June 2020 Outcrop by The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 69 • No. 6 • June 2020

OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

1999 Broadway • Suite 730 • Denver, CO 80202 • 800-970-7624 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.

2020 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

2nd VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Jane Estes-Jackson janeestesjackson@gmail.com

Peter Kubik pkubik@mallardexploration.com

PRESIDENT-ELECT

SECRETARY

Cat Campbell ccampbell@caminoresources.com

Jessica Davey jessica.davey@sproule.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Ben Burke bburke@hpres.com

Chris Eisinger chris.eisinger@state.co.us

1st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER ELECT

Nathan Rogers nathantrogers@gmail.com

Rebecca Johnson Scrable rebecca.johnson@bpx.com

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

COUNSELOR

Dan Bassett dbassett@sm-energy.com

Donna Anderson danderso@rmi.net

RMAG STAFF DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Kathy Mitchell-Garton kmitchellgarton@rmag.org DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SERVICES

Debby Watkins dwatkins@rmag.org CO-EDITORS

Courtney Beck clbeck14@gmail.com Nate LaFontaine nlafontaine@sm-energy.com Jesse Melick jesse.melick@bpx.com Wylie Walker wylie.walker@gmail.com

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RMAG Office: 800-970-7624 Fax: 323-352-0046 staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org

Outcrop | June 2020 OUTCROP

RMAG 2020 ON THE ROCKS FIELD TRIPS Registration open for some trips Details for other trips coming soon to www.rmag.org Please note that trips may be rescheduled or cancelled based on government guidelines concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Contact the RMAG office to get on wait lists for sold out trips.

June 27-28

September 12

(Date Tentative) Corral Bluffs Fossil Trip: The Rise of the Mammals Colorado Springs, CO Trip limit: 30 Sold out!

Paleozoic Impact Crater Field Douglas, WY Postponed until 2021

July 25

Florissant Fossil Beds & Fossil Dig Florrisant, CO Trip limit: 20 (family trip)

September 26-27

Picketwire Dinosaur Trackway La Junta, CO Trip limit: 30

August 8

Cripple Creek/Victor Area Mining Tour Victor, CO

November 7

Golden Rocks! The Geology and Mining History of Golden, CO Trip limit: 20 Sold out!

Trip modified; no mine tours this year (may repeat with tours next year)

Trip limit: 20 (family trip) Registration open email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 OUTCROP | June 2020

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

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Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

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OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

6 RMAG 2020 Summit Sponsorship

8 RMAG May 2020 Board of Directors Meeting

12 Lead Story: Blowing in the Wind– The Glaciers of Colorado

10 President’s Letter

32 RMAG Foundation: Fossil And Mineral Donation To RMAG

26 RMAG Online Lunch Talks: Mark Millard

34 RMAG Membership Survey Results

30 RMAG Online Lunch Talks: Neil Bockoven, PhD 33 In The Pipeline

ASSOCIATION NEWS

38 Welcome New RMAG Members!

2 RMAG Summit Sponsors

40 Advertiser Index

4 RMAG On The Rocks Field Trips

41 Calendar

9 RMAG Virtual Trivia Night

41 Outcrop Advertising Rates

COVER PHOTO Emerald Lake and Hallett Peak in RMNP. Photo taken in October 2018 by Dan McGrath.

11 RMAG Golf Tournament 24 Rockies MiT: Resources to Recharge Your Career 25 Webinar Series: Members in Transition (MiT) 27 Sporting Clay Tournament 29 RMAG/Mines Practical Python Short Course 31 RMAG On the Rocks Field Trips

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OUTCROP | June 2020

RMAG Summit Sponsorship Summit Sponsorship is RMAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary corporate sponsorship program and a vital component of RMAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial support. Our Summit Sponsors receive a suite of valuable benefits, including free admission to educational and social programs and advertising opportunities not otherwise available. Join the heart of Rockies geoscience and become an RMAG Summit Sponsor today!

OUTCROP | June 2020

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2020 RMAG Summit Sponsorship Benfits Visit www.rmag.org or contact the RMAG office for more information. Sponsorship Level Contribution Level

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Event Advertising (included for all events except where noted) Company logo looping in PowerPoint presentation Company logo on 2020 Summit Sponsor signage at all events** Opportunity to offer RMAG approved promotional materials RMAG 2020 Events

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OUTCROP | June 2020

RMAG MAY 2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING By Jessica Davey, Secretary jessica.davey@sproule.com

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The Membership Committee hosted an exciting virtual trivia event on May 14th, which is expected to expand into a series of trivia events in the coming weeks. The committee is requesting trivia questions for future events, so please reach out to Debby and Kathy in the RMAG office if you have some good ones! The Publications Committee is busy working on adding DOIs to the backlog of The Mountain Geologist issues, which will make online referencing a simple process. The On the Rocks Committee has made some changes to the summer field trip schedule and is working to hold field trips that allow for proper social distancing for the time being. Please check the RMAG website for any updates to the field trip schedule. The Educational Outreach Committee extended the Teacher of the Year Award to June 8th; please pass this information along to any deserving K-12 teachers you know. I’m sure many of you have kept up with current geo news, and are aware that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption; wow how time flies! My first experience with Mount St. Helens was in 1992 when, on my first airplane ride, we flew over the beautiful stratovolcano on the way to Seattle. I remember this as being one of the major events in shaping my love of geology, especially after I learned that the ash plume radius extended beyond Denver. I happened on a great article online about the eruption and how it forced a change in how volcanoes are monitored:

Summer weather is here! I hope you can get outside and are enjoying this beautiful time of year. The overarching theme this month has been successfully rolling with the punches. The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Board of Directors and Committees have been hard at work, evolving our programs and field trips to provide value during this pandemic. Our dedicated volunteers have successfully turned in-person events into virtual online events and have creatively come up with additional events to provide value to the wonderful RMAG members. Please keep an eye on the RMAG website for any changes, plus new events added to the calendar. The RMAG Board of Directors once again followed prescribed social distancing recommendations and met online on May 20th. All of the Board Members were present. The RMAG office is still being efficiently run remotely by Debby and Kathy, and RMAG was approved for the Paycheck Protection Plan, which will aid in maintaining operations for the next couple of months until we can return to a new level of normalcy. Good news on the financial front from Treasurer, Chris Eisinger, and Treasurer-Elect, Rebecca Johnson Scrable, as they report the RMAG investment account is up after the recent market hit. The Continuing Education happily reported that the May luncheon had 170 attendees! This has been an advantage of hosting the online luncheons. Yes, we miss Maggianno’s and their delicious food, but there is no way we could cram 170 people in their space! The first-ever RMAG online short course is being hosted on May 28th and will cover geomechanics.

