March 2012 Outcrop by The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 61 • No. 3 • March 2012

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Vol. 61, No. 3

March 2012

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS Features

6 Lead Story: REE-Thinking the Future – 2011 CSM SEG Student Chapter Mini-Symposium on Rare Earth Element Geology 9 New Shale Gas Paper – USGS

17 Website Honors Darwin's Birthday 18 Source Rocks 101 — Class January 23, 2012 20 Summer Networking Opportunities (for all ages!)

association news

COVER PHOTO Sandstone Pipes in the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone northwest of Moab Utah: A clue to the timing of the formation of Upheaval Dome? A unique and remarkable outcrop of sandstone pipes occurs in the Dewey Bridge Member of the Entrada Sandstone in the desert 22 miles west-northwest of Moab, Utah. The outcrop is in the SW NW SE of section 27, T24S, R18E, Grand County, Utah in an area called The Needles on topographic maps (not to be confused with The Needles Area of Canyonlands National Park). Two cylindrical pipes approximately six feet in diameter and twenty four feet tall extend downward from a sandstone lens in the red shaly siltstones of the Mid-Jurassic Dewey Bridge Member of the Entrada Sandstone. The sandstone lens is approximately thirteen feet thick at its thickest point directly above the pipes, and tapers to the left and right. The cliff forming Slick Rock Member lies conformably above. The favored interpretation is that these are sandstone ejection “volcanoes” sourced in the closely underlying, and then unconsolidated Navajo Sandstone and extruded into and formed a sandstone lens in foreset beds in a westward prograding Mid-Jurassic delta. Perhaps the extrusion was triggered by a nearby meteor impact or seismic activity. Although similar features have been described elsewhere, I am not aware of any that are so well exposed, especially the pipes. Photo by Frank Royce

11 A Special Benefit of RMAG Membership: On-the-Rocks Field Trips 12 2012 Award of Excellence for Teaching of Earth Science 14 Summit Sponsorship Sign Up Today 15 Summit Sponsors 21 The Outcrop Needs YOU! 28 Call for Papers: The Mountain Geologist

Departments 4 RMAG January Board of Directors Meeting 10 President's Column 16 Luncheon Programs 19 New Members 19 In the Pipeline 24 Advertisers Index 24 Calendar of Events

Volume 61 • No. 3 • March 2012 OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

RMAG January Board of Directors Meeting

By Kimberley Alanis, Secretary (Kimberley.Alanis@qepres.com) The Board of Directors meeting was held on January 11, 2012 in the RMAG office board room. This year has started out great! The “Source Rocks 101” short course instructed by Nick Harris was a hit….completely sold out. As I sat front and almost center, I became a little smarter when it comes to source rocks. I hope the rest of you enjoyed the course as much as I did. Dr. Harris did a great job putting together his presentation. Thank you to all attendees. To continue with a positive meeting, our treasurer gave a comparison of the 2011 and 2012 budgets. We are expecting to see an increase in our bottom line income, with an increase in sponsorships, and a decrease in our expense, largely due to the Outcrop going digital. We are very encouraged by the increase in sponsorships we are seeing through the “Summit” program. The sponsorship committee has done a great job with this new approach. As of the BOD meeting, the Publication and Continuing Education Committees had not yet met for this year. I will fill you in next month. RMAG is growing. Membership is currently at 2098 members. The new website has made it easier for members to renew their membership. In order to keep the luncheon cost to our members down, the decision has been made to move the luncheon lectures from the Marriott City Center to the Sheraton Hotel starting in June.

The meeting included the approval of a couple motions, the approval of the 2012 budget and approval of a part-time position in the RMAG office. Overall, the meeting was short and sweet. We are looking forward to the 3-D Seismic Symposium, “Reflection on Resources,” scheduled for March 2, 2012. At last count, there were 200 people registered for this event. The following week is one of my favorite social events, the 2012 Geoland Ski Day on March 9th at Breckenridge. Please don’t for get to register for the 3-D Seismic Symposium and the RMAG Ski Day! Hope to see you at the upcoming events. RMAG is once more off to a great start. Again, we have to thank the 2011 BOD for such a smooth transition into this year. The February Board of Director’s meeting was held on Tuesday, February 14th, at the University Building conference room on the 11th floor.

