Seismic Soundoff

SEG President Ken Tubman discusses the future outlook of SEG and applied geophysics. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Ken provides the latest information on the ongoing SEG transformation. He outlines how SEG could allow greater experimentation, the pros and cons of its current governance structure, and how members can best contribute to SEG's future. Ken shares some risks for SEG's transformation and why building a successful future for SEG matters to him. This episode not only matters for SEG members and stakeholders and the profession of applied geophysics but provides expertise and guidance for all membership-based organizations. In addition, this conversation provides practical advice and expert recommendations that could continue to support SEG and the field moving forward. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Read the President's Page: Vision for SEG by Ken Tubman (https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle41100668.1) * Read the President's Page: The trans

Dr. Elikplim Abla Dzikunoo and Abdul Rashid Seidu discuss their Geoscientists without Borders project, "Provision of potable water to communities in northeastern Ghana." This GWB project will directly help the inhabitants of two communities (Zagsliari and Salinwia) located within the Nasia river basin in the West Mamprusi district – Northeastern region of Ghana. In Zagsliari, men, women, and children will all benefit from potable water. Children will especially benefit as the current water supplies in the community expose them to diseases like cholera and dysentery. In Salinwia, families will profit greatly from the provision of boreholes, enabling them to engage in year-round irrigation farming to improve their economic fortunes and sustenance for themselves and their livestock. This was done by using Electrical Resistivity Tomography techniques to define and interpret geo-electric sections and models to show the subsurface lithology distribution and provide scientific data that will inform groundwater man

Yogaani Bhatia, SEG's Managing Director for International Operations, discusses the value of the SEG regional offices as SEG celebrates over ten years of the Middle East regional office. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Yogaani describes the work and vision for the SEG regional offices. She explains how geophysics is changing in the Middle East and highlights the similarities and differences between geophysics in the Middle East and China. Yogaani also shares what she's most proud of over the past ten years at the SEG Middle East office and why the regional offices are important to the future success of the SEG and geophysics. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Read the President's Page: The geophysical landscape in the Middle East (https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle41050292.1) * Discover SEG events (https://seg.org/Events/Events-Calendar/all-events) BIOGRAPHY Yogaani Bhatia is SEG's Managing Director for International Operations. She is a market devel

Dr. Cyril D. Boateng discusses his SEG Field Camp, "Investigating the slave trade in South Eastern Ghana using integrated geophysical techniques." Recently, there has been renewed interest in connecting Africans in the diaspora to their ancestral lands. In this context, significant focus has been placed on research which enhances an understanding of the circumstances of enslaved people during the days of enslavement. A lesser-known and often excluded slavery focus point is the South Eastern part of Ghana. The main goal of this field camp was to advance the field of geophysics and geoarchaeology and train a new generation of geoscientists by exploring the use of geophysics for archeological investigations related to slavery in the southeastern part of Ghana. Geophysics can be an indispensable part of archaeological investigations of slavery. The scientific findings of such non-invasive probes could help archaeologists fine-tune their search for sites and aid them in surgical excavation to unearth new data

Roman Pevzner discusses his Honorary Lecture, "Surface and borehole seismic monitoring of CO2 geological storage." Geological carbon capture and storage (CCS) or sequestration is a critical component of CO2 emission reduction, which aims to alleviate global climate change. Geological carbon storage always requires a subsurface monitoring program, and seismic methods play an important role. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Roman explains why a subsurface monitoring program is necessary for geological carbon storage and the range of seismic methods used to monitor CO2 storage. He discusses how the Australian CCS projects featured in the lecture highlight the evolution of the seismic monitoring technology used for sequestration. He also explores the advantages and disadvantages of permanently mounted seismic sources and characterizes passive data analysis. This conversation explores the goal of this lecture, the perfect audience for this talk, and the one question Roman hopes attendees take with

SEG Scholarships encourage the study of geophysics and related geosciences in universities worldwide. Due to the generosity of donors, the SEG offers a range of different scholarship opportunities to students all over the globe. In this special episode, we feature two scholarship recipients and the founder of a new Scholarship Program. Host Andrew Geary speaks first with Manika Prasad. Manika is a Colorado School of Mines professor passionate about students and diversity within the geosciences. She co-founded the SEG Educational Equity Scholarship in 2021 to support underrepresented students in their study area or that bring diversity to their attending university. Manika shares what she hopes this scholarship will achieve and why the SEG Scholarships matter to the industry's future. Next, we highlight two scholarship recipients: Juliet Nneamaka Ilechukwu and Sharmila Appini. They share how they learned about the SEG Scholarships and how it made them better students and geophysicists. They also share what t

Government policies, incentives, and funding directly impact gains in energy efficiency and energy independence. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Diana Sineva and Stephen Brown highlight recent policy changes in the United States and how it impacts the world and the oil and gas sector. In this unique conversation, Diana and Stephen explain the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and why it's important to incentivize and fund energy efficiency policies. They offer a distinctive perspective on pursuing energy independence and how businesses and consumers can utilize energy efficiency for their benefit. Additionally, Diana provides a path for geophysicists to thrive in any future energy environment. This episode explores cutting-edge policy and research to offer a novel perspective on topics that will impact the world for generations. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. BIOGRAPHIES Diana Sineva is an energy industry expert and project/product management professional who dedicated m