• https://www.usgs.gov/news/mount-st-helens-1980-eruption-changed-future-volcanology .

I had to pause after reading this article and reflect on our current situation dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s difficult situations like this that force us (especially as geologists who usually have to come up with creative ways to address problems), to think outside the box, and change the way we approach problems. Hopefully, there will be a silver lining to the current frustrating situation! I look forward to seeing you all once we can meet in person again!

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

RMAG

Virtual Trivia Night

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6 / 18 / 20 @ 4:30pm All new questions!

MCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d by RMAG member Chantel Maybach

Winner gets an automatic sign-up to the next RMAG Lunch Talk & a bottle of wine!

email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

FREE & open to all! Register today! fax: 323.352.0046 | web: www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | June 2020

follow: @rmagdenver

PRESIDENT’S LETTER By Jane Estes-Jackson

Here We Go Again

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The oil and gas business can be an awful lot of fun, especially during boom times. There really is nothing else like it. Capex knows no limits, with seemingly endless budgets for drilling wells, hiring personnel, and occasionally even doing some science. But the nature of the business is cyclical (some might even say bipolar), and always has been. In January of 1862, less than three years after Colonel Drake drilled the discovery well that kicked off the very first oil boom, the price of oil collapsed to ten cents per barrel and the first bust ensued. What goes up will eventually come down, and the subsequent lows are inevitable. The most recent slump that began in late 2014 sharply accelerated in April of this year when the price of oil actually went negative for the first time in history. This was of course followed by a record drop in the rig count in early May. Consequently, massive layoffs have become commonplace. It seems like almost every day I hear about someone I know losing their job. Recent geoscience graduates are having internships and job offers rescinded, and like everyone else, are faced with few job prospects. According to the membership survey, over 3/4 of you are over the age of 55, so like me you remember the downturn in the mid 1980’s. The current situation feels eerily similar, or maybe even worse. When my husband and I graduated from college in 1987 the price of oil was below $20 per barrel and jobs were very hard to come by. My husband managed to get hired on as a rookie mudlogger on an offshore rig, but I couldn’t find any work at all, geological or

otherwise. By the time I finished graduate school in the early 1990’s the economy had marginally improved and I was fortunate enough to get a job as an operations geologist. But I am not sure that young people today will have that chance. The business is changing in profound ways, and it will look very different when it does ultimately recover. Going through a layoff is difficult, both financially and emotionally. I’ve been through three of them myself, and I’m helping my husband navigate his first one now. During the downturn in the 1980’s many people left the oil business and never returned, and I think that will also happen this time around. Adaptability is a necessary requirement for a long career, and petroleum geoscientists may want to use this as an opportunity to explore careers in other fields. Many skills are transferable, including data science and project management. With this in mind, and as a service to our members who have been negatively impacted by this downturn, RMAG is partnering with the Denver chapter of SPE to sponsor the Rocky Mountain Members in Transition (MiT) for displaced petroleum professionals (see “Resources to Recharge Your Career” elsewhere in this issue.) It includes online resources and webinars for job seekers and is a great source of information regardless of your employment status. It is a challenging time for everyone, and nothing is really ever going to be the same as it was. The individuals who are resilient and flexible will be the most successful at adjusting to the “new normal”, whatever that ends up being. Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

New Date!

Thursday, July 30th Arrowhead Golf Club

RMAG 2020 Golf Tournament 2:00pm Shotgun at Arrowhead Golf Club Registration includes entry, 18 holes of golf, cart, dinner, and chances to win contest & door prizes

Register Today! Teams of 4 and individuals are welcome to register at www.rmag.org Member Team: $600 Member Individual: $150 Non-member Team: $700 Non-member Individual: $175

Be an RMAG Sponsor! Details at www.rmag.org

email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

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follow: @rmagdenver

LEAD STORY

BLOWING IN THE WIND The Glaciers of Colorado BY DAN MCGRATH

Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University

OUTCROP | June 2020

and more recently, the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute peoples traveled extensively throughout this region for thousands of years and potentially utilized these glaciers/icefields in hunting activities (Lee et al., 2006; Labelle and Meyer, 2019)). This glacier is one of 16 named “glaciers” in Colorado, as described by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS, 2019; Figure 1). These “glaciers,” as Stone (1887) astutely noted for Hallett Glacier (later renamed Rowe Glacier by the National Park Service), are most commonly found in high elevation

In 1887, G.H. Stone wrote in the journal Science “From Long’s Peak northward to Hague’s Peak is a line of noble mountains thirteen thousand or more feet high. The numerous tributaries of the Big Thompson River take their rise in the snow or rather ice fields which are situated in basins or mountain cirques far above timber-line near the summit of the range.” Stone (1887) subsequently describes the scientific discovery of a small glacier “in a basin roughly semicircular in shape, situated on the east face of the northern spur of the mountain.” (No doubt this “discovery” was not the first, as ancestral Native Americans

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Ice patches at Icefield Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park.The larger ice patch feeds the South Fork Cache la Poudre River. Photo taken in September 2019 by Dan McGrath.

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Map of named “glaciers” in Colorado (except St. Mary’s Glacier, which is found ~13 miles south of Arapaho Glacier). FIGURE 1:

(~3700 m), east to northeast facing cirques where the combination of topographic shading and windblown redistribution of snow act to minimize ablation (melting) and maximize winter snow accumulation. However, to correctly refer to these features as glaciers, they would, in addition to being a “large, perennial accumulation of crystalline ice, snow, rock…” would need to move “down slope under the influence of its own weight and gravity” (USGS, 2020). This latter clause differentiates glaciers from other perennial snow/ice features that do not flow, and while some of the largest features in the state likely meet this criteria, most do not. Thus, perennial ice patches or snowfields is a more appropriate term for

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the majority of the named “glaciers” in the state. In numerous instances during the Pleistocene, while the multi-kilometer thick Laurentide Ice Sheet spread across much of modern-day Canada and the northern United States, large valley glaciers formed in the mountains of Colorado (Madole et al., 1998). These glaciers, while tiny compared to the Laurentide, would make modern-day Alaskan glaciers proud – they extended 10-25 km down-valley (or as much as 45 km in the Cache la Poudre valley in northern Colorado) and reached maximum thicknesses of 600 m (Madole et al., 1998). The repeated glaciations are responsible, in part, for the unique physiography of the Front Range of Colorado,

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 2: a) Photograph of lateral moraine crest in Rocky Mountain National Park.

b) Oblique view of Moraine Park, noting glacier flow direction and moraines. Red star marks the approximate location of the photograph in a.

