July 2017 Outcrop

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OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 66 • No. 7 • July 2017


OUTCROP | July 2017

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Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org


OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

910 16th Street • Suite 1214 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

2017 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Larry Rasmussen larryr@whiting.com

Karen Dean deankaren@comcast.net

PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER-ELECT

Terri Olson tmolson8550@gmail.com

Robin Swank robin.swank@gmail.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT

SECRETARY

Steve Sturm 303petro.images@gmail.com

Jennifer Jones jaseitzjones@gmail.com

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

1st YEAR COUNSELOR

Cat Campbell CCampbell@bayless-cos.com

Jim Emme jim_emme@yahoo.com 2nd YEAR COUNSELOR

Rob Diedrich rdiedrich@sm-energy.com

RMAG STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Barbara Kuzmic bkuzmic@rmag.org MEMBERSHIP & EVENTS MANAGER

Hannah Rogers hrogers@rmag.org ACCOUNTANT

Carol Dalton cdalton@rmag.org PROJECTS SPECIALIST

Kathy Mitchell-Garton kmitchellgarton@rmag.org MANAGING EDITOR

Will Duggins will.duggins@i-og.net ASSOCIATE EDITORS

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Rates and sizes can be found on page 3. Advertising rates apply to either black and white or color ads. Submit color ads in RGB color to be compatible with web format. Borders are recommended for advertisements that comprise less than one half page. Digital files must be PC compatible submitted in png, jpg, tif, pdf or eps formats at a minimum of 300 dpi. If you have any questions, please call the RMAG office at 303-573-8621. Ad copy, signed contract and payment must be received before advertising insertion. Contact the RMAG office for details. DEADLINES: Ad submissions are the 1st of every month for the following month’s publication. WEDNESDAY NOON LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS

RMAG Office: 303-573-8621 | Fax: 303-476-2241 | staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org

Holly Sell holly.sell@yahoo.com Greg Guyer Greg.Guyer@halliburton.com Cheryl Fountain cwhitney@alumni.nmt.edu Ron Parker ron@bhigeo.com DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Nate Silva nate@nate-silva.com

The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

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Outcrop | July 2017 OUTCROP


Improve Your Skills with PTTC Petroleum Fluids and Source Rocks in E&P Projects

Wed - Thursday, August 9-10, 2017, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Location: Colorado School of Mines, Berthoud Hall rm. 403 Fee: $500, includes snacks, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructor: Dr. Alexei Milkov, Colorado School of Mines, Geology Dept. Course Description In this course you will learn how to sample, analyze and interpret petroleum fluids and source rocks to add value to various projects across E&P value chain. We will cover the following topics: - Fundamentals of petroleum composition and properties. - Sampling of rocks and fluids. - Analytical techniques used to evaluate potential of source rocks and composition of petroleum fluids. - Characterization and risking of source rocks and prediction of fluid properties in exploration prospects. - Interpretation of data from drilled exploration wells to assess the value of the discovery. - Use of geochemical data to assess reservoir compartmentalization during appraisal and development. - Geochemical surveillance of oil & gas production. - Use of geochemical data to locate producing intervals and allocate petroleum production. - Identification of oil sources for petroleum spills and leaks. Examples and case studies will be from both conventional and unconventional petroleum systems around the world. Learning Objectives

By the end of the course you will be able to: - Identify and propose geochemical solutions for E&P business problems. - Design cost-effective fit-for-purpose sampling/analysis programs for source rocks and petroleum fluids. - Construct expulsion profiles for different types of source rocks. - Predict fluid properties and product value in exploration and production wells. - Correlate oils to source rocks. - Interpret the origin of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon natural gases. - Integrate geochemical interpretations into holistic petroleum systems analysis. These learning objectives will be achieved through lectures, hands-on exercises and class discussions. Instructor Dr. Alexei Milkov is Full Professor and Director of Potential Gas Agency at Colorado School of Mines and a consultant to oil and gas industry. After receiving Ph.D. from Texas A&M University (2001), Dr. Milkov worked for BP, Sasol and Murphy Oil, explored for conventional and unconventional oil and gas in 30+ basins on six continents and participated in the discovery of 4 Billion BOE of petroleum resources. He has deep expertise in oil and gas geochemistry, petroleum systems modeling, exploration risk analysis, resource assessments and portfolio management. Dr. Milkov has 140 publications (including 45 peer-reviewed articles) and received several awards for his contribution to petroleum geosciences. Class Descriptions and Registration: www.pttc.org OUTCROP | July 2017

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Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org


OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

ASSOCIATION NEWS

34 Lead Story: God or Geology? The Genesis of Ram’s Bridge

2 RMAG 2017 Summit Sponsors

DEPARTMENTS

7 Paleozoic and Mesozoic GIS Data from the Geologic Atlas of the Rocky Mountain Region: Volume 1, Available Now!

6 RMAG MAY 2017 Board of Directors Meeting 8 President’s Letter 16 RMAG Luncheon Programs: Matthew Bauer 20 RMAG Luncheon Programs: David Wavrek 22 Mineral of the Month: Tetrahedrite 31 Welcome New RMAG Members! 31 In The Pipeline 40 Calendar 41 Outcrop Advertising Rates 41 Advertiser Index

Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

15 RMAG On The Rocks Field Trips 17 Save The Date: RMAG Breakfast Series 19 RMAG Sporting Clay Tournament 21 Save The Date: RMAG DWLS Fall Symposium, RMAG Core Workshop 25 RMAG/DAPL Prospect Fair & Technofest

COVER PHOTO Adam’s Bridge, India and Sri Lanka. Planetsat Global Satellite Image

ASSOCIATION NEWS (CONT.)

27 Save The Date: RMAG Rockbusters Bash

32 2017 RMAG Golf Tournament, Results

30 August 2017 On the Rocks Field Trips

39 AAPG 2017 Honors & Awards

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32 2017 RMAG Golf Tournament, Thank You!

