Canadian Publication Mail Contract - 1534939 $3.00 MARCH 2003 VOLUME 30, ISSUE 3 ■ CSPG’S FINAL POSITION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE ■ A Brief history of Geographic information systems ■ Is there a basin-wide unconformity associated with the Triassic Doig to Charlie Lake succession? No! ■ CSPG’S FINAL POSITION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE ■ A Brief history of Geographic information systems ■ Is there a basin-wide unconformity associated with the Triassic Doig to Charlie Lake succession? No!
Transcript
Canadian Publication Mail Contract - 1534939 $3.00
MARCH 2003VOLUME 30, ISSUE 3
� CSPG’S FINAL POSITION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
� A Brief history of Geographic information systems
� Is there a basin-wide unconformity associated with the Triassic Doig
to Charlie Lake succession? No!
� CSPG’S FINAL POSITION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
� A Brief history of Geographic information systems
� Is there a basin-wide unconformity associated with the Triassic Doig
to Charlie Lake succession? No!
2
Nothing is more challenging than
making the right decision, in the
right place, at the right time.
Nothing. The decision you make will
affect the productivity, the economics
and the success—or failure—of your
operations, your people and your
company.
This is your chance to meet one-on-one
with IHS Energy employees from
software developers to product
managers. Meet other industry
professionals, attend lectures on topics
of interest or have a one-on-one
demo. Representatives from premier
service companies throughout the
industry will be on hand to answer
any questions.
Let’s talk about how we can help you
make your next best decision.
Register today onlineat www.ihsenergy.ca Or, call 403.770.4646 or email
EDITORSPlease submit RESERVOIR articles to the CSPGoffice. Submission deadline is the 23th day of themonth, 2 months prior to issue date. (ie: January23 for the March issue).
To publish an article, the CSPG requires both hardand electronic copies of the document. Textshould be in Microsoft Word format andillustrations should be in TIFF format. Foradditional information on manuscript preparation,refer to the Guidelines for Authors published inthe CSPG Bulletin or contact the editor.
TECHNICAL EDITORBen McKenzieGEOCAN Energy Inc.Tel: 403-261-3851Email: [email protected]
ADVERTISINGAll inquiries regarding advertising and technicalspecifications should be directed to KimMacLean. The deadline to reserve advertisingspace is the 23th day of the month, 2 monthsprior to issue date. All advertising artwork shouldbe sent directly to Kim MacLean at the CSPG.
The RESERVOIR is published 11 times per yearby the Canadian Society of PetroleumGeologists. This includes a combined issue forthe months of July/August.
Advertisements, as well as inserts, mailed withthe publication are paid advertisements. Noendorsement or sponsorship by the CanadianSociety of Petroleum Geologists is implied.
The CSPG Rock Shop is an attractive andaffordable way for advertisers to present theirservices to the CSPG Readership. Spaces aresold at business card sizes (3.5” wide by 2” high)and will eventually fill an entire Rock Shop page.For more information or to book a space pleasecontact Kim MacLean at 403-264-5610, ext. 205.
The contents of this publication may not bereproduced either in part or in full without theconsent of the publisher.
Design & Layout by McAra PrintingPrinted in Canada by McAra Printing
Additional copies of the RESERVOIR areavailable at the CSPG office for $3.00.
CSPG’S FINAL POSITION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE . . . . . . 8STAFF PROFILE: TIM HOWARD, BUSINESS MANAGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172003 CSPG / CSEG CONVENTION CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS . . . . . . . . . . . . .182003 CSPG / CSEG CONVENTION CORE CONFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182003 CSPG / CSEG CONVENTION SPECIAL EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18A BRIEF HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . 25IS THERE A BASIN-WIDE UNCONFORMITY ASSOCIATED
WITH THE TRIASSIC DOIG TO CHARLIE LAKE SUCCESSION? NO! . . . . . 28
Fraser Valley, B.C. - Synsedimentary conjugate extensional faults and convolute bedding in Quaternary proglacialdeltaic sediments of the Fort Langley Formation. Photo by Gary Johannson
5
THE CSPG GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES ITS
*CORPORATE MEMBERS:
ABU DHABI OIL CO., LTD.
