Seismic Soundoff

Kurang Mehta discusses the November special section on carbon management in The Leading Edge. In this episode, get an inside look at the emerging field of carbon management. You will learn about the history and methods of carbon capture and storage. Kurang also provides thoughtful perspectives on how geoscientists can uniquely contribute to carbon management while recognizing biases that may need to be overcome. This conversation covers key topics like saline aquifers, rock fluid interactions, reservoir characterization considerations, monitoring challenges, and the importance of collaboration between academia and industry. For anyone interested in the subsurface, this episode provides an engaging overview of how carbon management fits into the future of oil and gas.

Oil and gas companies have an enormous role in transitioning to a renewable future. This episode examines how Ipieca partners with companies and organizations to support a sustainable future through emissions reduction, nature conservation, and stakeholder engagement. Ipieca is the global oil and gas association for advancing environmental and social performance across the energy transition. In this episode: * Discover how Ipieca sets sustainability principles for members around climate, nature, and social impacts. * Hear why sustainability reporting allows companies to communicate their commitments to stakeholders and demonstrate progress. * Gain insights into how transparency and stakeholder engagement will shape the future of oil and gas companies.

Chao Wang and Stephen Graf discuss the October special section in The Leading Edge on deep exploration. In the 1920s, the first oil discovery in Seminole, Oklahoma, was made at a depth of approximately 4,000 feet. In 1949, the average depth was 3,600 feet. By 2008, it was 6,000 feet. Currently, the world's deepest oil well in Russia extends 49,000 feet into the earth's surface. Deep exploration below existing production, complex overburden, or at the limits of geophysical resolution is critical for existing and emerging ventures. To meet these challenges, researchers and geoscientists are actively working to acquire better data and develop innovative methods to improve imaging. And in this episode, guest editors Chao Wang and Stephen Graf highlight the recent advances that improve success and extend capability in challenging deep environments. Chao and Stephen explain how and why the various geological settings impact deep exploration. They outline if land or marine exploration is easier and which has the

Steven Lynch discusses his article in The Leading Edge, "High visual resolution interpretation: The case for virtual seismic reality." Steve lays out the case for why the seismic you have is better than you think. He argues that the industry needs to undergo a complete change of mindset regarding visualization. Steve explains a natural seismic display, the third form of resolution that's often ignored, and the unsung technological hero of the 20th century. Steve hopes to convince you that there's a tremendous amount that you're not seeing. And that most of the information acquired in seismic has yet to be observed or interpreted. This episode will give you much to think about - and maybe help you unlock new oil in old places. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Steven Lynch is the Chief Geoscientist for "The Visual Wavefield Project." He received his B.Sc. in Biophysics from the University of Guelph in 1975 and his M.Sc. in Geophysics from the University of British Colum

Sue Carr and Jess Kozman discuss the complexities and possibilities for managing downhole geophysical data for carbon storage. In this insightful conversation with host Andrew Geary, Sue and Jess highlight the data types associated with carbon storage and the first step in managing this data. They discuss the challenges in managing well data and clarify common misunderstandings about managing data for carbon storage. Sue and Jess also break down the importance of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and the value of the work of the OSDU Forum (https://osduforum.org/). This conversation provides an excellent blueprint for the primary components of any data system focused on carbon storage projects, the key challenges and opportunities, and guidance on getting started with your carbon storage project. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. SPONSOR This episode is sponsored by Katalyst Data Management® Katalyst Data Management® provides the only integrated, end-to-end su

For this milestone episode, this show highlights key statistics, showcases clips from the Top 10 episodes, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the show is made. In total, Seismic Soundoff has over 170,300 listens across its 200 episodes. The podcast has featured 72 episodes on the cutting-edge topics presented in The Leading Edge. And one of the things we're most proud of is the quality of the evergreen content in our archive. We encourage you to explore the archive and hear from an expert on a new topic. The lists below act as a great place to get started. And we would love to hear from you. What topics would you like to hear? What past guest would you like to hear again? Who would you like featured on the show? Reach out to us at podcast@seg.org to let us know. For the links to each featured episode, visit https://seg.org/podcasts/episode-200-highlights-from-the-top-10-episodes/. THANK YOU, SPONSORS! * TGS (22 episodes) * CGG (18 episodes) * Geospace (12 episodes) * Katalyst Data Management (6

Steve Roche discusses his current Geoscientists without Borders project addressing volcano preparedness in Guatemala. Steve's GWB project addresses the geohazard resiliency and safety of the communities in Guatemala. His project implements community-based educational workshops about earthquake and volcanic hazards. Steve's project also works to increase Guatemala's seismic and volcanic monitoring capacity while reducing disaster response time. In this inspiring conversation with host Andrew Geary, Steve provides his on-the-ground perspective of the project. He offers what has been accomplished and his vision for the project's future. This podcast takes joy in highlighting the humanitarian work of geophysicists worldwide. And this conversation is no exception in sharing how geophysics can impact communities through using the tools and knowledge that geophysicists have to give. And Steve is the perfect guest to showcase all that can be accomplished. RELATED LINKS * Read more about Steve's project, Increasing