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RMAG MAY 2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING By Jennifer Jones, Secretary jaseitzjones@gmail.com

The May meeting of the RMAG Board of Direccoming along nicely. The Mountain Geologist has tors was held May 17, 2017 at 4 PM. All board memsome interesting papers upcoming, and RMAG exbers except Cat Campbell and Karen Dean were prespects to have a new special publication later this ent. Treasurer-Elect Robin Swank reported that the year. The Membership Committee has been workRMAG financials are continuing as expected. Execuing on a member survey – please be on the lookout tive Director Barbara Kuzmic reported that memberfor that soon. As mentioned above, there are many ship is steady, and gave the board updates on several exciting summer field trip opportunities - a Leadville upcoming events in planning. The golf tournament bike trip (July 22), Niobrara & Juana Lopez (August at Arrowhead Golf Club was on June 14, and there 5), ammonite collecting (August 26), and Codell-Niare several summer trip opportunities from the On obrara field trip and core workshop (September 10the Rocks committee. Please see the events page on 11). The committee is hoping to reschedule the May the RMAG website for registration information. Picketwire trip, which was cancelled due to weathThe monthly luncheon program is booked for er – stay tuned. Please see the Events page on the the year – we appreciate your survey feedback! The website for more information or to register. Continuing Education committee has several excitAs always, please check the RMAG website often ing events in the planning stages, and the Fall Symfor the exciting events and opportunities coming up RMAG publication Ad-­‐-­‐-­‐prof size 2 5/8 2 issues $144 posium/Hot Plays Core Workshopcard (Sept. 27-28) is X 1/1/2; 1soon! We @ look forward to seeing you.

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Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org


The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Paleozoic and Mesozoic GIS Data from the Geologic Atlas of the Rocky Mountain Region: Volume 1 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is, once again, publishing portions of the 1972 Geologic Atlas of the Rocky Mountain Region (Mallory, ed., 1972) as a geospatial map and data package. Georeferenced tiff (Geo TIFF) images of map figures from this atlas has served as the basis for these data products. Shapefiles and file geodatabase features have been generated and cartographically represented for select pages from the following chapters: • Phanerozoic Rocks (page 56) • Cambrian System (page 63) • Ordovician System (pages 78 and 79) • Silurian System (pages 87 - 89) • Devonian System (pages 93, 94, and 96 - 98) • Mississippian System (pages 102 and 103) • Pennsylvanian System (pages 114 and 115) • Permian System (pages 146 and 149 - 154) • Triassic System (pages 168 and 169) • Jurassic System (pages 179 and 180) • Cretaceous System (pages 197 - 201, 207 210, 215, - 218, 221, 222, 224, 225, and 227).

Available now, as a digital download! Prices will increase on November 1st.

Member Price: $75 Non-Member Price: $95 Corporate Price: 2-5 copies - 5% off member price per copy 6-10 copies - 10% off member price per copy 11+ copies - 15% off member price per copy

Visit www.rmag.org to purchase your copy today.

The primary purpose of this publication is to provide regional-scale, as well as local-scale, geospatial data of the Rocky Mountain Region for use in geoscience studies. An important aspect of this interactive map product is that it does not require extensive GIS experience or highly specialized software.

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER By Larry Rasmussen

Kevin C. “Casey” McKinney Capturing Cobban’s Legacy

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I have this idea that when I’m out wandering around on an outcrop of Cretaceous shale and I can’t find any fossils weathering out, it must be because Bill Cobban had been there. It’s like an invisible graffiti, “Bill Cobban Was Here!”, that is only evident by the lack of fossils. It’s a futile exercise to read through the USGS publications by Cobban, Reeside and Merewether expecting to discover good fossil localities. Those guys were like vacuum cleaners, snapping up every fossil specimen, good or bad, from Cretaceous marine outcrops across the West. I was lucky enough to stumble across a fossil locality in the Carlile Shale in South Dakota when I was around 14 or 15 years old that was lacking the typical Cobban ‘graffiti’. (Of course, I did not know who Bill Cobban was at the time.) It was a Boy Scout camping trip to Angostura Reservoir near the Black Hills, and while all the other scouts were off fishing or water skiing, I was wandering in the opposite direction toward some outcrops in the hills that I could see from our campsite. I remember the light-headed, rapid-pulse

Casey with a cast of straight ammonite, Baculites grandis. 8

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exhilaration that I felt as I started coming across large ammonites in the slope at the base of the outcrop. They were beautifully preserved with robust ornamentation. At the top of the outcrop was a thin sandy layer packed with mollusks. Ammonites, bivalves and gastropods littered the ground, but the most common fossils were Scaphites sp. ammonites. It was literally one of the top five fossil localities that I’ve ever found, obviously untouched by USGS paleontologists. If someone wanted to see what Bill Cobban collected over the span of his career, they need to go no further than the USGS Core Research Center in Lakewood. The collection is curated by Kevin C. (“Casey”) McKinney who occupies the office just beyond the front desk. I met Casey for the first time last year while I was at the facility looking at core. My dad had told me about an instance he learned from one of his mentors, Dr. Stillman Berry, when he was around 16 years old, when Cobban and Reeside visited the Winnecook Ranch near his hometown of Harlowton, Montana. They were collecting a large ammonite-bearing concretion out of the Mowry Shale which was comprised largely of Neogastroplites [see USGS PP 355]. Dr. Berry, the owner of the ranch, sent his ranch manager as a joke to chew out the USGS paleontologists (who he knew well) for collecting without permission. Anyway, I went to Casey McKinney to see if he could find a list of collections that were made in this vicinity in the past. Sure enough, in under 10 minutes he was walking

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Casey McKinney with field assistants in in the Qattarra Depression, Egypt. Photo Courtesy: Kevin C. McKinney

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he agreed to be interviewed for this piece. Casey originally got caught up in paleontology when a childhood friend, Scott Wing, was attending Yale and needed a field partner for graduate work in the Big Horn Basin. They embarked on a 10-week trip to collect plant fossils and a similar trip the following summer. He heard about a USGS group working in the area led by vertebrate paleontologist, Dr. Tom Bown. Casey asked to join the USGS crew for a day to see how vertebrate collecting compared to splitting open shale to find plant fossils. Lo and behold, it was something that was very close to Casey’s 10

Carolina upbringing. “I went out with them for a day, and, God, it was beach-combing like on the Carolina coast. My old man had me out there hunting little fossil shark teeth to divide them into three sizes to play poker with. So I had a big collection of fossils and I was darned good at it. I fit right in [with the USGS crew] and it felt very comfortable. You’re moving all the time, prospecting, watching the sediments as you’re working. Wow….it just awed me. I was ruined.” As soon as field season was up in 1981, Dr. Bown hired Casey to come work for him at the USGS in Lakewood. He was hired on a 32-hour

me down to the paleo collection with notes on cabinets and drawers to check. Although we didn’t find the concretion, we did find a drawer jammed full of Neogastroplites ammonites that looked like they had been beaten out of one, and these were all collected by Cobban and Reeside on the Winnecook Ranch in 1950. On each subsequent trip out to the Core Research Center, I’ve made it a point to stop by and chat with Casey about his ongoing project to digitize and georeference the paleo collection. He’s an affable scientist with a fascinating background in vertebrate paleontology, and I was thrilled that