ARCHEAN ENERGY LTD.
BURLINGTON RESOURCES CANADA ENERGY LTD.
CALPINE CANADA
CANADIAN FOREST OIL LTD.
CONOCOPHILLIPS CANADA
DEVON CANADA CORPORATION
DOMINION ENERGY CANADA LTD.
ECL CANADA
EL PASO OIL & GAS COMPANY INC.
ENCANA CORPORATION
HUNT OIL COMPANY OF CANADA, INC.
HUSKY OIL OPERATIONS LTD.
IMPERIAL OIL RESOURCES LIMITED
LARIO OIL & GAS COMPANY
MJ SYSTEMS
MURPHY OIL COMPANY LTD.
NCE RESOURCES GROUP INC.
NEXEN INC.
NORTHROCK RESOURCES LTD.
PENN WEST PETROLEUM LTD.
PETRO-CANADA OIL AND GAS
PROVIDENT ENERGY LTD.
REEVES WIRELINE
SAMSON CANADA
SECURITY DBS
SHELL CANADA LIMITED
SPROULE ASSOCIATES LIMITED
SUNCOR ENERGY INC.
TALISMAN ENERGY INC.
TOTALFINAELF E&P CANADA LIMITED
TUCKER WIRELINE SERVICES CANADA INC.
UPTON RESOURCES INC.
*CORPORATE MEMBERS AS OF
JANUARY 24, 2003
CORPORATE MEMBERS
For a while now (years), there has been somediscussion as to how to improve theReservoir in order to make it more useful /interesting for its readers. As mentioned inthe February issue’s Executive Comment, oneidea is to go online with the Reservoir.Withthe vast majority of subscribers having eitheran e-mail account or access to the internet,this would be technically feasible and haveseveral advantages over the hard-copy route.As drearily mundane as it may seem, not theleast of these would be a significant decreasein printing and mailing costs. Currently, theReservoir costs about $12,000 per issue. Toput it another way, with about 3,500subscribers and 11 issues, this representsabout $38 per year per CSPG member.Whilepart of this is regained from advertisingrevenues, it is still a large hit to the Society’sbudget. Other benefits would include easierarchiving and search capabilities. Sometimesthe most current or only information on aparticular subject is the abstract from one ofthe technical luncheons.
Generally speaking, however, the discussiontends to always end with “we need moretechnical content.” The obvious source forthis technical content is the CSPGmembership itself. With the thousands ofgeologists, geophysicists, engineers, andstudents involved in the petroleum industry,there is no question that somebody knowssomething of interest to somebody else.Thelack of volunteered articles then boils downto the problems of inertia and time, as it doestake some effort to put together somethingfor publication. However, the effort expendedbenefits not only the membership at largebut also the author as well, as peer-generatedfeedback will help refine the idea aspresented (ever notice how ideas mightchange between the beginning and end of aproject?).As an added benefit, it can also helpestablish the author as an expert on thatparticular topic (let’s be blunt, we’re talkingfuture earnings here).
So here’s the deal.We, your Society, want toprovide the venue for you to present your
knowledge on any topic related to thepetroleum industry. Because the Reservoir isnot a peer-reviewed publication, there aresome caveats. The articles are not expectedto be the length or depth of those that mightappear in the CSPG Bulletin, for example.They may potentially be more speculative orsubjective in nature. They might go againstcommon assumptions. On the other hand,they may be solid, though shorter, versions ofarticles being prepared for a more in-depthtreatment (peer-review articles might takemonths to years before publication). Fromthe service side, we would welcome casestudies or articles on how to use whatevernew technology that might have beenrecently developed.With these limits in mind,we will also welcome and solicit feedback onany articles that appear in the Reservoir.As arelated note, Dr. Zeev Berger hasvolunteered to begin a new featuretentatively entitled “Exploration andTechnology Update”. This initiative will bedescribed in more detail in an upcoming issueof the Reservoir.
