OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
Volume 67 • No. 10 • October 2018
OUTCROP | October 2018
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
910 16th Street • Suite 1214 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.
2018 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT
2st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT
Terri Olson tmolson8550@gmail.com
Sophie Berglund sberglund@raisaenergy.com
PRESIDENT-ELECT
TREASURER
Tom Sperr tsperr@bayless-cos.com
Robin Swank robin.swank@gmail.com
1st VICE PRESIDENT
TREASURER-ELECT
David Katz davidkatz76@gmail.com
Eryn Bergin eryn.bergin@aec-denver.com
1st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT
SECRETARY
Heather LaReau heatherthegeologist@gmail.com
Anna Phelps aphelps@sm-energy.com
2nd VICE PRESIDENT
COUNSELOR
Tracy Lombardi tracy.lombardi@inflectionenergy.com
Jim Emme jim_emme@yahoo.com
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
Rates and sizes can be found on page 63. Advertising rates apply to either black and white or color ads. Submit color ads in RGB color to be compatible with web format. Borders are recommended for advertisements that comprise less than one half page. Digital files must be PC compatible submitted in png, jpg, tif, pdf or eps formats at a minimum of 300 dpi. If you have any questions, please call the RMAG office at 303-573-8621. Ad copy, signed contract and payment must be received before advertising insertion. Contact the RMAG office for details.
RMAG STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Barbara Kuzmic bkuzmic@rmag.org MEMBERSHIP & EVENTS MANAGER
Hannah Rogers hrogers@rmag.org PROJECTS SPECIALIST
Kathy Mitchell-Garton kmitchellgarton@rmag.org LEAD EDITOR
Cheryl Fountain cwhitney@alumni.nmt.edu ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Kira Timm kira.k.timm@gmail.com Ron Parker ron@bhigeo.com Holly Sell holly.sell@yahoo.com DESIGN/LAYOUT
Nate Silva nate@nate-silva.com
DEADLINES: Ad submissions are the 1st of every month for the following month’s publication. WEDNESDAY NOON LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS
RMAG Office: 303-573-8621 | Fax: 808-389-4090 | staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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Outcrop | October 2018 OUTCROP
2018 Summit Sponsors Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
NORTH RANCH RESOURCES
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
CONTENTS FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS (cont.)
16 Lead Story: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
63 Outcrop Advertising Rates
26 RMAG Field Trip: Upper Arkansas Valley
64 Advertiser Index 64 Calendar
36 2018 RMAG Award Recipients 44 Board of Directors Candidates
ASSOCIATION NEWS
54 Board of Directors Election Ballot
2 RMAG Permian Basin Symposium & Core Workshop 4 RMAG 2018 Summit Sponsors
DEPARTMENTS 6 RMAG September 2018 Board of Directors Meeting
7 Permian Basin - Call for Papers 9 RMAG October Short Course 15 On The Rocks Field Trips, 2018
10 President’s Letter
21 RMAG Core Workshop
32 RMAG Luncheon programs: Tyler Izkowski
30 Award For Excellence In Teaching Earth Sciences Presented To Matt Sturdivant
34 RMAG Luncheon programs: Keith Musselman, Ph.D.
COVER PHOTO Anvil Points Member of the Green River Formation forming the cliffs of the Roan Plateau above the Rulison Field, Garfield County, Colorado. Photo by Stephen Sturm.
31 2018 Rockbusters Bash
56 In The Pipeline 60 Welcome New RMAG Members!
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RMAG SEPTEMBER 2018 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING By Anna Phelps, Secretary aphelps@sm-energy.com
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get your rock fix while the nearby mountain outcrops are inaccessible). The Membership Committee and Connie Knight are hosting a BBQ for Membership Program mentors and mentees in early October. Also upcoming in October is the Denver Earth Resources Library Tour on October 24. The Publications Committee is excited to announce that Kira Timm and Courtney Beck will be the new Co-Editors of The Outcrop. A big thanks for Kira and Courtney for stepping up to the plate! The November/October issue of the Mountain Geologist is well on its way, so keep any eye out for that publication soon. The On the
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for RMAG with the continued addition to revenue and low expenses. Executive Director Barbara Kuzmic reported that membership continues to increase and is currently at 1,767 members. There were some Publication sales in August and registrations for upcoming events through the end of the year look good. The Continuing Education Committee has been staying busy, as always. The Committee has the Luncheons booked out for the rest of 2018 and the first half of 2019. The Committee continues to work on planning the Permian Basin Symposium at the end of January, which will have technical talks and core (so you can
Well, I blinked and there went summer! Welcome to fall, my fellow rock connoisseurs! The leaves are changing, the elk are bugling, and there’s any early morning crispness to the air. Get on the outcrop while you can, snow is quickly approaching in the high elevations and it’s never easy to operate a Brunton or sketch in a field book with numb fingers! The September meeting of the RMAG Board of Directors was held on September 19, 2018 at 4:00 PM. All board members except David Katz, Eryn Bergin, and Jim Emme were present. Treasurer Robin Swank reported that August was a good financial month
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Call Call For For Papers Papers l For Papers Call Call For For Papers Papers
AG
RMAG RMAG RMAG RMAG
Permian Permian Basin Basin Symposium Symposium mian Basin Permian Permian Symposium Basin Basin Symposium Symposium Permian Basin Symposium & & Core Core Workshop Workshop re Workshop & & Core Workshop Workshop &Core Core Workshop
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RMAG is very is excited verySymposium to announce to announce our 1st our Permian 1st Permian Basin Symposium Basin Symposium and Core and Workshop. Core Workshop. nounce our RMAG RMAG RMAG 1st Permian isisRMAG is very very excited excited Basin excited toexcited to to announce announce announce and our our our Core 1st 1st 1st Permian Workshop. Permian Permian Basin Basin Basin Symposium Symposium Symposium and and and Core Core Core Workshop. Workshop. Workshop. RMAG isvery very excited to announce our 1st Permian Basin Symposium and Core Workshop. 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Day one Day will one be will oral be presentations oral presentations focused focused on the on Bone the Spring/ Bone Spring/ will be oral petroleum petroleum petroleum presentations system. system. system. focused Day Day Day one one one onwill will the will be be Bone be oral oral oral Spring/ presentations presentations presentations focused focused focused on on on the the the Bone Bone Bone Spring/ Spring/ Spring/ petroleum system. Day one will be oral presentations focused on the Bone Spring/ Wolfcamp/Sparberry Wolfcamp/Sparberry stratigraphic stratigraphic intervals. intervals. Day two Day will two consist will consist of core of presentations core presentations raphic intervals. Wolfcamp/Sparberry Wolfcamp/Sparberry Wolfcamp/Sparberry Day two will consist stratigraphic stratigraphic stratigraphic of coreintervals. intervals. presentations intervals. Day Day Day two two two will will will consist consist consist ofof of core core core presentations presentations presentations Wolfcamp/Sparberry stratigraphic intervals. Day two will consist of core presentations by operators by operators presenting presenting informative/interactive informative/interactive lectures lectures featuring featuring their Permian their Permian core ormative/interactive by by by operators operators operators lectures presenting presenting presenting featuring informative/interactive informative/interactive informative/interactive their Permian corelectures lectures lectures featuring featuring featuring their their their Permian Permian Permian core core core by operators presenting informative/interactive lectures featuring their Permian core core Tentative Tentative Agenda: Agenda: Tentative Tentative Tentative Agenda: Agenda: Agenda: Tentative Agenda: 1st Day: Technical Symposiums: 1st Day: Technical Symposiums: ums: 1st 1st 1st Day: Day: Day: Technical Technical Technical Symposiums: Symposiums: Symposiums: 1st Day: Technical Symposiums: 30-minute intervals; 25-minute presentation/5-minute question & answer 30-minute intervals; presentation/5-minute question & answer nute presentation/5-minute 30-minute 30-minute 30-minute intervals; intervals; intervals; question 25-minute 25-minute 25-minute &25-minute answer presentation/5-minute presentation/5-minute presentation/5-minute question question question &&& answer answer 30-minute intervals; 25-minute presentation/5-minute question &answer answer 2nd Day: Core Workshop 2nd Day: Core Workshop 2nd 2nd 2nd Day: Day: Day: Core Core Core Workshop Workshop Workshop 2nd Day: Core Workshop Five cores interactive lecture and core viewing Five – interactive lecture and core viewing ve lecture and core Five Five Five viewing cores cores cores ––interactive –––cores interactive interactive lecture lecture lecture and and and core core core viewing viewing viewing Five cores interactive lecture and core viewing Technical talks will consist of 25-minute talk to be presented at the Symposium and an talks willof consist of a 25-minute talk to be presented at the Symposium f a 25-minute Technical Technical Technical talkTechnical talks to talks talks bewill presented will will consist consist consist atof of athe a25-minute aa 25-minute Symposium talk talk talk and toto to be an be be presented presented presented atatat the the Symposium Symposium Symposium and and and an an an Technical talks will consist of a25-minute 25-minute talk to be presented atthe the Symposium and anand an extended abstract to be published Proceedings volume to be distributed at the event. extended abstract to distributed be published in Proceedings volume to be distributed at the event. blished inextended extended aextended Proceedings abstract abstract abstract volume to to to be be be to published published published be ininin ain aa Proceedings at thea event. volume volume volume to to to be be be distributed distributed distributed atatat the the event. event. event. extended abstract to be published inaProceedings aProceedings Proceedings volume to be distributed atthe the event. Core workshop sessions will be ~45 minutes and limited to 100’ of slabbed core. Presentation Core workshop sessions will be ~45 minutes and limited to 100’ of slabbed core. Presentation be ~45 Core minutes Core Core workshop workshop workshop and limited sessions sessions sessions to 100’ will will will of be be be slabbed ~45 ~45 ~45 minutes minutes minutes core. and Presentation and and limited limited limited toto to 100’ 100’ 100’ ofof of slabbed slabbed slabbed core. core. core. Presentation Presentation Presentation Core workshop sessions will be ~45 minutes and limited to 100’ of slabbed core. Presentation topics may include, but are not limited to: topics may but include, but are notto: limited to: not limited topics topics topics to: may may may include, include, include, but but are are are not not not limited limited limited to: to: topics may include, but are not limited to: Geology/stratigraphy/Basin Modeling/Petroleum SystemSystem Geology/stratigraphy/Basin Modeling/Petroleum Modeling/Petroleum Geology/stratigraphy/Basin Geology/stratigraphy/Basin Geology/stratigraphy/Basin System Modeling/Petroleum Modeling/Petroleum Modeling/Petroleum System System System Geology/stratigraphy/Basin Modeling/Petroleum System Presentation topics may include, Formation Formation Evaluation/Petrophysics Evaluation/Petrophysics ormation Formation Formation Evaluation/Petrophysics Evaluation/Petrophysics Evaluation/Petrophysics Formation Evaluation/Petrophysics Please direct questions to Reservoir Reservoir Characterization/Resource Characterization/Resource inPlace/Recovery Place/Recovery in Place/Recovery but are not limited to: Reservoir Reservoir nReservoir Place/Recovery Characterization/Resource Characterization/Resource Characterization/Resource ininin Place/Recovery Reservoir Characterization/Resource in Place/Recovery Place/Recovery any of the planning team:
Rock Rock Mountain y Mountain Association Association of ntain Rock Rock Rock Association yyyy Mountain Mountain of Association Association Association of of of Rock yMountain Mountain Association of of • Geology/stratigraphy/Basin
Geologists Geologists RMAG RMAG Geologists RMAG Geologists Geologists Geologists RMAG RMAG RMAG Geologists RMAG Symposium: Symposium: Symposium: Symposium:
Symposium: Robin Swank - robin.swank@gmail.com Please Please direct direct questions questions to any to of any the of planning the planning team: team: ny of the Please planning Please Please direct direct direct team: questions questions questions toto to any any any ofof of the the the planning planning planning team: team: team: Please direct questions to any of the planning team: • Formation Evaluation/Petrophysics Sophie Berglund - sberglund@raisaenergy.com Symposium: Symposium: Best Practices Best Practices Development Development Strategies Strategies Best Best Best Practices Practices Practices Development Development Development Strategies Strategies Strategies Modeling/Petroleum System Best Practices Development Strategies
Permian Permian Basin Basin Symposium Symposium n Basin Permian Permian Symposium Basin Basin Symposium Symposium Core Core Workshop Workshop Core Workshop &&& & Core Core Workshop Workshop • Reservoir Characterization/
Robin Swank Robin –robin.swank@gmail.com robin.swank@gmail.com – robin.swank@gmail.com @gmail.comRobin Robin Robin Swank Swank Swank – –robin.swank@gmail.com –Swank Core Workshop: Robin Swank – robin.swank@gmail.com robin.swank@gmail.com Resource in Place/Recovery Sophie Sophie Berglund Berglund sberglund@raisaenergy.com - sberglund@raisaenergy.com d@raisaenergy.com Sophie Sophie Sophie Berglund Berglund Berglund sberglund@raisaenergy.com sberglund@raisaenergy.com sberglund@raisaenergy.com Sophie Berglund - sberglund@raisaenergy.com Jenny LaGesse - jennylagesse@gmail.com Core workshop: Core workshop: • Development Core Core Core workshop: workshop: workshop: Core workshop: Strategies Tracy Lombardi - tlombardi61@gmail.com Jenny LaGesse–jennylagesse@gmail.com Jenny LaGesse–jennylagesse@gmail.com @gmail.com Jenny Jenny LaGesse–jennylagesse@gmail.com LaGesse–jennylagesse@gmail.com LaGesse–jennylagesse@gmail.com Jenny LaGesse–jennylagesse@gmail.com •Jenny Best Practices Tracy LombardiTracy LombardiTlombardi61@gmail.com Tlombardi61@gmail.com 1@gmail.com Tracy Tracy Tracy LombardiLombardiLombardiTlombardi61@gmail.com Tlombardi61@gmail.com Tlombardi61@gmail.com Tracy LombardiTlombardi61@gmail.com