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WAE appointment, a way of gently testing employees to see if they would be hired full-time. Unfortunately, an economic downturn in 1982 resulted in many WAE employees, including Casey, losing their jobs. He returned home to Durham, North Carolina and began working parttime for the Duke Primate Center (now the Duke Lemur Center) under the tutelage of vertebrate paleontologist, Dr. Elwyin Simons. He accompanied Simons on field expeditions to the Fayum Depression in Egypt to search for primate fossils in Eocene – Oligocene strata, and to a more remote site (Moghra) near El Alamein that yielded an incredibly rich Miocene fauna. Casey recalls one particularly memorable find of his that made Simons ecstatic – the first Plesiadapid (an Eocene lemur-like primate) ever found on the African continent. Fossils were collected mostly via surface collecting and some quarrying, and hundreds of new species were identified in these expeditions. It should be noted that Casey’s other part-time job, the one that helped make ends meet, was as an auto and truck mechanic. This skillset was a tremendous asset when one of their field vehicles would burn out a clutch (which they were always doing), or their WWII-era German troop carrier would break down and he would have to go track down parts in the local Egyptian markets (which they were able to find). In 1986, Casey was hired back at the USGS full-time where

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he replaced Bob Burkholder’s position as half-time tech to Bill Cobban, and he also became halftime tech to Tom Bown. When Cobban retired in 1992, he continued to tech for Bown half-time and then split his time between Norm Silberling (Triassic ammonites), Mike Taylor (Camb.-Ord. trilobites), Tom Ager (pollen processing), Chuck Blome (radiolarian processing), and Ellie Brouwers (ostracode processing). With his 30+ years of experience working with the paleontology collection, it’s safe to say that he knows the collection as well as anyone. Casey McKinney has been working on cataloging the paleontology collection into a GIS

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At home in the quintessential field vehicle, Big Horn Basin, circa 1988. (Incidentally, this truck was originally a AMNH field vehicle before Scott Wing acquired it from from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.) Photo Courtesy: Kevin C. McKinney worked for the survey cannot be overstated, as the entire collection was the foundation of the geologic map of the United States. Nobody could ever come close to what was done historically by USGS paleontologists. Between all of the fences that have been erected, suburban development, the increasing difficulty in accessing private land, and commercial and private fossil collectors, it’s safe to say that the USGS paleo collection could never be duplicated. In 6-8 years, the paleontology collection at the USGS facility in Lakewood will be fully digitized, and it will end up at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. where it will be reunited with the rest of the USGS paleo collections that are housed in several thousand cases. The unfortunate part of this is the difficulty that this poses for western researchers. Every summer, academics flock 12

to the paleo collection in Lakewood to study the fossils there, but once everything has been moved to the Smithsonian, it will add another layer of difficulty. So you may be thinking: why can’t the collection just stay here at the Lakewood facility? Simply put, it’s too expensive. Twenty years ago, the USGS was double the size, and it has operated with a flat or slightly increased budget over that time. Their landlord, the GSA (General Services Administration), routinely invokes rent increases. The bay where the collection is currently kept costs the USGS approximately $500,000 per year in rent. The GSA is profit-oriented, and it can raise the rent every year on properties used by other government agencies like the USGS, ultimately affecting their ability to operate. It’s the primary reason

database for the past 20 years. Initially, it was done out of necessity. Someone would ask where a particular fossil or collection was housed and he’d have to do some digging to find out. He started in 1997 with vertebrate fossils collected from 2,000 localities by paleontologist, Ed Lewis. Casey worked directly with a retired tech one day a week, and they finished four years later. Since then, he’s been working on a comprehensive geodatabase of the entire paleontology collection at the Survey. He has digitized and georeferenced tens of thousands of records from the collection in Lakewood, as well as another 30,000 records from the Washington collection now housed at the Smithsonian. All of this is being done in preparation of accession of the paleo collection in Lakewood into the Smithsonian collection. The database is currently under review, and when it is finished, the public will be able to search the database through an interactive map or by any number of data fields that have been captured. Twenty-two years ago, in 1995, the USGS eliminated the paleontology branch. At that time, the paleo collection, housed in 1,000 cases, was entirely analog. Cobban’s collection alone comprised 325 cases of fossils from 14,000 localities. It’s not difficult to see the immense chore that faced the technicians in charge of digitizing this massive collection. The importance of the work by Bill Cobban and the other paleontologists who

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that the paleo collection needs to be digitized ASAP so it can be warehoused elsewhere. Even if it were an option, the Smithsonian couldn’t afford to continue to keep the collection at the Lakewood facility. Casey has long lobbied for the Smithsonian to establish a western field station to make it more convenient to western researchers. This is not an unheard of proposition. Charlie Sandberg’s conodont collection is now housed at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science due to the lobbying of a paleontologist with the Colorado Department of Transportation. It was a legal transfer of paleontological specimens from USGS management via Smithsonian. Casey is hoping that something similar can be arranged for the paleo collection in Lakewood. Given the regional significance of this collection it makes more sense to warehouse it somewhere out West than to move it all to the East Coast. Casey puts it well, “You don’t want to have to make a trip to Washington D.C. to examine a collection that was made in Golden, Colorado – you’re talking back-breaking expenses.” Summer is the busiest time of year for the paleontology collection, and there is a daily stream of researchers from academia, government and the private sector coming through. Still, Casey found time to walk me through Bill Cobban’s immense collection to show me some of his more spectacular specimens, his library, where he photographed specimens for publications, and even where his jacket is still dutifully hung on a coat

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A drawer with some of Bill Cobban’s more interesting ammonite specimens.

ONWARD TO SOME RMAG BUSINESS The RMAG Board of Directors and the Executive Director invite you to partake in the RMAG Membership Survey. You may notice that RMAG recently mailed out surveys to our members, both by email and the old OUTCROP | July 2017

fashioned method involving a stamp and a mail carrier. Demographics of our membership are very important to any organization. Please take the time to fill out this survey and get it back to us as soon as you can! RMAG will be using this information to better serve the membership and help us plan for future publications as well as social and continuing education events. We hope to have surveys tallied sometime in the summer, and we will share the results with our members. Thank you! After 5 years, the Prospect Fair and Techno Fest (PFTF) is 14

back. NAPE decided not to hold their annual meeting in Denver this fall, so RMAG and DAPL are teaming up to present the PFTF on October 19 at the Westin Denver Downtown. This year will be different in that we are proud to announce that Tom Petrie will present a keynote address in the afternoon. As an added networking incentive, DAPL will be hosting its annual Rockies Bash along with the PFTF for an evening of drinks, food, and vendors. Registration is open to attendees and exhibitors, so please sign up now!

rack. Cobban’s fossil database is currently under review, as is his collection of Western Interior shoreline maps. When these reviews are complete, they will be posted to the USGS Science Base.