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The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street • Suite 1125 • 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.

2012 Officers and Board of Directors Co-Editors Kristine Peterson k.peterson@laramidegeo.com Holly Sell hsell@nobleenergyinc.com Catherine Campbell ccampbell@bayless-cos.com

President – Pete Varney pete.varney@alumni.mines.edu

Treasurer – Larry Rasmussen larryr@whiting.com

President-Elect – Debra Higley-Feldman higley@usgs.gov

Treasurer Elect – Mike Kozimko mkozimko@yatespetroleum.com

Counselor (1 Year) – Mark D. Sonnenfeld sonnenfeld@whiting.com 1/2 Page 1/3 Page 1/6 Page Counselor (2 Year) – John Ladd 2nd Vice-President – Greg Anderson Vertical Vertical john.ladd@fmr.com ganderson@samson.com

1st Vice-President – Paul Lillis Page Full plillis@usgs.gov 2/3 Page

Secretary – Kimberly Alanis Kimberley.alanis@qepres.com

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The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street, Suite 1125 • Denver, CO 80202

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LEAD STORY

REE-Thinking the Future – 2011 CSM SEG Student Chapter Mini-Symposium on Rare Earth Element Geology By Wesley S. Hall President, CMS SEG Student Chapter

The seventeen elements that make up the lanthanides (atomic numbers 57-71), plus yttrium and scandium are considered rare earth elements (REEs), which are further divided into LREEs (La through Eu) and HREEs (Gd through Lu). These ‘rare’ elements and materials form the backbone of green energy and cutting edge communication and electronic technologies. Rare earth elements are used in a number of products, most notably in high strength magnets, hybrid cars, wind turbines, lanthanum batteries, photovoltaic cells, fluorescent light bulbs, disk drives, and a number of other common technologies rely on REEs, the demand for which continues to grow. The term ‘rare earth elements’ is misleading as several of the REEs occur in greater abundance within the Earth’s crust than Cu, Au, and Ag. China currently leads the world in REE production, but the demand for these elements has encouraged production in several countries (USA and Australia) that will soon enter the global REE market. Given the recent decrease in rare earth element exports from China and the growing demand for these energy critical elements, REE supplies are at the forefront of energy concerns for an energy dependent society. Dr. Murray Hitzman, Charles F. Fogarty Professor of Economic Geology at Colorado School of Mines (CSM), whose research interests include critical materials,

inspired the SEG student chapter to hold an REE symposium. The idea was sparked by the visit to CU of his colleague Dr. Yasushi Watanabe, REE specialist from the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology (AIST) and senior geologist with the Geological Survey of Japan. The interest in REE geology was such that within hours of speaking with Dr. Watanabe, Dr. Hitzman was able to line up a series of talks including Philip Verplanck and Brad Van Gosen (USGS Research Scientists) and Richard Grauch (USGS Emeritus Scientist). The SEG student chapter also invited Mandi Reinshagen and Michael Berger, who are both students working on REE projects to present at the symposium. Dr. Roderick (Rod) Eggert, CSM Professor of Mineral Economics, was slated to talk to the CSM SEG Student Chapter at the end of the semester, but due to his current involvement with economic policy regarding REEs, the student chapter invited Dr. Eggert to speak at the symposium. Upon hearing about the symposium, Larry James, consulting geologist, contacted the student chapter about giving a talk on the Bayan Obo iron ore - REE deposit in China. In the good spirit of disseminating scientific research, the CSM SEG Student Chapter decided to offer the mini-symposium free of charge to guests.

Given the recent decrease in rare earth element exports from China and the growing demand for these energy critical elements, REE supplies are at the forefront of energy concerns for an energy dependent society.