Abstract Submission Submission Form: Form: Permian Permian Basin Basin Symposium Symposium Oral –Presentations Presentations Oral Presentations m: Permian Abstract Abstract Abstract BasinAbstract Submission Symposium Submission Submission Form: –Form: Form: Oral Permian Presentations Permian Permian Basin Basin Basin Symposium Symposium Symposium ––Oral –––Oral Oral Presentations Presentations Abstract Submission Form: Permian Basin Symposium Oral Presentations Author(s) Author(s) and Company and Company Affiliation: Affiliation:
ation: Author(s) Author(s) Author(s) and and and Company Company Company Affiliation: Affiliation: Affiliation: Author(s) and Company Affiliation: Primary Primary Speaker Speaker Contact Contact Information: Information: mation: Primary Primary Primary Speaker Speaker Speaker Contact Contact Contact Information: Information: Information: Primary Speaker Contact Information: Presentation Presentation Title: Title: Presentation Presentation Presentation Title: Title: Title: Presentation Title: Vol.Brief 67, Abstract: No. 10Abstract: | www.rmag.org Brief Brief Brief Brief Abstract: Abstract: Abstract: Brief Abstract:
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RMAG SEPTEMBER 2018 BOD MEETING
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Rocks Committee reported that the sold out Ammonite fieldtrip was a blast and Horseshoe Cirque was also very popular and went well. Check out President Terri Olson’s President’s Letter in this month’s Outcrop for more details about fieldtrips. The RMAG Board of Directors will be holding elections for nominated appointees in October and early November. Check out the nominated appointees’ biographies in the Outcrop and don’t forget to vote, either by mail or email, between October 1 and November 15. Last month’s Name the Formation was a tough one, unless you’re an igneous petrologist or a lover of Eocene volcanic fields. Last month’s outcrop was a Middle Eocene volcanic province that spans 165 miles from Livingston, Montana to Dubois, Wyoming. If you guessed the Absaroka Volcanic Province, you are correct! This month’s Name the Formation is a mountain range that caters to those Montana geology lovers out there. This range consist of steeply-dipping, Precambrian through Cretaceous strata. At the crest of most of the range is Mississippian Lodgepole Formation and Devonian Sappington Formation (Bakken Formation equivalent) and the center of the range marks the southern margin of the Belt Basin. This mountain range is frequented by mountain goats and human mountain goatlike runners. If you have an inspiring outcrop photo from the Rocky Mountain Region that you’d like to see in the Name the Formation game, please email it to me with a short description. Thanks in advance! Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
October 25, 2018 | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Intro to Unconventional Play Prospecting and Development PRESENTERS:
David Hume, Core Laboratories Kory Holmes, Core Laboratories LOCATION:
Denver Place 999 18th Street Denver, CO 80202 PRICE: Students: $95 First 10 Students Free! (Thanks to the RMAG Foundation!)
Members: $200 | Non-members: $225
Vol. staff@rmag.org 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org email: phone: 303.573.8621
910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202
This course is an introduction to unconventional play prospecting and development which will provide a broad overview of “start to finish” play development process. The course includes topics covering regional investigation, prospect selection and appraisal, drilling, completion planning and production optimization. The course touches on geologic data assessment, reservoir characterization methods, drilling techniques and planning, geophysical well logging, landing zone assessment, completion implications, and production optimization. Participants will come away with a broad understanding of many factors pertinent to successful development of a project area. The content of the course will be drawn from real life North American examples, but the workflows and techniques described can be applied to unconventional plays anywhere in the world. 9
Short Course
OUTCROP October 2018 fax: 888.389.4090 web:| www.rmag.org
follow: @rmagdenver
PRESIDENT’S LETTER By Terri Olson
Terri pointing to a sandstone dike in the Lava Creek B ash bed during the Upper Arkansas Valley geology field trip in September.
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literally made the map of the area while working for the USGS, Karl Kellogg and Cal Ruleman, led a group of 13 geoscientists on a tremendous tour of the geology from Climax Mine at Fremont Pass south through the Leadville mining district and beyond to fluvio-glacial deposits and igneous intrusions, flows, and pyroclastic deposits. The interplay of structural geology and geomorphic expression was a common theme. See the article by Bob Raynolds elsewhere in this issue for more details. It was both stimulating and refreshing to get out
It has been suggested that the best geologist is the one who has seen the most rocks. There are probably a few other factors, but it certainly helps to have looked at a lot of rocks. Most of us geologists didn’t go into the discipline because we wanted to sit at a computer and attend meetings for most of our working life, especially those of us who remember life before laptops and work without digital databases. RMAG has a great program, On the Rocks, that facilitates looking at the rocks in their natural setting. The Upper Arkansas Valley field trip that was help Sept. 8-9 is a great example. Two of the geologists who
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Above: Discussion of pre- and postrift intrusives while standing on an outcrop containing Elephant Rock Granite and Langhof Gulch Granite, both about 1.43 billion years old, with Tertiary Mt. Princeton batholith in the background. Left: Some of the trip participants digesting lunch and the geology lecture at Clear Creek Lake.
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Karl Kellogg and Bob Raynolds debating the nature of a sandstone bed crosscutting the Lava Creek B ash.
in the field and be reminded that ours is not a static science. New developments in geochronology for dating of relatively young sedimentary deposits are causing a re-examination of previous interpretations. There was good discussion and debate about the origins and timing of several of the units we saw on the trip, and about the influence of tectonics on the geologic features we see today. I learned a few new terms: diamicton, which refers to sedimentary deposits of unknown origin that are unsorted to poorly sorted and contain particles ranging in size from clay to boulders; and pseudotachylite, which refers to fault melt. We saw pseudotachylite together with cataclasite along the scarp of the Sawatch Fault that bounds the western side of the valley along the front of the
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Mt. Princeton batholith. Thanks go to Karl and Cal for their knowledge and enthusiasm in leading a fabulous field trip, and to Laura Wray, who coordinated the trip for the On the Rocks Committee and did a great job with logistics and not losing any participants along the way. I also appreciated the input of Bob Raynolds, who belongs in that category of best geologists based only in part on the tremendous number of rocks he has seen. I’d like to extend thanks as well to other leaders of On the Rocks trips this year. The committee put together a great lineup, with many experts in their disciplines volunteering to lead field trips. Some of these trips have been written up in the Outcrop by Denise Stone, such as the mineral collecting trips and the
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Putting the outcrop in regional context with Turtle Rock in the background. Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
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ammonite trip. Past trip leaders this year include Matt Schreiner (Mine Manager at the Edgar Mine), Paul Santi (CSM professor), Don Bray and Nigel Kelly (mineral collecting), Fred Mark (Leadville mining district), Dennis Gertenbach (ammonites), and Paul Myrow (CC professor). I am impressed that committee members have had success in recruiting experts such as renowned paleontologist Martin Lockley who will be leading the Picketwire Canyon dinosaur trackway trip in Above: Field trip leaders Cal Ruleman and Karl Kellogg on the bank of Clear Creek Lake; late October. Cal is explaining the glacial geomorphology of the area. RMAG has to charge for orBelow: Karl Kellogg and Bob Raynolds on top of a glacial outwash boulder ganizing these trips, to cover insurance and overhead for things like handling registration and reserving blocks of hotel rooms on overnight trips. Costs are intended to be low and provide value—consider the benefits of going with the experts and joining like-minded folks on great excursions. We are fortunate to have such great geology so accessible to us from the Front Range, so it’s great to see such a robust program that takes advantage of that. Suggestions are welcome if you have ideas for locales, leaders, or suggestions to improve RMAG field trips in general. RMAG has a new offering this year: a multi-day field trip to the Permian Basin. It will be led by Rick Sarg and Doninvolvement of the trip coordinators from the comna Anderson and promises to be another great trip. mittee has been key to the success of the trips. Trip It will have happened by the time this is published, coordinators this year are Jim Emme, Rob Diedrich, so we will see if field trips that are longer and further Donna Anderson, Laura Johnson, Dan Bassett, Lauafield are worthwhile for RMAG to continue. ra Wray, and Rich Fantel. Thanks, and keep up the I’ll close by expressing appreciation to the memgood work! The committee would welcome new bers of the On the Rocks Committee. Capably led by members. Rob Diedrich, these volunteers have come up with ideas for great trips and seen them to fruition. The — Terri Olson, 2018 RMAG President
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Last field trip of the season-Still a few spots left!
October 27-28, 2018 Picketwire Canyonlands Dinosaur Trackways Location: La Junta, CO
The dinosaur tracksite in the Picketwire Canyonlands of southeastern Colorado is the 'mother' of all tracksites--the largest continuously mapped dinosaur fossil footprint assemblage known in the Jurassic Morrison Formation. Tour the site with renowned paleontologist Martin Lockley, who has conducted research at the site since the 1980s.
Trip details, pricing and registration information can be found at
www.rmag.org.
email: sta@rmag.org
phone: 303.573.8621
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202
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fax: 888.389.4090
web: www.rmag.org
OUTCROP | October 2018
follow: @rmagdenver
West Thumb Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.
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LEAD STORY
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) covers the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and its caldera. The YVO is a consortium of 8 organizations: U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah, Yellowstone National Park, UNAVCO (a non-profit university-governed consortium), University of Wyoming, and the state geological surveys of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The Scientist-in-Charge of YVO also monitors volcanic activity in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
GEOLOGY & HISTORY
Yellowstone’s world-famous natural history is marked by such colossal volcanic events that their reflections in today’s landscape are difficult to grasp and impossible
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to take in at just a glance, even for those familiar with the signs of past volcanism. The features of Yellowstone National Park result from great explosive eruptions and profound collapse of the ground, enormously thick lava flows, uplift and extensive faulting, and the erosive power of flowing water and ice. For more than a century, geologists have discovered and analyzed evidence of the dramatic events that have shaped the land here. When combined with growing knowledge about how volcanoes work and the never-ending motion of Earth’s surface, the evidence tells a remarkable story of the Yellowstone landscape. The volcanism most directly identified within the Yellowstone region has, during about the past 2 million years, built an immense volcanic plateau that straddles a high mountain divide—the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field. This volcanic region has evolved through 3 cycles of voluminous outpourings of rhyolite lava and volcanic ash, each of them climaxing with one of Earth’s greatest pyroclastic-flow eruptions and the resulting collapse of a central area to form a large caldera. Other eruptions have poured out basalt lava flows around the margins of the volcanic field. Large earthquakes occur just off the plateau along the nearby Teton and Hebgen Lake faults, the latter of which ruptured in 1959 (Ms = 7.5), causing considerable damage to the region. Yellowstone’s volcanism is only the
Editor’s note: The USGS operates five U.S. volcano observatories including the Alaska Volcano Observatory, USGS California Volcano Observatory, USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. The observatories and their partner organizations work together to provide volcanic updates, monitoring, hazard assessment and preparedness to the communities affected. More information on each of the observatories, as well as up-to-date monitoring can be found on the USGS Volcano Hazards Program website. The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory article was previously published on the USGS website https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/
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MAP SHOWING THE PATH OF THE YELLOWSTONE HOTSPOT
Yellow and orange ovals show volcanic centers where the hotspot produced one or more caldera eruptions – essentially “ancient Yellowstones” – during the time periods indicated. As North America drifted southwest over the hotspot, the volcanism progressed northeast, beginning in northern Nevada and southeast Oregon 16.5 million years ago and reaching Yellowstone National Park 2 million years ago. A bow-wave or parabola-shaped zone of mountains (browns and tans) and earthquakes (red dots) surrounds the low elevations (greens) of the seismically quiet Snake River Plain. The greater Yellowstone “geoecosystem” is outlined in blue. Faults are in black. Used with permission from “Windows into the Earth, The Geologic Story of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park”, Robert B. Smith and Lee J. Siegel, Oxford University Press, 2000.
