Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
Volume 71 • No. 9 • September 2022 OUTCROP
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Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 3 OUTCROP | September 2022Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 3 Outcrop | September 2022 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. 1999 Broadway • Suite 730 • Denver, CO 80202 • 720-672-9898
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Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Powder River Basin Symposium & Core Workshop Sept. 14-15, 2022 Sheraton Denver West, Lakewood Registration open $275 member $325 non-member Visit www.rmag.org or scan this QR code for more info & to register Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists e: staff@rmag.org | p: 720.672.9898 | w: www.rmag.org Day 1: Oral Presentations • Oral presentations on Mowry, Wall Creek, Turner, Sussex, Shannon, Frontier, and Muddy plays • Keynote by Michael Fairbanks, Enverus: “Post-Pandemic Re-Ignition of the PRB: Activity, Targeting, and Spacing Trends of an Awakened Basin” Day 2: Core Workshop • Core presentations & viewing: Mowry, Turner, Turner & Niobrara, Shannon • Geochem posters • Keynote by Keith Shanley, Oxy: “Understanding and assessing thermal maturity in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming” Thank you to our sponsors!
DEPARTMENTS RMAG August 2022 Board of Directors meeting President’s Letter Hybrid Lunch Talk: Riley Brinkerhoff Hybrid Lunch Talk: Christopher Smith In The Pipeline Welcome New RMAG Members! Member Corner: Lesli Wood Outcrop Advertising Rates Advertiser Index Calendar
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CONTENTS OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
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PHOTOCOVER James Peak Wilderness by Nate La Fontaine
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FEATURES 6 2022 RMAG Summit Sponsorship Packet 16 Lead Story: 2022 RMS AAPG Meeting–Denver, Colorado 36 On the Rocks: Colorado’s Glacial Wonders ASSOCIATION NEWS 2 RMAG Summit Sponsors 4 RMAG Powder River Basin symposium 11 RMAG 100th Anniversary 13 Python Skills Series: Developing Data Pipelines 15 RMAG Lunch Sponsorships 30 WANTED: Colorado Rocks!
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Overlooking Crater Lake in the
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Your sponsorship dollars continue to support our excellent publications including the monthly Outcrop newsletter, the quarterly Mountain Geologist journal, and special publications such as Subsurface Cross Sections of Southern Rocky Mountain Basins We recognize your financial commitment with website and publication advertising as well as through social media before each online event. With a LinkedIn group of over 2600 members, we make our sponsors visible to the geoscience community for both virtual and in person events.
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 7 OUTCROP | September 2022
Following two pandemic years the world has reshaped itself and faces new challenges. Here in RMAG’s 100th year we have continued to adapt to the changing environment to meet both the needs of our members and the greater geoscience community, as well as honor our sponsors’ commitment to RMAG. In the past few months, we have transitioned from solely online events to hybrid lunches, where local members can gather for lunch and the talk and our members across the country and around the world can tune in for the talk. We will continue to do a mix of online and in person short courses as the year progresses, creating opportunities for learning and networking for all our members.
who are already a Summit Sponsor, and if you are not already a sponsor, please look at the many complementary benefits included with the sponsorship levels. Please feel free to contact our staff with questions about sponsorship by email: staff@rmag.org or by phone at 720 672 9898.
We and the staff of RMAG thank you all for your continued support and look forward to seeing you in person this year.
April 21, RMAGGeoscience2022Community:couldnotexistwithout
the very generous support of our Summit Sponsors, and we greatly appreciate all the companies that have contributed over the years
Rob Diedrich Bridget Crowther 2022 RMAG President RMAG Executive Director
If you are already a Summit Sponsor or are looking for a smaller way to financially support the organization, the 2022 Golf Tournament will be on June 7th with plenty of sponsorship opportunities, and later this year we will be throwing the 100th birthday party, with multiple opportunities to sponsor the Thankcelebrationyoutothose
Your generous sponsorship dollars are supporting seven field trips this summer, from a raft trip on the San Juan to a tour of Colorado’s Glaciology, and we’ve already had a behind the scenes tour of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and a virtual trip to learn about the soon to close CEMEX Niobrara Quarry. The RMAG Mentorship program is in full swing, connecting the next generation of geoscientists with veterans of the industry. As the weather improves and people return to the office, we look forward to many more events in person, from social to educational.
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OUTCROP | September 2022 8 Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org Summit Sponsorship Platinum, Gold, & Silver Sponsors RMAG Sponsorship Level Platinum Gold Silver Contribution Level $10,000 $5,000 $2,500 Benefits Value over $9,000 over $5,000 over $3,000 RMAG Website Benefits Company logo on Summit Sponsor page on www.rmag.org Large Logo & Link Medium Logo Medium Logo Articles and Ads on special Advertisers’ web page 4 articles & 4 large ads 2 articles & 2 medium ads 4 small ads Publication Advertising The Outcrop (receive benefits for 12 issues, monthly online publication)* full page ad 2/3 page ad 1/2 page ad
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Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 9 OUTCROP | September 2022
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RMAG AUGUST 2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
The Continuing Education Committee is continuing to host hybrid lunches with great success. Riley Brinker hoff will join us once again in September to share his thoughts on the boundaries of the Uinta Basin. The Membership committee is partnering with the Diversi ty and Inclusion committee to create a RMAG Women’s
women of RMAG. If you would like to be a part of some of the exciting activities to promote membership, please reach out and join the committee! The Publications Committee is continuing to do great work bringing us a full slate of articles to celebrate the 100th anniversary of RMAG. They are also planning another photo issue so be sure to submit your geology pics. The Educational Out reach committee is working on an initiative to provide scholarships to teachers and students to attend field trips as well as get geologic maps in local high schools. On the Rocks, is winding down the field trips for the year. The final trips have been scheduled see the calen dar linked on the RMAG website for the full schedule. Fi nally, Diversity and Inclusion committee is continuing to work on increasing the diversity in RMAG.
The August Board of Directors meeting took place August 17th, 2022, at 4pm via Microsoft Teams. All board members were present. The Finance committee provided an overview of the financials for July. RMAG had a net operating loss. The Board is currently explor ing ideas to generate additional revenue so let us know if you have a great idea!
Hi everyone! With pumpkin spice having arrived back everywhere that means that fall is right around the corner. I hope you all had a fantastic summer and are looking forward to some fun fall events. I am personally excited for the RMAG Birthday Bash in September.