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March 2012

Lead Story

The CSM SEG Student Chapter advertised the event through the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), the Denver Region Exploration Geologists’ Society (DREGS), and several universities in the Rocky Mountain region. The student chapter had an amazing response with over 70 reservations to attend within the first two weeks of the initial announcement. The symposium also caught the eye of Olympus InnovX, a company who produces handheld and desktop x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) devices used in mineral exploration and mining applications. Olympus InnovX agreed to sponsor the mini-symposium and sent two representatives to the event to showcase their products. The mini-symposium was a huge success and by the day of the event we had 125 reservations, the maximum occupancy for the lecture hall. Many guests made donations to help support the student chapter. The speakers covered a wide range of topics from deposit models and specific deposit case studies to REE economic policy as outlined below: Dr. John Poate VP of Research and Technology Transfer at CSM Dr. Poate opened the symposium with commentary regarding CSM’s increasingly important role in not only finding REE deposits, but also applying research and technology currently being conducted on the Mines campus. Dr. Yasushi Watanabe Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology; Sr. Geologist, Geological Survey of Japan

Continued on page 8 »

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Lead Story

Dr. Brad Van Gosen U S G S Re s e a r ch S c i e n t i st , Minerals Division Dr. Van Gosen presented on the principal rare earth deposits of the United States. He reviewed the types of REE deposits found in the US and highlighted several districts including Mountain Pass, CA; Bear Lodge, WY; and Bokan Mountain, AK. Dr. Philip Verplanck U S G S Re s e a r ch S c i e n t i st , Minerals Division Dr. Verplanck talked on the petrology and geochemistry of carbonatite and alkaline-intrusion related REE deposits. Mandi Reinshagen M . S c . C a n d i d a te a t C S M , Consultant to Rare Element Resources Ms. Reinshagen gave a presentation on her research on the Bear Lodge, WY REE deposit, which she is working on for her Master’s thesis. This was a first glimpse into a project that will likely become a major US REE supplier. Michael Berger B.S. in Geological Engineering at UC, Boulder; Intern, Molycorp Inc. Mr. Berger spoke about the geology of the recently re-opened

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Mountain Pass, CA REE mine; the mine was the major global supplier of LREEs until 1995, closing in 2002. Michael is conducting an Honors Thesis research project on the REE-bearing mineral monazite at Mountain Pass.

Larry James Consulting Geologist Larry shared his experience and observations on the geology of the Bayan Obo deposit in Inner Mongolia, China. Bayan Obo is primarily an iron mine, but it produces significant quantities of LREEs. The geology of the deposit is still poorly understood.

The mini-symposium was a huge success and by the day of the event we had 125 reservations, the maximum occupancy for the lecture hall. Many guests made donations to help support the student chapter.

Dr. Rod Eggert Professor, Mineral & Energy Economics Program, CSM Dr. Eggert closed the minisymposium with a talk on REE economics. He highlighted the importance of several aspects of the supply chain behind critical materials and their effects on financial markets and foreign policy decisions being made today and in the future. The REE mini-symposium was a tremendous success for the CSM SEG Student Chapter and was an informative and stimulating session for all those in attendance. The CSM SEG Student Chapter would like to thank the presenters who graciously donated their time to speak at this event. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Olympus InnovX for sponsoring the symposium and to the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) and the Denver Region Exploration Geologists’ Society (DREGS) for helping to advertise this event to the public. If you would like copies of available abstracts and presentations, please visit the CSM SEG Student Chapter website at http://geology.mines.edu/ econgeol/segevents.html.

Dr. Richard Grauch USGS Emeritus Research Scientist; REE consultant Dr. Grauch presented a compelling talk on the nature of ion-adsorption type (IAT) lanthanide-yttrium clay deposits of southern China. Southern China has the only known economic occurrence of IAT-REE clays and currently supplies the bulk of world’s HREEs, but the extraction methods also pose a significant environmental concern. 8

Watanabe-san focused his speech on applications of REEs in high strength magnets and everyday electronics devices. He introduced the audience to the wide variety of REE deposit types and ended speaking on current economic policy issues in regards to China and the rest of the world.

