Science and Scientists, Fiction Writing and Star Trek

Lee Hunt

…Figure 1. Book cover for Lee Hunt’s Dynamicist (© all rights reserved). To see the synopsis of Lee’s book please go to: https://www.leehunt.org/dynamicist. Writing an engaging novel is challenging. Being a good scientist is also difficult because good science requires almost inhuman discipline and humility. Facing up to our own…

Colin Sayers

An Interview with Colin Sayers

…Colin, let us begin by asking you about your educational qualifications and your work experience. I was born in the North West of England, and have a B.A. in Physics from Lancaster University, U.K., and a D.I.C. (Diploma of Imperial College) in Mathematical Physics and Ph.D. in Physics from Imperial…

Board of Directors’ Message

…Declining membership and advertising revenues resulted in a need to reduce costs which resulted in many changes over the past couple of years. The most significant was the decision to discontinue printed editions of the RECORDER (except for the GeoConvention April issue). This resulted in a significant cost savings from…

CAGC Column: Seismic Program Evolution & Development – High Level Summary

…The following is anecdotal based on my experiences working for several Data Acquisition & Oil companies and owner/manager of a Survey & Auditing company, as a Head Surveyor / Cat Push / Drill Push / Permit Man / Party Manager / Survey Processor & Auditor for the period starting in…

Chief Editor’s Message

…Introduction This column is a potpourri of topics, so I hope you bear with me and I hope some of the information I have in here helps you in what you are doing or in fulfilling your dreams to be more successful in your life. This edition is on Quebec.…

Science Break: Feral and Invasive Species

…It’s fall, and it’s election season, so there are maple leaves everywhere, real and on placards. Since moving to Toronto I’ve learned to both love and hate maple trees. My back yard is surrounded by them – two huge Norway maples (Acer platanoides) to the west, and although damaged by…

Tracing the Industry

…Happy February! We just finished the CSEG Doodlespiel in late January: thanks Brad, Tacita, Luc, Kurt, Fabio, Lona, Nathan, Caitlin and your student volunteers for the tremendous effort you put forth. From the venue/hotel bookings, to the draw creation, to the buses, to the Friday evening social and the seamless…

Introduction to October/December Focus: Geophysics in British Columbia and the North

Steve Jensen and Elizabeth Atkinson

…Special Coordinators: Steve Jensen, Draga Talinga, and Stephanie Ross Format Editor: Elizabeth Atkinson Geophysics in British Columbia Aftershock Decay Rate of Large Injection-Induced Earthquakes in Northeast British Columbia: A Case Study for Two sequences in the Montney Play Amir Mansour Farahbod and Honn Kao Seismic Attenuation in Northeast British Columbia…

Seismic and Surface Deformation: Insights from Qualitative Comparisons over a SAGD Reservoir in Alberta

Dennis Ellison

…Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is becoming a more desirable method to monitor surface deformation, in particular, ground heave in the oilsands related to thermal SAGD operations. Devon had licensed data from TRE-Altamira using the RADARSAT-2 satellite, which collects roughly 9 usable images each year to calculate deformation. Surface deformation…

Automating seismic data analysis and interpretation

Sergey Fomel

…Recent developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning can automate different tasks in data analysis. I will discuss the quest for automation by tracking the development of automatic picking algorithms, from velocity picking in seismic processing to horizon picking in seismic interpretation. We will search for the limits of automation…

Aftershock Decay Rate of Large Injection-Induced Earthquakes in Northeast British Columbia: A Case Study for Two sequences in the Montney Play

Amir Mansour Farahbod and Honn Kao

…Abstract We investigated the aftershock decay rate of the two largest injection-induced earthquakes (IIEs) ever recorded in northeast British Columbia that occurred on August 17, 2015 (MW (moment magnitude) 4.6, ML (local magnitude) 4.9) and November 30, 2018 (MW 4.5, ML 4.7). These earthquakes are temporally and spatially correlated with…

Seismic Attenuation in Northeast British Columbia Using the Coda Q Method

Amir Mansour Farahbod, John F. Cassidy, Honn Kao

…Coda-wave attenuation is an important criterion for the study of elastic properties of the lithosphere. In this article, attenuation is measured in northeast British Columbia using records from 9 new stations of the Canadian National Seismic Network (CNSN). Our dataset is comprised of 402 earthquakes recorded between August 2013 and…

Mapping the Distribution of Permafrost using the Resolve Airborne EM System: Klondike Highway, Yukon, Canada

Mel Best, Isaac Fage and Shawn Ryan

…Introduction Changes in permafrost distribution in northern regions of North America are related to hydrogeological processes, climate, and ecosystems (Minsley et al., 2012). In particular, increased thawing due to warmer temperatures alters the permafrost distribution (Minsley et al., 2012, Oldeberger et al., 2015). This can lead to enhancement of surface-groundwater…

Mapping How Geophysics Is Used To Understand Geohazards In Potash Mines

Craig Funk, James Isbister, Todd Leblanc, Randy Brehm

…The Saskatchewan potash industry is over 60 years old now and has survived and been profitable thanks in part to geophysics. The potash deposits in Saskatchewan are globally unique, in that they are very large, flat and relatively unaltered, which permits productive low-cost mining. However, water inflows are a serious…

Squeezing more from seismic data: Application of prestack simultaneous impedance inversion to a stratigraphic and structurally complex productive field in Argentina

Eduardo Trinchero and Luis Vernengo

…The need to revitalize conventional productive old fields led the geology and geophysics groups to consider the implementation of accurate methodologies and analysis for arriving at static geomodels. An example at hand is the Golfo San Jorge Basin in Argentina with the complexity of its productive zones. Careful reprocessing of…

John Etgen

An Interview with John Etgen

…John, let us begin by asking you about your early years growing up, what drew you to geophysics, how you decided to get to Stanford, and then carry out the research in seismic imaging that fetched you a doctorate. I had an early interest in minerals and rock collecting that…

Editor’s Message

…This edition is on British Columbia (B.C.) and Northern Canada. Both areas are famous for explorers, gold rushes, mining, and oil and gas. Early Explorers in B.C. B.C. is famous for being explored by explorers such as Juan José Pérez Hernández (Spain) in 1774 and was claimed as a territory…

Board of Directors’ Message: Finance

…Approximately one year ago, I was approached and agreed to run for a position on the CSEG board; as a member for almost 45 years, it was time to give back to the Society before inevitably bowing out and retiring in the near future.  It has been my pleasure to…

Board of Directors’ Message: Educational Services

…Every year, the CSEG Board of Directors renews its commitment to support and grow educational opportunities for CSEG members.  Despite the persistently challenging economic environment in 2019, the Society’s Educational Services are proud to retain existing educational opportunities and introduce new ones for all members. This year, the CSEG offered…

CAGC Column

…Let’s face it, most of us have great difficulty recognizing the truth even when it is being told to us.  We filter and analyze all incoming information on an ongoing basis using all the natural tools that we have in our possession to determine if the stories that we are…