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LEAD STORY
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HYDROTHERMAL EXPLOSIONS
most recent in a 17 million-year history of volcanic activity that has occurred progressively from southwestern Idaho to Yellowstone National Park. At least six other large volcanic centers along this path generated caldera-forming eruptions; the calderas are no longer visible because they are buried beneath younger basaltic lava flows and sediments that blanket the Snake River Plain.
The large magma reservoir beneath Yellowstone may have temperatures higher than 1,475°F (800°C), and the surrounding rocks are heated by it. Because of this, the average heat flow from the Earth’s interior at Yellowstone is about 30 times greater than that typical for areas elsewhere in the northern Rocky Mountains. As snowmelt and rainfall seep deep into the ground, they can absorb enough of this heat to raise the temperature of the ground water close to the boiling point. Geyser basins and other thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park are places where hot ground water has risen close to the surface. Research drilling at Yellowstone in the 1960s confirmed that the ground water beneath many of the park’s thermal areas is very hot. At Norris Geyser Basin, water temperatures as high as 460°F (238°C) were recorded at depths of only 1,090 feet (332 m). Because the boiling point of water increases with increasing pressure and pressure increases with depth, deep water can be hotter than boiling water near the surface. If the pressure that confines this deep water is reduced quickly, pockets of water may suddenly boil, causing an explosion as the water is converted to steam. Such activity drives the eruptions of geysers, like Old Faithful, which are repetitive releases of plumes of steam and water. Rarely, steam explosions are more violent and can hurl water and rock thousands of feet. In Yellowstone’s geologic past, such violent events, called “hydrothermal explosions,” have occurred countless times, creating new landscapes of hills and craters. A recent and notable hydrothermal explosion occurred in 1989 at Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin. The remains of this explosion are still clearly visible today as an apron of rock debris 15 feet (5 m) across surrounding Porkchop’s central spring. In the 1880s and early 1890s, a series of powerful hydrothermal explosions and geyser eruptions occurred at Excelsior Geyser in the Midway Geyser Basin. Some of the explosions hurled large rocks as far as 50 feet (15 m). Much larger hydrothermal explosions have occurred at Yellowstone in the recent geologic past. More than a dozen large hydrothermal-explosion craters
SUMMARY OF ERUPTION HISTORY
The Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field developed through three volcanic cycles spanning over two million years and including two of the world’s largest known eruptions. The >2450 km3 (588 mi3) Huckleberry Ridge Tuff erupted about 2.1 million years ago, creating a large, approximately 75 km (47 mi) wide, caldera and thick volcanic deposits. A second cycle concluded with the eruption of the much smaller Mesa Falls Tuff around 1.3 million years ago. Activity subsequently shifted to the present Yellowstone Plateau and culminated 640,000 years ago with the eruption of the >1000 km3 (240 mi3) Lava Creek Tuff and consequent formation of the 45 x 85 km (28 x 53 mi) caldera. Large volumes of rhyolitic lava flows (approximately 600 km3 (144 mi3)) were erupted in the caldera between 180,000 and 70,000 years ago, distributed primarily along two north-south alignments of vents. No magmatic eruptions have occurred since then, but large hydrothermal explosions have taken place during the Holocene, including near Yellowstone Lake. Uplift and subsidence of the ground surface is centered on two uplifted regions (the Mallard Lake and Sour Creek resurgent domes). Yellowstone is presently the site of one of the world’s largest hydrothermal systems including Earth’s largest concentration of geysers.
VOLCANIC HAZARDS AT YELLOWSTONE
[…] Within the next few decades, large and moderate earthquakes and hydrothermal explosions are certain to occur. Volcanic eruptions are less likely, but are ultimately inevitable in this active volcanic region. Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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LEAD STORY
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FREQUENCY OF HAZARDOUS EVENTS
formed between about 14,000 and THAT OCCUR AT YELLOWSTONE 3,000 years ago, triggered by sudden changes in pressure of the hydrothermal system. Most of these craters are within the Yellowstone Caldera or along a north-southtrending zone between Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs. The largest hydrothermal-explosion crater documented in the world is along the north edge of Yellowstone Lake in an embayment known as Mary Bay. This 1.5-mile (2.6 km)-diameter crater formed about 13,800 years ago and may have had several separate explosions in a short time interval. What specifically triggered these very large events is not firmly established, but earthquakes or a pressure release caused by melting glaciers or rapid changes in lake level may have been a significant factor. These very large and violent Scientists evaluate natural-hazard levels by combining their knowledge of the hydrothermal explosions are indefrequency and the severity of hazardous events. In the Yellowstone region, damaging pendent of associated volcanism. hydrothermal explosions and earthquakes can occur several times a century. Lava None of the large hydrothermal flows and small volcanic eruptions occur only rarely – none in the past 70,000 events of the past 16,000 years has years. Massive caldera-forming eruptions, though the most potentially devastating been followed by an eruption of of Yellowstone’s hazards, are extremely rare – only three have occurred in the past magma. The deeper magma system several million years. U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah, and National Park appears to be unaffected even by Service scientists with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) see no evidence spectacular steam explosions and that another such cataclysmic eruption will occur at Yellowstone in the foreseeable crater excavations within the overfuture. Recurrence intervals of these events are neither regular nor predictable. lying hydrothermal system. Although large hydrothermal explosions are a feature of YellowEARTHQUAKES stone’s recent geologic history, most explosions in historical times have been relatively small and have From 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes typically occur left craters at most a few yards across. For example, each year within Yellowstone National Park and its imin early 2003, a long linear fissure appeared on a hillmediate surroundings. Although most are too small side above Nymph Lake, north of Norris Geyser Bato be felt, these quakes reflect the active nature of the sin, venting steam and throwing bits of rock onto the Yellowstone region, one of the most seismically active surrounding hillside. Although most hydrothermal areas in the United States. Each year, several quakes of explosions in the park are small, their remains can be magnitude 3 to 4 are felt by people in the park. noticed by observant visitors and attest to the nearly CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 continuous geologic activity at Yellowstone.
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November 5-6, 2018
USGS - Denver Federal Center Register online at www.rmag.org Price: Member - $350 Non-member - $400 Student/Unemployed - $175
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Junaid Sadeque & Ali Jaffri This is a 2-Day course in which participants will learn the technical specifics of core-description evenly distributed between siliciclastic and carbonate environments. The primary objective of this hands-on core workshop will be to help participants learn how to identify facies and depositional environments from core-interpretation, and predict reservoir geometry and connectivity. The training will be accomplished through a combination of class-room lectures and hands-on core description sessions. Participants will learn the best practices/workflows for tying core-derived stratigraphic data with porosity-permeability, fluid properties, XRD and other relevant data for comprehensive reservoir characterization.
email: staff@rmag.org
phone: 303.573.8621
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202
21EMAG v e n t Workshop Core
fax: 888.389.4090
web: www.rmag.org
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LEAD STORY visitors to the park drive and hike across the lavas that fill the caldera, most of which were erupted since 160,000 years ago, some as recently as about 70,000 years ago. These extensive rhyolite lavas are very large and thick, and some cover as much as 130 square miles (340 km2), twice the area of Washington, D.C. During eruption, these flows oozed slowly over the surface, moving at most a few hundred feet per day for several months to several years, destroying everything in their paths.
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Although some quakes are caused by rising magma and hot-ground-water movement, many emanate from regional faults related to crustal stretching and mountain building. For example, major faults along the Teton, Madison, and Gallatin Ranges pass through the park and likely existed long before the beginning of volcanism there. Movements along many of these faults are capable of producing significant earthquakes. The most notable earthquake in Yellowstone’s recent history occurred in 1959. Centered near Hebgen Lake, just west of the park, it had a magnitude of 7.5. This quake caused $11 million in damage (equivalent to $70 million in 2005 dollars) and killed 28 people, most of them in a landslide that was triggered by the quake. Geologists conclude that large earthquakes like the Hebgen Lake event are unlikely within the Yellowstone Caldera itself, because subsurface temperatures there are high, weakening the bedrock and making it less able to rupture. However, quakes within the caldera can be as large as magnitude 6.5. A quake of about this size that occurred in 1975 near Norris Geyser Basin was felt throughout the region. Even distant earthquakes can affect Yellowstone. In November 2002, the magnitude 7.9 Denali Fault earthquake struck central Alaska, 1,900 miles (3,100 km) northwest of Yellowstone. Because this quake’s energy was focused toward the active Yellowstone volcanic and hydrothermal system, it triggered hundreds of small earthquakes there. The region’s hydrothermal system is highly sensitive to quakes and undergoes significant changes in their wake. Earthquakes may have the potential to cause Yellowstone’s hot-water system to destabilize and produce explosive hydrothermal eruptions.
CALDERA FORMING ERUPTIONS
The Yellowstone region has produced three exceedingly large volcanic eruptions in the past 2.1 million years. In each of these cataclysmic events, enormous volumes of magma erupted at the surface and into the atmosphere as mixtures of red-hot pumice, volcanic ash (small, jagged fragments of volcanic glass and rock), and gas that spread as pyroclastic (“fire-broken”) flows in all directions. Rapid withdrawal of such large volumes of magma from the subsurface then caused the ground to collapse, swallowing overlying mountains and creating broad cauldron-shaped volcanic depressions called “calderas.” The first of these caldera-forming eruptions 2.1 million years ago created a widespread volcanic deposit known as the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff, an outcrop of which can be viewed at Golden Gate, south of Mammoth Hot Springs. This titanic event, one of the five largest individual volcanic eruptions known anywhere on the Earth, formed a caldera more than 60 miles (100 km) across. A similar, smaller but still huge eruption occurred 1.3 million years ago. This eruption formed the Henrys Fork Caldera, located in the area of Island Park, west of Yellowstone National Park, and produced another widespread volcanic deposit called the Mesa Falls Tuff. The region’s most recent caldera-forming eruption 640,000 years ago created the 35-mile-wide, 50-milelong (55 by 80 km) Yellowstone Caldera. Pyroclastic flows from this eruption left thick volcanic deposits known as the Lava Creek Tuff, which can be seen in the south-facing cliffs east of Madison, where they form the north wall of the caldera. Huge volumes of volcanic ash were blasted high into the atmosphere,
LAVA FLOWS
More likely in Yellowstone than a large explosive caldera-forming eruption is eruption of a lava flow, which would be far less devastating. Since Yellowstone’s last caldera-forming eruption 640,000 years ago, about 30 eruptions of rhyolitic lava flows have nearly filled the Yellowstone Caldera. Other flows of rhyolite and basalt (a more fluid variety of lava) also have been extruded outside the caldera. Each day, OUTCROP | October 2018
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EXCELSIOR GEYSER Excelsior Geyser erupted in a series of violent hydrothermal explosions in the 1880s and early 1890s; one of these eruptions is shown in this colorized postcard made from a photograph. These were the largest such events to occur in the Yellowstone region in historical times. (Original photograph by F. Jay Haynes, 1888; date on postcard is incorrect.)
EARTHQUAKES This house fell into Hebgen Lake during the 1959 earthquake and floated along the shore until it came to rest here. The owner of the house, then-70-year-old Mrs. Grace Miller, escaped only after kicking out her front door and leaping a 5-foot-wide ground crack as her house dropped into the lake. (USGS photograph by J.B. Hadley.)
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Adapted from Christiansen et al, 2007
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LEAD STORY occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide. Thick ash deposits would bury vast areas of the United States, and injection of huge volumes of volcanic gases into the atmosphere could drastically affect global climate. Fortunately, the Yellowstone volcanic system shows no signs that it is headed toward such an eruption. The probability of a large caldera-forming eruption within the next few thousand years is exceedingly low.
