:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

A Simplified Guide to Sequence Stratigraphy

In the past 3 decades the sequence stratigraphy jargon has proliferated, resulting in multiple definitions of the same surface or new surfaces and units based on drawings of deposition in response to relative changes in sea level. The close association between base-level changes, the formation of surfaces, and specific stratal stacking that define systems tracts are at the heart of the confusion. This webinar is proposed a back-to-basics approach, emphasizing key observations that can be made from any geologic data: lithofacies, lithofacies association, vertical stacking, stratal geometries, and stratal terminations.

Added on 06 August, 2020

Online e-Symposium

Tuesday, 1 January 2013, 12:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m.

Wind Farm Operations: Current Practices and Future Trends

The presenters will discuss effective management of wind farm operations and the challenges often encountered.

Added on 21 November, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 21 February 2013, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Petrophysics of Carbonates

The course will review core data, petrophysical comparisons, rock physics modeling (including pseudo logs and mechanical properties).

Added on 11 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 17 February 2011, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Siliclastic Sequence Stratigraphy: Application to Exploration and Production

This presentation is designed for exploration/production geologists and geological managers or reservoir engineers.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Webinar By Arash Nazhad,Larry R. Davis,Sudhir Pai,Sunil Garg,Susan Nash

Virtual Webinar

Wednesday, 14 April 2021, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Energy Industry Supply Chains

Join us for 'Pivoting 2021: Energy Industry Supply Chains'. Panelists will discuss some of the most prominent advances in supply chain practice, including provenance, authenticity assurance, blockchain, automation, multiple sourcing, and 3D printing. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 14 April 2021.

Added on 03 June, 2020

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 21 October 2010, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Evaluating Mature Fields: Best Approaches for Recovering Remaining Reserves

This e-symposium covers how to conduct an interdisciplinary evaluation of mature fields to determine the best approach to recover remaining reserves.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 19 May 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Shale Gas Prospectivity Case Study: Conasauga Shale, Black Warrior Basin, Alabama, USA

This e-symposium presents and discusses the results of laboratory tests and research relating to determining shale prospectivity in general, and specifically in the Black Warrior Basin, Alabama.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 28 April 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

The Niobrara Petroleum System, a Major Tight Resource Play in the Rocky Mountain Region

The Niobrara Petroleum System of the U.S. Rocky Mountain Region is a major tight petroleum resource play.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Webinar By Cleveland Jones

Virtual Webinar

Tuesday, 28 April 2020, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Yet-to-Find Oil Potential of the Brazilian Presalt - Portuguese Talk

Em 2011 e 2015, apresentei uma avaliação do potencial de petróleo ainda por descobrir (YTF – Yet to Find) na região brasileira do pré-sal, utilizando uma ferramenta de modelagem de exploração e um método de simulação estocástica (Monte Carlo) para estimar as acumulações potenciais já descobertas e as restantes para ser descobertas. Embora da metodologia robusta usada, é compreensível que, à luz dos novos preços do petróleo, muito mais baixos, a avaliação do óleo YTF possa ser questionada sobre o quão realista poderia ser, num cenário prolongado de preço baixo do petróleo. Em 2016, apresentei essa avaliação, para preços do petróleo abaixo de US$ 50/bbl. Agora, com os preços do petróleo ainda mais baixos que podem representar um novo cenário de redução por mais tempo, volto a revisar as avaliações anteriores. Os resultados são apresentados no contexto de importantes implicações geopolíticas para em regiões do mundo onde os recursos de petróleo e gás provavelmente continuarão viáveis, apesar dos preços baixos do petróleo, e os rearranjos geopolíticos que isso implica.

Added on 08 July, 2020

Webinar

Virtual Webinar

Thursday, 26 May 2022, 3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

Time-lapse (4D) Seismic Over Some Producing Fields: Sharing TotalEnergies’ Experiences

This presentation gives a short overview of Time-lapse (4D) seismic potential over a few case studies from TotalEnergies’ portfolio of assets. It shall begin with a brief introduction of basic concepts of 4D seismic; some of TotalEnergies’ 4D seismic related activities over the years as well as an overview of some published methods and workflows on 4D seismic. Some examples of application of 4D seismic in clastic and carbonate fields, as well as its use in a geomechanical context will be given, and finally conclude with a reflection that 4D is a transverse subject where many disciplines are involved.

Added on 08 March, 2022

DL Abstract By Frank Peel

A Lost World Rediscovered: 3D Seismic Data Reveal Spectacular Images of a Jurassic Landscape on the Eve of Louann Salt Deposition in the Gulf of Mexico, with Implications for Salt Deposition

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.

Request a visit from Frank Peel!

Added on 16 November, 2022

DL Abstract By Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce

Reconstructing a Late Pleistocene East African Paleolandscape using the Footprints of our Ancestors

Fossil hominin footprints offer a unique and immediate snapshot of our ancestors' lives, capturing their ecological, environmental, and behavioral contexts over remarkably short time scales. This presentation delves into the discovery and analysis of over 400 human footprints from Engare Sero, Tanzania, located on the southern shore of Lake Natron.