including the cirques incised into the crystalline core of the mountains and elongated glacial troughs extending eastward, which are characterized by relatively low gradients, steep valley walls, and pronounced topographic steps coinciding with tributary junctions, where enhanced ice discharge increased basal erosion (Anderson et al., 2006). Today, some of the clearest evidence for these once mighty glaciers are the large lateral and terminal moraines that mark their furthest extents, like the ones that ring Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park (Figure 2). Today, more than 200,000 glaciers exist on Earth, spanning every continent and collectively covering more than 700,000 km2 (Pfeffer et al., 2014). In many locations, the most recent glacier advance occurred during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 CE), with maximum extents marked by relatively unweathered terminal moraines proximal to modern day ice fronts. Since that time, glaciers have retreated and thinned significantly (Marzeion et al., 2014). Most recently (2006-2016), glaciers (excluding the ice sheets) lost mass at a rate of 335 Gt/yr or, in more comprehensible terms, the equivalent of filling >130 million Olympic-sized swimming pools per year with

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glacial meltwater (Zemp et al., 2019). Such dramatic changes are due, in large part, to anthropogenic-driven atmospheric warming (Marzeion et al., 2014) and have been observed using a variety of tools, including repeat satellite-derived elevation products (e.g., Zemp et al., 2019), satellite gravimetry observations (e.g., Wouters et al., 2019), and long-term in situ mass balance programs (e.g., O’Neel et al., 2019). At large scales, glacier mass loss has contributed significantly to global sea level rise (~27 mm between 1961 and 2016; Zemp et al., 2019) and altered streamflow timing and magnitude for large river basins, giving rise to the concept of “peak water,” which corresponds to the timing of when annual glacier runoff reaches a maximum (Huss and Hock, 2018). At the individual basin scale, the retreat and eventual demise of alpine glaciers has altered flow regimes (timing and magnitude of seasonal flow), and both the physical (e.g., temperature) and biogeochemical (e.g., dissolved organic carbon) characteristics of the water entering downstream river systems (e.g., Milner et al., 2017). The impact can be acute for the ecological communities that rely on the cold, late-season flows derived from glacier melt. For instance, in 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Western glacier

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Andrews Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo taken in September 2017 by Dan McGrath.

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 3: a)

Photograph taken in 1950 during the annual glacier survey at Andrews Glacier. Photo source: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Andrews Glacier: From the Glacier Photograph Collection. b) Diagram of Andrews Glacier terminus and Andrews Tarn from 1946 Glacier Report by H.R. Gregg.

stonefly (Zapada glacier), an insect found in Wyoming and Montana, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to habitat degradation following the loss of glaciers and perennial snowfields (even more recent work has shown that the impact is slightly less grave where seasonal snow or other cold-water sources persist following glacier loss (Muhlfeld et al., 2020)). Beginning in the 1930s, National Park Service naturalists in Rocky Mountain National Park began annual glacier surveys on Andrews and Tyndall glaciers (Figure 1). These surveys, documented in annual reports, made repeat measurements of the glacier extent relative to static features in the landscape (Figure 3; e.g., Gregg, 1946). Later, Outcalt (1965), using repeat aerial imagery to produce photogrammetric maps of the glacier’s elevation, recognized the unique refugia in which these glaciers reside. He writes “the location of the glacier is due largely to the micro-environmental effects of the surrounding topography. Wind-driven snow, moved within a natural windward trough on the tundra through the col above the glacier, accumulates as a lee dune to the east of the col” (Outcalt, 1965). For some glaciers, their unique topographic settings act to decouple them, at least in part, from the regional climate. For example, DeBeer and Sharp (2009) found that ~90% of the very small glaciers (<0.4 km2) in the Monashee Mountains of

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British Columbia showed no observable change over a ~50 year period, whereas larger glaciers (presumably more connected to the regional climate) had a strongly negative mass balance and experienced extensive retreat. Working in Glacier National Park, Florentine et al. (2018) documented the retreat of Sperry Glacier and note that as the glacier lost area and retreated into its protective cirque, local processes, such as avalanching, became the dominant driver of its mass balance. However, in other locales (for example, the Swiss Alps), this protection does not appear as robust, and small glaciers are retreating rapidly (e.g., Fischer et al., 2015; Garwood et al., 2020). Here in Colorado, Hoffman et al. (2007), relying on historical photographs and modern aerial imagery, found that glaciers along the Front Range were at a maximum extent/volume at the beginning of their study period in the late 1800s, subsequently retreated through the ~1940s, then grew through ~2000 (Figure 4). Many of the glaciers began to shrink around 2000 in response to warming summer temperatures (Hoffman et al., 2007). More recent work has shown that glacier area (as mapped from seasonal snow/ice extent minima in August/September in airborne/satellite optical imagery) for 11 glaciers along the Front Range has been highly variable, but has shown no net change since ~2000 (Figure 5; McGrath, 2019). The large positive excursions in areal

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 4: Photographic timeseries of Andrews Glacier. Photo credits: 1916: Lee Willis/NSIDC;

1940: Paul Nesbit/NSIDC; 1950: ROMO Glacier Report/NSIDC; 1979: Russell Allen/NSIDC; 2001: unknown/Rocky Mountain National Park Library; 2016: Daniel McGrath. Photos between 19162001 from NSIDC Glacier Photograph Collection, Version 1. From McGrath, 2019.

FIGURE 5: Normalized area (area/mean area over interval) time series for 11 glaciers along the

Front Range. From McGrath, 2019.

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 6: Seasonal

elevation differences for Andrews Glacier. The 2016 winter balance was derived from GPR surveys, while subsequent balances were derived from repeat LiDAR surveys. GPR derived snow depths are overlaid on the winter balance 2017 in subpanel c. From McGrath, 2019.

extent follow winters with significant (and often, late season) snowfall (e.g., 2011) and represent the extent of seasonal snow covering the glacial ice. On larger glaciers, such variations in normalized area would be correspondingly modest, however, on these very small glaciers, the changes appear dramatic, despite only consisting of a thin veil of seasonal snow. More insight can be gained from other approaches, such as repeat terrestrial lidar to measure seasonal volume changes and ground-penetrating radar surveys to measure snow/ice thicknesses. Using this combination, McGrath (2019) revealed that upwards of ~16 m of snow can accumulate on Andrews Glacier, followed by approximately equal ablation during the summer months (Figure 6). The winter accumulation at Andrews and Tyndall glaciers is many times the background “atmospheric” accumulation due to extensive redistribution, as noted by Outcalt (1965). The majority of glaciers along the Front Range are found in similar sheltered locations in the lee of the westerly prevailing winds and although wind distribution is likely an important component of their mass balances, it is