Kurt Marfurt reflects on his career and the recent award of SEG's highest honor, the Maurice Ewing Medal. In this engaging conversation with host Andrew Geary, Kurt shares his reaction to learning about receiving the Maurice Ewing Medal. He offers his major takeaways from various career stops along his path and how his volunteer roles at the SEG advanced his career. Kurt provides wisdom on what's changed and hasn't changed in building a successful geophysical career and what he's most proud of when looking back at his accomplishments. It's a privilege to hear from geophysicists at the top of their profession, and Kurt provides actionable advice with a fun and insightful look back at his long career. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * (2023), "Honors and Awards: SEG 2023 Honors and Awards Citations," The Leading Edge 42: 526–538. (https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle42080526.1) CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The Early Career Subcommittee of the SEG Research Committee is receiv

Philip Ringrose discusses his upcoming Distinguished Instructor Short Course, "Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Saline Aquifers – Building confidence by forecasting and monitoring." Interest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) is growing rapidly as a crucial part of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Philip reviews the science and technology underpinning CO2 storage in deep saline aquifer formations using insights from several industrial-scale projects. Philip also addresses what's needed to achieve climate-significant scales of CCS deployment. Although technically achievable, the current socio-economic framing often makes storage project execution difficult in practice. By building technical confidence in project execution, we may be able to "turn the dial" and realize the gigatonne levels of storage needed over the coming decades. Philip is an excellent guide for understanding CO2 storage, its possibilities and limits, and how t

Paolo Dell'Aversana highlights his article in The Leading Edge, discussing a dual-sensory approach to understanding seismic. In a first for this podcast, host Andrew Geary and Paolo discuss music's role in interpreting seismic. Based on concepts well-established in cognitive sciences, Paolo introduces the idea of expanded imaging in geophysics, using a dual-sensory (audiovisual) perception of a data set. In this episode, Paolo explains the basic principles of multimodal seismic data analysis using augmented imaging theory. He then provides examples and applications on real data at varying spatial scales, from individual seismic traces to entire seismic sections. Paolo shares the advantages and limitations of converting seismic data into an auditory format and outlines how geophysicists can start with this approach today. This episode unlocks secret information hiding in your seismic data waiting to be discovered. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. CELEBRATING 200 EPISODES! The podcas

Sara Gentilini, founder of GEOfood, discusses how her organization supports the sustainable development of local communities and helps increase achievement towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. GEOfood is an initiative for communities and environmentally friendly food enterprises in UNESCO Global Geoparks territories. This unique partnership with GEOfood and Global Geoparks enables local traditions and ancient knowledge to be connected with the geological heritage that characterizes each territory. In this episode with host Andrew Geary, Sara shares the history and purpose of UNESCO Global Geoparks and how she came up with GEOfood. She shares her unique definition of sustainable development and outlines her five sustainable food and agriculture principles. Sara discusses the role of education for her organization and how geophysicists can use their skills to impact sustainable food and agriculture. This is a unique topic that might inspire some new lines of thinking for your projects. Listen to t

Felix J. Herrmann highlights the July 2023 special section in The Leading Edge - digitalization in energy. In this episode with host Andrew Geary, Felix discusses his open-access article, "Learned multiphysics inversion with differentiable programming and machine learning." He shares why the future of the oil and gas industry depends on the democratization of technology design. He provides insights into why modernizing wave-equation inversion frameworks is important to geophysics and shares the implications for the results of his study. This episode provides a glimpse into the future capabilities of machine learning to help provide the path for the next great discoveries in geophysics. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. SPONSOR This episode is sponsored by Katalyst Data Management®. Katalyst Data Management® provides the only integrated, end-to-end subsurface data management solution for the oil and gas industry. Over 215 employees operate in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and S

Fabien Allo highlights his award-winning article, "Characterization of a carbonate geothermal reservoir using rock-physics-guided deep neural networks." In this episode with host Andrew Geary, Fabien shares the potential of deep neural networks (DNNs) in integrating seismic data for reservoir characterization. He explains why DNNs have yet to be widely utilized in the energy industry and why utilizing a training set was key to this study. Fabien also details why they did not include any original wells in the final training set and the advantages of neural networks over seismic inversion. He closes with how this method of training neural networks on synthetic data might be useful beyond the application to a geothermal study. This episode is an exciting opportunity to hear directly from an award-winning author on some of today's most cutting-edge geophysics tools. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Fabien Allo, Jean-Philippe Coulon, Jean-Luc Formento, Romain Reboul, Laure