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and deposits of this ash can still be found in places as distant from Yellowstone as Iowa, Louisiana, and California. Each of Yellowstone’s explosive caldera-forming eruptions occurred when large volumes of “rhyolitic” magma accumulated at shallow levels in the Earth’s crust, as little as 3 miles (5 km) below the surface. This highly viscous (thick and sticky) magma, charged with dissolved gas, then moved upward, stressing the crust and generating earthquakes. As the magma neared the surface and pressure decreased, the expanding gas caused violent explosions. Eruptions of rhyolite have been responsible for forming many of the world’s calderas, such as those at Katmai National Park, Alaska, which formed in an eruption in 1912, and at Long Valley, California. If another large caldera-forming eruption were to
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
Editor’s note: The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory monitors seismicity, deformation, Norris temperature, stream-flow data, hydrology, gas, thermal remote sensing and LIDAR. Webcams are set up around the park. For more information on the monitoring and to view the webcams, please visit the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory website.
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Photo 9 by John Webb
RMAG Field Trip: Upper Arkansas Valley Sept. 8-9 | Leaders: Karl Kellogg (USGS Emeritus) and Cal Ruleman (USGS) Summarized by Bob Raynolds
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Crystal Creek have episodically blocked the Arkansas drainage, ponding lakes in the Leadville area. As these glacial dams were repeatedly breached during the Pleistocene, huge outwash floods carried elephant sized boulders of 1.4 billion-year-old Elephant Granite down the canyon. (See Photo 1 by Laura Wray and Photo 2 by John Webb). After an evening barbeque on the porch at Terri Olson’s splendid riverside home (See Photo 3 by
Trip leaders Karl Kellogg and Cal Ruleman met the group at the summit of Fremont Pass for a trip down the length and breadth of the Upper Arkansas Rift Valley. We had blue bird skies and golden aspen gracing the mountain walls. From the valley apex at the Climax molybdenum mine to Baby Doe’s Matchless mine, we toured the northern mineralized portion of the basin, then proceeded to examine the interplay of glaciation and fluvial deposition in the subsiding rift basin. The terminal moraines near
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Photo 6 by John Webb
Photo 4 by John Webb
Photo 2 by John Webb
Photo 8 by Terri Olson
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Photo 3 by Terri Olson
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Creek B Yellowstone ash (See Photo 8 by Terri Olson) and of the Bishop Tuff from Long Valley, California (See Photo 9 by John Webb). As we visited the ash outcrops, discussion made it clear that further work is needed to date and geochemically fingerprint these important marker beds. The interplay between glacial activity and episodic down-cutting of the valley as causative mechanism for the terraces was a topic of very lively discussion during the trip. The geomorphic evolution of Colorado remains a topic of great interest and doubtless will yield future field trip opportunities for us all.
Terri Olson), we headed into the southern basin for the second day. We visited the active faulted margin at Mt Princeton where we admired the polished cataclastic fault face rising above the active fault-controlled Mt Princeton hydrothermal system (See Photo 4 by John Webb and Photo 5 by Joel Scott). Crossing the basin, we inspected the gentle and lightly faulted rift margin at the Brown’s Canyon fluorite district with a quick look at an old fluorite mine (See Photo 6 by John Webb). Here we saw the basal rift valley fill, composed of thin sediments overlain by the Wall Mt Tuff. The thin sediments include the poorly exposed Brown’s Canyon formation. Leaving the rift, we made final stops in the Trout Creek valley to see Cretaceous intrusives and a basal obsidian phase where the Wall Mountain Tuff (ignimbrite) cooled against the granite valley-bottom as it flowed from the Mt Princeton area towards Castle Rock Photo 5 by Joel Scott in the Denver Basin. The field trip celebrated the completion of a new USGS compilation of the geology of the Upper Arkansas Basin (2016 USGS Circular 1400 by Karl S. Kellogg, Bruce Bryant, and Ralph R. Shroba). Karl focused on the basement rocks and introduced us to a variety of flavors of igneous and metamorphic rocks spanning the Precambrian up to the Oligocene Ruby Mountain rhyolite (See Photo 7 by John Webb). Cal focused on the Pleistocene glacio-fluvial strata and made a case for Pleistocene climate variations controlling the well-developed terraces of the southern sector of the valley. Parts of this story hinge on outcrops of the Lava
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Photo 7 by John Webb
Photo 1 by Laura Wray
Award for Excellence in Teaching Earth Sciences – 2018
Presented to Matt Sturdivant at the RMAG Luncheon on August 1st By Jerry Cuzella Each year, the RMAG Foundation honors a teacher who has excelled in teaching earth science to K-12 students with its “Teacher of the Year Award.” The award is made possible by generous donations and supporters of the RMAG Foundation. The winning applicant receives a commemorative plaque, a $1000 cash award, and new this year, the Foundation added a $1000 award for the school’s earth science program.
how geology is governed by the laws of physics and how geologic principles can be used to understand our planet. He emphasizes an awareness and appreciation of nearby rock exposures, directing his students to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the geology that immediately surrounds them. Matt strives for his students to become a generation of young men and women who will have the ability to effectively communicate science to audiences of any kind, and independently learn about scientific disciplines that they have not been exposed to. His biggest accomplishment is getting his students interested in and excited about science, and encouraging them to continue to advance their scientific knowledge.
The recipient of the 2018 RMAG Excellence in Teaching Award is Mr. Matthew Sturdivant. He is a high school teacher at Colorado Early Colleges in Fort Collins, where he teaches earth science, conceptual physics, calculus based physics, and a new course he developed on the science of skate boarding.
Matt’s colleagues attest that he is a valuable asset to the science department, he goes above and beyond for his students often coming in on weekends or staying late after school to develop hands-on activities for his classes. Matt serves as the team leader in science for Colorado Early Colleges, and has distinguished himself as a major resource for other teachers. He is recognized for his contribution to curriculum development. Parents and colleagues alike praise his skills in stimulating students to learn.
Matt is a 2011 graduate of the University of Alabama where he earned the B.S. degree in astrophysics and a 2014 graduate of Boise State University where he earned the M.S. degree in Earth Science, concentration in geophysics. Presently, he is working towards the M.S. degree in hydrogeology at Colorado State University. At Colorado Early Colleges, earth science is one of the first science classes that incoming students will take, so procedures and activities in the course are intended to directly connect scientific concepts to real life. In Matt’s courses, he teaches students how to use data without bias, to think through issues, come to conclusions independently, and document their conclusions in writing; ultimately, his students come to understand the difference between creative and scientific writing.
Clearly, Matthew Sturdivant is a passionate and exceptional teacher. He is an outstanding example of those dedicated educators who make a significant and positive impact on our children. It is people like Matt that we owe our gratitude for developing young minds and planting the seed for an interest and appreciation of geology and the sciences. He represents the best of those who teach earth science and is a very deserving educator worthy to be presented the RMAG’s 2018 Teacher of the Year Award.
Under Matt’s direction, earth science has become a hands-on course with students performing experiments on a regular basis. His students learn
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Rockbusters Bash 2018 Professional Awards Celebration
Join the RMAG for an evening of heavy hors d’oeuvres, drinks, a live auction, and most importantly, honoring professional award winners.
Ticket Price
$45/Person
11 08 18 4:30pm - 7:30pm | The Maven Hotel at the Dairy Block Details and registration can be found online at www.rmag.org. email: sta@rmag.org phone: 303.573.8621 Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
910 16th Street #1214, Denver, CO, 80202
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fax: 888.389.4090 web: www.rmag.org OUTCROP | October 2018
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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Tyler Izkowski | October 10, 2018
The Role of Geomechanics in Unconventional Field Development Planning By Tyler Izkowski and evolution of Bakken and Three Forks operations in the Williston Basin serve as a case study in modern unconventional resource optimization with a focus on geomechanics key drivers. When an emphasis is placed on understanding key production drivers early, greater returns have been found to be yielded in shorter tenures for unconventional FDPs.
Geomechanics play an integral role in the optimization of unconventional plays. Partnered with reservoir characterization (e.g. petrophysics and geology), geomechanics can help maximize production by providing stress and strain parameters used to engineer better drilling programs and hydraulic fracture completions for integrated field development planning (FDP). The life cycle
TYLER IZYKOWSKI is a Geomechanics Engineer working in Schlumberger’s SIS Integrated Consulting Group in Denver. Tyler has a Bachelor’s in Geology from Union College in Schenectady, NY and a Master’s in Geological Sciences from the University of South Carolina. His field work and theses centered around the thermochronology and tectonic evolutions of the Southern Margin of Alaska and the Rifean Corridor in Morocco. Tyler began his career in oil & gas with a geoscience internship at ExxonMobil Exploration Company in 2012, where he evaluated pre-salt prospects in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. In early 2014, Tyler joined Schlumberger’s PetroTechnical Services, where he has served as a consulting geoscientist in basins across the US and throughout the globe.
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The Scope of DERL’s Data Collection Tom Van Arsdale – Executive Director
The Denver Earth Resources Library is now in its 32nd year of existence, and over those years we have collected unique data of immeasurable value. While introducing new members to the Library I would often state, “We have data here that you will definitely not find anywhere else.” However, no one could possibly quantify how much unique data we actually possess. Then, a Denver operator heard of the Library and came in to collect data within a 27 township area of the DJ Basin. The firm had already collected everything they could find from various online sources … the State, IHS, TGS, MJ Systems, and a couple of other services with which I was unfamiliar. Well, this company found and scanned over 1,200 wireline well logs from our collection that they could not find anywhere else. They also found numerous wireline logs in our fiche collection. Now I have an idea of the true scope of our collection! When one extrapolates that number of logs from a relatively small area of 27 townships to the enormous geographical area we cover, I can now state with a straight face that we probably have tens of thousands of logs that cannot be found anywhere else. And, that’s just considering wireline well logs. I have not even mentioned the mud logs, lithologic logs, geologic reports, core sheets, DSTs (with charts), various map collections, completion cards, and old scout tickets, etc., etc. The collection is truly enormous, unique, and of immeasurable value. Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Keith Musselman, Ph.D. | November 7, 2018
Snow water resources in a warmer American West By Keith Musselman, Ph.D. periods, such as occurred in recent consecutive years in California. Long-term climate change further challenges efforts to ensure that our water resource systems remain effective and resilient to climate-driven trends. In this talk, I’ll present ongoing research efforts in collaboration with Federal, State, and municipal water agencies to better monitor mountain snowpack and improve our predictive capacity with large-scale numerical models. Finally, I’ll present recent work showing historical trends in mountain snowpack over the last century and end-of-century predictions for the future of this critical water resource.
Across the American West, runoff from enhanced mountain precipitation and snow accumulation supplies freshwater that supports industry and growing populations. Federal, public and private decision-makers from diverse water, climate, agricultural, municipal, industrial, and energy sectors have vested interest in mountain snowpack snow water resources. Societal and economic dependencies on the seasonal delivery of snowmelt runoff, and susceptibility to floods, motivate efforts to improve our ability to monitor and simulate mountain snowpack. The U.S. also faces challenges and bears high risk related to climate variability including droughts and abnormally wet
DR. KEITH MUSSELMAN is a hydrologist who conducts research on cold region land-atmosphere interactions including snow, micrometeorology, forest hydrology, hydrometeorology, and remote sensing. He has 12 years of fieldwork and numerical modeling experience across western North America designed to improve our understanding of mountain hydrology and water cycle sensitivity to forest cover change and climate variability. He holds a B.S. in Geology from the University of Vermont, an M.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from UCLA. He worked in Alberta, Canada for three years on the topics of forest hydrology and land surface change. Since 2015, his research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado (since Oct. 2017) has helped to advance the capability of hydrologic models to simulate cold region processes. In addition, Keith has recently authored two high-profile papers using model simulations of snow to understand snowmelt dynamics and rain-on-snow flood risk in current and future climates.
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Improve recovery at minimal cost using tracers in your surveillance toolbox.