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July

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August

05

August

26

September

10-11

Leadville Mining District Tour. Fred Mark will lecture on geology and history while participants bike the 11-mile trail in Leadville, followed by a visit to the Leadville Mining Museum. Registration is open.

Niobrara and Juana Lopez trip. On the west side of Front Range led by Steve Sonnenberg. Registration opens July 6, 2017 at 8:00am.

Ammonite fossil-collecting trip. Near Kremmling, led by Dennis Gertenbach and assisted by Donna Anderson. Registration opens July 26, 2017 at 8:00am.

Codell-Niobrara Field trip & Core Workshop 1-day Front Range Cretaceous outcrops paired with a½ day at the USGS Core Warehouse to examine the same formations. Run by Gus Gustason and Tofer Lewis. Registration opens August 10, 2017 at 8:00am.

Register for field trips on the Field Trip page at www.rmag.org.

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Matthew Bauer — July 5, 2017

Making Unconventional, Conventional

Induced Seismicity in the Denver Basin Prompts Updated Basement Fault Configuration Model By Matthew William Bauer and Michael Joseph Harty III

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From June 2014 to January 2016 a swarm of earthquakes occurred in central Weld County Colo® PetroFecta from wells. The rado in close proximity to two injection swarm occurred in an area with no known prior reFluid Inclusion cord of seismic activity. The earthquake hypocenters Technologies had a median depth of 5,000 m suggesting seismicity a unique approach combining was occurring inis the crystalline basement while dis® ), Trapped Analysis XRFthe (PDQ-XRF posal wells in area inject fluidFluid into the overlying ® sedimentary(FIS section. ), and High Resolution Photography To test for basement communication, entire wellbore fromspinner (RockEye ®) of the surveys werewell collected the deeper of the two cuttings orfrom core samples of any age. wells. The spinner surveys indicated that injected fluids were flowing the entire 3,297onmeters All analyses are conducted the sameof the well. After the well wassample plugged 143 meters 1 gram (up to back 575 samples per well) and the spinner test was repeated indicating that the majoriwith an analytical cycle of four days. ty fluids were then entering units above 3,000 meters TVD. A reduction in theonrate ofwith earthquake events Data provided a DVD

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www.rmag.org Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org


R M A G Breakfast Series

Save the Date! August & September 2017

email: staff@rmag.org

|

phone: 303.573.8621

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910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202

17

fax: 888.348.4090

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS larger than faults in the overlying sedimentary section, can produce seismic events with sufficient magnitude to pose risk to the public. This study of the Denver Basin earthquake swarm in relation to nearby injection wells in conjunction with interpretations of the local stress regime and the basement fault configuration will enable operators and regulators to locate injection wells safe distances from critically stressed basement faults and better mitigate the risk and hazards from induced seismicity in the basin.

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suggests that the plug-back reduced or removed basement Communication. Using gravity, aeromagnetics, and interpretations of overlying structure from well penetrations, basement fault configurations were mapped. Measurements of borehole breakouts and earthquake focal plane solutions were analyzed to understand the local stress regime and identify the orientations of critically stressed basement faults. These critically stressed basement faults will be most likely to slip; and being

Matthew W. Bauer, P.G. received his B.S. in geology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2004. Matthew is currently a student at Colorado School of Mines pursuing his M.S. in geology. While at Mines, he was a member of the 2016 AAPG Imperial Barrel Award team that won the Rocky Mountain Section and placed 3rd out of approximately 180 teams worldwide. Matthew worked with the consulting firm ARCADIS U.S., Inc. for ten years providing environmental services for upstream and midstream petroleum companies, including liability assessment for asset transfer, abatement, and litigation support. His work at the Colorado Geological Survey involved structural and geophysical mapping in the Denver-Julesburg Basin. Matthew is also the owner of Fracture Rocks LLC which utilizes custom tools for the gathering, processing, and interpretation geological data for LEADERS IN PETROLEUM GEOCHEMISTRY petroleum development.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

KEY Source Rock Oil Gas PVT

REGIONAL INTERPRETIVE STUDIES

Matthew’s thesis research involves trends in production and reservoir properties in the Pronghorn Member of the Bakken Formation. By automating the gathering and separation of well log, core, and production data, insights have been made about the structural and depositional environment during the first transgression of the Upper Kaskaskia Sequence in the Williston Basin. His other research interests includes utilizing photogrammetry to better understand cycles in mudrock deposition and workflow enhancement to let geologist spend more time interpreting geology.

GEOCHEMICAL DATABASES

ANALYTICAL SERVICES WWW.GEOMARKRESEARCH.COM IN DENVER CONTACT DR. JOHN CURTIS (303) 619-0372

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SC

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

porting lay

Tournament

9 21 17

Kiowa Creek Sporting Club • Prizes for individual high score and team 1st, 2nd and 3rd flights. • Includes one round of 100 sporting clays, lunch, and door prizes. • Does not include ammunition (please bring enough ammo for 100 clays or you may purchase ammo at Kiowa Creek). • You may also rent a gun for $20 onsite.

Registration and sponsorship open on August 1st. 5 Person Team (member): $425 5 Person Team (non-member): $500

email: staff@rmag.org

fax: 888.389.4090

phone: 303.573.8621

910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202 Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

Individual (member): $85 Individual (non-member): $100

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web: www.rmag.org

follow: @rmagdenver OUTCROP | July 2017


RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: David Wavrek — August 2, 2017

Organic Facies in Petroleum System Analysis A neglected component with profound implication to conventional and unconventional play economics By David A. Wavrek Petroleum Systems International, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

include the position of effective source rock to migration conduits, organic facies assignment for the generated oils, and understanding the molecular methods of thermal stress. Practical application of these seemingly academic themes include expulsion efficiency, top seal integrity, preferential expulsion direction, hydrocarbon retention, in-situ vs. migrated hydrocarbons, quantification of migration vectors (distance and direction), and differential thermal stress (separation of imprint imposed by kerogen kinetics vs. expulsion). Practical examples are used to illustrate the concepts from Greater Rocky Mountain petroleum systems.