Technological advancements in geophysical sensors and sensor platforms over the past decade have given rise to the rapidly growing and innovative field of drone-based geophysics. As improvements in reliability, payload capacity, coverage capability, resolution, data quality, cost, and personnel safety continue to be realized, the widespread application of drone geophysics marks an exciting new era of innovation in near-surface geophysics. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Dr. Callum Walter discusses the benefits of drone surveys when taking on dirty, dangerous, and demanding jobs. He highlights the similarities and differences compared to other geophysical surveys and the unique difficulties when collecting data by drones. Callum outlines a few case studies currently benefiting from drones, the possibility of rocket-powered drones, and using drones in off-world environments. Callum also offers when drones could be right for your project profile. This episode is a fascinating, cutting-edge convers

What sets the seismic method apart from other geophysical exploration methods is its ability to deliver three-dimensional high-resolution images of the subsurface. Ramesh (Neelsh) Neelamani traces the history of the seismic method to showcase recent breakthroughs and future advancements. Neelsh is currently ExxonMobil Senior Principal Geophysics. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Neelsh shares the insights he gained tracing the history of seismic resolution. He also spotlights the most recent technological leaps for full-waveform inversion, explains the value of spectral extrapolation, and outlines how disciplines outside geophysics impact seismic resolution. Neelsh also highlights recent seismic acquisition techniques focused on reducing their environmental impact. This episode is a wide-ranging exploration of seismic resolution based on seven new papers in The Leading Edge. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Mehdi Aharchaou, Ramesh (Neelsh) Neelamani, and C

Boris Gurevich provides an insider's perspective on the value of expanding your knowledge and awareness of the wide-ranging discipline of geophysics. Boris currently serves as Chair of the Distinguished Lecture Committee at the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Boris shares the benefits and primary function of SEG's educational lectures. And there's a strong chance the primary function differs from what you think! Boris provides a helpful overview of this often overlooked, free resource. He also shares tips to maximize your engagement and learning and the best ways to get involved, from attendees to companies to lecturers. The Honorary and Distinguished Lectures provide an invaluable resource to the geophysics community and the public. This conversation will provide the shortcut to help you get the most out of it. Listen to the complete podcast archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Register for upcoming events (https://seg.org/Education/Lectur

The seismic data set is a fundamental requirement for producing oil and gas fields. Reservoir modeling utilizing seismic interpretations drove insights into reservoir quality and performance, helping to understand the communication between reservoir units and wells, particularly in fields with many wells. Over time, technological advancements led to a reduction in the cost of reservoir modeling, while increased acquisition, processing, and utility of seismic data provided the means to drive innovation toward incorporating seismic. Today, 3D and 4D seismic data play pivotal roles in defining and updating reservoir models where hundreds to thousands of simulations can be realized in a reservoir model to explore history matching and model uncertainties. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, guest editor Katie Baker explores seismic reservoir modeling as highlighted by five papers in The Leading Edge. Katie showcases the key technological advancements that unlocked seismic in defining and updating reservo

Leo Eisner discusses his Honorary Lecture, "Mapping pore pressure with beach balls." The stress field of the Earth's crust has been studied for many decades as a part of seismology and geomechanics. Traditional stress inversion methods utilize focal mechanisms of earthquakes as this is typically the only data available at a regional scale and lower crust. With earthquake mechanisms, it's possible to reconstruct principal stress directions and a ratio of principal stress magnitudes but not the full stress tensor. However, combining data from reservoir injections and focal mechanisms from induced microseismicity overcomes this limitation. In this talk, Leo will show how they applied joint stress inversion to a geothermal and unconventional dataset and illustrate how microseismicity can be used to map pore pressure. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Leo breaks down the perfect audience for this lecture and the insights attendees will take away. Leo highlights how the bad attitude of a manager inspir

Serguei Goussev discusses his new book, Gravity & Magnetic Encyclopedic Dictionary. This book contains more than 3,200 entries and presents a terminology-guided summary of the gravity and magnetic theory, measuring instruments, methods of data acquisition, processing, analysis, and interpretation for geophysical studies of the Earth and other planets. Terrestrial applications include engineering (karst and faults), geodesy, geothermal, groundwater, volcano, and global tectonic studies, CO2 sequestration, reservoir monitoring, exploration for oil and gas, rare earth elements, iron, gold, and other mineral resources. In this episode, Serguei shares his motivation for compiling this resource and the unique format he created for this dictionary. He also highlights a few of his favorite terms and what he hopes this book achieves. Across many disciplines, especially those interested in rare earth elements and mineral resources, this will serve as an essential and comprehensive resource. This useful and fun conver