Continued from page 7

March 2012

Check it Out!

New Shale Gas Paper – USGS fracture and structural orientations of the province. However, including this trend in the resource prediction algorithms did not lead to improved results. Further analysis indicated the existence of clustering among cell EUR values that likely dampens the contribution of the regional trend. The reason for the clustering, a somewhat unexpected result, is not completely understood, although the geological literature provides some possible explanations. With appropriate data, a better understanding of this clustering phenomenon may lead to important information about the factors and their interactions that control Antrim Shale gas production, which may, in turn, help establish a more general protocol for better estimating resources in this and other shale gas plays.

Empirical Methods for Detecting Regional Trends and Other Spatial Expressions in Antrim Shale Gas Productivity, with Implications for Improving Resource Projections Using Local Nonparametric Estimation Techniques USGS paper published in Natural Resources Research. The primary objectives of this research were to (1) investigate empirical methods for establishing regional trends in unconventional gas resources as exhibited by historical production data and (2) determine whether or not incorporating additional knowledge of a regional trend in a suite of previously established local nonparametric resource prediction algorithms influences assessment results. Three different trend detection methods were applied to publicly available production data (well EUR aggregated to 80-acre cells) from the Devonian Antrim Shale gas play in the Michigan Basin. This effort led to the identification of a southeast– northwest trend in cell EUR values across the play that, in a very general sense, conforms to the primary

Source: USGS Winter 2012 Energy Newsletter http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a82ac33f1b88 3a27402e55dbb&id=0e8f1aa58f&e=e2ad79e6bc

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President’s Column By Pete Varney

Energy Units and Equivalents This month, I’d like to talk about EROI – the energy return on investment. Basically, this asks the question how much does it cost you in energy product to produce more energy product. For example, how many barrels of oil must you use to produce more barrels of oil? This is, of course, different from dollar return on investment – the most common approach to calculating returns. The first considers, among other things, the laws of thermodynamics, the latter does not – at least not directly. Typically, we express EROI as a ratio. So, for example, in the early days of the petroleum industry, various informal sources indicate that it took about one barrel of oil to find, develop, process and distribute 100 barrels of oil. If this is actually true, the EROI ratio was 100 to 1 – much different from today. At any rate, 100 to 1 represents a positive EROI. A perfect example of negative EROI is the production of ethanol for use as an energy source. Just to refresh, ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is a simple molecule that is only one step removed from ethane (C2H6), itself only one step removed from methane (CH4). How do we get ethanol? Take two carbon atoms, mix with six hydrogen atoms to make

ethane then lop off a hydrogen and add a hydroxide (OH). The result is C2H5OH. This is an insanely useful molecule and one of the earliest purposely manufactured by man. It is the active ingredient in fine wine, craft beers and great scotch! It also has an intoxicating list of other medicinal uses. Yeast makes ethanol by metabolizing sugars into ethyl alcohol and when the concentration is high enough, the yeast dies. Hmmmm . . . is there a message here? That’s a question for another time. The federal government dropped its subsidy on the production of ethanol at the beginning of 2012. Interesting, isn’t it, that in past times the “revenooers” broke up stills that were producing tax-free hootch, but then the feds turned around and subsidized the manufacturers of ethanol! This was an indirect subsidy to corn growers because in this country, corn is the primary starting ingredient for ethanol – white lightening – corn whisky. It was, they said, the way to produce motor fuel that would reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Remember the laws of thermodynamics? In a closed system, you can’t use energy to make energy without losing something. Now, at the risk of preaching to the

The federal government dropped its subsidy on the production of ethanol at the beginning of 2012. Interesting, isn’t it, that in past times the “revenooers” broke up stills that were producing tax-free hootch, but then the feds turned around and subsidized the manufacturers of ethanol!