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unlikely to be as exceptional as at Andrews and Tyndall. These glaciers are uniquely situated downwind of expansive peneplains, which the strong westerly winds sweep clear of snow and subsequently deposit onto these glaciers each winter (Figure 7). Globally, glaciers are predicted to lose 25-48% of their volume between 2010 and 2100, but for the western US and Canada, the predictions are even more severe, with volume losses exceeding 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2080 (Huss and Hock, 2015). In a detailed study of western Canada, Clarke et al. (2015) find near-complete loss of glaciers in the drier interior portions of their study area and widespread retreat elsewhere. In the Swiss Alps, a recent study found that small glaciers had already lost 60% of their ~1980 volume and predicted that more than 70% of these glaciers would be completely lost by 2040 (Huss and Fischer, 2016). Collectively, these studies suggest that the “refugia effect” can persist for only so long and that widespread loss is essentially inevitable given projected warming. In recent decades, the glaciers of Colorado’s Front

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 7: Oblique

satellite image showing high elevation peneplains to the west of Andrews and Tyndall glaciers. During the winter, prevailing westerly winds scour the peneplain clear of snow and deposit it on the glaciers.

Range have responded heterogeneously to recent climate change. Some glaciers have thinned and retreated, whereas others have shown very modest changes. Untangling this complicated story is ongoing, but one thing is clear: their unique topographic settings play an outsized role in how each individual glacier responds. Thus, in order to accurately predict their future evolution, it is essential to determine the duration over which these local processes can protect the glacier from warming temperatures, while also identifying potential non-linearities that might short-circuit their mass balance regimes (e.g., rain on snow events that limit snow redistribution). These glaciers are quite thin (e.g., 15-25 m for Arapaho and Arikaree, Haugen et al., 2010 and Leopold et al., 2015; maximum of ~45 m for Andrews, Figure 8), which increases the likelihood that a prolonged period of decreased winter accumulation/redistribution, combined with warm summer temperatures, could result in their complete demise. The recent winter snow drought in California did just this for the handful of small glaciers in the Trinity Alps of California (Garwood et al., 2020). Although the exact timing of their disappearance is uncertain, it is increasingly unlikely that G.H. Stone would be able to make a similar

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“discovery” two centuries later.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Terrestrial lidar surveys were provided by the GAGE Facility, operated by UNAVCO, Inc., with support from the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under NSF Cooperative Agreement EAR-11261833. Funding for McGrath (2019) was provided by the National Park Service under CESU Agreement P16AC00826. Sincere thanks to the many colleagues that assisted with fieldwork in Rocky Mountain National Park.

REFERENCES

Anderson, R.S., C. Riihimaki, E. Safran, and K. MacGregor (2006), Facing reality: Late Cenozoic evolution of smooth peaks, glacially ornamented valleys, and deep river gorges of Colorado’s Front Range, in Willett, S.D., Hovius, N., Brandon, M.T., and Fisher, D., eds., Tectonics, climate, and landscape evolution: Geological Society of America Special Paper 398, Penrose Conference Series, p. 397–418, doi: 10.1130/2006.2398 Clarke, G., A. Jarosch, F. Anslow, V. Radic, and B. Menounos (2015), Projected deglaciation of western

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 8:

GPR-derived ice thicknesses of Andrews Glacier in May 2017. GPR surveys were conducted using a Mala Geosciences ProEx control unit and 250 MHz antenna. From McGrath, 2019.

Garwood, J.M., A. Fountain, K. Lindke, M. van Hattem, and H. Basagic (2020), 20th Century retreat and recent drought accelerated extinction of mountain glaciers and perennial snowfields in the Trinity Alps, California, Northwest Science, 94(1), 44-61. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) (2019, September 10), accessed at: https:// geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:1:0::::: Gregg, H.R. (1946), Glacier Report for Rocky Mountain National Park. Accessed from Special Collections at NSIDC Glacier Photograph Collection. https://nsidc.org/sites/nsidc.org/files/files/data/ noaa/g00472/rmnp_report_1946.pdf Haugen, B., T. Scambos, W.T. Pfeffer, and R.S.

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Canada in the twenty-first century, Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo02407. Debeer C. and M. Sharp (2009), Topographic influences on recent changes of very small glaciers in the Monashee Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, Journal of Glaciology, 55(192), 691-700. Fischer, M., M. Huss, and M. Hoelzle (2015), Surface elevation and mass changes of all Swiss glaciers 1980-2010, The Cryosphere, 9, 525-540, doi:10.5194/tc-9-525-2015. Florentine, C., J. Harper, D. Fagre, J. Moore, and E. Peitzsch (2018), Local topography increasingly influences the mass balance of a retreating cirque glacier, The Cryosphere, 12, 2109-2122, doi:10.5194/tc-12-2109-2018.

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LEAD STORY Climate Change, doi:10.1038/s41558-017-0049-x. Kuhn, I. M. (1995), The mass balance of very small glaciers, Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie, Band 31, 171-179. Labelle, J. and K. Meyer (2019), Summary report of the ice patches of Rocky Mountain National Park: 2015-2018 Field Seasons. Report prepared for Continental Divide Research Learning Center, Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park, Colorado. Lee, C.M., J.B. Benedict and J.B. Lee (2006), Ice patches and remnant glaciers: paleontological discoveries and archeological possibilities in the Colorado high country, Southwest Lore, 72(1), 26–43. Leopold, M., G. Lewis, D. Dethier, N. Caine, and M. Williams (2015), Cryosphere: ice on Niwot Ridge and in the Green Lakes Valley, Colorado Front Range, Plant Ecology and Diversity, doi:10.1080/ 17550874.2014.992489. Madole, R., D.P. VanSistine, and J.A. Michael (1998), Pleistocene glaciation in the upper Platte River drainage basin, Colorado, USGS Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2644, Marzeion, B., J.G. Cogley, K. Richter, and D. Parkes (2014), Attribution of global glacier mass loss to anthropogenic and natural causes, Science, 345, 919-921, doi:10.1126/science.1254702. McGrath, D. (2019) Glacier and Perennial Snowfield Mass Balance of Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO): Past, Present, and Future. Final Report to Rocky Mountain National Park for Task Agreement P16AC00826. Colorado State University. Milner, A., K. Khamis, T. Battin, J. Brittain, N. Barrand, L. Füreder, S. Cauvy-Fraunié, G. Már Gíslason, D. Jacobsen, D. Hannah, A. Hodson, E. Hood, V. Lencioni, J. Ólafsson, C. Robinson, M. Tranter, and L. Brown (2017), Glacier