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www.tracerco.com/reservoir-characterisation 35
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2018 RMAG Award Recipients • Dr. Mary M. Carr • Larry Rasmussen MICHAEL S. JOHNSON EXPLORER OF THE YEAR AWARD, 2018 • William D. Armstrong • Jesse V. Sommer OUTSTANDING SCIENTIST AWARD, 2018 • Thomas M. Smagala GEOSCIENCES IN THE MEDIA, 2018 • Robbie Rice Gries DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO RMAG AWARD, 2018 • Dr. Justin E. Birdwell DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE TO EARTH SCIENCE AWARD, 2018 • Edward J. (Ned) Sterne PRESIDENT’S AWARD, 2018 • Richard J. Bottjer
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HONORARY MEMBERSHIP AWARD, 2018
Dr. Mary M. Carr The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present Honorary Membership to Mary M. Carr, Ph.D. in recognition of her years of contribution to the continuing education of the membership of the Association. Dr. Carr has worked with the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) since 2006, first serving as Director of the Rocky Mountain Region and, since 2013, as Executive Director of the national association. The PTTC is an educational non-profit organization that provides a forum for technology transfer and best-practices for the oil and gas industry across the United States. PTTC workshops organized by Dr. Carr, have trained over 7000 professionals in the Rocky Mountain area in such specialties as sequence stratigraphy, hydraulic fracturing and various types of mapping and petrophysical software. In addition to training industry professionals, Dr. Carr has conducted the Futures in Energy interactive summer program on the Colorado School of Mines campus. This unique outreach program introduces the energy industry to middle and high school students through a one-week, field-based 36
program. Students have had the opportunity to visit active oil and gas operations in such fields as Pinedale Field in the Green River Basin of Wyoming and Wattenberg Field in the Denver Basin of Colorado. Dr. Carr has been a consistent and engaged member of RMAG, serving on the Continuing Education Committee, providing expertise in developing and coordinating short courses and symposia for the Association. The PTTC has also acted as co-sponsor of several RMAG short courses. This relationship has benefitted the RMAG financially while providing the membership access to high quality and cost effective educational opportunities. Dr. Carr has also served as short course chair for several meetings, including the RMS-AAPG and the AAPG ACE meeting in Denver in 2015.
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP AWARD, 2018
Dr. Carr received her undergraduate and Master degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington before moving to the University of Texas at Austin for her doctorate in geology. Before coming to Colorado School of Mines, Dr. Carr was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Wyoming working on the stratal architecture of the Tensleep Formation. Since 2000, she has served as a research assistant professor at the Colorado School of Mines.
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2018 RMAG AWARD RECIPIENTS
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP AWARD, 2018
Larry Rasmussen The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present Honorary Membership to Larry Rasmussen in recognition of his many years of volunteer commitment to the geologic community and to the Association. Larry received his Bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Colorado in 1990, and his Masters from Old Dominion
and papers on Rocky Mountain geology. In 2010, he was awarded the Steve Champlin Memorial Award for Best Poster at the Rocky Mountain Section AAPG convention. In 2012, Larry was awarded the RMAG President’s Award for his “outstanding contributions to the well-being of RMAG”. In recognition of his years of service to the Association and to the geologic community, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists awards Honorary Membership, the Association’s highest honor, to Larry Rasmussen.
She has been author or co-author of over 30 papers, abstracts and reports. As one RMAG member stated, Dr. Carr “is the hidden face behind a significant public outreach for education in the Rocky Mountain region.” In recognition of her years of work on behalf of the greater geologic community, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists awards Honorary Membership, the Association’s highest award, to Dr. Mary M. Carr.
University in 1995. He began his career with Platte River Associates, where he worked for 9 years on development, training, and testing of their Basin Modelling software, eventually becoming Geoscience Manager. In 2004, Larry moved to Whiting Petroleum where he began his career in industry, exploring for oil and gas in the central Rockies. Larry has developed many exploratory play concepts in the Powder River, Piceance, Uinta and Paradox basins, and currently focuses his efforts in the Williston Basin. Larry has been a valued and active member of many local and national geologic communities. He served RMAG as Treasurer-Elect in 2011, Treasurer (2012), 1st Vice President (2013), President-Elect (2016) and President in 2017. He has also served as the Chair of the RMAG Publications Committee and chaired the Judging Committees for both Rocky Mountain Section and National AAPG meetings. Currently, he is serving on the RMS-SEPM Board of Directors. Larry has authored/co-authored numerous presentations
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MICHAEL S. JOHNSON EXPLORER OF THE YEAR AWARD, 2018
William D. Armstrong & Jesse V. Sommer The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present to William D. (Bill) Armstrong and Jesse V. Sommer, the 2018 Michael S. Johnson Explorer of the Year Award. This award is presented in recognition of Armstrong Energy’s significant
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Formation Evaluation • Petra® Projects Reserve Reports • Drilling Engineering • Well Plans
Bill Donovan
Geologist • Petroleum Engineer • PE
(720) 351-7470 donovan@petroleum-eng.com www.petroleum-eng.com
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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OUTCROP | October 2018
2018 RMAG AWARD RECIPIENTS Alaska North Slope oil discovery, the Pikka - Horseshoe Prospect. The discovery is located approximately 30 miles west of Prudhoe Bay Field. The main pay zone is the Middle Cretaceous Nanushuk sandstone at a depth of 4,200 feet. The play encompasses a 40-mile by 3-mile
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February 23 – March 2, 2019 A scientific field excursion to examine the geology and petroleum systems in outcrop of Western and Central Cuba and the relationships to the adjacent offshore tectonic, structural and depositional systems of the SE Gulf of Mexico and Proto‐Caribbean Highlights ‐ 7 day excursion across Western & Central Cuba viewing classic outcrops and selected subsurface data displaying the following: ‐ Proto‐Caribbean syn‐rift paleogeography, plate convergence and complex thrust structures, syn‐collisional olistoliths and ophiolite mélange and correlation between NE Yucatan, South America and GoM, ‐ Middle‐Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous clastic and carbonate petroleum sytems and reservoir analogs to the prolific fields of southern Mexico and the US GoM, ‐ K‐T boundary catastrophic mega‐event deposits. Field Trip Leaders: Drs. Manuel Iturralde, Paul Crevello and James Pindell Endorsements Dr. James Lowell, renowned structural geologist “One of the best field trips I’ve ever attended, incredible and complex structures”. Dr. John Decker, global exploration sedimentologist “ Excellent trip, opens up new thinking for opportunities in the Caribbean‐GoM region”. Sponsoring Organization: GeoExplorers a US Nonprofit Corporation To register for this field trip or for further details: Contact Paul Crevello excursions@GeoExplorers.org This seminar conforms to the Department of the Treasury OFAC update of 11/10/2017, 31 CFR part 515.565 (b) 1‐6, p.23; https://federalregister.gov/d/2017‐24447
OUTCROP | October 2018
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(MMBO) recoverable from the first phase of development. In addition, several satellite oil pools have been discovered in other reservoirs within the productive area. Armstrong Energy initially began assembling the acreage block that would become the Pikka – Horseshoe Prospect in late 2008. The initial objective was sands in the Jurassic Kingak Formation. The Cretaceous Nanushuk sandstone was recognized as an important secondary objective based on shows and the prediction of sand expansion at the underlying shelf-edge. In 2011, Armstrong Energy formed a joint exploration venture with Repsol and GMT Exploration. The Qugruk #3 discovery well was drilled in 2013 and encountered over 200 feet of oil saturated Nanushuk sand. Delineation of the discovery proceeded slowly due to seasonal drilling restrictions on the North Slope and the 2015 collapse in oil prices. In 2017, Armstrong took over as operator and drilled the Horseshoe #1 well 21 miles to the south of the closest existing well. The Horsehoe #1 well was successful and proved the productive extent of the Nanushuk sandstone. It also confirmed the Nanushuk sandstone as a new play on the North Slope. Following the drilling of the Horseshoe #1, the USGS revised their assessment of most likely reserves for the Nanushuk play on the North Slope from 117 MMBO to over 6 BBO and 9.6 trillion cubic feet of gas.
wide corridor with an average of 150 feet of pay and a 650-foot oil column. Estimated production from the first phase of development is 120,000 barrels of oil per day. This should increase North Slope oil production by 24%. Initial estimates project reserves at over 3 billion barrels (BBO) with 500 million barrels
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2018 RMAG AWARD RECIPIENTS
OUTSTANDING SCIENTIST AWARD, 2018
Thomas M. Smagala The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present Thomas M. Smagala with the Outstanding Scientist Award for 2018 Tom graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering in 1974. His early professional accomplishments include pioneering efforts in the Denver Basin Niobrara, assisting an independent in promotion of frontier western US oil and gas projects, and negotiating the purchase of a gold mine that grossed $15 million annually. Tom’s toolbox of skills includes geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir engineering, reservoir characterization, play Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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involvement in MICP method development at Encana, formed the foundation for new understandings recently presented at the 2018 Unconventional Resources Technology Conference. Since 2005, Tom’s innovative research has contributed significantly to Encana proprietary tools to evaluate unconventional oil shale reservoir quality and fluid saturations, pore system characterization, and shale play thermal maturation mapping. One of Tom’s high impact scientific contributions at Encana was delineating and characterizing the Haynesville shale gas reservoirs of northern Louisiana and eastern Texas before they were known commercially. The Haynesville is now one of the top shale gas producers in the nation, producing nearly 10 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Due to his known expertise and innovation, Tom has been a senior geologic advisor for nearly all Encana exploration efforts since 2001. Tom has willingly and generously lent his time to mentor less experienced geoscientists, aiding them in developing and expanding their skill sets and helping to unlock creativity. Many new approaches that others have developed have had their seeds in “informal whiteboard discussions” with Tom. Like a leader within a sports team, Tom raises the performance of those with whom he works. In recognition of a career filled with achievement, innovation, leadership and mentoring
Armstrong and Sommer are also credited with other significant discoveries in Alaska while operating under Armstrong Alaska, LLC. They include the Nikaitchuq Field operated by Italian major Eni, the Oooguruk Field operated by Caelus Energy and the North Fork Gas Field in the Cook Inlet Basin. In recognition of their Pikka - Horseshoe Prospect discovery and other exploration successes on Alaska’s North Slope, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is proud to present William D. (Bill) Armstrong and Jesse V. Sommer the 2018 Michael S. Johnson Explorer of the Year Award.
assessment and business economics. He wisely recognized the importance of understanding and applying both engineering principles and geoscience early in his career and has repeatedly advocated that approach. In a sense, Tom is a modern-day geoscience Renaissance Man who has incorporated new expertise throughout his career. The record shows clearly that he has excelled in these endeavors. Throughout his professional career, Tom has been an innovator with the vision to find new pathways to interpret what was formerly not well understood. In 1984, Tom published a study applying resistivity log data to delineate thermal maturity in the Denver Basin. In 1986, he was co-author of a paper describing and evaluating the basin-centered tight gas system of the Corcoran-Cozzette-Rollins in the Piceance Basin. In 20012004, Tom was part of an Encana team that integrated geology, geophysics, petrophysics and engineering to characterize the major gas accumulation at Jonah Field. In 2005 to 2006, Tom applied geochemical, Gas Research Institute shale rock property and mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) data along with petrophysical property mapping to infer gas storage capacity for gas shales. His conclusion that nanopores within kerogen were the primary storage for hydrocarbons in shales was later confirmed by Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy investigations. Tom’s continued
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OUTCROP | October 2018
2018 RMAG AWARD RECIPIENTS
GEOSCIENCES IN THE MEDIA, 2018
Robbie Rice Gries The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologist is pleased to award the 2018 Geosciences in the Media Award to Robbie Rice Gries for her outstanding publication: Anomalies—Pioneering Women in Petroleum Geology: 1917-2017.
hopeful sense of progress is conveyed through stories of survival and success of pioneering women in the early-to-middle century which give way to acknowledgement of the importance of women in the modern petroleum industry. Gries, who took her first industry job with Texaco in the early 1970’s, experienced firsthand the disadvantages of being a female professional during times of significant gender inequality. The timeline in the book mirrors her own experience, telling of personal accounts of the fight to become recognized as a successful petroleum geologist. Relying on
in both petroleum and mineral exploration, The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists honors Thomas M. Smagala with the Outstanding Scientist Award for 2018.