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March 2012

President's Column

fertilize, water, harvest, transport, process and distribute ethanol, if the net energy yielded is less than what when in at the beginning, we may increase, not decrease, our dependence on conventional, some of it, foreign oil. This example is useful for pointing out that petroleum products play a vital role in the production of other kinds of energy, and they are, in a manner of speaking, at the base of the energy pyramid.

As we consider other energy sources in coming months, we’ll find that energy return on investment does, indeed, have an economic side as well, and the economic side may ultimately determine the usefulness of the source. So, is consideration of EROI just an academic exercise? Hardly. What you have to pay for the energy you use to produce energy will ultimately determine the profitability of your endeavor.

choir, that most respected weighty tome, the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, points out that the energy yielded by fuel alcohol is about two thirds of that of an equal quantity of gasoline – go ahead, look it up: fuel alcohol yields 79,481 BTU per gallon and gasoline yields 127,613 BTU per gallon. There’s a problem here. If it takes more energy to produce energy than the produced product yields, EROI is negative. Because it takes petroleum products to plant,

A Special Benefit of RMAG Membership: On-the-Rocks Field Trips

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caravan can fit into the available parking at highway-side stops, or meet the capacity of the man-cars at an underground mine. The OTR Committee is busy planning an exciting season starting next month, so watch for announcements in the Outcrop and the RMAG website. Some of the possible topics for this year include Rock Creek Anticline near Pueblo, Glacial Outburst Floods on the Upper Arkansas River, Diamonds,

Garnets & Stromatolites of Southern Wyoming, Suncor Refinery, and Geology of the Gunnison Country. If you would like to serve on the OTR Committee, have a suggestion for a field trip, or would like the latest update on the schedule, feel free to contact Sandra Mark smark@ wispertel.net..

On-the-Rocks field trips get us out of the office and outdoors for a day. Take a Saturday and head out with Brunton, camera, rock hammer and a sack lunch to see some small section of our magnificent state. There is NO CHARGE to participate (our trip leaders generously volunteer their time), but members of a carpool may chip in money for gasoline. Trips are usually limited to a certain number of participants so the carpool

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2012 Award of Excellence for Teaching of Earth Science Sponsored by the

Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists THE WINNER RECEIVES A Plaque and a $1000 Cash Award If you teach earth science in K-12 and think you qualify, contact the RMAG office at 303-573-8621 for an application. Deadline is May 4. Previous winners have used this award as a springboard to other national awards. The RMAG is a professional organization representing over 2000 earth scientists working in the Denver and Rocky Mountain area. In its capacity as the leading geologic organization in the Rocky Mountain area, each year the RMAG Foundation provides funding for an annual award presented to a teacher in recognition of his or her commendable efforts in introducing young minds to the earth sciences. Check out the RMAG website at www.rmag.org.

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Luncheon Programs – March 7th and April 4th A “Sweet” Solution for Addressing the Niobrara’s Geological and Technical Challenges By Jack M. Wiener and Kumar Ramurthy, Halliburton Energy Services, March 7, 2012 Highgrading lease positions, pinpointing drilling locations and maximizing horizontal well performance within the Cretaceous Niobrara shale oil resource of the DJ Basin requires a dedicated focus on defining the geological “Sweet Spots” within the play and clearly understanding the technical challenges involved for economic success. Structure, maturity, rock properties and reservoir quality vary dramatically across the area and well performance to date has been inconsistent. While there have certainly been excellent horizontal producers, there have also been a fair share of disappointments attesting to the difficulty and complexity involved in unraveling the Niobrara. Geologic “Sweet Spot” identification is a complicated, multifaceted problem revolving around structural analysis, Niobrara source rock geochemistry, reservoir Characterization, fracture modeling, regional and local stresses, abnormal pressure variations and geomechanical rock properties. The engineering technical challenges center on wellbore orientations, geosteering practices, horizontal placement within the Niobrara, optimizing completion designs, stimulation monitoring and production management. Given the large number of considerations which need to be addressed, the right knowledge and key technology applications will be critical for economic success within the Niobrara. New workflows for specifically addressing these Niobrara “Sweet Spot” challenges have been developed and are being implemented here in the Rockies. This presentation focuses on these geologic and technical challenges and offers workflow solutions for high-grading lease positions and maximizing production.