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Anderson (2010), Twentieth-century changes in the thickness and extent of Arapaho Glacier, Front Range, Colorado, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 42(2), 198-209. Hoffman, M., A. Fountain, and J. Achuff (2007), 20thcentury variations in area of cirque glaciers and glacierets, Rocky Mountain National Park, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA. Annals of Glaciology, 46, 349-354. Huss, M. and M. Fischer (2016), Sensitivity of very small glaciers in the Swiss Alps to future climate change, Frontiers in Earth Science, 4(34), doi: 10.3389/feart.2016.00034 Huss M. and R. Hock (2015), A new model for global glacier change and sea-level rise, Frontiers in Earth Science, 3(54), doi: 10.3389/ feart.2015.00054 Huss, M. and R. Hock (2018), Global-scale hydrological response to future glacier mass loss, Nature

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

LEAD STORY O’Neel, S. C. McNeil, L. C. Sass, C. Florentine, E. H. Baker, E. Peitzsch, D. McGrath, A. G. Fountain, and D. Fagre (2019), Reanalysis of the US Geological Survey Benchmark Glaciers: long-term insight into climate forcing of glacier mass balance, Journal of Glaciology, 65, 850-866. Stone, G. H. (1887), A living glacier on Hague’s Peak, Colorado, Science, 10, 153-154. USGS. (May 15, 2020), What is a glacier? https:// www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-glacier?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products. Wouters, B., A. Gardner, and G. Moholdt (2019), Global glacier mass loss during the Grace Satellite mission (2002-2016), Frontiers in Earth Science, 7(96), doi:10.3389/feart.2019.00096. Zemp, M., M. Huss, E. Thibert, N. Eckert, R. McNabb, J. Huber, M. Barandun, H. Machguth, S. U. Nussbaumer, I. Gärtner Roer, L. Thomson, F. Paul, F. Maussion, S. Kutuzov, and J. G. Cogley (2019), Global glacier mass changes and their contributions to sea-level rise from 1961 to 2016. Nature, 568, 382-386.

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shrinkage effects on downstream systems, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114, 9770-9778. Muhlfeld, C., T. Cline, J. Giersch, E. Peitzsch, C. Florentine, D. Jacobsen and S. Hotaling (2020), Specialized meltwater biodiversity persists despite widespread deglaciation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in press, doi:10.1073/ pnas.2001697117. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC; 2002, updated 2015). Glacier Photograph Collection, Version 1. Boulder, Colorado USA. doi: https:// doi.org/10.7265/N5/NSIDC-GPC-2009-12. Outcalt, S. (1965), The regimen of the Andrews Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 1957-1963, Water Resources Research, 1(2), 277-282. Pfeffer, W.T. and 19 others. (2014), The Randolph Glacier Inventory: a globally complete inventory of glaciers, Journal of Glaciology, 60(221), 537551, doi:10:3189/2014JoG13J176.

Proudly developing Colorado’s energy potential through innovation, safety and a commitment to our community l e a r n m o r e at : w w w . c r e s t o n e p e a k r e s o u r c e s . c o m

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | June 2020

Petroleum “Building the Future of EnergyPivoters! with O&G Expertise: Planning Your Geothermal Pivot” Visit our partner website Petroleum Pivoters!

University of Texas Austin’s Geo Entrepreneurship Organiza

Jamie Beard Executive Director University of Texas Austin’s Geothermal Entrepreneurship Organization

Rockies MiT

Rockies MiT Members Members in Transition

in Transition

Resources to Recharge Your Career By Terri Olson and Jane Estes-Jackson

OUTCROP | June 2020

is also a LinkedIn group: Petroleum Pivoters. The other initiative under way is a webinar series. Access to the webinars is free, and not limited to members of the sponsoring societies. The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) hosted the first talk on May 21, by Susan Morrice and Susan Nash, on “Thriving in the New World: Strengthen, Diversify, Innovate.” Over 100 participants, including people from Texas, Kansas, Wyoming, the UK, Germany, Spain, Columbia, Australia, and Belize as well as Colorado registered for this event. Additional webinars are planned for June and July, with topics such as a discussion panel of recruiters, soft skills for job hunters, and opportunities in geothermal energy. The Rocky Mountain MiT group is coordinating with AAPG and SPE, both of which have online toolkits for job seekers that are being launched to meet new needs of members. Susan Nash is the liaison between AAPG and MiT and can be contacted at snash@ aapg.org. In Denver, Susan Morrice is helping lead the MiT effort; she can be reached at smorrice@ine-energy.com.

There is a new effort afoot to help Rocky Mountain region oil industry professionals who are being affected by the industry downturn that has been amplified by the pandemic. Several professional societies have banded together to launch Rocky Mountain Members in Transition, or MiT. This is an outgrowth of the MiT effort by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in Houston that the Association of American Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) has recently joined. There are two initiatives of the Rockies MiT in progress. A website called Petroleum Pivoters was built by Julia Lemaster of Casper, and is a centralized collection of resources for job seekers within and beyond the oil industry. It was born out of a desire to help engineers and geoscientists who have been laid off due to 2020 events. It contains regional and national resources for career guidance, job searching, and general support. A unique feature is the collection of stories of successful pivoters, both inside and outside petroleum. Another useful component is a calendar with a focus on events for job seekers. The site can be accessed at petroleumpivoters.wixsite.com/website-1. There

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

Webinar Series Members in Transition

Rocky Mountain Members in Transition (MiT) is a joint effort of members of AAPG, SPE, WOGA, COGA, and RMAG in the Rocky Mountain region to help association members in the midst of a career transition.

June 16 12pm-1pm

Webinars are free and open to all

“Building the Future of Energy with O&G Expertise: Planning Your Geothermal Pivot” Visit our partner website Petroleum Pivoters!

Jamie Beard Executive Director University of Texas Austin’s Geothermal Entrepreneurship Organization

Rockies MiT Members in Transition

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | June 2020

ONLINE LUNCH TALK

FREE!