Volumes have been written that describe source rock distribution within a sequence stratigraphic framework. These studies have identified key controls on organic richness and source quality as an interplay of primary productivity (terrestrial vs. aquatic), preservation, and sedimentation rate in lacustrine / swamp, marginal marine, and marine (clastic and carbonate) systems. While full blown sequence stratigraphic studies are relatively rare (data availability, cost, etc.), experienced personnel can extract key variables from existing geologic / geochemical studies to integrate into the petroleum system analysis. Some of the most important examples

David Wavrek completed a dual major (Chemistry and Geology) B.S. from Mount Union College (Ohio) in 1982, and a M.S. (Geology) from the University of Toledo (Ohio) in 1985. Following practical engineering experience running the earliest MWD tools in the offshore Gulf of Mexico for Baroid (Lafayette, LA), and then returning to geology with basin analysis/geochemistry with Robertson Research (Houston), he returned to the University of Tulsa for a Ph.D. (1992). During his Ph.D., Dave worked for Amoco Research (Tulsa), as well as consulting opportunities through his company Geochemical Manpower. Following faculty positions at the University of South Carolina and the University of Utah, he founded Petroleum Systems International, Inc. (PSI) in 1999 and that remains his primary focus. He was awarded the “Outstanding Scientist” in 2010 by the RMAG for his contributions to petroleum systems research. His collective petroleum system/geochemistry experience (conventional and unconventional) literally spans the globe by including nearly all productive areas of North and South America, Former Soviet Union, North/Central/West Africa, Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia. He is currently the AAPG-DPA councilor for the Rocky Mountains and a member of the 2018 AAPG-ACE organizing committee.

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RMAG DWLS Fall Symposium September 27, 2017 The American Mountaineering Center

Registration is open! Symposium Registration (Day 1 Only) RMAG Member - $150 Non-Member - $175 Student - $50 (Availability is limited at this rate and will be on a first come, first serve basis.)

Symposium & Core Workshop Registration (Day 1 and Day 2)* RMAG Member - $300 Non-Member - $300 Student - $100 (Availability is limited at this rate and will be

RMAG Core Workshop September 28, 2017 USGS

on a first come, first serve basis.)

Save the Date email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 303.573.8621 Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

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web: www.rmag.org

910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202 21

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH By Ronald L. Parker, Senior Geologist, Borehole Image Specialists, P. O. Box 221724, Denver CO 80222 ron@bhigeo.com

TETRAHEDRITE The Most Important Sulfosalt

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Tetrahedral tetrahedrite euhedra and dolomite from Cavnic Mine (Kapnikbanya), Maramures, Romania. Photo with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals OUTCROP | July 2017

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: TETRAHEDRITE

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These are easily confused as two-fold axes of rotation, which they superficially resemble. Instead, these are four-fold axes of rotoinversion, a much higher state of symmetry. Most tetrahedrite is not euhedral, however, occuring as a massive or coarse to finely granular surface coatings or irregular aggregates (Nesse, 2004; Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). Tetrahedrite crystals sometimes display contact and penetration twins along the {111} twin plane (Nesse, 2004). The cubic unit cell dimension of tetrahedrite is a=10.39Å. Tetrahedrite has a hardness of 3.5 to 4 with a specific gravity

Tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13) is a copper antimony sulfosalt that is found in contact metamorphic deposits and in low to medium temperature hydrothermal and epithermal veins. Tetrahedrite is cubic (isometric) and displays unique well-formed tetrahedral and tristetrahedral crystals and clusters that reflect its isometric symmetry. The name tetrahedrite was applied by Wilhelm Karl von Haidinger to reflect the remarkable occurrence of these tetrahedral crystals (Mindat, 2017). Crystal faces may display striations in isosceles triangular patterns (Minerals.net, 2017). Tetrahedrite is a sulfosalt, which are like sulfides, except that they include semi-metals (As, Bi or Sb) in the crystal structure. The semi-metals usually occupying positions that would be held by sulfur. Tetrahedrite forms a complete solid solution with Tennantite (Cu12As4S13) in which the antimony is replaced by arsenic (Klein, 2002). Pure endmembers of the tetrahedrite-tennantite series are rarely observed in nature (Wikipedia, 2017). Iron and zinc and lesser amounts of silver, lead and mercury substitute for Cu. Bismuth and tellurium may substitute for antimony (Klein, 2002). Thus, the tetrahedrite group displays a wide range of compositional variation and the members of this group often are so similar that they are hard to discriminate in hand sample (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). The silver-rich variety, freibergite, may contain enough Ag (up to

18%) to be mined as a silver ore (Klein, 2002). Tetrahedrite is isometric with a high symmetry belonging to the bar43m (tetrahedral) crystal class. Tetrahedrite is commonly encountered as 4 sided tetrahedra (Johnson, 2002). The tetrahedron is a highly symmetric isometric form that is the scourge of mineralogy students working to figure out symmetry elements. The three-fold axes of rotation (there are 4 of them) are easy to find – they pass through each of the “points” of the tetrahedron and out the middle of the opposite face. But the four-fold axes of rotation (there are 3) – where are they?

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Author Book Signing

August 2nd RMAG Luncheon @ Maggiano’s August 17th Tattered Cover Bookstore 7:00 pm, LoDo, 1628 16th Street

A worldwide adventure; from the Texas oil patch, around the world and back; 2 decades and 20 countries “A World of Culture Oil and Golf” on Amazon

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: TETRAHEDRITE

Gray metallic tetrahedrite crystals with no matrix from the Black Pine Mine, Granite County, Montana. Photo with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

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October 19, 2017 Registration is open! register online at

www.pftfdenver.com

R M AG

DA P L

Prospect Fair & Technofest

General Registration - $30 | Student Registration - $20

Westin Denver Downtown email: sta@rmag.org

|

phone: 303.573.8621

Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202

fax: 888.389.4090 25

|

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follow: @rmagdenver


MINERAL OF THE MONTH: TETRAHEDRITE Data Publishing, 2005). Tetrahedrite has commercial value as a source of copper, antimony and, sometimes, silver (Kesler, 1994). Tetrahedrite is also being applied as a thermoelectric material – one that can turn a temperature differential into electricity. Tetrahedrite conducts electricity well but is a poor conductor of heat. These properties, which are rare in a single material, make tetrahedrite an excellent substance for turning waste heat into electricity. Unlike the previously employed thermoelectric materials bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3), lead telluride (PbTe) and silicon germanium (SiGe), tetrahedrite is abundant, non-toxic and cheap. It is also more efficient than these other thermoelectrics (Jacobs, 2014). According to Alphabet Energy, their tetrahedrite technology is the most efficient thermoelectric available for exhaust-gas waste-heat generation of electricity. Tetraherite is finding application in the automotive industry, in oil and gas flaring and in flame-fired consumer products