I hope you all have a fantastic month; I hope to see a lot of you at the Birthday Celebration in September! La
By Sandra Labrum, Secretary slabrum@slb.com
production company confluenceresources.com Confluence Resources is an upstream exploration and production company confluenceresources.com
You are cordially invited to help RMAG celebrate its 100th Anniversary September 22, Denver6pm-10pm2022AthleticClub 1325 Glenarm Place, Denver, Colorado Doors open at 6pm Live Auction at 7:30pm Dress code: business casual to fancy-shmancy $65 per person $100 for 2 people Includes food, drink ticket, and cake! Register at www.rmag.org
Managing the Ups and Downs
How is RMAG’s financial health? As part of our an nual financial review, RMAG’s auditor recommended that we employ a financial advisor to support our awe some treasurer, Mike Tischer, in overseeing our financ es and providing guidance on fiscal governance. RMAG member David Taylor has taken on this new role for the association. David is well-qualified. He has an MBA in Finance with a concentration in Science and Tech nology. David has served as the RMAG Foundation’s treasurer since 2017 and is credited with upgrading the Foundation’s governance documentation.
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By Rob Diedrich
One of David’s first jobs was to perform a 10year lookback on RMAG’s finances. This proved to be
RMAG’s net operating income for the last nine years. The timeline below the chart lists major events which RMAG sponsored or co-sponsored for those specific years.
2013 3D SpringSympSymp 2014 3D BakkenRMSSympAAPGSymp 2015 3D FallAAPGSympACESymp 2016 3D FallSympSymp 2017 3D DWLSSympCo mtg Core Workshop 2018 Core DWLSWorkshopComtg 2019 Permian Symp DWLS Co mtg 2020 Covid 19 No meetings 2021 IMAGE AAPG SEG -$100,000-$50,000$0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000$250,000 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 RMAG Net Operating Income
challenging because we changed accounting systems in 2018. However, David was able to capture information from financial statement pdfs as well as our IRS 990 tax filings. He put together the accompanying chart which shows our annual net operating income since 2013. Operating income is the amount of money the as sociation makes from its general operations, like con ferences, short courses, luncheons and so on. This does NOT include funds related to the RMAG’s investments. The above chart illustrates what has been RMAG’s financial model for a long time. Most years the associ ation operates with a net operating income loss, bal anced by years with strong income. Note that RMAG had substantial revenue in 2014 and 2015, when we hosted the Rocky Mountain Section AAPG Meeting and the AAPG ACE. As host society, RMAG received a por tion of the revenue for these successful conferences and this income has sustained us during the down years. An RMAG colleague explained that this is the
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
About this time each year I would receive an email from our management team requesting that I put together our annual exploration budget. I remember thinking “Didn’t we just do the budget?” Nonetheless, budget planning is an important part of the business cycle and a crucial step in maintaining the financial health of any organization.
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 13 OUTCROP | September 2022 RockyAssociationMountainofGeologists Short Course Python Skills PGMattwithDataDevelopingSeries:PipelinesinstructorBauer,In person! October 13, 2022 ResourcesDenver9am-4pmEarthLibrary 730 17th DowntownSt.,Denver atRegistrationnumber)$100/students$225/non-members$175/membersPricing:(limitedopenwww.rmag.org Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists e: staff@rmag.org | p: 720.672.9898 | w: www.rmag.org
important community relations efforts and core to RMAG’s mission.
• Serve on one of RMAG’s committees. These com mittees are foundational to our programming and vitality. I know everyone has limited band width, but there are volunteer activities that can be ‘right-sized’ for your schedule. Please contact me or our office staff and we will find the perfect spot for you. staff@rmag.org.
• Recruit a new RMAG member.
Unfortunately,business.this model may no longer hold true for RMAG. The joint AAPG-SEG IMAGE meeting (which has replaced the AAPG ACE) held in Denver last year was not profitable due to circumstances related to Covid-19. This summer RMAG hosted the RMS-AAPG meeting in Denver. Our organizers put together a great technical program, but attendance was quite a bit less than for a typical Denver RMS meeting. Thanks to the committee’s efforts, the meeting will generate a profit, but not at the levels of years like 2014.
• Attend our luncheon meetings (virtually or in person) and RMAG sponsored short courses, field trips, conferences and symposia. Plan to participate in this month’s Powder River Basin Symposium and Core Workshop or next year’s Helium Exploration and Development Symposium. Helium prices are soaring, and this conference is already generating a lot of buzz.
As we move out of the pandemic, I am confident we are implementing practices that will sustain RMAG and allow us to serve our geoscience community for a longIttime.isencouraging to know that RMAG has endured past financial struggles. For this month’s centennial an ecdote, we go back to 1964, a year when RMAG President John Rold struggled to balance the budget. John writes “RMAG had no staff or office then. Everything was volunteer labor. I’ll never forget the first Treasur er’s report. RMAG was not only broke, we were in the hole with bills to pay. The Board made a pact that we wouldn’t be the Board to oversee the RMAG’s fiscal fu neral. Every committee and every function was tightly budgeted and mandated to pay its way - and show a lit tle profit. Dues were a major part of our revenue, so we set a goal of attaining 1,000 members. We publicized the goal and agreed to refund the dues for the 1,000th member. Early in the fall we had a ceremony at the Fri day luncheon and honored the 1,000th member with a free membership. We then laid claim to being the second largest (behind Houston) local geological soci ety in the world. Every Board member and Committee Chairman did their part and by the end of the year we were in the black.”
2. We are now working on a more realistic program budget. For the past few years, the budget creation was our treasurer’s responsibility. This year we’ve asked each of our committees to put their activities and events into a master budget plan.
So how does RMAG maintain our fiscal health and continue to serve our membership?
1. The proceeds from those windfall years have been invested in a rainy-day fund. The fund has signifi cant value which we draw on to meet our operating expenses. This is sustainable only if we can keep our net operating losses to a minimum. How do we do this? Our RMAG Board and staff have been working diligently to lower our expenses. In 2019 our paid staff was reduced to two, and one of those individuals works parttime. We’ve realized during this Covid-19 era that we can downsize our office space. We are in the process of subleasing our cur rent office and will move into smaller space at the Denver Earth Resources Library where our costs will be significantly reduced.
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
4. RMAG’s financial health is dependent on your active membership. Here’s how you can sup port RMAG:
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3. RMAG will continue to offer a variety of programs for our members. However, we want to make sure these are ‘right-sized’ offerings so that our staff and volunteers put their time and energy into pro grams with technical content that is attractive to our membership. If you are not seeing techni cal content that piques your interest, let us know what topics you would prefer. Email: staff@rmag. org We will also continue to provide programs and participate in outreach events that do not generate revenue, such as the mentorship pro gram and the Juneteenth Celebration. These are
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same strategy her grandfather, a farmer, employed. One exceptionally good year out of seven would sustain his agriculture
RMAG now offers lunch sponsorship opportunities. Sponsor a lunch, the bar at the lunch, or run a slide on the monthly luncheon slideshow.
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On the first Wednesday of each month RMAG holds its monthly networking and education lunch. The RMAG luncheon program provides a professional format for networking, cultivating local/regional activity awareness and exposure to emerging exploration and technology.
RMAG Monthly Luncheon
See the RMAG website (www.rmag.org/sponsor-event) for details.
Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists e: staff@rmag.org | p: 720.672.9898 | w: www.rmag.org
LEAD
Denver, Colorado STORY
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By Rob Diedrich, Clayton Schultz, and Anna Phelps
HE ROCKY MOUNTAIN SECTION (RMS) AAPG ANNUAL MEETING returned to Denver this year, hosted by RMAG and an exceptional conference committee led by co-chairs Thomas Hearon and Larry Ras mussen. The theme for this year’s Section meeting was “Next Horizons: The Future of Rockies Geology”. This was the first RMS meet ing since 2019 and over 300 conference at tendees enjoyed the opportunity to gather ‘face-toface’ and attend a diverse set of talks, posters, short courses, field trips and social events. We all were re minded of the benefits of in-person conferences.
RMS AAPG President Anna Phelps opened the Monday morning plenary session with a warm wel come. She noted that the future of Rockies Geology is very bright with new plays and strategies emerg ing from legacy basins such as the Williston, DJ, Uin tah and Paradox. Anna went on to highlight the significant outreach programs sponsored by the RMS AAPG. Education is one of its focus areas. The RMS currently has 14 active AAPG Student Chapters and hosts the region’s annual Imperial Barrel Award competition with its winners performing well in the AAPG’s international IBA.
Anna noted the work of the RMS AAPG Foun dation which has provided grants totaling $250K over the last 11 years, primarily to AAPG Student
T
RMAG President Rob Diedrich followed Anna’s address with a presentation celebrating the asso ciation’s 100-year anniversary. Rob shared stories about RMAG’s first year (1922) when then Presi dent Max Ball invited AAPG members to a ‘regional’ meeting in Denver. This was the first AAPG conference of its kind to be held outside the state of Okla homa and RMAG was the host. Rob shared a pho to taken at that meeting of 80 participants, all men formally dressed in ‘sack suits’, that is three-piece suits, simple in cut and the basic attire for the West ern businessman of that era. To show how RMAG has changed, Rob contrasted that 1921 photo with one from a recent RMAG gathering attended by many woman and early career geologists wearing brightly colored coats and jackets. Today, RMAG’s mem bership is 20% women, and women hold nearly 40% of RMAG’s committee positions. He noted that fu ture RMAG membership will continue to diversify in both how we look and in the type of work that we do. The presentation ended with a nostalgic tribute to
2022 RMS MEETINGAAPG
Chapters. This funding allows the chapters to host lectures, field trips and community outreach events, and is often the only source of financial support they receive. RMS Affiliated Societies have also received Foundation grants to support their field conferences, symposia and publication efforts.
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PHOTO 1: (above) The 2022 RMS-AAPG Corral Bluffs field trip group led by Tyler Lawson, James Hagadorn, and Gussie MacCracken of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Photo courtesy of Tyler Lawson.
PHOTO 2: (below) James Hagadorn discussing the Corral Bluffs fossil site with field trip participants. Photo courtesy of Tyler Lawson.
PHOTO 3: (above) The 2022 RMS-AAPG Mancos-Niobrara field trip group led by Walter Nelson and Dave Leckie. Photo courtesy of Walter Nelson.
TECHNICAL SESSION AND EVENTS
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The focus on the future was well evidenced in 19
PHOTO 4: (below) Example of the excellent exposure of the Fort Hays Limestone member in the foreground as seen just west of Pueblo. Photo courtesy of Walter Nelson.
RMAG’s legacy as several longtime members shared stories about their connection to RMAG and the asso ciation’s history.
With this year being the centennial anniversa ry for RMAG, the technical program was certainly fo cused on highlighting the rich history of petroleum geology in the Rockies over the last 100 years with numerous talks, sessions, and keynote presentations being focused on the subject. While the conference was in-part a celebration of the past, the technical material presented over the course of the confer ence underscored that the RMS AAPG and its mem bers are focused and excited about the future – very fitting for the overall theme of the conference, Next Horizons: The future of Rockies geology.
There were also opportunities before the confer ence to get out into the field and see some of the ex traordinary geology that Colorado has to offer. Tyler Lawson, James Hagadorn, and Gussie MacCracken from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science took a group of attendees to Corral Bluffs east of Colora do Springs (Photo 1). Corral Bluffs is a world-class fossil site that is one of the few places on the planet where the aftermath of the end-Cretaceous extinc tion event is preserved, and it demonstrates how life
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LEAD STORY
the application of Python for earth scientists with a focus on workflows and applications to the petro leum industry. Additionally, Ben Burke taught a daylong course that provided an overview of how petro leum geology skills are applicable to the geothermal industry, with an emphasis on direct use cases, sub surface evaluation, and facilities engineering consid erations. These courses provided the opportunity for attendees to add new tools to their toolbelt, or to consider how to apply the skills they already have in different ways in the future.
PHOTO 5: Excited field trip participants getting to see the Fort Hayes up-close near Pueblo. Photo courtesy of Jon Goodell.
The short courses offered as part of the confer ence further highlighted the bright future of geolo gy in the Rockies and energy geoscience as a whole. Matt Bauer taught a day-long, hands-on course on
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 19 OUTCROP | September 2022
the technical program with sessions devoted to the in tegration of new or emerg ing technologies to in crease our understanding of existing plays or mature basins, like machine learn ing, new technical and an alytical tools, and innovative workflows for energy geoscience. One particular ly innovative talk demon strated how to turn a well log into a musical to ob tain a new perspective on the subsurface. The look to the future also includ ed sessions dedicated to underdeveloped or emerg ing plays across the Rock ies, with the Green Riv er Formation in the Uinta Basin, and the Cane Creek of the Paradox Basin being of particular focus. The Utah Geologic Survey even had portions of a Cane Creek core out on display in the exhibition hall for the duration of the conference, which led to some invigorating conversations about Pennsylvanian cyclothems over beers on more than one occasion. Of course, any discussion on the future of energy would not be complete without low car bon energy sources or carbon mitigation technolo gies, both of which had sessions dedicated to the top ics. Talks ranged from the feasibility of geothermal resources in Wyoming, to the quantification of rock characteristics that promote CO2 sequestration in the Permian Basin. Lastly, there were numerous ses sions concentrated on optimizing and understanding active plays across the Rockies with discussions of geochemistry, petroleum systems, stratigraphy and sedimentology, and resource assessments being of particular focus.
PHOTO 6: (left) A large group participated in the Blocks and Brews Tour, seen here observing the Lyons Sandstone, a common element in both the natural and urban landscapes of the Front Range.