For anyone interested in submitting an article,we require a digital version of the article andillustrations. The preferred software isMicrosoft Word for the text and tiff formatfor the illustrations.Generally speaking, a pageof text is about 1,400 words and we wouldlike to keep the individual articles to two tofour pages in length (including illustrations). Ifthere are any questions, they can be directedto either Jamie or me (our contact info islisted on the table of contents page in theReservoir).Also, if you have any suggestions asto what topics you would like to see an articleon, let us know.
Thanks for your attention and keep thosecards and letters coming.
So what exactly does the Program Director do? Iknow that is the question I had when I was asked torun for the CSPG Executive over a year ago. I askeda lot of questions before I agreed to take on thechallenge, but the answers I received, while correct,only scratched the surface of what “Programs” andbeing the Program Director is all about. A year later,as I move from Assistant Program Director to thesenior position, my appreciation, admiration, andunderstanding of the many committees to whom Iprovide liaison to the CSPG Executive has grownsubstantially. The work they do goes a long way toproviding the image that the CSPG presents to ourmembers. Here is a brief run down of who they areand what they do:
TECHNICAL DIVISIONS: The CSPG has eleven Technical Divisions. Eachtouches on a specific area of geology or a specific areaof geologic interest within the petroleum industry. Allare chaired or co-chaired by enthusiastic CSPGmembers who have specific interests in these areasor specialties. The Technical Divisions reflect thediversity within our profession. Some Divisions havelarger committees running and organizing them,whileothers only have one or two people handling things.All provide lunchtime or evening talks that specializein the area the Technical Division represents. Someprovide field trips as well, and in the near future theHydrogeology Division is going to play a key role inthe first of our new Mini-Conferences in early 2004.Last year saw the launch of our newest division –Emerging Resources – reflecting changes in thePetroleum Industry. The Sample and Core Division istackling a number of issues, including those related tothe AEUB Core Research Centre. Requirements forchip samples and the looming space crunch in termsof space for core storage have been some of thethings they have been involved with. Information onall these Divisions is available on the CSPG Websiteor in the Reservoir, and each month you will see adifferent Division Profile giving you more informationon each of the Technical Divisions. If you have aninterest in any of these Divisions,please support themwith your attendance at their talks and field trips, andplease consider volunteering your time to help out –I’m sure your interest and time would be appreciated.
TECHNICAL LUNCHES: This committee’s work has one of the highest profilesin the CSPG, as we have all come to depend on andlook forward to our bi-monthly luncheon talks. Thisgroup puts together the list of speakers we enjoy for10 months every year. Some speakers actually
volunteer, or come to us as AAPG Distinguishedlecturers, but this hard-working group recruits many.They have recently added Web-casting of selectedtalks to their jobs. This provides a great opportunityfor our members to see talks that they missed,or forthose members outside of Calgary to benefit fromthis program. Right now approximately half the talksare Web-cast, but this will eventually increase to all ofthem. This committee not only provides members inCalgary with the latest in geotechnical thinking, butalso plays a key role in our mandate to provide amore national focus for the CSPG.
CONVENTIONS:This committee is only a few years old but already ishaving a huge positive impact. In the past there wasno formalized way for convention organizingcommittees to pass their learned knowledge fromone convention to subsequent organizingcommittees. Also, finding Convention Chairpersonsfell to the CSPG Executive who already had a lot ontheir plate. As a result, convention planning was nevermore than a year or so ahead of the present. TheConvention Committee was formed to change this.They provide a conduit and repository ofaccumulated convention knowledge and have allowedlong-term convention planning to begin to take place.We now have Convention Chairpersons through2005 and are beginning to look at some new ideas formini-conferences and core conferences outside ourregular once-a-year large convention. This will alsolead to more long-term planning of joint conventionswith other societies that was not possible before.