“The Ancestral Rocky Mountains: A Globally Significant Example of Intraplate Deformation” By G. Randy Keller, College of Earth and Energy and Oklahoma Geological Survey University of Oklahoma, April 4, 2012 The core structures of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains have long been recognized as major tectonic features. However, recent studies provide new evidence of how significant these features are, how they have been affected by older features, and how they have controlled younger features. In addition, if one looks at the full distribution of late Paleozoic structures in the central portion of the United States, the

LUNchEoN RESERVatio ESERV ESERVatio NS & iNfoRMatioN Luncheons will be held at the Marriott City Center at California and 17th St. Please check the event listing in the lobby for the room. People gather at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at 12:00 noon, and the speaker presentation begins at about 12:20 p.m. The price of the luncheon is $30.00. Checks should be made payable to RMAG. No reservation is required for the talk only and the cost is $5.00. Please make your reservation prior to 10:30 a.m. on the Monday before the luncheon. Please Note: If you make a reservation and do not attend the luncheon, you will be billed for the luncheon. Cancellations are not guaranteed after 10:30 a.m. the Monday before the talk. You may send someone in your stead.

Your attendance is welcomed and encouraged. Bring a guest or new member! Vol. 61, No. 3

Call 303-573-8621 March 2012

Luncheon Programs true dimension of this deformation is impressive. This presentation will provide an overview of integrated geophysical and geological studies of Ancestral Rocky Mountain features from the Mississippi River westward to Utah and discuss some global comparisons.

Website Honors Darwin’s Birthday to the big biographies, they tell you every last detail about his life, but do you find a decent discussion of his theories? No, you won’t because these people are historians, they are not qualified to discuss Darwin’s theories in detail. So this rather small book of mine, One Long Argument, was the first really detailed treatment of Darwin’s theory in the last, I don’t know what, 50 years or more. And it is very important to distinguish these theories.” Web of Stories also has clips of John Maynard Smith, the late British biologist, and Francis Crick, the late British scientist, discussing Darwin. All the stories are available with a fully searchable transcript, and range in length from two minutes to more than eight.

To celebrate the birthday of the most famous biologist in history, Charles Darwin, on 12 February, visit the Web of Stories video recordings of the award-winning evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr who shares his thoughts on Darwin’s remarkable, world-changing theories. It’s widely thought that no other individual has influenced our knowledge of life on Earth as much as English naturalist Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882). While his theory of evolution by natural selection has been modified over time, it is still accepted by the scientific community as the best, evidence-based explanation for how we came to exist. An acknowledged expert in the work of Darwin was Ernst Mayr (1904 - 2005), the late German-American biologist who has been credited with inventing the modern philosophy of biology, particularly in the field of evolutionary biology. Over the course of his lifetime, Mayr received every award possible for a scientist in his field. To preserve memories of his remarkable career, he agreed to record and share compelling tales of his life and work, none of which would be complete without referencing the work of Darwin. Among other subjects, viewers can watch Mayr reflecting on his desire to publish a facsimile of On the Origin of the Species, claiming that Darwin was overlooked as a philosopher: “I felt that the Origin of Species, particularly the first edition was neglected and the reprints didn’t keep the same paging so you couldn’t refer to Darwin’s original statements. So I persuaded Harvard University Press in 1964 to publish a facsimile edition of the first edition.” Mayr also talks of his decision to write a book that he felt was vital to tell the complete story on Darwin: “If you go

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contact: For more information on Web of Stories or any other video interview with Web of Stories please contact the Press Desk on +44(0)20 7323 0323 or email press@ webofstories.com.

Neil H. Whitehead, III Consulting Geologist PhD

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understand their field, and a great re-fresher course for those more experienced.