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of ~4.97 (Mindat, 2017). Tetrahedrite has no cleavage. Tetrahedrite (and many other members of the tetrahedrite group) has a faded metallic luster and a flint gray, steel to iron gray color. The streak is an incongruent reddish brown, black or dark-red (Nesse, 2004). In thin-section, tetrahedrite is opaque unless it is thinner than the standard 30 um thickness (Nesse, 2004). In transmitted light, on very thin portions of the mineral, tetrahedrite appears cherry red. In reflected light, tetrahedrite is gray to olive brown (Mineral Data Publishing, 2005). Tetrahedrite typically occurs as a constituent of medium temperature hydrothermal veins and is notably found in association with gold (Wenk and Bulakh, 2004). Tetrahedrite also is found in low to medium temperature contact metamorphic deposits. Other mineral associations include quartz, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrite, bornite, acanthite, calcite, dolomite, siderite, barite, and fluorite (Mineral

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Save the Date

RMAG Rockbusters Bash Professional Awards Celebration

November 9, 2017 The Curtis Hotel, Denver, CO email: staff@rmag.org

|

fax: 888.389.4090

phone: 303.573.8621

Vol.910 66,16th No. Street 7 | www.rmag.org #1214, Denver, CO, 80202

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web: www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | July 2017 follow: @rmagdenver


MINERAL OF THE MONTH: TETRAHEDRITE

Metallic tetrahedrite with translucent white quartz and brown sphalerite from the North Star Mine, Sultan Mountain, Animas District, San Juan County, Colorado. With permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

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(Alphabet Energy, 2017). Important localities for tetrahedrite include Freiberg and the Harz Mountains in Germany, Cavnic Romania, Arlege, France, Cornwall, England, Huallanca and Quiruvilca, Peru and Zacatecas, Mexico. In the United States, tetrahedrite is found in Park City District, Summit County, Utah, In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and near Silverton, San Juan County, Colorado.

REFERENCES

Alphabet Energy, 2017, PowerCard-γ website, https://www.alphabetenergy.com/product/powercard/ Accessed June 5, 2017. Jacobs, Suzanne, 2014, Thermoelectric Material to Hit Market Later This Year, MIT Technology Review, July 15, 2004. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/528841/thermoelectric-material-to-hit-market-later-this-year/ Accessed 6/1/2017. Johnsen, Ole, 2002, Minerals of the World:

WEBLINKS

• http://www.minerals.net/mineral/tetrahedrite. aspx • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahedrite • https://www.mindat.org/min-3924.html • http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/tetrahedrite.pdf

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• http://webmineral.com/data/Tetrahedrite.shtml#. WUhBF-grKHs • http://www.galleries.com/tetrahedrite

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: TETRAHEDRITE

Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 439 pp. Kesler, Stephen A., 1994, Mineral Resources, Economics and the Environment, New York: MacMillan College Publishing Company, Inc., 391 pp. Klein, Cornelis, 2002, The 22nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Science: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 641 pp. Mindat (2017) Tetrahedrite, https://www.mindat.org/min-3924.html, accessed 6/2/2017. Mineral Data Publishing, 2005, Tetrahedrite, http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/ tetrahedrite.pdf accessed 6/3/2017.

KES T

C

OSCIENCE L GE , LL RE

Minerals.net, 2017, Tetrahedrite, http://www. minerals.net/mineral/tetrahedrite.aspx, Accessed 6/4/2017. Nesse, William D., 2004, Introduction to Optical Mineralogy, 3rd Edition: New York: Oxford University Press, 348 pp. Wenk, Hans-Rudolf and Bulakh, Andrei, 2004, Minerals – Their Constitution and Origin: New York: Cambridge University Press, 646 pp. Wikipedia (2017) Tetrahedrite, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahedrite, Accessed 6/3/2017

»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28

Thomas E. Hoak, Ph.D. Consulting Geoscientist Kestrel Geoscience, LLC

Structural Geology Seismic Interpretation Magnetic and Gravity Interpretation Basin Analysis and Restoration Regional Desk Studies Integrated Exploration Prospect Generation Presentation Graphics

Littleton, CO USA

Phone: (303) 933-5805 Cell: (720) 375-3015 kestrelco@comcast.net kestrelgeoscience.com


ON THE ROCKS FIELD TRIPS

Niobrara, Montezuma Valley, Juana Lopez

Kremmling Giant Ammonites,

NW Colorado

On the Rocks Trip

August 5, 2017

August 26, 2017

This one day field trip will examine outcrops of the Niobrara, Montezuma Valley/Sage Breaks Shale, Juana Lopez, and Frontier formations in northwest Colorado. Three outcrops will be visited: Kremmling, Walcott, and Newcastle. The Niobrara is fast becoming an important producer of oil and gas in northwest Colorado (Piceance and Sand Wash basins). Organic-rich source beds occur in the Juana Lopez, Montezuma Valley/Sage Breaks, and Niobrara. The trip will discuss regional correlations and stratigraphy, hydrocarbon potential, and current drilling activities. Trip participants should meet at the Wooly Mammoth parking area on the northwest side of the Morrison exit of I70 at 7:15 AM. We will plan to car pool and depart at 7:30 AM, returning by 6 PM. Participants should wear appropriate field gear and bring along sun protection, water and a lunch. • Leader: Steve Sonnenberg, Colorado School of Mines • Cost: $25, Limit 30 persons

The waters of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway teemed with life: plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and of course, ammonites and many other invertebrates. The August 26th On-the-Rocks field trip will visit a renowned mass nesting site of giant ammonites located north of Kremmling, Colorado, where the ammonite, Placenticeras costatum, forms huge concretions up to 3 ft in diameter within the upper Pierre Shale (appx 73 Ma, Baculites reesidei and B. cuneatus zones). First, we will visit the protected Kremmling Paleontological Resources Area (administered by BLM), and afterwards, go to a nearby locality where fossil collecting is allowed. In addition to the giant ammonites, other invertebrates found in the area include baculitid ammonites, rudistid and inoceramid clams, snails, and crabs. Light hiking at 7500 ft elevation; graded dirt roads, easily passable by passenger cars when dry. For carpooling, we will all meet at Wooly Mammoth Parking Lot, time TBD later. • Leader: Dennis Gertenbach, Western Interior Paleontological Society • Cost: $25, Limit 30 persons

SINCLAIR

PETROLEUM

Marty Hall

ENGINEERING,INC.