Anomalies—Pioneering Women in Petroleum Geology: 1917-2017 is a celebration of individual courage, tenacity, and professionalism, as well as a timely reminder of our past, when male-dominated professions excluded women. The hardcover volume is a well-documented, historic account of the invaluable contributions of women to the field and study of petroleum geology despite, at times, stark adversity from male counterparts. Chronicling the industry prior to World War II to near present day, Gries’ work uncovers hundreds of female petroleum geologists from a variety of countries, whose struggles and successes are now recorded. A
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
2018 RMAG AWARD RECIPIENTS
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO RMAG AWARD, 2018
Dr. Justin E. Birdwell The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present Justin E. Birdwell, Ph.D. with its Distinguished Service to RMAG Award for his numerous contributions to the Association. Justin joined RMAG in 2014 and was appointed to the editorial board of The Mountain Geologist and RMAG publications committee in the fall of 2015. He has served as lead Executive Editor of The Mountain Geologist since January 2017 with co-Executive Editor David Taylor. During this time Justin has made efforts to increase submissions to the journal, expand the range of geoscience articles published Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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at the USGS involves estimation of petroleum resources in the Green River Formation and assessing oil reserves within unconventional shale plays in the US and overseas. He has been active in developing shale reference materials, characterizing source rocks and oils using advanced methods and studying the environmental impacts of oil and gas development. In recognition of his dedication to The Mountain Geologist and continuing contributions, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is proud to present Dr. Justin E. Birdwell the 2018 Distinguished Service to RMAG Award.
her relentless focus, creativity, courage and knowledge of geology, Gries did eventually realize significant success as the principal of an all female staff at Priority Oil & Gas LLC, and as the first woman to be elected to serve as the President of the AAPG (2001-2002). In recognition of her outstanding publication, Anomalies—Pioneering Women in Petroleum Geology: 1917-2017 and its contribution to public understanding of the invaluable role of women in the geologic profession, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists proudly presents the 2018 Geosciences in the Media Award to Robbie Rice Gries.
and streamline the manuscript handling process. He has also co-authored several articles in RMAG publications, including the 2017 Mountain Geologist best paper award winner with Ron Johnson and Paul Lillis. Justin has served as a member of the AAPG House of Delegates representing RMAG since 2016. Since joining AAPG in 2010 he has been an active member and regular presenter at national and section meetings. Justin is active in the Geological Society of America and American Chemical Society, chairing sessions at meetings in 2010 and 2011, respectively. From 2010 through 2014, Justin served as co-chair of the annual Colorado School of Mines Oil Shale Symposium and assisted in organizing domestic and international oil shale symposia in Utah, Jordan and Estonia. He served as chair of the AAPG Energy Minerals Division oil shale commodity committee from 2016 until the summer of 2018. Dr. Birdwell received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 2002 and 2007, respectively. He continued working at LSU as a Research Associate and Instructor until 2009. Justin came to Colorado to be part of the U.S. Geological Survey as a Mendenhall post-doctoral researcher in 2009. He joined the USGS as a permanent employee in 2012 and continues to work for the Survey as a research engineer and geochemist. His research
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DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE TO EARTH SCIENCE AWARD, 2018
Edward J. (Ned) Sterne The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present the 2018 Distinguished Public Service Award to Edward J. (Ned) Sterne for sharing his evolving understanding of the structural geology of Colorado with the geological community. In particular, he has generated a restorable structural transect across Colorado that will continue to be important to future study of the structural evolution of the Rocky Mountain region. Ned’s interest in complex structure started as an undergraduate at Harvard with his solo fieldwork along the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone in
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OUTCROP | October 2018
2018 RMAG AWARD RECIPIENTS
OUTCROP | October 2018
PRESIDENT’S AWARD, 2018
Richard J. Bottjer The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is pleased to present Richard (Rich) J. Bottjer with the 2018 President’s Award. Rich is being recognized for his ongoing technical contributions to the Rocky Mountain geologic community, including his many collaborations and mentoring activities. Rich was the instigator and leader of several core workshops in recent years, notably the 2017 RMAG tight oil sandstones in the Powder River and DJ basins. He does not hesitate to tackle tough geologic problems and is a joy to work with. He is always willing to share data (where possible) and insights to 42
further the science. After receiving his Masters from the University of Wyoming, Rich spent the first 14 years of his career at Amoco. There he met his wife (and business partner) Lynn Peyton. Since then he has worked at independent oil companies and as a consultant. His advice is often sought on core description and facies relationships, particularly in the Heath, Codell, Parkman, Turner, Frontier, Shannon, Sussex, Tocito, and Three Forks formations. Rich has given excellent and informative talks on these reservoirs, typically focused on how the stratigraphy affects potential hydrocarbon productivity. Rich has been a valued member of RMAG since 1981, devoting much of his time and energy to the practice of geology, doing research, describing core, giving talks and writing papers. For his dedication to petroleum geology and his generosity in sharing ideas and giving guidance to industry colleagues, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is very pleased to present Richard J. Bottjer the 2018 President’s Award.
northern India. He earned his Bachelors in geology from Harvard in 1979 and a Masters in geology from Dartmouth in 1981. Ned spent his early professional years with Amoco Production Company in Denver. His work included studies of thrust belt and foreland structure in southwest Montana, Utah, Wyoming, offshore Alaska, the Canadian Arctic and offshore Norway. After leaving Amoco, he became an independent prospect generator and consultant. He was employed by Petro-Hunt, LLC from 2004-2009. Ned has worked structural plays in the Rocky Mountains, Oklahoma, California, Trinidad and Tobago, Kurdistan, offshore east Africa and offshore Russian Arctic. As an independent geologist, he led field trips benefitting the greater geologic community. From 1990 to 1998, he hosted RMAG On-The-Rocks trips to the Cripple Creek mining district and led trips for Montana Geological Society and AAPG in the Helena thrust salient of Montana. In 1996, Ned began studying the structure along the eastern flank of the Front Range, educating members of RMAG, AAPG and Geological Society of America with the intricacies and oddities of triangle zones interpreted to exist along the Front Range. In his ongoing effort to understand the structural evolution of Colorado from the mantle to the mountain tops, recent studies have focused on South Park, Middle Park and as far
west as the Piceance Basin. The intent of conducting these trips has not been to “play it safe” but to present new ideas that pose plenty of questions for discussion. Generation of the Colorado transect would not have been possible without the valued collaboration of numerous and distinguished geoscientists. In recognition of this formidable body of work and its value to current and future understanding of the evolution of the Rocky Mountains, the Association is pleased to present Edward J. (Ned) Sterne the 2018 RMAG Distinguished Public Service to Earth Science Award.
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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OUTCROP | October 2018
Michelle Bishop PRESIDENT-ELECT
Why I’m running for the President Elect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
I welcome the opportunity to serve an organization that has helped me expand as a geoscientist and meet many exceptional people. I would like to help RMAG remain financially healthy and viable as we set our sights on the 100th anniversary of this organization. RMAG membership means learning about the ideas and getting to know the people who are advancing the geological sciences.
Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
RMAG • First Vice President 1997, • Second Vice President 2014, • Chaired Publication Committee 1998, served 1995- 2010, • Chaired Continuing Education Committee 2015, served 2016-2017, • Executive Editor of Mountain Geologist 2000-2002, Associate Editor thru 2015, • Distinguished Service Award 2000, • and other guidebook editor and committee roles.
RMAG needs to continue to provide educational and networking opportunities for geoscientists in the region. RMAG should include, nurture, and support new ideas and new geoscientists.
Most of my career has been with Marathon Oil in research and exploration and Gustavson Associates in addition to being a consultant.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
BA in geology from CU and MS in geology from Duke.
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
Spent last Saturday with other volunteer neighbors painting a large mural on the pavement in the intersection of two streets to celebrate the neighborhood and its residents.
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Jane Estes-Jackson PRESIDENT-ELECT
Why I’m running for the President-Elect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
It would be my honor and privilege to serve my fellow RMAG members as President-Elect. It is a great opportunity for me to give back to an organization that has been very beneficial to me throughout my career.
I received my B.S. in Geology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and my M.S. in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines. I’ve worked as a petroleum geologist for the past 26 years and have drilled wells in the Rockies, the Permian Basin, and the Mid-Continent. I have had papers published in several RMAG guidebooks and The Mountain Geologist, and I co-edited the 2001 Gas in the Rockies guidebook and the 2011 Niobrara guidebook. I have served on three RMAG Boards: as Counselor in 2015 and 2016, and as 1st VP in 2006. I was a member of the Publications Committee from 1996-2006 and Chair in 2007. I was also Co-editor of The Outcrop from 2001-2007, and Associate Editor from 1997-2001. In 2007 I received RMAG’s Distinguished Service Award. I also served on the RMS-SEPM Board, as Secretary in 1996 and Treasurer 1997-1999.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
My RMAG membership has been very important to me both professionally and personally. It has enabled me to expand my knowledge through luncheons, symposia, short courses, and guidebooks. I have grown my network and made many lifelong friends through my involvement in RMAG. Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
I want RMAG to continue to be a premier organization, relevant to its membership and financially strong, for the next 5 years and beyond.
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
In my spare time I enjoy mountain biking, skiing, river rafting, and gardening. My husband Todd is also a geologist. We met at undergrad field camp in the beautiful Bighorn Basin.
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OUTCROP ...................................... | October 2018
Benjamin Burke FIRST VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT Why I’m running for the 1st Vice President-Elect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
transitioned to oil & gas after earning my PhD in geochemistry and geomorphology at Dartmouth College. After school, I hired on with ExxonMobil in Houston, I worked the deep offshore of Nigeria. While in Houston, I earned an MBA at Texas A&M University. I transitioned to the US onshore with a move from Houston to Denver to join Noble Energy in 2011. There, I planned and steered wells as an operations geologist in the DJ Basin, then transitioned to starting and running the production geoscience practice within Noble’s Base Subsurface Team. Leaving Noble in 2014, I worked the Williston and East Texas Gulf Coast for Fidelity Exploration & Production in late 2014 into 2015. In mid 2015, I transitioned to Fifth Creek Energy as their geologist involved in all aspects of business development, planning, operations, and communication. Following the growth and merger of Fifth Creek with Bill Barrett Corporation, I transitioned to the merged entity, HighPoint Resources, as the geoscience manager where I continue to focus on the DJ Basin of Colorado and SE Wyoming. I have no previous board of directors experience.
I’m excited to bring my background in research and peer-reviewed publishing to the 1st Vice President-elect position at RMAG—a position that overseeing the society’s publications. As a member of the board, I think that I can bring my professional experience and organizational ability to bear to helping to maintain and strengthen RMAG during my term.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
RMAG membership means learning, networking, colleagues, friends, rigorous seminars, luncheon talks, seminars, and field trips. The Society has been and continue to be a preeminent place to learn through my career, as well as to maintain and grow my professional network. Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
I want to see RMAG as THE professional society in Denver for developing professional geoscience networks for local geologists. Parallel with that, maintaining outstanding publications is another key outward goal. From an internal governance perspective, I’d like to see RMAG is a very strong financial position.
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
I’m an avid cyclist, bike commuting from my home in Littleton when my schedule and the weather allows. I’m the father of three children, Lars, 6, Lauren, 8, and Emma, 10. My wife, Kimberly, a recovering attorney, is pursuing a career in interior design. In college, I was a Nordic ski athlete, but now on most weekends in the winter, I’m downhill skiing with my girls. Some say I like trains.
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
I started my career in environmental consulting with Woodard & Curran, Inc., in New England and
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William DeMis FIRST VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT (LE&RN), 2015-present, Leadership Council member (Philanthropic organization).
Why I’m running for the 1st Vice PresidentElect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
I am running for this office because I want to contribute to RMAG. The role of First VP includes positions on both the BoD and the publication committee. I can be effective in these roles to promote RMAG. I have served as Vice Chair and Chair of the AAPG’s publications committee, and have been AAPG Associate Editor for the better part of 20 years. I am currently AAPG’s Books Editor.
Geological Society Experience RMAG, Chair, Friday Luncheon Speaker Committee, 1984-86; Permian Basin Section, SEPM, Field Trip Technical Chair and Editor, 1995; West Texas Geological Society (WTGS), Fall Symposium Technical Chair and Editor of Symposium Transactions, 1997 and 1998; AAPG, Vice-Chair and Chair, Publications Committee, 2001-2006; AAPG, Associate Editor, AAPG Bulletin, 2000 to present; AAPG, Books Editor, 2015 to present; WTGS, Dedicated Service Award, 2000; AAPG, Certificate of Merit, 2006 and 2016
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
Being a member of the RMAG is like coming home. When I started my professional career in Denver, I joined RMAG immediately. I still remembered the business associates I made through RMAG.
Southwestern Energy: I worked with the Board of Directors (BoD) on defining strategy for New Ventures. I regularly met with the technical sub-group of the BoD on all aspects of new-play analysis and brown-field acquisition economics.
Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
My vision for the RMAG is consistent with the RMAG’s strategic goals. I see the RMAG continuing to be a premier geological society that will attract young professionals through the quality of its publications, it field trips, and its community out-reach. I think the RMAG can double in size in 5 years, because of the many educational institutions along the Front Range, and the USGS, and because of the quality of RMAG publications. Many non-RMAG explorationists use RMAG publications as analogues for exploration outside of the Rockies.
Goldman Sachs: I worked with VPs and MDs to assist senior management of client oil companies on mergers, acquisitions, divestures, and public offerings. Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
Professional Experience Pennzoil Company, 1982-1986; Geologist, Team Leader; Marathon Oil Company, 1987-2008; Geologist, Exploration Manager; Roxanna Oil Company, 2008-2009; Exploration Vice President; Southwestern Energy, 2009-2016; Technical Expert Geologist (a.k.a., “Senior Consulting Advisor”); Goldman Sachs, 2016-2017; Senior Vice President & Chief Geologist; Rochelle Court, LLC, 2017-present; President Lymphatic Education and Research Network Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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Personally, I like to read history and detective novels. I enjoy listening to Miles Davis, and other jazz legends. I like to canoe, kayak, camp, and hike. I have a passion for growing roses. My rose garden has 16 rose bushes so far! Professionally, I am passionate about successfully running my own business, and having a network of business associates. I enjoy giving talks at professional societies. My research on the role US dollar’s value plays on OPEC’s oil price policy received two national AAPG awards, in 1996 and 2000. I published this work in the May, 2018 issue of The Outcrop. If readers want to understand how I think, I invite them to read it. I am the only geologist I know that has the FRED app on my iPhone.
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Daniel Bassett SECOND VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT Why I’m running for the 2nd Vice PresidentElect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
RMAG leverage new technologies to promote, capture, and share the amazing work from all our members.
I would love the opportunity to give back to RMAG and the community. I got my first job in the Oil & Gas industry from meeting people on an RMAG field trip, and the schedule of lectures, events and field trips keep me excited to learn new things and meet new people. I would cherish the opportunity give back to RMAG, and to contribute to such a historic association. My passion for geology, excitement for our community, and past experiences with other geologic associations make me a well-suited candidate to help drive the future of RMAG.
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
My personal journey as a geologist began when I was just a kid. As a child, my grandmother, who was a geologist, would take me hiking and explain the beauty of the rock formations. My parents and parents’ friends are all avid outdoor enthusiasts, and each outdoor vacation was punctuated with geology lectures. Even as a kid, the idea of understanding the world around us intrigued me. I grew-up in Colorado, and went to Fort Lewis College in Durango, where I double majored in geology & skiing (ha!). After receiving my BS, we moved to Tulsa, OK where I worked for Samson Resources as an exploration geologist while pursuing my MS in Geology from Oklahoma State University. In 2012, I joined SM Energy and in 2015, I was transferred back to Denver. I am currently a Sr. Geologist with SM Energy working the Midland Basin. I have been a member of the Four Corners Geologic Society, Tulsa Geological Society, GSA, AAPG, SEPM, and RMAG. I currently sit on the AAPG Academic Liaison Committee and the RMAG On the Rocks Committee.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
To me, RMAG represents scientific excellence, education, and community. The scientific excellence of the past and present RMAG community is impressive. From our luncheon lectures to short courses and publications, RMAG continues to provide fundamental and pioneering science that is beneficial to industry and academia alike. Even though some of us are out of school, we are always geoscience students. RMAG’s conferences, short courses, and lecture series are a wonderful source of continuing education. But none of this would be possible without RMAG’s members. Our shared passion for studying the earth unites us in a way beyond age, politics, gender, or race. The connections built through RMAG are infinite and evergreen.
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
The geologic community is going through exciting times! The exponential growth in technology, the coming of the “Great Crew Change,” and the increased emphasis in STEM education requires that RMAG effectively embraces and grows with the opportunities ahead of us. As a member of the RMAG Board of Directors, I want to help RMAG enlist some of those budding geoscientists and promote the adoption of effective technologies. Currently, only 14% of RMAG members are below the age of 45. By continually engaging students and young professionals, we continue to grow the RMAG community, and exploit the unique science of geology because all ages and experience levels can learn from each other. Knowledge sharing is a two-way street, and I would like to see OUTCROP | October 2018
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In my spare time, I’m still a geologist. My family (wife – Julianne, and kids - Everett 9 yo & Mara 6 yo) spends almost every weekend and vacation doing something relating to the outdoors. We are avid hikers, bikers, and skiers and enjoy exploring the mountains and desert. One of my goals as a parent is to instill a deep love and respect for the earth. We discuss everything from rocks, to animals, to plants, and discuss current and past sciences that aim to understand the world around us. That’s also my view of how I’d like to contribute to RMAG; promote scientific curiosity by providing engaging opportunities, preserving the knowledge of new and past interpretations, and make them easily accessible to all our members. As RMAG continues to grow and change, I would like the opportunity to help RMAG continue to be a source of technical information and community for all our members. Thank you. Vol. 67, No. 10 | ...................................... www.rmag.org
Jenny LaGesse SECOND VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT
Why I’m running for the 2nd Vice President-Elect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
I’m running for the position of Second Vice President Elect because the RMAG community has supported me and giving back through volunteering is the right thing to do.
I am academically trained in sequence stratigraphy and petrophysics, and am enjoying my oilfield career that began on a rig in Indonesia and led me to explore fields in Oklahoma, Kurdistan, Nigeria, and the Permian Basin all from Houston, Texas. Now based in Denver, I’ve quickly come to love the DJ and Uinta basins as well. I have served on the RMAG Continuing Education Committee since 2017, and just joined the DWLS Board of Directors as Director of Publications in 2018.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
Membership in RMAG to me means access to interesting and current geology focused short courses, luncheons, and field trips as well as networking opportunities.
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
I want to see RMAG continue to offer its Rockies members engaging, practical, and ambitious workshops, symposia, and field trips for operators and consultants alike. I would like to see RMAG stretch to develop affinity groups for women and minorities in geosciences for its members. I also want RMAG to have a little fun and participate in more social networking to reach more people, farther outside Denver, and younger geoscientists.
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
An interesting fact that no one would guess about me is that I am also a citizen of Iran. I’m very proud of my Persian family and am learning to speak Farsi. So when you see me, be sure to ask haleh shomeh chetori?
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Donna Anderson COUNSELOR Why I’m running for the Counselor position on the RMAG Board of Directors
geologist in southern California (1974–78), a petroleum geologist at Mobil Oil Corp. in Denver (1980-92), and a petroleum industry consultant (1997–2006), all leading to my last petroleum position at EOG Resources (2006-2015). In 2015 I retired as a geological advisor at EOG Resources where I participated in unconventional tight gas and oil plays and discoveries in the DJ, Powder River, and Uinta basins. Since 2000, I was concurrently a Research Faculty member in Geology at Colorado School of Mines where I advised or co-advised 8 M.S. students and taught undergraduate classes and field camps. Post-retirement I continue this passion as an Affiliate Faculty member, where I am engaged on many thesis committees, teach a graduate class once a year (always rock-based), and pursue stratigraphic research. Change has been a constant factor in my career. For the RMAG I have been Treasurer (1997), First Vice-President (1999), President-Elect (2003) and President (2004). I have also been co-editor of the Outcrop, editor of the Mountain Geologist, and chairman of the Publications and Finance committees. I have co-edited several RMAG books and written numerous articles. Currently I am having fun with the On-the-Rocks field trip committee and this year became co-chair of the newly formed RMAG 100th Anniversary committee.
As Counselor I want to help shape the changes that will position the RMAG for the next decade. I have been an RMAG member for about 35 years. For the last 22 of those years I have been active on both RMAG and AAPG (national and Rocky Mt. Section) boards and committees, including Foundation Boards for those societies, and in a community leadership organization. I will leverage the perspectives and contacts derived from those experiences.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
The RMAG has been a huge professional lift to my career. Of all the geologic organizations that petroleum geologists can belong to, the RMAG is the organization in the Rocky Mountain region that has the most impact, because it provides a local and regional professional network (I have gotten jobs through that network) and activities that are fun, educational, and timely, not to mention publications that have focused directly on my own work at a given time. Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
In five years, I want the RMAG be a highly recognized, vibrant and healthy geoscience organization in the Colorado Front Range and beyond. Because of the unpredictable yet inevitable business cycles, the RMAG needs to sustain a healthy financial portfolio to carry it through the lean times. A robust educational and activity program increases RMAG exposure as an outreach organization to current and future members including the K-12 crowd. Increasing and engaging the RMAG membership and developing new organizational leadership is a constant challenge. An active social media program along with a broad portfolio of inclusive activities is a basis for a sound organization going forward.
Recently, driving down a dusty washboard road in the Park Range of Colorado, my husband of 40 years turned to me and said, “You know, you really ARE a nerd.” That’s probably because I lured him into going to an obscure outcrop in the Ferris Mountains that required some fun 4WD maneuvering just hours before. Those who know me would not be at all surprised at this, and they would likely agree with my husband. Due to that “nerdness” though, I have a strong commitment to “paying it forward.” I am happy to say that the RMAG and AAPG (national and regional) have recognized my service and science with several awards. I also like to write, travel, and hike, and I indulge in some sewing from time to time.
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
A native of southern California, I received a B.A. in Earth Science at California State University at Fullerton (1974), M.S. in Geology from UCLA (1980), and Ph.D. in Geology from Colorado School of Mines (1997). My professional career includes being an engineering OUTCROP | October 2018
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Richard Bottjer COUNSELOR Why I’m running for the Counselor position on the RMAG Board of Directors
geological community of the greater Rocky Mountain region.
I am honored to be nominated for the position of Counselor for RMAG. I have been a member of RMAG since 1981 and have benefitted from participation in RMAG programs, including but not limited to luncheons, short courses, annual conferences, and field trips for more than 30 years. Serving as Counselor would give me an opportunity to share some of what I have learned and to help the organization move forward and continue to provide opportunities and services to the members.
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
• 1981 B.S. Geological Sciences, State University of New York at Binghamton; 1984 M.S. Geology, University of Wyoming; 1983-1997 - Amoco, Denver; 1997-Present - Coal Creek Resources • 2000-2003 Denver Earth Resources Library Board of Directors; Secretary 2001-2002, At-Large 2000 & 2003; 2005-2007 - Southwestern Production Corp., Denver; 2007-2015 - Cirque Resources, Denver • Several recent presentations are posted on the AAPG Search and Discovery website.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
RMAG has been an excellent resource for me over the course of my career. Membership means I have quick and easy access to publications such as Mountain Geologist, special publications, and annual symposium guidebooks, and I remain current through networking, luncheons, and short courses.
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
I am currently in year 3 of my “sabbatical” and am working on research projects, describing core, and slowly putting together some papers. Who has spare time? I spend time cycling, golfing (if you call it that), hiking, skiing, travelling, taking photos, and planting flowers and working on our landscaping.
Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
I would like to see RMAG remain a strong and healthy organization, and continue to provide educational and networking opportunities to the
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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Chris Eisinger TREASURER-ELECT Why I’m running for the Treasurer position on the RMAG Board of Directors
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
I value what RMAG does for our professional community and will enjoy the opportunity to help contribute to its success in the role of Treasurer.
My geoscience career began almost 20 year ago working in water quality and environmental geology, with detours into volcanology and remote sensing, before landing in the oil and gas industry 11 years ago. The past 8 years I have been working for the State of Colorado first at the Colorado Geological Survey and now currently at the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. I served on the RMAG board in 2015 as the Second Vice President and helped lead the Continuing Education committee in 2016. I also volunteered to help organize a handful of RMAG social events, served as an RMAG liaison to a couple joint-professional events, and provided some editing on an RMAG GIS publication.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
Being a member of RMAG allows for professional growth, the chance to create an enthusiastic geoscience community that helps make our work be more than just a job, and it provides social interactions with other like-minded individuals of various ages and degrees of professional experience. Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
Continuing to be a successful organization that provides educational, mentoring, and networking opportunities of value to members across the spectrum. In specific reference to role of treasurer, I would want to ensure RMAG is a position of fiscal strength and does a good job of balancing income against spending on events, educational programs, and operating costs.
OUTCROP | October 2018
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
I spent the year after college in Indonesia traipsing up and down volcanoes for a research project involving geology, culture, and music. I liked it so much that I was eager to go back and live in the country for a while longer. However, to my dismay the country’s long-running military dictator was overthrown a week before I was supposed to get on my plane. Alas, things became too uncertain for me to return, and I went to grad-school instead.