Source Rocks 101 – Class January 23, 2012 By Cheryl Whitney

One hundred and fifty geologists, geophysicist, and petroleum engineers gathered for Nick Harris’ Source Rocks 101. The course came with a spiral notebook full of useful references, and websites, along with the course slides. The course covered what makes a source rock--namely organic matter content, organic matter type and thermal maturity--and how to measure these parameters. Dr. Harris went into detail about the different methods for obtaining this data, as well as the inherent problems associated with each method. Source Rocks 101 was a great course for entry level personnel to understand their field, and a great refresher course for those more experienced.

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Vol. 61, No. 3

March 2012

New Members

Welcome to New active Members... Lisa fisher Lisa is the Vice President at Escalante Mines in Golden, CO.

christopher Mitchell Christopher is the District Geologist at Samson located in Denver, CO.

Lawrence Gardner Lawrence is a consultant located in Denver, CO.

harry Dehaan Harry currently resides in Twin Falls, ID.

Scott Brinton Scott currently resides in Richland, WA.

celia Vieau Celia is currently employed at DrillingInfo, Inc. located in Denver, CO.

Richard Blohm Richard is a Senior Geologist at Zapata located in Golden, CO

David forel David currently resides in Englewood, CO.

Jonni Westerhaus Jonni is the Director of Marketing at SES located in Houston, TX.

Jared Rountree Jared is a Geologist at Newfield Exploration located in Denver, CO.

In the Pipeline March 2, 2012 18th Annual RMAG/DGS 3D Seismic Symposium. Denver Marriott City Center.

March 20, 2012 DWLS Luncheon. For reservations, call Jennifer Bartell at 303-770-4235.

March 7, 2012 RMAG Luncheon. “A Sweet Solution for Addressing the Niobrara’s Geological and Technical Challenges,” Jack Wiener and Kumar Ramurthy, Halliburton Energy Services.

March 27, 2012 RMS-SEPM Luncheon. Speaker Stephanie Gaswirth of the USGS. “Reservoir Characterization of the Hunton Group in the West Edmond Field, OK.” For reservations call 303-572-3550 or go to Luncheons@rmssepm.org.

March 8-9, 2012 PTTC Short Course. “Pervasive Tight Gas Reservoirs.” Course will be held at CSM and the USGS Core Facility. Visit www.pttc.org.

March 28, 2012 Oilfield Christian Fellowship Luncheon. To RSVP call Barb Burrell at 303-675-2602 or e-mail OCFDenverChapter@pxd.com.

March 9, 2012 GeoLand Ski Day. Event will be held at the Breckenridge Mountain Resort.

april 4, 2012 RMAG Luncheon. “The Ancestral Rocky Mountains: A Globally Significant Example of Intraplate Deformation.” G. Randy Keller, College of Earth and Energy and Oklahoma Geological Survey University of Oklahoma. -

March 13, 2012 Desk and Derrick Luncheon. For reservations, please contact RSVP@deskandderrick.org.

If you have any events that you would like to post in this column, please submit via email to Holly Sell at hsell@nobleenergyinc.com or to the RMAG office at rmagdenver@aol.com for consideration.

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Summer Networking Opportunities (for all ages!) The Denver area young professional geologists will be starting monthly informal lunch and learns this April. The reason we opted to keep young professional out of the title is to be sure that folks of all ages and experience levels would read this information, hope it worked, keep reading! The goal for these lunch and learns is to allow a group discussion of a currently hot topic in the geoscience community. We hope to invite an expert or panel of experienced professionals with knowledge about the topic to lead a discussion with area young professionals. Prior to meeting, invitees will be given a list of papers created by the panel to be sure everyone has some background on the subject and time to prepare questions. We are open to suggestions for topics and looking for volunteers to lead the discussions. Let us know if you are interested!