Program Development Manager Multi-Client Services

www.sinclairengineering.com

- Well and Field Simulation - Production Data Analysis - Shale, Tight Gas, CBM, Conventional, EOR - Reserve Determinations, Property Valuation - General Reservoir Engineeing

John Sinclair, Ph.D.,P.E. Licensed in CO, UT, MT, & WY

P: 720.851.6152 C: 303.885.8860

307-587-5502 (o) 307-431-6382 (c) Cody, Wyoming

TM

john@sinclairengineering.com

OUTCROP | July 2017

7765 Windwood Way P.O. Box 549 Parker, CO 80134 USA

geokinetics.com marty.hall@geokinetics.com

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WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!

Elizabeth Hargrove

April Bievenour

is a Graduate Student - Geologist at Cimarex in Houston, Texas.

is a Geologist at MorningStar Partners in Fort Worth, Texas.

is a Senior Geologist at Felix Energy in Denver, Colorado.

is a Geologist in Denver, Colorado.

Matthew Bircher

Raul Ochoa

Nicole Pierson

Alex Branda

is a Geologist in Thornton, Colorado.

is a Petroleum Geologist at Ambrose Consulting in Denver, Colorado.

Anita Powers

lives in Denver, Colorado.

Steve DeSalvo

is the Vice President at Columbine Logging in Denver, Colorado.

Kristy Whitaker

is a Sr. Geologist at Berry Petroleum in Houston, Texas.

IN THE PIPELINE

Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip. Leadville Mining District Tour. Trip Leader: Fred Mark. JULY 26, 2017 OCF Denver Chapter Luncheon. RVSP to 303-258-6401.

31

AUGUST 2, 2017

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker: Matthew Bauer. “Induced Seismicity in the Denver Basin Prompts Updated Basement Fault Configuration Model.” Maggiano’s Little Italy, Denver. RSVP to staff@rmag.org.

JULY 22, 2017

JULY 5, 2017

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker: David Wavrek. “Organic Facies in Petroleum System Analysis: A Neglected Component with Profound Implication to Conventional and Unconventional Play Economics.”

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Thank you

Golf

Tournament

For attending the 2017 RMAG Golf Tournament.

Results 1st Place, 1st Flight: 57 Mike Stolze Teresa Malesardi John Ott Adam Kuzinski 1st Place, 2nd Flight: 69 Gary Smith Ryan Typher Bruce Typher Lucas Niemi

Thank you volunteers and committee members! Committee

Volunteers

David Allard Liz Arthur Gerald Brummett Tracey Brummett Caroline Charles Terry Donze Terry Elzi Jason Harms Teresa Malesardi Aryn Rowe Matt Silverman

Liz Arthur Camriel Coleman Kelsey Kidd Kristine Mize-Spansky

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Thank you

Golf

Tournament

2017 RMAG Golf Sponsors! Meal Sponsors

Steven Kirkwood

Walter Johnson

Hole Sponsors Hole 1

Hole 6

Hole 13

Hole 3

Hole 10

Hole 15

Hole 4

Hole 9

Hole 16

Door Prize Sponsors

Bag Item Sponsor

Abrusci's Fire & Wine Italian Eatery Arrowhead Golf Club Applejack Wine & Spirits Colorado Athletic Club Iron Rail Tavern Jose O'Shea's Luke's Steak Place Maggiano’s Little Italy Marlowe’s Mellow Mushroom The Palm Denver Rock Bottom Brewery Tafolino's Mexican Restaurant Vector Seismic West Land & Legal Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

ALS Oil & Gas Dawson Geophysical Drilling Info Encana IHS Ken’s Reproductions QEP Schlumberger Sinclair Oil & Gas Weatherford Western Energy Alliance West Land & Legal

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LEAD STORY

GOD OR GEOLOGY? The Genesis of Ram’s Bridge

Secular and religious Indians are butting heads over the origin of an important shoal. By Ariel Sophia Bardi Originally published: Hakai Magazine

The ancient Indian epic poem, the “Ramayana”—a foundational text in Hinduism—is also a heart-stopping thriller. Its wedded heroes, Ram and Sita, exiled from their royal kingdom, are forced to live as hermits. Ravana, a 10-headed demon king, entices Sita with a magical golden deer and steals her away to Sri Lanka. It is up to Ram to slay her kidnapper. But first, he needs to find a way across nearly 50 kilometers of ocean between India and Sri Lanka. Standing on the shores of what is today Tamil Nadu, India’s south-eastern most state, Ram, an avatar of the god Vishnu, calls upon an army of warrior monkeys to help him bridge the two coastlines by building a footpath.

Anonymous painting, depicting the Rama Setu being built by the monkeys and bears. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, c. 1850, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wikimedia Commons.

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LEAD STORY

Adam’s Bridge, India and Sri Lanka. Planetsat Global Satellite Image

Five thousand years later, a team of Indian archaeologists is preparing to embark on an underwater expedition to plumb the shallow strait separating India from Sri Lanka. There, a submerged 50-kilometer chain of limestone shoals—known, fittingly, as Ram Setu, or Ram’s Bridge—has become a central fixture in the ongoing debates between secular and religious India. The primary question: is Ram’s Bridge natural or man-made? “It’s a very sensitive matter, because the area is associated with millions of Hindus,” says Dayanath OUTCROP | July 2017

Tripathi, former chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), which is sponsoring the expedition. In 2005, the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project proposed cutting a path through Ram’s Bridge to open a shipping lane deep enough for cargo ships to pass through. (The idea to dredge the area was first floated by the British in the 1800s.) The plan did not get much support, particularly among Hindu groups. Protestors petitioned the national government to reject the project, and instead

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declare Ram’s Bridge—believed to be a site of deep religious significance older than the Great Wall of China—a national monument. Subramanian Swamy, a parliament member, urged the government to protect the “historic and sacred place.” But the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), a branch of the Indian Ministry of Culture—and the main governmental body overseeing India’s heritage sites—argued in an affidavit that Ram’s Bridge is little more than a ridge of sandbanks produced by sedimentation. Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

“There’s no evidence from an archaeological point of view [that it’s man-made]. There’s only the religious aspect,” says Tripathi. In 2013, the canal project was scrapped for an entirely different reason: the projected devastation of the local ecosystem, and a forecast of an increased tsunami risk. With dredging off the table, the dispute over Ram’s Bridge was placed on hold—until now. Alok Tripathi, an underwater archaeologist at Assam University in northeast India, will lead the upcoming expedition, set to begin this summer. Alok