Request a visit from Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce!

Added on 19 August, 2024

DL Abstract By Shane Prochnow

Subsurface Machine Learning Approaches at Hydrocarbon Recovery and Resource Forecasting for Unconventional Reservoir Systems

This presentation is a survey of subsurface machine learning concepts that have been formulated for unconventional asset development, described in the literature, and subsequently patented. Operators that utilize similar subsurface machine learning workflows and other data modelling techniques enjoy a competitive advantage at optimizing the development of unconventional plays.

Request a visit from Shane Prochnow!

Added on 14 September, 2023

DL Abstract By Jennifer Wilcox

The Role of Carbon Capture in Meeting Net-Zero Carbon Goals

President Biden has laid out a bold and ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the United States by 2050. The pathway to that target includes cutting total greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and eliminating them entirely from the nation’s electricity sector by 2035. The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management will play an important role in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions by reducing the environmental impacts of fossil energy production and use – and helping decarbonize other hard-to abate sectors.

Request a visit from Jennifer Wilcox!

Added on 20 July, 2022

DL Abstract By Kurt W. Rudolph

Tectonic Controls on Source Rock Deposition

While there are many habitats that are associated with the deposition of organic-rich marine and lacustrine source rocks, one important pathway is linked to the onset of increased basin subsidence associated with major tectonic events. A key aspect is that this subsidence is spatially variable, with the uplift of basin flanks contemporaneous with the foundering of the basin center, resulting in a steeper basin profile.

Request a visit from Kurt W. Rudolph!

Added on 14 September, 2023

DL Abstract By John Castagna

Beyond Physics in Geophysics

Physics is an essential component of geophysics but there is much that physics cannot know or address.

Request a visit from John Castagna!

Added on 14 September, 2023

DL Abstract By Kurt W. Rudolph

The Assembly of Pangea, a View from Laurentia: Paleozoic Orogenies and their Impact on Basin Evolution and Petroleum Systems

Paleozoic North America has experienced multiple mountain building events, from Ordovician to Permian, on all margins of the continent. These have had a profound effect on the resulting complex basins and their associated petroleum systems. Subsequent uplift, erosion and overprinting of these ancient systems impedes the direct observation of their tectonic history. However, the basin sedimentary records are more complete, and provide additional insights into the timing and style of the mountain building events. In this study, we employ ~90 1D basin models, ~30 inverse flexural models, isopachs, and paleogeographic maps to better understand the Paleozoic history of North America.

Request a visit from Kurt W. Rudolph!

Added on 14 September, 2023

VG Abstract By Juan I. Soto

How Orogens Could Collapse Forming Sedimentary Basins: The Case of the Betic-Rif Orogen

The Betic hinterland, in the westernmost Mediterranean, constitutes a unique example of a stack of metamorphic units. Using a three-dimensional model for the crustal structure of the Betics-Rif area this talk will address the role of crustal flow simultaneously to upper-crustal low-angle faulting in the origin and evolution of the topography.

Request a visit from Juan I. Soto!

Added on 26 June, 2019

DL Abstract By Tao Sun

Integrated Reservoir Characterization and Modeling with Computational Stratigraphy

As oil and gas exploration and production occur in deeper basins and more complex geologic settings, accurate characterization and modeling of reservoirs to improve estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) prediction, optimize well placement and maximize recovery become paramount. Existing technologies for reservoir characterization and modeling have proven inadequate for delivering detailed 3D predictions of reservoir architecture, connectivity and rock quality at scales that impact subsurface flow patterns and reservoir performance. Because of the gap between the geophysical and geologic data available (seismic, well logs, cores) and the data needed to model rock heterogeneities at the reservoir scale, constraints from external analog systems are needed. Existing stratigraphic concepts and deposition models are mostly empirical and seldom provide quantitative constraints on fine-scale reservoir heterogeneity. Current reservoir modeling tools are challenged to accurately replicate complex, nonstationary, rock heterogeneity patterns that control connectivity, such as shale layers that serve as flow baffles and barriers.

Request a visit from Tao Sun!

Added on 20 July, 2022

DL Abstract By Sherilyn Williams-Stroud

Atmospheric and Social Climate Change: Implications for the Future Geoscience Workforce

Climate change is not only happening in the atmosphere but also in the anthroposphere; in some ways the former could drive or exacerbate the latter, with extreme weather excursions and extreme excursions from societal norms occurring all over the earth. Accomplishing geoscience for a common goal – whether that is for successful business activities, resource assessment for public planning, mitigating the impacts of geological hazards, or for the sheer love of furthering knowledge and understanding – can and should be done by a workforce that is equitably developed and supported. Difficulty arises when the value of institutional programs to increase equity and diversity is not realized.

Request a visit from Sherilyn Williams-Stroud!

Added on 14 September, 2023

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