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Denise Stone TREASURER-ELECT Why I’m running for the Treasurer-Elect position on the RMAG Board of Directors
Tell us something fun and interesting about yourself.
I’m running for Treasurer-Elect to serve the financial leadership needs of RMAG and represent what is in the best interest of its members.
This past year I reactivated my interest in playing the piano after many decades! Yes, I had lessons as a child, but they stopped when the family needed to move. I’m so enjoying piano now that I am taking lessons again.
What does membership in RMAG mean to me?
RMAG membership to me means opportunities to network with like-minded geologist, on geological field trips to practice geology, all while appreciating the dynamics and beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Where I want to see RMAG in 5 years
RMAG in 5 years should continue to be the active and vibrant organization it is, meeting the needs of both existing and new members.
Brief description of your geological background, and any previous board of director’s experience
I’m a petroleum geologist and have been a consultant to the industry since 2003. Prior to that I worked as an exploration geologist for Amoco and BP, both international and domestic projects. I am a past President of the Houston Geological Society and have held various volunteer roles in AAPG and SIPES over the years.
Tales of Exploration in More than 20 Countries ... Book Signing — RMAG Fall Symposium 10/2/2018 Tales of Exploration in More than 20 Countries... “A World of Culture, Oil - RMAG Book Signing and Golf ” is a fascinating Fall Symposium look into the global oil business and what it’s like 10/2/2018
to be an insider traveling the navigating ''Aworld Worldand ofCulture Oil and Golf" is a the amazing array of the fascinating look into locales personalities. globaland oil business and what it's I truly it and traveling the like toenjoyed be an insider would it to the amazing worldrecommend and navigating readers of any age. array oflocales and personalities. I truly enjoyed it and would —David W. Miller recommend it toII,readers of author of Hard Knocks any age. MBA: The Search for -DavidSuccess W Miller author of Hard K Business andII,Job MBA: The Search for Business Success Satisfaction Job Satisfaction
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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2019 Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Board of Directors Election Ballot
President-Elect
Michele Bishop
Jane Estes-Jackson
Second Vice President-Elect
First Vice President-Elect
Benjamin Burke
Counselor
Donna Anderson
email: staff@rmag.org
Treasurer-Elect
Chris Eisinger
Richard Bottjer
|
phone: 303-573-8621
OUTCROP | October 2018 910 16th Street, Denver, CO, 80207
Jenny LaGesse
Daniel Bassett
William DeMis
fax: 888-389-4090
54
Denise Stone
|
web: www.rmag.org
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org follow: @rmagdenver
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street, Suite 1214, Denver, CO, 80202 phone: 303.573.8621 | fax: 888.389.4090| email: staff@rmag.org
RMAG 2019 Board of Directors Ballot Please Read Before Voting! Election Dates:
October 1, 2018 through November 16, 2018
You may only vote once, either by paper ballot or online, but not both All ballots must be received by November 16, 2018, any ballots received after this date will not be counted
RECAP OF 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHANGES The new configuration is as follows: Position • • • • • • • • • •
President President-Elect First Vice President First Vice President-Elect Second Vice President Second Vice President-Elect Treasurer Treasurer-Elect Counselor Secretary
Term 1 year 1 year as President-Elect, transitioning into President in year 2 1 year as First Vice President 1 year as First Vice President-Elect, transitioning to First VP in year 2 1 year as Second Vice President 1 year as Second Vice President-Elect, transitioning to Second VP in year 2 1 year as Treasurer 1 year as Treasurer-Elect, transitioning to Treasurer in year 2 2-year term 2-year term
For the 2019 Election the following RMAG Board of Director positions are open for voting: President-Elect First Vice President-Elect Second Vice President-Elect Counselor Treasurer-Elect As a member in good standing, you are encouraged to vote for the candidates of your choice. Candidates were selected, as always, by the RMAG Nominating Committee, in accordance with the RMAG Bylaws. Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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OUTCROP | October 2018
IN THE PIPELINE OCTOBER 2, 2018
OCTOBER 10, 2018
OCTOBER 16, 2018
RMAG/DWLS Fall Symposium.
RMAG Luncheon. Speaker Tyler Izkowski. “The Role of Geomechanics in Unconventional Field Development Planning” Maggiano’s Little Italy in Denver. Contact: staff@rmag.org
DWLS Luncheon. Speaker Karthik Srinivasan. “The Changing Oil Price Landscape: A Case Study Breaking Down Liquid-Rich Basins in the Rockies.”
OCTOBER 11, 2018
WEN Monthly Happy Hour. marketing@wencolorado.org.
COGA-lympics. Fall Networking Event. RSVP to http://rsvp@coga.org
OCTOBER 18, 2018
OCTOBER 3, 2018 COGA Member Spotlight Luncheon: TMMI. Speaker: Scott Christensen. “Industrial Cyber Briefing – The Anatomy of an Operational Attack.” http:// rsvp@coga.org OCTOBER 4, 2018 DPC Lunch and Learn. Denver Athletic Club,1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO. OCTOBER 6, 2018 Wildcatter of the Year Gala. bfakharzadeh@ westernenergyalliance.org OCTOBER 8, 2018 DPC Golf Tournament. RSVP to http://www. denverpetroleumclub.com/ event-calendar1.
OUTCROP | October 2018
OCTOBER 12, 2018 DIPS Luncheon. Members $20 and Non-members $25. For more information or to RSVP via email to kurt.reisser@gmail.com.
OCTOBER 17, 2018
DAPL Rockies Bash. Wynkoop Brewery. dapl@ dapldenver.org OCTOBER 24, 2018 Evening Happy Hour at Denver Earth Resources Library.
OCTOBER 15-16, 2018
OCTOBER 25, 2018
PTTC Rockies Short Course. Pipeline Hydraulics: Single and Multiphase Flow in Pipelines & Flow Assurance. Durango, CO.
RMAG Short Course. “ Introduction to Unconventional Play Prospecting and
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Cognitive E&P Environment A multidimensional environment that unites planning and operations, bringing together advances in technical disciplines such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and automation. Underpinned by decades of unrivaled domain knowledge—the result is an E&P experience like no other. Find out more at: slb.com/DELFI
DELFI is a mark of Schlumberger. Copyright Š 2018 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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OUTCROP | October 2018
IN THE PIPELINE
sm-energy.com
»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 56
Development”. By Core Laboratories. Denver Place. 999 Eighteenth Street.
OCTOBER 26, 2018
SM ENERGY IS A PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE
PTTC Rockies Short Course. “Volumes and Risks Assessment for Conventional and Unconventional Plays and Prospects.” South Dakota School of Mines. Rapid City, SD.
Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
OCTOBER 27-28, 2018 RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip. Picketwire Canyonlands & Dinosaur Trackway. La Junta, CO. OCTOBER 30, 2018 RMS-SEPM Luncheon Lecture. Speaker: Jeff May. “The Sedimentology of Mudrocks: Organisms, Organics & Occasional Occurrences.” Wynkoop Brewing Co. Denver, CO.
Look beyond the obvious to see how our products make up your world
LookBeyond.org OUTCROP | October 2018
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Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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
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www.leeds.group We provide products and services perfectly suited to your needs to promote your company: Website creation, promotional and technical videos... Corporate events and more...
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
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OUTCROP | October 2018
WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!
Celina Will
Kajal Nair
Michael Ghattas
is a Support Petrophysicist at Schlumberger in Denver, Colorado.
works at Camino Natural Resources in Denver, Colorado.
is a Geoscience Student at CU Boulder in Boulder, Colorado.
lives in Aurora, Colorado.
lives in Lakewood, Colorado.
is a Geologist at Devon Energy in Piedmont, Oklahoma.
is a Geologist at Jonah Energy in Henderson, Colorado.
is a Sales Engineer at WesternGeco Schlumberger in Westminster, Colorado.
lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
is an Operations Geoloigist at Anadarko Petroleum in Denver, Colorado.
Israel Jaramillo Walter Lamle
Jonathan Bridgeman
OUTCROP | October 2018
Kristen Marra John Hoopes
Rhead Cannon
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Sandra Labrum Sarah Compton
is a Geologist and lives in Morrison, Colorado.
Clark Reid
lives in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 62
Vol. 67, No. 10 | www.rmag.org
• • • • •
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Geological Wellsite Supervision Supervised Remote Geosteering Integrated Petrophysical Analysis Oil and Gas Geological Studies Conventional and Unconventional Expertise
OUTCROP | October 2018
POSITIONED FOR GROWTH With a proud legacy and an exciting future, QEP Resources is an industry leader in crude oil and natural gas exploration and production. We’re focused on some of the most prolific natural resource plays in the continental United States. These include two world-class crude oil provinces — the Permian and Williston Basins and two premier natural gas assets — the Haynesville Shale and the Uinta Basin.
WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!
»»CONTINUED FROM PAGE 60
Sarah Clark
is a Geologist at Anadarko Petroleum in Denver, Colorado.
Stanley Dempsey, Sr lives in Golden, Colorado.
Jack Samis
is a student at Colorado School of Mines and lives in Commerce City, Colorado.
Mitchell Grimm
lives in Littleton, Colorado.
Elizabeth Roberts
works at Weatherford Labs in Golden, Colorado.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, QEP is an S&P MidCap 400 Index member company (NYSE: QEP). Learn more at www.qepres.com.
OUTCROP | October 2018
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Are You a Photographer?
Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists would like to invite you to submit your digital images that capture the geology of the Rocky Mountain region. Pore Throat to Outcrop, Modern Analogs, Oilfield Activity (Rigs), Dinosaur Trackways. These images will be used on the cover of the Outcrop and a select number will be used in a forthcoming RMAG Calendar.
• All images will be accredited to the photographer • A brief description of the image (location, formation, significance) • The file size must be 300dpi or greater and be in TIFF or JPEG format. • Limit 10 images/person
Submit images to: Kira Timm at kira.k.timm@gmail.com, or Courtney Beck at Courtney.Beck@halliburton.com
OUTCROP ADVERTISING RATES 1 Time
2 Times
6 Times
12 Times
Full page (7-1/2” x 9-1/4”)
$330
$620
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2/3 page (4-7/8” x 9-1/4”)
$220
$400
$1,110
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1/2 page (7-1/2” x 4-5/8”)
$175
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$930
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1/3 page horizontal (4-7/8” x 4-7/8”)
$165
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1/3 page vertical (2-3/8” x 9-1/4”)
$165
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1/6 page (2-3/8” x 4-7/8”)
$75
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Professional Card (2-5/8” x 1-1/2”)
$20
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ADVERTISER INDEX
• Confluence Resources �����60
• GeoExplorers �������������������38
• Sinclair Petroleum Engineering, Inc. ��������������56
• Crestone Peak Resources ������������������������59
• Geomark ��������������������������43
• SM Energy �����������������������58
• Geostar Solutions ������������56
• Spancers & Associates ���51
• Daub & Associates, Inc. ��37
• Goolsby Brothers �������������61
• Sunburst Consulting ��������40
• Denver Earth Resources Library ������25, 33
• Leeds Group (The) �����������59 • LMKR �������������������������������43
• Thomas L. Davis Geologist �������������������������51
• Discovery Group Inc. (The) ���������������61
• QEP Resources ����������������62
• Tracerco ���������������������������35
• Raisa Energy ��������������������57
• Donovan Brothers Inc. �����37
• Schlumberger ������������������57
• Tracker Resource Development �������������������25
• FieldGeo Services ��������������8
• Allard, David ��������������������53
CALENDAR | OCTOBER 2018 SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
1
WEDNESDAY
2 RMAG/DWLS Fall Symposium.
7
8
14
15
10
16 DWLS Luncheon.
22
COGA Member Spotlight Luncheon: TMMI.
RMAG Luncheon. Speaker Tyler Izkowski.
PTTC Rockies Short Course.
21
3
9
DPC Golf Tournament.
17 WEN Monthly Happy Hour.
23
24 Evening Happy Hour at Denver Earth Resources Library.
28
29
RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip.
OUTCROP | October 2018
THURSDAY
30
FRIDAY
4
SATURDAY
5
Wildcatter of the Year Gala.
DPC Lunch and Learn.
11 COGA-lympics.
6
12
13
DIPS Luncheon.
18
19
20
26
27
DAPL Rockies Bash.
25 RMAG Short Course.
PTTC Rockies Short Course.
RMAG On the Rocks Field Trip.
31
RMS-SEPM Luncheon Lecture.
64
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