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LEAD STORY Tripathi (no relation to ICHR’s Dayanath Tripathi) worked with ASI until 2009, when he left citing personal reasons. Previously, Alok Tripathi headed the 2007 excavation of Dwaraka, an ancient Hindu holy site that lies submerged off the coast of Gujarat. He says the ASI’s* declaration that Ram’s Bridge was formed by geological processes was made because of inconclusive data. “Without fieldwork, nothing can be said,” he says. In a press conference in March 2017, the ICHR chairman, Y. Sudershan Rao, compared Ram’s Bridge to Helen of Troy, a Homeric myth “proven to be true” by excavations. (While the ancient city of Troy has been uncovered, no evidence of the Trojan queen has ever been found.) Alok Tripathi devised a plan to comb the shoals for signs of an ancient civilization, in a project that will take anywhere from months to years. “Definitely this area has got historical importance,” he says. “We expect that there should be archaeological remains.” But in an increasingly intolerant, nationalistic, and zealous India—whose image abroad has been marred by recent attacks on religious minorities and lynchings of suspected beef-eaters—the maritime expedition is being launched at a particularly charged time. India is a secular republic of some 1.3 billion people, with a diversity of ethnicities, languages, and religions. Yet Hindu nationalism is rising in India’s mainstream. In March, the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide election in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh. The win put a Hindu monk with a history of controversial claims in the state’s highest office. Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh’s newest chief minister, has publicly endorsed the idea of India as a Hindu rashtra—a Hindu nation. Adityanath’s contentious election has helped resurrect another national debate, one also centered on Ram. In the city of Ayodhya, considered to be Ram’s birthplace, a Hindu temple was converted in the 16th century into a Mughal-era Islamic mosque, known as the Babri Masjid. In 1992, mobs tore down the mosque, triggering a spate of deadly riots that killed upward of 2,000 people. Accused of inciting the crowd was a senior BJP

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Aerial view of w:Adam's Bridge, taken while flying over Sri Lanka looking west. Wikimedia Cpmmons.

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leader, Lal Krishna Advani, who is also a key supporter in the movement to have Ram’s Bridge declared a protected monument. Twenty-five years later, Advani is still awaiting trial on criminal conspiracy charges. The BJP remains committed to returning Ayodhya to its Hindu roots. Subramanian Swamy, the BJP politician who filed the petition to protect Ram’s Bridge, promised in May that the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be rebuilt within the next year. In India, archaeological investigations of religious sites such as Ram’s Bridge risk alienating some faction of the population—no matter the findings by Alok Tripathi’s team. Amid the current tensions, the maritime excavation is venturing into dark waters. Alok Tripathi, however, disagrees. “It’s purely an academic exercise,” he says. “If it’s done scientifically, there shouldn’t be any controversy.”

Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org


AAPG 2017 Honors & Awards RMAG Members

RMAG Membership had an outstanding showing at the AAPG ACE 2017 Annual Convention & Exhibition this past April. Congratulations to all of the award winners and those recognized for their accomplishments.

Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award Keith W. Shanley Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award Robert M. Cluff John W. Shelton Search and Discovery Award Kristy T. Milliken

Honorary Member Award Leslie B. Magoon

Norman H. Foster Outstanding Explorer Award Terry J. Mather

Jules Braunstein Memorial Award Jenna DiMarzio

Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award Julie A. LeFever

Jules Braunstein Memorial Award Svetoslav V. Georgiev Gabriel Dengo Memorial Award Thomas Murphy

Young Professionals Exemplary Service Award Catherine E. Campbell

Teacher of the Year Award Julie Mitchell

Public Service Award Friends of Dinosaur Ridge Pioneer Award John W. Oty

AAPG House of Delegates Honorary Member of the House, Robert “Randy� Ray

Geosciences in the Media Award Michael Collier

Distinguished Member of the House Jeanne Elizabeth Harris

VOLUNTER! Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

As a diverse community of individuals working towards a worthy cause, we believe that your unique talents can bring us all forward. Volunteers are always needed and welcome! If you would like to volunteer for any of our committees or events, please contact the RMAG office at (303) 573-8621 or staff@rmag.org

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CALENDAR | JULY 2017 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1 2

3

4

5

INDEPENDENCE DAY RMAG office closed

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker: Matthew Bauer.

6

7

8

15

9

10

11

12

13

14

16

17

18

19

20

21

22 RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip. Leadville Mining District Tour.

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

OCF Denver Chapter Luncheon.

30

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ADVERTISER INDEX

• A World Full of Culture, Oil, & Gas ��������� 23

• MJ Systems �������������������������������������������� 26

• Cardinal Accounting Services LLC ���������� 16

• Neil H. Whitehead, III ����������������������������� 16

• Crown Geochemistry ��������������������������������� 6

• PTTC ���������������������������������������������������������� 4

• Denver Earth Resources Library �������������� 11

• QEP Resources ���������������������������������������� 13

• Discovery Group (The), Inc. ��������������������� 11

• Sinclair Petroleum Engineering, Inc. ������� 30

• Donovan Brothers Inc. ������������������������������� 6

• SM Energy ����������������������������������������������� 29

• Geokinetics ���������������������������������������������� 30

• Spancers & Associates ����������������������������� 6

• Geomark �������������������������������������������������� 18

• Stoner Engineering (SES) ������������������������ 40

• Geostar Solutions ������������������������������������ 16

• Sunburst Consulting ���������������������������������� 9

• Kestrel Geoscience, LLC �������������������������� 29

• Tracker Resources ������������������������������������� 9

• Lario Oil & Gas Company ������������������������ 13

• W.W. Little Geological Consulting, LLC ������������������������������������ 6, 16

• Louis J. Mazzullo, LLC ����������������������������� 29

OUTCROP ADVERTISING RATES 1 Time

2 Times

6 Times

12 Times

Full page (7-1/2” x 9-1/4”)

$330

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2/3 page (4-7/8” x 9-1/4”)

$220

$400

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1/2 page (7-1/2” x 4-5/8”)

$175

$330

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$1,740

1/3 page horizontal (4-7/8” x 4-7/8”)

$165

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$690

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1/3 page vertical (2-3/8” x 9-1/4”)

$165

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1/6 page (2-3/8” x 4-7/8”)

$75

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Professional Card (2-5/8” x 1-1/2”)

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Vol. 66, No. 7 | www.rmag.org

41

OUTCROP | July 2017


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