GeoFORCE Program Director Dr. Leah Turner discusses building the pipeline for the next generation of geoscientists. GeoFORCE Texas received the 2022 Special Commendation Award at IMAGE. The program is a free K-12 outreach program designed to increase the number and diversity of students pursuing STEM degrees and careers, especially geology. Each summer GeoFORCE Texas takes over 300 high school students on spectacular geological field trips in Texas and throughout the United States. Taught by university faculty, research scientists, and area educators and mentored by professional geologists from industry partners, the trips engage and empower students by exposing them to something completely different than their home and school environment. GeoFORCE Texas aims to inspire the next generation of geoscientists, foster increased diversity in the U.S. workforce, and create an increased awareness of the importance of geosciences in the communities the program serves. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, L

Paul Bauman discusses the inaugural Global Sustainability Lecture series, "A Strategy for Improving Rural Water Supply Development in Sub-Saharan Africa." Though 98% of the available freshwater in the world is groundwater, groundwater resources are not easily available in much of the world, where subsurface water is the only option. Today, more than 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live in water insecurity, meaning they lack reasonable access to either sufficient quantities of water or water of acceptable quality. For rural populations, a direct consequence of water insecurity is food insecurity. In the Horn of Africa alone, more than 60% of the population is food insecure, with more than 20 million people approaching famine conditions. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Paul highlights how water impacts all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He outlines the impact of two billion people living with water stress and how it could reach over five billion in the next ten y

Professors Kirsten Nicholson and Klaus Neumann lead a Geoscientists without Borders (GWB) project to find safe drinking water for two communities in the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. This country most famously is home to the world's favorite trekking destination - the Himalayans. Even though this area is popular with tourists, it struggles with adequate drinking water. Diseases due to unsafe water are some of the most common causes of death, with diarrheal disease accounting for 4.2% of the global burden of diseases. The situation is far worse in less economically developed, semi-arid mountainous regions where communities experience poor health due to contaminated drinking water. At the same time, these high-altitude regions face increasing pressure caused by climate variability, impacting precipitation patterns, seasonal snowpack, and glacial growth. The issues surrounding long-term resource management and the reduction of water-related vulnerability are complex and rarely involve simple solutions. Larg

November's The Leading Edge presents a selection of studies that gives an idea of the breadth of geophysics that aids in mitigating natural hazards, covering natural and induced earthquake phenomena and landslides. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Heather Bedle and Chris Garneau explore public misperceptions of geohazards, the power of experiencing earthquakes, and ways to improve scientific communication with the public. Heather highlights a new tool that helps with one of the greatest seismic data limitations, and Chris breaks down the connection between people's concern about future seismicity and climate change. They also choose the most important areas to mitigate geohazards between geophysics, societal work, and education. This episode breaks down geohazards and their impact on the public and provides actionable steps for geoscientists to study geohazards better and discuss their work with others. Dr. Heather Bedle is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma in the School of G

Cara Hunter and Teresa Santana discuss the value and importance of mentoring for geoscientists. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Cara and Teresa highlight Mentoring365, a program that matches students and early career professionals with Earth and space sciences experts. They explain the need for this program, explore networking in 2023, and offer tips for first-time mentors and mentees. Cara and Teresa also elaborate on the two-way aspect of mentorship and how any professional can build their network. The conversation concludes with a reflection on how mentorship has influenced their career and the value of engaging as a mentor. Cara Hunter is the Technical Community Engagement Manager at SLB and SEG Women's Network Chair. Teresa Santana is the Chief Geophysicist, Diversity Officer, and Advisor in Geophysics at YPF S.A. and vice-chair of the SEG Women's Network. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. ABOUT MENTORING365 Mentoring365 matches students and early career professional

Alexander Braun discusses planetary geophysics highlighted in October's The Leading Edge. This is the first special section dedicated to planetary geophysics in the 40-year history of The Leading Edge. And it's timely considering the many international activities evolving rapidly toward exploration of the moon, Mars, and other planets and the availability of exploration geophysics expertise within geophysical communities. This special section features five studies demonstrating applications of geophysical technologies and methods to support future planetary exploration missions. In addition, it offers a glimpse into some developing hot topics in space exploration. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Alex highlights the differences geophysicists should consider when applying their skills to planetary geophysics, the types of geophysical tools and techniques that work well on other planets, and the role of Earth analogue sites in exploring viable geophysical techniques. He also explains why Jurassic

Steve Darnell discusses digital transformation in the oil and gas industry, highlighted in September's The Leading Edge. Complemented by large volumes of usable data, the evolution of computational hardware and software creates new opportunities for technological innovation in the energy industry. Digital transformation adopts existing technologies (such as cloud services) and develops new technologies (such as machine learning applications) that improve business processes. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Steve Darnell discusses how digital transformation improves business processes in-depth. He emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity, how to start the digitalization process, and highlights the common obstacles companies face when embracing digital transformation. He also comments on the common misperceptions and the hidden benefits of embracing digital advancements. This conversation on digital transformation connects to all parts of the oil and gas workflow and showcases the value proposi