Speaker: Mark Millard June 10, 2020 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

BERS MEM Y ONL

Great Scott! A Homebrewed Recipe for Regional Trend-Based Log Normalization: Various Examples from Rocky Mountain Basins By Mark Millard, Andy Hennes, Preston Kerr, Riley Brinkerhoff, and Justin Brown

ABSTRACT Evaluation of large-scale resource plays often involves thousands of wells, covering a span of hundreds of miles. Proper characterization requires extremely accurate well logs. It is for this reason that log normalization continues to be one of the most important ‘first steps’ in an accurate log evaluation. However, log normalization is often under appreciated, treated as an enigmatic “black box” workflow, or simply avoided altogether. Even less appreciated or understood is a regional trend-based approach like those pioneered by Doveton and Bornemann (1981) and Kane, et al. (2005). In

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS! this presentation we address the necessity of accurate log normalization, discuss the various methods available, and present a simple workflow for regional trend-based normalization compatible with standard mapping software Although we present a workflow using Geographix software, the methodology can be used on most software platforms. We begin the analysis similar to other methods by defining our zone of interest,

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MARK MILLARD is a Consulting Geologist (and Free Agent) with Novelstone Geologic Consulting. He has 15 years of experience in the Williston, Powder, and nearly every other basin in the Rockies and Texas. He has worked in a multitude of roles from frontier exploration through field development for private PE backed and large public companies. Mark is the author of 29 papers and/or technical presentations. Mark currently serves on the Geology Advisory Board for BYU-Idaho, and was previously the President of the Montana Geological OUTCROP | June 2020

Society, and Technical Session Chair for the 2017 RMS-AAPG Annual Conference. He received the A.I. Levorson Award from the RMS AAPG, and the Frank Kottlowski Memorial award from the AAPG Energy and Minerals Division in 2014. He received his Masters degree from Baylor University in 2007, and Undergraduate degree from BYU-Idaho in 2005 (Cum Laude). His interests outside of geology include building mandolins, guitars, and violins, and playing bluegrass music. www.NovelstoneGeo.com Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

G eoloGisTs

n i gC T r l o a p

T he R ocky M ounTain a ssociaTion

8/28 nam

n e

Kiowa Creek Sporting Club | August 28, 2020 • Prizes for individual high score and team 1st, 2nd, & 3rd flights • Includes 1 round of 100 sporting clays, lunch, and door prizes • Does not include ammunition (please bring enough ammo for 100 clays, or you may purchase ammo at Kiowa Creek) • You may rent a gun for $20 onsite

5 person team (member): $425 5 person team (non-member): $500 Individual (member): $85 Individual (non-member): $100

Registration and sponsorship available at www.rmag.org! email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

fax: 323.352.0046 | web: www.rmag.org OUTCROP | June 2020

follow: @rmagdenver

ONLINE LUNCH TALK: JUNE

Âť CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

preferably a zone with relatively consistent lithological and petrophysical characteristics over a large area. As an advantage over field-average, or single-well log normalization, this method accounts for regional variations attributed to depositional, and/or compaction trends. Next, cumulative frequency statistics are calculated in the zone of interest for each well and plotted as regional contour maps. Individual well data points that deviate significantly from the norm are then removed from the dataset through visual inspection and analysis of histograms. Using the refined list of datapoints, a set of maps is created using a series of trending algorithms. After selecting the map that best approximates regional trends related to deposition or compaction, the values are sampled back to all of the wells in the project. The values from the regional trend maps are then used as â&#x20AC;&#x153;field valuesâ&#x20AC;? in a standard one or two-point field average normalization calculation. Upon completion, the normalized curves are evaluated to determine if they make geologic sense and to reduce variability due to log quality, type, or vintage. This simple approach allows a user to normalize a large set of wells in little time, while accounting for regional geologic variations otherwise ignored by traditional normalization workflows.

OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

RMAG/Mines Partnership Short Course

Practical Python for Earth Scientists Date: October 1, 2020 Location: Catalyst Health Tech Center (3513 Brighton Blvd, Denver, CO 80216) Instructors: Matthew Bauer, P.G., with breakout sessions from Zane Jobe & Thomas Martin Registration: csmspace.com/events/ practicalpython/registration.cpes Please note: Registration will be handled by Colorado School of Mines’ Continuing Education & Professional Development Department. Contact Learn@mines.edu with questions.

New Date: Oct. 1, 2020

Who is this course for? This course is tailored for geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, petroleum engineers, production engineers, landmen, and anyone else that would like to gain skills in practical python programming, data mining, and machine learning. While this course will use examples from the petroleum industry, any earth scientist will benefit from learning about geospatial and subsurface data analysis. Course Goals: •

Introduce the python programing language for the geoscientist.

•

Introduce python libraries that allow integration into other software programs through reading, manipulating, and writing LAS well logs and shapefiles.

•

Provide hands on examples of the application of Data Mining, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics to solve problems faced by a petroleum geologist.

•

By the end of the course students should be able to adapt the provided examples for use with their own data.

Price:

Course registration fee includes Continuing Education Credits through Colorado School of Mines.

email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

$400 thru 9/14/2020 $450 after 9/14/2020

Regist- https://csmspace.com/ events/practicalpython/ ration: Closes Sept. 29, 2020 fax: 323.352.0046 | web: www.rmag.org OUTCROP | June 2020

follow: @rmagdenver

ONLINE LUNCH TALK

FREE!

Speaker: Neil Bockoven, PhD July 1, 2020 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

BERS MEM Y ONL

Three Paleo Human Mysteries By Neil Bockoven, PhD humans, 3) Competition for food and resources, 4) Our larger population absorbed their smaller one, and 5) Climate change brought on by the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption.

MYSTERY ONE Did we mate with Neanderthals and have viable offspring? If so, what genetics did we get from them? Yes, we interbred, but apparently, only male Homo sapien-female Neanderthal pairings survived or were fertile. From the Neanderthal genes we got enhanced viral immunity, but also predispositions for ailments such as lupus, Crohn’s disease, type 2 diabetes, actinic keratosis, and depression.

MYSTERY THREE Why is an Australian aborigine genetically more similar to a Scandinavian than an African tribesman is to a member of a different African tribe? A small subset of the African population (with their relative lack of genetic diversity) left Africa about 70,000 years ago, and they populated the rest of the world. In addition to answering these and other intriguing questions, we’ll discuss the huge breakthroughs coming from ancient DNA analysis, and the different information we get from the three types of DNA.

MYSTERY TWO Neanderthals lived in Europe for more than 250,000 years. When we (Homo sapiens) arrived on the scene about 45,000 years ago, they disappeared quicky—forever. What happened? Five major factors played a role in the Neanderthal demise: 1) Homicide by modern humans, 2) Disease brought by modern

NEIL BOCKOVEN is an award-winning PhD geologist and journalist with 35 years of experience in industry. He has been featured in: Geological Society of America Bulletin, Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, Virginia Journal of Science and many other scientific publications. Neil is a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, the Archaeological Conservancy, the Leakey Foundation, and is an Impact Member of the Center for Study of the First Americans. Neil attended The College of William and Mary, where he was a member of the state champion swim team and received a Bachelor of Arts. He went on to The University of Texas at Austin, OUTCROP | June 2020

earning a masters and doctorate in geoscience. He has published articles on topics as diverse as the geology of huge volcanic calderas of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains of Mexico to sexual dimorphism in Astarte clams. His current interests center on the interaction between Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals during the Paleolithic Age, and the amazing related discoveries being made through archaeology and ancient DNA analysis. In addition to Moctu and the Mammoth People, Neil has also published a related children’s book titled When We Met Neanderthals. For more about Neil Bockoven visit his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/authorneilbockoven/ or his web site at www.neilbockoven.com. Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

RMAG

Sponsored C ontent Advertising

NEW! The RMAG is excited to announce the availability of sponsored content opportunities on our website (www.rmag.org). Sponsored content is a great way to get in-depth information about new products and services in front of your target audience. What is Sponsored Content? Sponsored content is a form of “native advertising”—advertising that maintains the look and feel of the main website but is provided and paid for by the advertiser to accomplish the advertiser’s goals. Long-form articles about products and services are ideally suited to sponsored content. All sponsored content on the RMAG website is labeled as “Sponsored Content” but otherwise looks the same as other editorial content on the website. Unlike clickthrough ads, sponsored content allows you to reach your targeted audience with in-depth information, right on RMAG’s website.