PHOTO 7: (below) Group photo on the Blocks and Brews Tour, seen here with a summary panel of the various stones used in the construction of iconic downtown Denver buildings
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Overall, the technical program celebrated the his tory and achievements of Rockies geoscientists over the past 100 years and underscored that the Rock ies will continue to be an integral part of the energy
on Earth rebounded following this mass extinction. The weather in July made for a perfect, albeit hot day in the field (Photo 2). Walter Nelson and Dave Leck ie led a very engaged and enthusiastic group on a three-day trip to southwestern Colorado (Photo 3) to observe some fantastic exposures of the Creta ceous Mancos and Niobrara Formations (Photos 4,5). The group stayed overnight in Durango and had some memorable trips to the local breweries. The Mancos and Niobrara are well exposed along the way to Durango, with accessible outcrops over the course of ~100 miles, which allowed for participants to ob tain a regional understanding of the stratigraphy and associated changes in reservoir quality across the Western Interior Seaway. Given that field trips have been hard to come by these last few years it was fan tastic and refreshing to see people back on the out crop together again.
LEAD STORY
Good conventionforviewing–ingredientsdrinksconversation,andcoreagreattimeattheicebreaker
PHOTO 9: (right)
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PHOTO 8: (left) Local band Plots and Rocks ‘rocking’ the RMS AAPG conference
LEAD STORY
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PHOTO 11: (right)
YP Student Event at Tivoli Brewery
PHOTO 10: (left) Current and past RMS Presidents, RMS Award Winners, and a colorful sunset at the Presidents Reception at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
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hors d’oeuvres, and perused several museum speci mens brought out for the group, including giant rose quartz, pyrite, and a mastodon femur. RMS President, and RMAG Member, Anna Phelps gave a cheerful wel come and RMS Past-President, and RMAG Member, Peter Bucknam announced the RMS Award winners from 2020, 2021, and 2022. The 2020 RMS Meeting in Grand Junction was cancelled due to Covid and the 2021 Meeting was a hybrid Image meeting in Denver, so this was the first year in three years the RMS was able to acknowledge their award winners in person. There were 13 RMAG members that received RMS Awards from 2020-2022 including the 2022 award winners (Photo 10):
• Kim Miskell Gerhardt, 2022 RMS-AAPG Distin guished Service Award
• Nathan La Fontaine, 2022 Outstanding Young Professional
LEAD STORY
After the awards recognition, RMAG Member Matt Silverman gave a great talk honoring RMAG’s Centennial, “RMAG at 100: Celebrating the Past and Embracing the Future. The event concluded on an upper-level mezzanine where attendees en joyed the sunset over the Denver skyline and the Rocky Mountains.
The Social Events Chair and RMAG Member Mat thew Bauer knocked it out of the park by planning exciting and engaging social events throughout the conference! The conference social events kicked off on Sunday, July 24, with the Block and Brews Tour, presented by RMAG, where local RMAG geologists Rob Diedrich and Matthew Bauer guided a group on a 2.5-mile walking tour around Denver to look at the various stones comprising some of Denver’s most iconic buildings (Photos 6,7). The group went to sites such as the Brown Palace, the U.S. Courthouse, and the Trinity Methodist Church and drank beers at the Denver Earth Resources Library and the Universi ty Club.The Sunday evening Icebreaker provided a warm and acoustic welcome to conference attendees. Local Denver band Plots and Rocks, featuring RMAG Geol ogist Mark Millard, Erica Millard, and special guest Amy Martin, played bluegrass numbers as confer ence attendees enjoyed drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and catching up with friends (Photo 8). The UGS Cane Creek and USGS Eagleford cores were on display during the Icebreaker, and attendees were free to look through the cores and associated posters while they mingled (Photo 9)
SOCIAL EVENTS AND AWARDS
• Jane Estes-Jackson and Donna S. Anderson Ph.D., 2022 John D. Haun Landmark Publication Award
Overall, the conference was packed with oppor tunities for attendees to network, socialize, catch up with old friends, make new friends, and talk about our common love for geology!
• Donna S. Anderson Ph.D., 2022 Julie A. Lefever Me morial Award
discussion for decades to come, led by the passionate and innovative group of people that comprise the Rockies geoscience community.
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 23 OUTCROP | September 2022
The final social event of the conference was the Student and Young Professional Networking Event at Tivoli Brewing Company on Tuesday evening (Photo 11). Over a dozen graduate students and young professionals gathered at the brewery to con nect and discuss career paths, as well as the future of industry. Several universities and companies from across the Rockies were represented.
• Randi S. Martinsen, 2022 Robert J Weimer Lifetime Contribution Award
The All Convention Lunch is always a highlight of the RMS Meeting and this year was no exception. Dr. James Hagadorn, RMAG member at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, gave a rousing talk on the “Environmental change and mass extinction at the Devonian-Carboniferous transition, Colorado.” Dr. Hagadorn discussed the record of the end-Devo nian Hangenberg mass extinction event in the Dyer Formation of the White River Uplift in northwestern Colorado. The talk was very engaging with many photos of outcrops, fossils, and the ever tiny and elu siveMondayconodonts.evening, attendees traveled to the Den ver Museum of Nature and Science for the RMS President’s Reception. Attendees socialized, ate
Speaker: Riley Brinkerhoff
RILEY BRINKERHOFF is the exploration manager of the Uinta-focused Wasatch Energy Management and has sixteen years of unconventional exploration and development experience. He has worked on projects across the Rockies and Midcontinent. He has a Masters and bachelor’s from BYU, and an MBA from the University of Utah. Specializing in opportunities in the Uinta Basin for the past five years, he has authored numerous papers and presentations on the Green River oil play. From a base of zero, he has grown his company to nearly 15K net barrels of oil per day from the Uinta. He is currently serving as secretary of the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Association of Geologists, on the Utah Geological Survey board of directors representing minerals (hydrocarbons) and as past president of both the Utah Geological Association and Montana Geological Society.
ABSTRACT:
The Uteland Butte is far and away the most important target for oil and gas development within the Uinta Basin. Of the twelve rigs drill ing in the Uinta Basin in July of 2022, nine are drilling Uteland Butte horizontal wells. Recent results have been impressive, with several Ovin tiv, XCL, and Uinta Wax Uteland Butte wells pro ducing at 2,000-3,000 bbls of oil per day for the first month of production, and well over 300,000 bbls of oil within the first year. With such strong production potential, operators must ask them selves how extensive the play can be. Utilizing over 2400 digitized well logs, core and outcrop measurements, this study maps the play bound aries based on current technical and economic factors. The Uteland Butte consists of bedded la custrine carbonates and high TOC shales. Where these have been buried to sufficient depth to convert its ample kerogen to hydrocarbons the
By Riley Brinkerhoff, Wasatch Energy Management
HYBRID LUNCH
Losing at the Margins
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Date: September 7, 2022 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
resulting organic porosity creates a marvelously effective reservoir up to two hundred feet thick. However, being a lacustrine system, the Uteland Butte pinches out on all sides into either sandprone deltaic deltas and marginal fluvial depos its or barren red-beds of the Wasatch Formation. Outcrop work associated with this study on the eastern and southern margins of the Uinta Ba sin show that as one moves onshore, high-TOC shales and carbonates are replaced by pack stones, then progressively by grainstones and fi nally by red mudstones with minor interbedded sandstones. Subsurface work demonstrates that on the northern, deeply buried side of the basin, the Uteland Butte is rapidly replaced by margin al lacustrine sandstones. Although these sand stones are charged with oils from the Uteland Butte, existing vertical wells have created pres sure sinks that make these wells difficult to eco nomically develop with horizontal wells. TALK
The Technical and Economic Boundaries of the Uteland Butte Horizontal Oil Play in the Uinta Basin
Email: mgeditor@rmag.org
• Reach a broad industry and academic audience
https://www.rmag.org/publications/the mountain geologist/
• Great Plains and Mid Continent region
• Quick turn around time
Publish with…
• Permanent archiving includes AAPG Datapages
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 25 OUTCROP | September 2022
Expanded geologic focus:
• Entire greater Rocky Mountain area of North America
• West Texas and New Mexico to northern British Columbia
• Every subdiscipline in the geosciences
• Quarterly peer reviewed journal
Why contribute?