Aria Abubakar and Wenyi Hu, co-chair and vice-chair of the IMAGE Technical Program Committee, respectively, discuss the reasons for attending IMAGE '23. The third annual International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy (IMAGE) will bring geoscientists from around the world from 28 August to 1 September at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. IMAGE is the largest technical program in the event's history. IMAGE will have 168 oral and 110 poster sessions over three full days, totaling 1108 oral and poster presentations. There will be 30 topics, including nine geology focus topics, 11 geophysics topics, and ten integrated topics. IMAGE will also have 20 special oral sessions comprising 15 geology and geophysics topics not covered by the regular technical sessions. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Aria and Wenyi help attendees navigate the large technical program, provide a sneak preview of the top topics, and offer tips to make the most of your attendance. Aria and Wenyi als

Lia Martinez shares the critical skills necessary to network successfully. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Lia offers tips and best practices to fully utilize networking to further your career and technical skills. She explains why seven follow-ups (or touches) is the magic number, the importance of establishing credibility early, and how to use note-taking to your advantage. She outlines the unique ways that both introverts and extroverts struggle with networking (and how to address them). Lia also explores why no one can tell if you have confidence (or not) and why approaching each person as an individual treasure chest can unlock career-defining connections. This conversation may seem like a soft skill to ignore, but mastering networking could be the tool that unlocks your next scientific discovery or promotion. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Watch the entire SEG Near-Surface Geophysics Critical Skills Series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlZgHYz

Anja Klotzsche discusses her Near-Surface Global Lecture, "Unlocking the potential of GPR for subsurface characterization by using full-waveform inversion." The heterogeneous near-surface consists of the complex interactions between rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms, which determine the availability of life-sustaining resources such as water. This environment has been increasingly exploited for human needs, such as water supply, to store our waste and food production. To assess the environmental risk associated with such exploitation and exploration, the near-surface must be investigated and characterized with high-resolution methods to enhance our understanding of hydrological and biogeochemical processes. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Anja describes the recent developments in FWI that have impacted how to apply GPR. She outlines a few of her favorite GPR applications, the impact of AI on GPR, and the role GPR and FWI can have in improving management decisions. Anja also shares t

As the size and complexity of data soars exponentially, machine learning (ML) has gained prominence in applications in geoscience and related fields. ML-powered technology increasingly rivals or surpasses human performance and fuels a large range of leading-edge research. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, mathematician Herman Jaramillo discusses his new book, Machine Learning for Science and Engineering Volume One: Fundamentals. This book teaches the underlying mathematics, terminology, and programmatic skills to implement, test, and apply ML to real-world problems. It builds the mathematical pillars required to comprehend and master modern ML concepts thoroughly and translates the newly gained mathematical understanding into better-applied data science. Herman explains why this book is a unique contribution to the growing field of machine learning, the role of intuition in using ML, and what's in this book that you rarely find in other ML books. He also goes in-depth on the critical understandin

Öz Yilmaz returns to the podcast to highlight his award-winning article, "A reality check on full-wave inversion applied to land seismic data for near-surface modeling." In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Öz assesses the accuracy of full-wave inversion applied to land seismic data for near-surface modeling. He elaborates on his definition of near-surface and explains why he believes full-wave inversion failed to yield an accurate near-surface model. Öz also describes how the seismic waves behave within the near-surface and what would make a good initial model for FWI. Using his insightful and informative style, Öz provides invaluable information on some of the most important topics facing geophysicists. Öz breaks down complex issues into understandable and actionable takeaways. Do not miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best geophysicists working today. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Read the Best Paper for 2022: Öz Yilmaz, Kai Gao, Milos Delic,

Seismic Soundoff has featured some of the most well-known geoscientists, authors, and teachers for the past seven years. And since episode 72, host Andrew Geary has asked his guests, "What is one piece of advice you would offer someone that would like to succeed in this field?" The insight and experience across the 186 episodes are vast. To help collect some of this wisdom into one episode, we're excited to present an updated episode for some of our favorite answers to this closing question. This episode features 11 of our favorite lessons from the past two and a half years. You will hear from SEG legend Öz Yilmaz, current and past SEG presidents, well-known lecturers, and other stalwarts of geophysics. See below for the complete list and links to their entire conversation. Thank you to all the past guests on Seismic Soundoff. As we approach episode 200, we couldn't have made it this far without each of you. And a special thanks to the producers and contributors to the podcast behind the scenes, including

Critical mineral exploration will play a key role in human development and progress. The April 2023 special section of The Leading Edge focuses on the issue of critical minerals from the perspective of recent progress in mining exploration and anticipated future needs as the global energy economy transitions to higher use of, and reliance on, renewables. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Dr. Alan Jones defines critical minerals and how and why each country defines them differently. He explains why the public has a dim view of mining and what we can learn from China's long-term mineral vision. He elaborates on the valuable role of copper in utilizing electric vehicles and why we still don't understand the planet we live on. Alan also makes a case for why we must inspire young minds with the possibilities of critical minerals exploration. Do you want to be part of the future of humanity? This is the question at the center of this can't miss episode. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/po