Looking for more than a click-thru ad? Reach RMAG’s community of over 3000 geoscientists with content-rich technical information using sponsored content advertising. Pricing starts at $75/month per article. Discounts given for multiple articles and/or multiple months. Contact the RMAG office for more information and to get started.

email: staff@rmag.org | phone: 800.970.7624 Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

1999 Broadway, Suite 730, Denver CO 80202

How does it work? You supply the content of the sponsored content article, including text, photographs, graphs, maps, or other graphics, and one click-through URL (see below for details). You are responsible for all editing and proofreading of the content. RMAG will post the article to our website, working with you to place graphics appropriately. You can choose to have your content appear in the “Articles” section of the homepage or on the Support page. Pricing is based on articles posted for one-month increments.

fax: 323.352.0046 | web: www.rmag.org OUTCROP | June 2020

follow: @rmagdenver

Fossil And Mineral Donation To RMAG The RMAG Education and Outreach Committee received a small trove of fossil, mineral, and rock specimens from Dick Louden, a long-time Denver petroleum geologist and RMAG member.

Several volunteers assisted Dick in sorting through 50 years of collected materials that are available for use by the committee for educational purposes. Most of the fossil specimens are Paleozoic in age and include brachiopods, echinoderms, corals (solitary and colonial), gastropods, bryozoans, pelecypods, and trilobites that Dick collected in Indiana and Ohio. Mineral and rock samples were amassed during Dick’s long career as a petroleum geologist for Shell Oil and a number of smaller companies in Denver. Dick is hopeful that the collection can be utilized by RMAG members who visit elementary and secondary schools to talk about earth sciences and related fields.

KC Oren

Well Log Digitizing • Petrophysics Petra® Projects • Mud Log Evaluation

President

Denver Oﬃce: Brooks Tower 1020 15th Street Denver CO 80202 Postal Address: Frisco CO 80443-0063 Email: KC@GeoStarSolu�ons.com

Bill Donovan

Geologist • Petroleum Engineer • PE

Phone: 303.249.9965

(720) 351-7470 donovan@petroleum-eng.com

Web: GeoStar.Partners

Lateral Thinking. Experience our Edge!

OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

IN THE PIPELINE JUNE 10, 2020

JUNE 18, 2020

RMAG Luncheon. “Great Scott! A Homebrewed Recipe for Regional Trend-Based Log Normalization: Various Examples from Rocky Mountain Basins.” Mark Millard. Online, free for RMAG members. Visit RMAG.org/events to register.

RMAG Virtual Trivia Night. Free and open to all. Visit RMAG.org/ events to register. JUNE 23, 2020 COGA Connect Luncheon. “Lessons Learned-From Big Oil to Start Up.” Call 303-861-0362.

JUNE 16, 2020 Rockies MiT Online Talk. “Building the Future of Energy with O&G Expertise: Planning Your Geothermal Pivot.” Jamie Beard. Online, free and open to all. Visit RMAG.org/events to register.

JUNE 27-28, 2020 RMAG Field Trip. “Paleozoic Impact Crater Field.” Douglas, WY. Postponed until 2021.

Providing geoscience expertise and technology to the field and office since 1981

Well Site Geology Geosteering - On site & Remote Rock Analytics Geologic Prognosis/Mapping Oil Field Safety Training - PEC Regulatory Representation

sunburstconsulting.com

406.259.4124 Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | June 2020

RMAG Membership Survey Results By Jane Estes-Jackson (58%) have Master’s degrees and another 16% have their Doctorate. Over 80% have degrees in geology/ geoscience disciplines. This probably explains why publications and technical programs ranked the highest as the most important aspects of membership. A clear majority (57%) of respondents are petroleum geologists, with another 5% identifying as geophysicists and nearly 2% as petrophysicists. In addition, 88% are also members of AAPG. Of those working in oil and gas, 62% are working unconventional plays, versus 38% working in conventional plays. The top basins in order are the Powder River, DJ, Permian, Williston, Greater Green River, Uinta, Anadarko, San Juan, and Piceance. This information is useful for guiding the technical program offerings such

Several months ago the RMAG Membership Committee sent a survey to members to determine both the demographics and the interests of the organization at large. This effort was last undertaken in 2017, and evidently not much has changed since then. Membership has remained somewhat steady at just under 1800 members. Approximately 18% responded to this most recent survey, compared to 40% who responded three years ago; however, statistically the overall results are similar enough to assume good representation of the organization. At the time of the survey two thirds of respondents described themselves as employed, with 28% of those being self-employed. Thirty one percent are retired. Only 4% described themselves as unemployed or currently seeking employment; however this has most certainly changed with the recent sharp downturn in the oil and gas industry. Of those who were working at the time of the survey, a majority work for a company with less than 50 employees. Most of these are small independent oil companies, which is generally a reflection of the greater Denver economy. Almost one third of respondents are in managerial or executive positions, and nearly ¾ of have advanced degrees. The majority

Length of RMAG Membership

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

Length of RMAG Membership

OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

RMAG Membership Age Breakdown MEMBERSHIP SURVEY RESULTS

RMAG Membership Age Breakdown

RMAG Membership Gender Breakdown

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | June 2020

Other

N/A

International

Alaska

Gulf of Mexico

South Texas

Fort Worth East Texas

Michigan

Illinois

Appalachian

Anadarko

Permian

Wind River Williston

Big Horn

Uinta

Green River

Powder River

Piceance

Raton

Paradox

San Juan

RMAG Membership Job Roles MEMBERSHIP SURVEY RESULTS

RMAG Membership Job Roles

RMAG Membership Basin Interest

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

RMAG Membership Company Categories RMAG Membership Company MEMBERSHIP SURVEY RESULTS Categories