Identification of Fractures, Lateral and Vertical Migration Pathways, Modified Rock Properties, and Implications for CO2 Injection and Storage
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CCS Risk Evaluation in the San Juan Basin Using Rock Volatile Stratigraphy
ABSTRACT
HYBRID LUNCH TALK
Date: October 5, 2022 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
1: Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy 2: New Mexico Tech.
As part of a DOE funded grant to examine the role of faults and other possible communication pathways which may allow injected CO2 to escape its target stor age zones New Mexico Tech (NMT) and Advanced Hy drocarbon Stratigraphy (AHS) have been working to gether in the San Jan Basin (SJB). The goal of the grant is to demonstrate the utility of new technologies for carbon capture and storage applications with the field work being done used to support NMT’s CarbonSAFE program at the Farmington site. The field work will culminate in a well to be drilled later in 2022; while being drilled as a monitoring well, it will be completed such that it could serve as a US EPA Class VI well and inject CO2 into the Jurassic aged Entrada and Bluff for mations. Prior to drilling, Rock Volatiles Stratigraphy (RVS), developed by AHS was used on legacy cuttings
By Christopher M Smith* 1, William Ampomah 2, Luke Martin 2, Timothy M Smith 1, Patrick S Gordon 1 and Michael P Smith 1
from wells in the SJB and the Ute and Barker Dome fields to create an ~8 mile four well transect. RVS gen tly extracts, identifies, and quantifies over 40 volatile compounds from rock samples that can be fresh or sev eral decades old; compounds include the C1-10 hydrocarbons (HCs), water, CO2, and several sulfur species among others. The RVS analysis of the cuttings from the Jurassic section of Kirtland 1, drilled in 1961, re vealed previously unknown fractures containing HC liquids, most likely condensate. The fractures in the Jurassic were charged by three different pulses of in creasingly mature HCs with the most mature charge possibly matching the API gravity of Paleozoic produc tion from the relatively close Hogback Field. The SJB and the Ute Dome Field (UDF) are separated by the Hogback Monocline (HM) (which may possibly be a
Speaker: Christopher Smith
CHRISTOPHER SMITH has been a Senior Chemist with Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy (AHS) since January 2019 and moved to Midland a few months ago. He works on data analysis, instrumentation (including possible well stie instruments), client engagements, and business development. Most of his analysis work focuses on the North Slope in Alaska, the Delaware Basin, the Anadarko and Arkoma basins in Oklahoma, and the Marcellus. Prior to working for AHS, he received his PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Arizona in the Winter 2018 term with focuses on instrumentation, data analysis programing, spectroscopy, electrophysiology, surfactants, and surface modification chemistries. He also completed a MA in history at the University of Tulsa as a Henneke Research Fellow in 2012. He completed his undergraduate work cum laude in 2011 with degrees in chemistry, history, and biochemistry also from the University of Tulsa.
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 28
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 27 OUTCROP | September 2022 WE ARE GREAT WESTERN AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO: WE ARE #CommittedtoColorado PEOPLE TEAMWORK EXCELLENCE GROWTH RESILIENCE STEWARDSHIP
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HYBRID LUNCH TALK
Well Log Digitizing • Petrophysics Petra® Projects • Mud Log Evaluation Bill Donovan Geologist • Petroleum Engineer • PE (720) 351-7470 donovan@petroleum eng.com
fault/fold system) with 3-7000’ of displacement. The Paleozoic section of Stephenson 1, in the UDF less than a mile away on to the HM, aligns such that Paleozoic HC liquids on the HM could laterally charge the fractures in the Jurassic on the SJB side of the fault. The chemical composition of the HC liquids in the Paleozoic section Stephenson and Kirtland share simi larities re-enforcing this mechanism. The Jurassic section of the Stephen son also shows HC liquid filled fractures that are vertically too removed to be charged by the Mancos shale in Stephenson but would reasonably be charged via lateral fractures from the Mancos in the “downthrown” SJB. These RVS data demonstrate lateral communication across the HM. Other RVS signatures from Stephenson document vertical gas migration. Inter estingly, the nature of the interaction of the rocks on either side of the HM with CO2 is different suggesting that the rock properties have been mod ified post deposition. Strong correlations in the RVS data with this rock property and sulfur species and gas migration signatures suggest it may be linked to the movement of deeper previously documented sour gases on the “upthrown” side of HM which may have modified the surfaces of the rocks across several thousand feet of section. Other features of the tran sect will be discussed. It is yet unclear if the CarbonSAFE well will encounter these fracture networks – if the well has been drilled and RVS data are available these will be discussed too.
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 29 OUTCROP | September 2022 Gain valuable inter well insight s Premature breakthrough of injected water, steam, gas or CO2 can limit oil production. At minimal cost, chemical tracers can rapidly detect and quantify reservoir flow heterogeneities so remediation or flood rebalance can be made to maximize well productivity. t r acer co.com @ t r acer co t r acer co @ t r acer co.com Star t reducing your cost s
While you are on your summer vacations to the many wonderful areas in Colorado, please consider picking up rocks for our collection. We ask you note where you collected the rocks and the formation name. ROCKD is a great app that uses your location and geolog ical maps to “map” the formation under your feet. Keep in mind to collect rocks where it is allowed. examples of rocks from formations that we would love in our collection:
When your rocks are ready, contact us at edoutreach@rmag.org Thank you!
Some
WANTED: Colorado Rocks!
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• Maroon • Navajo/Nugget • Sawatch • Leadville • Entrada • Igneous and Metamorphic rocks • Chinle • Lodore • Wasatch • Green River • Dakota • Volcanics (San Juan – Flat Tops)
RMAG’s Educational Outreach committee wants to create a collection of Colorado rocks that can be paired with the Colorado geological map. The committee will use these rocks as an educational tool to teach elementary, middle, and high school students about the ge ology of Colorado, geological processes, and Colorado mineral resources.
WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
COGA DEI Outreach Series Southern Ute Growth Fund. 11:30 AM- 1:00 PM.
WOGA Lean In Circle. Speaker Natalie Levy. “Negotiation is Everything”. Zoom Video Meeting. 11:00 AM12:30 PM.
Theodore Steinke
Marlee Cloos is a Geoscience Analyst at bpx energy and lives in Golden, Colorado.
Henry Naumann is President at Naumann Oil & Gas, Inc. and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
RMAG Luncheon. Speaker: Riley Brinkerhoff. “Losing at the Margins: The Technical and Economic Boundaries of the Uteland Butte Horizontal Oil Play in the Uinta Basin.” Online or Inperson at Maggiano’s, Denver. 12:00 PM-1:00 PM.
H. Kirk Brown III is a Manager at Alpine Resources LLC and lives in Denver, Colorado.
RMAG 100th Anniversary Party. Denver Athletic Club. 6:00 PM-10:00 PM.
Paul Crevello is President/CEO at European Natural Gas and Energy Corporation and lives in Boulder, Colorado.
RMAG 2022 Geo Hike Challenge.
Dalton Lockman lives in Elizabeth, Colorado.
Kit Tincher is Executive Vice President, Development & Geology at Nickel Road Operating LLC and lives in Morrison, Colorado.
IN THE PIPELINE
JULY 1- SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
SEPTEMBER 26, 2022
DPC 9th Annual Golf Tournament. Pinery Country Club. 10 AM Shotgun start(scramble).
SEPTEMBER 14-15, 2022
is a Geologist at Generation Exploration LLC and lives in Golden, Colorado.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2022
Adam Nielson lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Stanley Birkhead is a Consultant and lives in Brighton, Colorado.
Krysta Toci is a student and lives in Trinidad, Colorado.
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 31 OUTCROP | September 2022
RMAG Powder River Basin Symposium. Sheraton Denver West Hotel, Lakewood, CO.
HOW DID YOU END UP INVOLVED IN THE GEOSCIENCES?
RMAG’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is featuring a monthly Member Corner. We hope you’ll enjoy learning about the diverse community of Earth scientists and wide variety of geoscience disciplines that comprise our membership. If you would like to appear in an upcoming column, or if there is someone you would like to nominate, please contact staff@rmag.org.
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I got interested in science and in geology through my family. My family was always outside, whether it was haying, cutting wood, backpacking in the Bridg er Wilderness, or camping along the creeks of the Ar kansas Ozarks. When I was a junior in high school, I was invited to visit our local college (Arkansas Tech University) where I met Drs. Richard Cohoon and Victor Vere, two individuals who constituted the en tire department of geology. Dr. Cohoon said, “You can go into Geology and spend a lot of time outside and make a lot of money.” I thought that sounded pretty good. That was 1981. What has kept me in Geology is working with amazing professors who love the study of the Earth, and who want to convey that love to oth ers. I owe my opportunities to my Mom and Dad and my choice of a career to my professors (Cohoon and Vere, plus Doy Zachry, Walt Manger, Frank Ethridge, and Stanley Schumm) and colleagues.
Weimer Distinguished Chair and Professor, Department of Geology & Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
Meet Lesli Wood
MEMBER CORNER
Having the appreciation and respect of others in my profession, while being married for 34 years to
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 33 OUTCROP | September 2022
WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOB ENTAIL?
I won’t say they are barriers, just baffles. If you look at limitations as baffles to be worked through, then you will get there. Some directions that I want ed to go, and consortiums that I wanted to build, were less than encouraged by well-meaning supe riors that felt I needed more time to build success. The best answer to that is to show success. A good friend of mine told me one time, “Bring in the money and they will get on board”. Sometimes super visors feel that their job is to make sure you don’t fail. Understandably. Maybe this is more prevalent in maternal men who supervise women. Sometimes you have to show them that you can take a hit and keep on going.
WHAT JOBS HAVE YOU HAD DURING YOUR CAREER?
HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?
WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB?
WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED SO FAR?
I have worked in industry (Arco, Amoco), in gov ernment (Texas Bureau of Economic Geology), and in academia (University of Texas at Austin and now Col orado School of Mines).
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE ENTERING INTO THE GEOSCIENCES?
Teaching, helping strategical ly direct one of the best geosci ence departments in the world, and ensuring my students are funded and have meaningful re search and career options when they graduate.
My father, Jim Wood, who worked for a dime a day while at tending the University of Missouri, but had to leave school to help sup port his family sharecropping in the bootheel of Mis souri. He never considered his lack of a college de gree a barrier, just a baffle, and turned his dream of higher education to his kids. I am inspired by people who experience personal success, but also give gra ciously of their time to see that others are successful. Such has been my good luck to work with individu als like William Fisher, Frank Ethridge, Robbie Gries, Roger Slatt, Scott Tinker, and many, many others. It is gratifying that some of my own students, Dr. Lorena Moscardelli, Dr. Nysha Chaderton, and so many oth ers are doing similar.
WHAT BARRIERS HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME ON YOUR PATH TO BECOMING A GEOSCIENTIST?
WHO INSPIRES YOU?
Publish and present your work to colleagues and peers. This is imperative to success in academia, but companies and often government organizations will not encourage this behavior. It is up to you to build a career. Organizations will give you a job, but only you can build a career, a reputation, and a network. RMAG, SEPM, AAPG, AGU, SPE, SEG, etc. are critical organizations for networking.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
Always have options. You never want to find yourself caught in a dead end. That means taking the opportunity to build your network, grow your knowledge, and sometimes do more than you want to do, but it all builds your options.
Umpiring 9-10-year-old girls’ softball (also known as parent-parent conflict management). My first job in Geology was a summer internship with Arco in Plano Texas where I met Roger Slatt, Christo pher Bowland, Bob Sucheki, Bob Loucks, and a lot of other people interested in the science.
Seeing my students excel in their own careers and family life.
IF YOU COULD VISIT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD THAT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
WHAT CHORE DO YOU ABSOLUTELY HATE DOING AT HOME?
Taking the trash cans down our ¼ mile driveway in the snow and ice.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche
I have three dogs, Frankie, Cali, and Pearl the Puppy, and one pig. Bartley the Pig has his own twitter site, @themoun tainpig, and Frankie has her own inter national children’s book in the US and in France. They are very accomplished.
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 MEMBER CORNER
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES OR PASSIONS OUTSIDE OF WORK?
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my wife, Sue, and never compromising my personal home life.
Rural Arkansas, Dardanelle, popula tion 3200.
Been There, Done That.
