Geological Insights & Event News

J. Andrew Gleason outlines NASA’s SnowEx campaign, which uses LiDAR, microwave, spectrometers and ground measurements on Red Mt Pass and Grand Mesa to evaluate techniques for mapping snow water equivalent and guide a future SWE satellite. Jim Corken’s Prez Sez highlights the successful Mancos play meeting, upcoming senior thesis posters, and 2018 field trips: a Durango stratigraphy tour and a planned San Juan River Pennsylvanian carbonates trip. Regional news includes the NMGS call for papers.

Bill Clopine outlines the Mancos Play’s tide dominated Tocito sands, organic rich distal facies, and thermal maturity zones defining oil, gas, and condensate fairways, noting strong southern oil and central gas development. Bob Brooks analyzes early 2010 Mancos horizontals to forecast performance of planned 10,000 ft laterals. In his Prez Sez, President Jim Corken thanks recent speakers, discusses dues increases, and highlights upcoming field trip planning, including candidates such as a river trip and a San Juan Basin trip.

Dr. Ali Jaffri critiques the widespread but flawed practice of correlating marginal marine sandstones as laterally continuous “layer cake” benches. He explains that rapid facies shifts make these reservoirs highly heterogeneous and that operators risk mischaracterizing geometry when assuming continuity. His talk urges log correlations that honor true stratigraphic complexity. In Prez Sez, President Jim Corken reflects on the industry’s “great crew change,” celebrates new student sponsorship programs, and calls for volunteers to serve on the Field Trip Committee.

Tim Rynott’s abstract outlines the U.S.’s rapid rise as a global LNG exporter, driven by shale gas, growing Asian demand, and competitive spot market pricing. He highlights geopolitical challenges for Qatar, Australia, and Russia, and emphasizes strong potential in the Piceance and San Juan Basins, including rising Mancos activity and expanding access to Asian and Mexican markets. In Prez Sez, President Jim Corken welcomes members, praises volunteers, and launches new committees, including a Field Trip Committee.

Tracy Dembrowski refines the Trimble Granite age and links it to older Eolus phases (“U Pb zircon analysis…1457±17.8 Ma”). Nick Risedorf shows Permian–Pennsylvanian carbonates on the Big Gypsum megaflap record early halokinetic deformation. Katrina Bryant finds sondes only weakly track Animas River metals (“turbidity yielded the strongest correlation”). Dani Vitarelli maps complex, segmented Sangre de Cristo fault scarps with variable slip. In Prez Sez, Rebecca Pendleton highlights the Greater Aneth core workshop, the Annual Picnic, and the NMGS Ouray–Silverton Field Conference.

Dr. M. Beatrice Magnani examines how seismic reflection data distinguish natural from induced earthquakes in the Central US, showing long active faults in the Mississippi Embayment versus anomalous, likely induced seismicity in the Fort Worth Basin. In her Prez Sez column, President Rebecca Pendleton calls for volunteers to help plan the 2020 AAPG RMS Meeting. Regional news includes upcoming Front Range field trips and the 2017 NMGS Ouray–Silverton conference.