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Katerina Yared: katerina.yared@bakerhughes.com Cat Campbell: ccampbell@bayless-cos.com Vol. 61, No. 3

March 2012

The Outcrop Needs YOU! We need articles for the Outcrop. Have you attended a great lecture or read an interesting new geology or energy book? Have you attended a class or gone on a field trip that would interest the membership? Have you learned a new technique or found some great public domain software? Share your research so we can grow together. We are looking for articles about the new water laws, basin modeling on the “cheap,” new geologic trails or programs, legislative concerns, new technology. Please submit your ideas or articles and photos to: Josh Robbins Kristine Peterson Cat Campbell Holly Sell

staff@rmag.org k.peterson@laramidegeo.com Catherine.e.campbell@gmail.com HSell@nobleenergyinc.com

Please be sure to include a phone number and make sure our emails are white listed. We have had a few submissions that we wished to run but we could not reach the submitters by email and had no other contact information.

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UPCOMING

EDUCATION SCHEDULE Last Chance January 20, 2012 2:00 p.m., CST

E-Symposium: Eagle Ford Shale Prospecting with 3D Seismic Data within a Tectonic and Depositional System Framework. Online

February 13-17, 2012 Earlybird discount expires January 9th!

Winter Education Conference Houston, Texas

Short Courses Basic Well Log Analysis Austin, Texas

March 26-30, 2012

Practical Salt Tectonics Austin, Texas

March 28-30, 2012

April 21-22, 2012

Shale Gas Reservoir Assessment Long Beach, CA (with AAPG Annual Convention)

Field Seminars March 28-29, 2012

Field Safety Course for Field Trip Leaders Houston, Texas Deep-Water Siliciclastic Reservoirs Northern California

April 27-May 2, 2012

Clastic Reservoir Facies and Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis of Alluvial-Plain, Shoreface, Deltaic, and Shelf Depositional Systems Utah

April 28-May 4, 2012

E-Symposia February 9, 2012 2:00 p.m., CST

Seismic Reservoir Characterization of U.S. Shales: An Update Online

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Vol. 61, No. 3

March 2012

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Advertisers Index AAPG ................................... 7, 22

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Rockware................................ 27

Bowler Petrophysics .............. 21

Neuralog ....................................2

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Canadian Discovery ............... 21

PTTC ........................................ 26

Vista GeoScience ....................17

Geosteering ...............................4

Pangean Resources ................17

Whitehead, Neil H., III .............17

Horizontal Solutions Intl........ 18

March 2012 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

RMAG Luncheon Speaker: Jack Wiener & Kumar Ramurthy

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

18th Annual RMAG/DGS 3D Seismic Symposium

PTTC Short Course

27 RMAG/SEPM Luncheon

Vol. 61, No. 3

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St. Patrick's Day

Desk & Derrick Luncheon

GeoLand Ski Day

SATURDAY

Oilfield Christian Fellowship Luncheon

March 2012

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April PTTC Workshops Putting the Business Elements Together for CO2 EOR Using Captured Carbon Wednesday-Thursday, April 4-5, 2012, Colorado School of Mines; Ben Parker Student Center, Ballroom AB Fee: $495 Professionals, Students Free Register at www.pttc.org/national_calendar

Class Descriptions and Register Online: www.pttcrockies.org For more information, contact Mary Carr, 303.273.3107, mcarr@mines.edu

Vol. 61, No. 3

March 2012

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CALL FOR PAPERS: THE MOUNTAIN GEOLOGIST

ATTENTION Geologists, Earth Science Professors and Graduate Students Publish your Paper in The Mountain Geologist!

The Mountain Geologist is RMAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peer-reviewed, quarterly journal. It focuses on the geology of the Rocky Mountain area of the United States and related topics from outside the Rocky Mountain area. We accept manuscripts from almost every subdiscipline in the geosciences, from authors in academia and industry. Share your ideas, experience and wisdom! The Mountain Geologist circulates to over 2200 members and about 200 university libraries and industrial associates. It has been published by RMAG since 1964. Please email manuscripts or suitability questions to Joyce Trygstad Nelson at jtpetr@aol.com or Mel Klinger mel.klinger@fidelityepco.com . Manuscripts must be written in accordance with The Mountain Geologist Authors Style Guide, available online at www.rmag.org.

Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street, Suite 1125 Denver, CO 80202

Vol. 61, No. 3

March 2012