I want to visit Hexennacht (“Witches’ Night’) in Germany the last week of April. It is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the Brocken and await the arrival of spring. I want to visit the Honey Forest of Turkey, where the Black Honey Keepers live. I want to visit the Beaches of Ca thedrals in northwest Spain and the boiling lakes of the Dominican Republic’s Desolation Valley. Just to name a few.
People telling me that they didn’t know I could sing :).
WHAT WOULD YOU TITLE YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY?
Music and performing. I also have put out two albums of original music.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEING COMPLIMENTED ON?
Mallard Exploration is a Denver based upstream Oil & Gas Exploration and Production company focused on the DJ Basin of Colorado. We are building a successful business with strong ethics, hard work and industry leading technology.
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 35 OUTCROP | September 2022
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 RMAG ON THE ROCKS
On the Rocks Glaciology Trip, June 25, 2022
By Denise M Stone | Trip Leader: Dr. Vince Matthews
Oblique angle aerial image of the U-shaped valleys in the Rocky Mountains once occupied by glaciers (shaded in blue). The town of Georgetown, CO is in the lower right-center of the image. The massive Clear Creek Glacier once occupied its valley and the route of I-70 heading west.
Did you know that when you drive through the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains west of Denver, along I-70, you are following a path taken by thousands of feet of slowly moving ice? Sharp eyes can see the subtle evidence for glaciation in the val ley walls and mountain peaks from Georgetown west. This one-day field trip was remarkable, the group saw details of glaciation hiding in plain sight.
ampleRetiredprecipitation.Colorado State geologist Dr. Vince Mat thews led the group of 30 RMAG members and guests on a tour of evidence of glaciation in the Rocky Moun tains. Vince’s wife Susan and granddaughter Megan came and were helpful at keeping us organized and on schedule. The itinerary for the day was aggressive; 11 vehicles and 11 stops in an excursion from Den ver to Leadville to Vail and back to Denver. We would cross the Continental Divide multiple times, twice at Eisenhower Tunnel, once at Tennessee Pass, and once at Fremont Pass. The plan had us moving quick ly. In the alpine topography, we would see U-shaped and hanging valleys, lateral and terminal moraines,
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We assembled at the Wooly Mammoth park ing area at 7am Saturday morning. Dense fog and drizzle were hanging over the Front Range, it was a breezy cold 47-degree morning (for June 25!) but the weather seemed fitting for a field trip about glaciers - features that require a cold climate and
Colorado’s Glacial Wonders
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BELOW: Group photo of RMAG members and guests taken in the late afternoon in Eagle River Canyon near Minturn, CO. Rising from right to left behind the group is a treecovered lateral moraine formed during much colder times in the geological history of Colorado.
LEFT: We stopped at Clinton Gulch Reservoir to the east of Highway 91 to take a closer look at a striking arête along the skyline of the Mosquito Range. It formed as ice accumulated between Mayflower Gulch to the west and McCullough Gulch, to the east. The ridge was eaten away by cirques on either side resulting in a jagged ridge profile.
Trip Leader Dr. Vince Matthews holds up an illustration of Roche Moutonnée landforms sculpted by the movement of ice. The “stoss and lee” structures refer to surfaces that have been glaciated as the ice moved passed. The stoss slope is smoothly abraded, and the lee slope is plucked.
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Georgetown, CO along I-70 was once under 2000’ of ice! We stopped at the Visitor Center to view a hanging valley, another classic feature of a once gla ciated landscape. By now, thankfully, the sun was out, and the sky was blue, and the temperature warming! Interstate-70 follows the path of what was the mas sive Clear Creek Glacier from Georgetown to the west. “There is a whole Pliocene to Quaternary story to be told about Colorado glaciation - research is needed,” VinceWesaid.had a lengthy stop at the Lake Dillon overlook along I-70. “The scattered islands along the north side of the lake, that appear to have no pattern, are arcuate remnants of recessional moraines. They were left as ice retreated to the west through the bedrock canyon that holds I-70,” Vince said. “Glaciers once
In contrast, arguably the most prominent and
till deposits, an arête, and sever al cirques.TheUSGS currently names 16 glaciers in Colorado that formed in the last 400 years. However, since 1950 significant retreat of all has occurred. The position of the “snout” of these glaciers, or their lowest level of ice, has retreated because melting exceeds both ice accumula tion and forward movement from year to year. “If a glacier has cre vasses, it’s moving,” Vince said. He showed a photo from 1919 of a Colorado glacier, with cre vasses and visitors looking down into them. Yikes! This practice is no longer allowed for safe ty reasons.Globally, 21 glacial periods are recognized. The two with the most influence on the present-day Colorado landscape are the Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations. The Pinedale marked the end of the last glacial period when it peaked around 21,000 years ago. To the trained eye, many resulting landforms from this glaciation can still be recognized in Colorado today. The Bull Lake glaciation is older, peaking around 120,000 years ago, yet most of its re sulting landforms and deposits have been modified or erased by subsequent glaciations. Only in places where it extended beyond the Pinedale glaciation can one see the mark it left on Colorado’s mountains.
RMAG ON THE ROCKS
imposing glacial features that can be seen in the Rockies today are the glacial cirques that mark the peaks of many mountains. These start as small de pressions and subsequently evolve into bowls by ice movement and the “plucking” of rock from the sides of the bowl. This makes the walls become both deep and steep, eventually leading to the characteristic amphitheater-like shape of these features.
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Colorado’s pre-glacial landscape consisted of V-shaped valleys, carved from rivers eroding into the bedrock and sediments. Glaciers superimposed ice on that landscape, carving out U-shaped valleys, cirques, and arêtes. Once the ice retreated, glaciers left their mark on the landscape in the form of lateral and ter minal moraines. Today, these glacial remnants are visible along the roadsides of the Colorado Rockies as gently rolling hills or prominent elongated ridg es. However, one needs a careful eye as these features are often very subtle, vegetated and not obvious, as Vince pointed out.
LEFT: Former State Geologist of Colorado, Dr. Vince Matthews, gives the group a short orientation showing our route for the day-long Glacial Wonders field trip. Over a regional map, showing former alpine ice coverage (in blue), he holds up an Average Daily Temperature chart recorded at Niwot Ridge Mountain Research Station, CO, elevation 12,262 feet. These average yearFahrenheitdailytomeasurementstemperaturefrom19522019showanannualaverageof25.7°overthe67-record.
ABOVE: Our 11-vehicle convoy stopped at the I-70 scenic overlook to Lake Dillon near the town of Frisco, CO. The scattered islands near the shore with no apparent pattern are arcuate erosional remnants of recessional moraines left by the gradual retreat of ice to the west. Glaciers flowed into and helped create the Lake Dillion Basin. The falling water level in Lake Dillon has exposed increasing amounts of the island shorelines of glacially deposited sediments. Tenmile Peak is visible in the distance on the right.