RMAG Membership Company Categories

*All others includes government, academia, training, engineering, *All environmental, others includes government, academia, training, engineering, software, mining, and hydrology firms. software, environmental, mining, and hydrology firms. *All others includes government, academia, training, engineering, software, environmental, mining, and hydrology firms. as luncheon talks, short courses, core workshops, and symposia. In fact, a clear majority (almost 79%) of respondents want to see petroleum geology topics as the lead article of the Outcrop. But this could change as more of our members seek employment outside of oil and gas and we should be mindful of that. The monthly luncheons are RMAG’s most popular events and are regularly attended by nearly half the membership. Nearly one third of respondents attend symposia and short courses. Over 12% attend field trips and 8% attend core workshops, but these activities have built in attendance limits so that may be a factor in the participation rate. Happy hours appear to be the most popular social events, followed by the Rockbusters’ Bash. That half of the members that don’t regularly attend events generally live outside of metro Denver, which may be a reason why the temporary online luncheon speaker program has been so popular. We hope to have more online offerings in the future to include these members. The loyalty of our members is quite impressive. Nearly half of the respondents in the recent survey (45%) have been members for over 30 years. This is not surprising considering that 77% are 55 years or

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

older. But looked at another way, less than ¼ of the membership is under the age of 55. This is not unique to RMAG, and it is perhaps the biggest challenge to maintaining the long term viability of the organization. It is crucial to attract more members in the early phase of their career in order to ensure that RMAG remains sustainable into the future. If the survey respondents are an accurate representation of RMAG membership, then we can assume that 16% of the members are women. This is a slight improvement over 2017, when women comprised 14% of the membership, and it is double the 8% of members in 1994 that were female. And while women may be a minority within the general membership, they are very active and involved in the overall leadership of the organization. Exactly 50% of the current Board members are female, and women comprise anywhere from 10% to over 87% of the various key committees within the RMAG, so they clearly have a profound impact on the success of the organization. Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey. We want our members to know that they have a voice, so if you have other suggestions or concerns please reach out to myself, the other Board members, or the office staff.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

OUTCROP | June 2020

WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!

Brock Arveson

is a student at Western College University.

Robert Balcells

is a Geologist/Hydrogeologist and Retired/Part-time Geology Professor at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Wakil Balumi

is a student at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Daan Beelen

is a student at Colorado School of Mines.

Blake Brazell

is a student at University of Northern Colorado.

Robin Fisher

is a Senior Geologist at Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation in Shoreacres, Texas.

Clark Grose

is a Science Teacher at Arvada West Senior High in Littleton, Colorado.

Alison Hafner

is a student at Utah State University.

Steve Heron

lives in Kingwood, Texas.

Hanna Janssen

is an alumnus of Fort Lewis College.

Robert Johanson is a student at Colorado School of Mines.

Stephanie BrightwellCoates

is a student at University of Kansas.

Steven Clawson

is a student at Colorado School of Mines.

is a Geologist at Hilcorp in Spring, Texas. is a Consultant at GeoData2Knowledge in Lakewood, Colorado.

Cody Delgado

is a student at Colorado State University.

OUTCROP | June 2020

Jacquelin Lee

Thomas Martin

Nicole Mejia-Mendoza is a student at Colorado Mesa University.

Ryan OHara

is a Geologist at Antero Resources in Denver, Colorado.

India Phillips

is a student at Colorado College.

Joseph Podlesak

works at Schlumberger in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Savannah Rice

is a student at Colorado School of Mines.

Hannah Runyon

is a student at Colorado College.

Elizabeth Schaeffer is a student at Metro State University.

Chance Seckinger is a student at Colorado School of Mines.

Eric Shearer

is a Vice President of Sales at Columbine Corporation in Littleton, Colorado.

Alexa Socianu

lives in Indian Hills, Colorado.

Lisa Stright

is an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

WE ARE GREAT WESTERN AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO:

PEOPLE

EXCELLENCE

TEAMWORK

STEWARDSHIP

GROWTH

RESILIENCE

WE ARE #CommittedtoColorado

Experience Experience truly truly integrated integrated 3D interpretation 3D interpretation with truly integrated truly integrated with industry's most industry's most advanced advanced 3D with 3D interpretation interpretation with geoscience geoscience system industry's most industry's system most advanced advanced geoscience system geoscience system GVERSE Geomodeling 2017 GeoGraphix 2017 GVERSE Geomodeling 2017 GeoGraphix 2017

Anthony Ford Account Executive, LMKR GeoGraphix

GVERSE

Email: aford@lmkr.com P: +1 (303) 996-2153, C: +1 (720) 210-8889

Ford Account Executive, LMKR GeoGraphix Vol. 69, No. 6Anthony | www.rmag.org 39

R TM

GVERSE

Email: aford@lmkr.com P: +1 (303) 996-2153, C: +1 (720) 210-8889

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OUTCROPwww.lmkr.com | June 2020

www.lmkr.com

ADVERTISER INDEX

• Crestone Peak Resources �� 23 • Daub & Associates �� 21 • Donovan Brothers Inc. �� 32 • GeoMark Research �� 28 • GeoStar Energy Partners �� 32 • Great Western �� 39 • Hollowtop Geological Services �� 8 • LMKR �� 39 • Sinclair Petroleum Engineering, Inc. �� 21 • Sunburst Consulting �� 33 • Tracker Resource Development �� 22

Reach: Futher, higher. Advertise in The Outcrop

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists combines the industry's most advanced technology, precise targeting and a quality network to deliver results for advertisers & publishers. For more information on how you can advertise in upcoming issues of The Outcrop, including basic information, how to submit an ad, size options, advertising rates, and the agreement, click on the link below.

clickheretoLearnmore.

OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org

CALENDAR – JUNE 2020 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

RMAG Luncheon. (Online)

Rockies MiT Online Talk.

RMAG Virtual Trivia Night.

COGA Connect Luncheon.

RMAG Field Trip. Postponed until 2021.

OUTCROP ADVERTISING RATES 1 Time

2 Times

6 Times

12 Times

Full page (7-1/2” x 9-1/4”)

$330

$620

$1,710

$3,240

2/3 page (4-7/8” x 9-1/4”)

$220

$400

$1,110

$2,100

1/2 page (7-1/2” x 4-5/8”)

$175

$330

$930

$1,740

1/3 page horizontal (4-7/8” x 4-7/8”)

$165

$250

$690

$1,200

1/3 page vertical (2-3/8” x 9-1/4”)

$165

$250

$690

$1,200

1/6 page (2-3/8” x 4-7/8”)

$75

$120

$330

$600

Professional Card (2-5/8” x 1-1/2”)

$20

$34

$84

$144

OUTCROP | June 2020

Vol. 69, No. 6 | www.rmag.org