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RMAG ON THE ROCKS
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38 » CONTINUED ON PAGE 43
stunning glacial feature over time. Mayflower today contains a rock glacier, a mass of rock that moves due to the deformation of ice contained within it. Most rock glaciers form in cirques.
At Fremont Pass we passed the molybdenum workings of the Climax Mine. At the overlook to the mine tailings, we got a panoramic view of the area where an icefield fed glacial arms into the Arkan sas, Eagle, North Tenmile, and South Tenmile Riv er valleys. The Climax open pit is located in a cirque. During the mine’s shutdown from the early 1980s to 2012, an ore stockpile at 12,500 feet developed interstitial ice (permafrost) and began flowing into
We continued driving west along I-70 and turned south on Hwy 91 toward Fremont Pass, destination Leadville. After several miles we stopped to view a fantastic arête on the skyline to the east. It formed between Mayflower Gulch and McCullough Gulch, both valleys contained glaciers that were eating away at the ridge that separated them, forming this
BELOW: This narrow canyon holds I-70 west of Frisco, CO. The glacier that carved it emanated from an icefield that occupied Fremont and Vail passes and deposited the moraines in Lake Dillon Basin.
flowed into the Lake Dillon basin. With the lake lev el dropping today, you can see more and more of the partially eroded moraines,” Vince continued. After that stop someone in our vehicle remarked, “I’ve been driving past this lake for 30 years and never knew why those islands were there. Wow, now I know!”
Dr. Vince Matthews shows a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) image of the area west of the town of Leadville, CO (black outline). The glacier that once occupied Turquoise Lake, outlined in yellow, left behind a striking terminal moraine apron, shown at the pointer. The moraine, an accumulation of unconsolidated debris, is just ahead of the snout or the line of farthest advance of the glacier.
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We stopped at Clinton Gulch Reservoir to the east of Highway 91 to take a closer look at a striking arête along the skyline of the Mosquito Range. It formed as ice accumulated between Mayflower Gulch to the west and McCullough Gulch, to the east of the ridge line. The ridge was eaten away by cirques on either side resulting in a jagged ridge profile.
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Mike Tischer, RMAG coordinator of this Glacier Wonders trip, presents Dr. Vince Matthews a thank you gift for leading the trip, preparing the itinerary for the day, and keeping us all on a tight schedule.
The group assembles at the final stop of the trip near Minturn CO, for the trip summary and conclusion. Cliffs of Penn-Perm sandstone, shale, and limestone of the Minturn Formation make up the walls of the Eagle River Canyon in the distance. The distribution of moraines indicate that the Cross Creek glacier must have butted up against this magnificent cliff.
RMAG ON THE ROCKS
then continued towards Camp Hale where the 10th Mountain Division of the Army trained in mountain ous terrain for service in WWII. It turns out that the ski resort business in Colorado was initially start ed by members of the 10th mountain division after
the open pit like a rock glacier. By the time the mine reopened, the snout had flowed a half mile hor izontally and dropped 1,000 feet in elevation.Withenergy in his voice, Vince pointed out to the group that glacial studies in CO are advancing rapidly due to the application of 2 relatively new technologies, LIDAR, and beryllium isotope dating. LIDAR (Light Detection and Rang ing) creates high resolution topo graphic images of Earth’s surface. It sees through vegetation and cul ture with remarkable resolution, enabling moraines and other land scape features to be clearly visi ble. Isotope analysis of Beryllium measures the amount of time rock has been exposed to sunlight. For a glacier, this method can determine when ice retreated and exposed the underlying rock, ultimately providing an estimate of the age of the glacier.
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Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 43 OUTCROP | September 2022
Our next stop was near Tur quoise Lake, west of Leadville, el evation 10,000’. Generations of geologists have learned about gla ciers from this lake as it has been used as an example in physical ge ology labs for decades. It provides a great illustration of terminal and lateralColoradomoraines.also provides great examples of both paraglacial and periglacial features. Freeze-thaw cycles in the active zone above per mafrost formed polygonal patterns atop Prospect Mountain near Leadville. Vince pointed out many of these features to us on this trip.
Once we arrived in Leadville, we stopped to eat our brought-from-home lunches at a small park near the town center and marveled at the scenic view of the Mosquito and Sawatch ranges in the distance. We
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the war. They loved the beauty and terrain of Colo rado. Vail was chosen as a great place for a resort as it has a combination of both steep and gentle slopes because of paraglacial landsliding. A prominent gla cial feature near Camp Hale we looked at was a mas sive Roche Moutonnée, a monolith of rock that was shaped by glacial erosion, with a gently dipping, smooth backside and a rough, steep front side, indi cating the flow direction of the glacier it was bur ied under.Thisone-day trip ended just west of Minturn, CO, at the bottom of the spectacular Eagle River Can yon. Moraines were in view and made for the back drop of our group photo. By then the temperature had reached a balmy 78 degrees F. We had a great day seeing remnant glacial landforms and envision ing thousands of feet of ice along roadways of the Colorado Rockies. The day was full of new informa tion for many attendees. As we drove toward home someone in our vehicle said, “The more I learn about
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geology, the less I know”. Isn’t that the truth? Learn ing in the field is a joy and there is still so much to learn. This glaciology day just scratched the surface. A big thanks to Dr. Vince Matthews, and his fam ily for making this field trip possible. Also, thanks to Mike Tischer, RMAG trip coordinator, who han dled logistics and safety, assisted by David Schoder bek. Both are on the RMAG On-The-Rocks Commit tee. Mike presented a thank you gift to Vince, it was a piece of polychrome jasper from Madagascar. Beauti ful and polished but not polished by glaciers! Vince has a wealth of knowledge about the geology of Col orado and its glacial history, in particular. He has fin ished the manuscript for a book on the glaciology of Colorado which should be out soon. Thanks, Vince, for such a great day in the field!
Denise is a member of the RMAG On-The-Rocks Com mittee and enjoys capturing the highlights of geology field trips in writing and photographs. Send feedback and or ideas for future field trips to dmstone@pdq.net
RMAG ON THE ROCKS
Vol. 71, No. 9 | www.rmag.org 45 OUTCROP | September 2022 •CGG 25 •Confluence Resources 10 •Daub & Associates 28 •Donovan Brothers Inc. 28 •Great Western 27 •Impact Crater Studies Group 28 •Jane Estes-Jackson 28 •Larson Geoscience 28 •LMKR Gverse Geographix 29 •Mallard Exploration 35 •Schlumberger 27 •Seisware 35 •Tracerco 29 ADVERTISER INDEX CALENDAR – SEPTEMBER 2022 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 2518114 2612519 2720136 2821147 29221581 30231692 2417103 COGA DEI Outreach Series DPC 9th Annual Golf Tournament. RMAG Luncheon. WOGA Lean In RMAGCircle.100thAnniversaryParty.RMAG Powder River Symposium.Basin RMAG GeoHike Challenge: Continues thru Sept. 6, 2022