CONTINUING EDUCATION:This is one committee that we are in the process ofrevitalizing. The volunteers that have been runningthis committee feel that it is time to move on toother things, so this committee is in need of a newchairperson(s). With the existence of theGeoscience Professional Development Centre at theUniversity of Calgary some of the courses thiscommittee has run in the past can be accommodatedthere, but many others cannot. With the demise ofthe “big oil company” training departments, there isstill a need to train new graduates and to continue toupgrade the skills of those of us that have been doingthis awhile. There are a lot of courses run byconsultants that help to fill the need but there arestill areas of training left unaddressed. ContinuingEducation is a work in progress. We are activelyrecruiting for someone or some people to chair thiscommittee and if anyone has any interest in this Iwould really like to hear from them. Also, we needyour ideas and feedback. We know from our recentsurvey that this is an area that is important to themembership, but are there specific things that youwould like to see. My e-mail address is at the frontof the Reservoir and I would be very appreciative ofany and all feedback from the membership.
The Committees under the banner of Programs inthe CSPG represent much of what makes theCSPG tick. Please support them with your ideas,your time, and your attendance.
Elizabeth O’NeillProgram Director
7
EXECUTIVE COMMENTA MESSAGE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
In late 2002, the CSPG published a draft position onglobal climate change science on its website and in theReservoir. We invited members to review this position,and to make comments and suggest improvements.
Twenty-four members responded - sixteen stronglyendorsed the draft position, while eight disapprovedor felt that changes should be made. Many of thedissenters felt that the CSPG was advocating an anti-Kyoto position. Most of the comments on bothsides were thoughtful and constructive, and a few ofthe respondents suggested specific improvementsand new website links.
We conclude that, including the unanimousapproval of the Executive Committee and stronginput from the Past Presidents of the Society, theCSPG membership has strongly endorsed the draftglobal climate position.
As a result, the CSPG is taking the following actionsin formulating its final position and actions onclimate change science:
� Our position statement clearly emphasizesthat the CSPG’s primary goal is a clearerunderstanding of the current status andcomplexity of global climate science.
� We clearly disassociate the Society fromtaking a position on the Kyoto Accord, as weare not qualified to address the economic andpolitical issues.
� We have and will continue to improve our listof links on the CSPG website, in order toprovide a comprehensive view of globalclimate change science.
THE CSPG’S POSITION ON GLOBALCLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE(FINAL VERSION – JANUARY 2003)
INTRODUCTION
The CSPG has been asked by many members, andencouraged strongly by its Past Presidents, to state aposition on the controversial subject of global climatechange. Although the Society has traditionally avoidedtaking public positions, the Executive has agreed thatwe must take a clear stand as professionals and asknowledgeable scientists of the Earth.
Geologists should have an authoritative voice in thismessy and politicized public debate, which has beenmarked by many misrepresentations of science andmanipulation of the public media by those on everyside. In particular, petroleum and other “soft-rock”geologists, who work daily with the products ofearth’s varying climate over geological history, havea vital and essential perspective to contribute. Weare also accustomed to synthesizing evidence frommany branches of science in our day-to-day work.
Expert opinions expressed by the CSPG focusentirely on the science of global climate change, and
do not address the political and economic issueswhich dominate the media. The CSPG advocates noposition on the Kyoto accord, nor on other publicactions promoted in response to perceived climatechange. We must say very strongly, however, that thescience is the basis of the entire climate changedebate – arguments built upon a poor understandingof the science are doomed to be wrong.
The CSPG position has been presented to themembership in draft form, and comments have beeninvited from all members. This final position paperreflects the input received, and has been approvedby a strong majority of respondents.
Climate change scientific arguments are many and arefar too involved to be reviewed in this short positionpaper. However, the reader is referred to thefollowing summaries of current global climate science:
� WMO UNEP Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (www.ipcc.ch/) - summariesof the findings of the IPCC, widely quoted insupport of arguments linking anthropogenicgas emissions and climate change
� “The CSPG Backgrounder to Global ClimateChange”, a brief review of the key scientificissues, by CSPG member D.L. Barss andassociates. This paper has been posted on theCSPG website.
� “Are Observed Changes in the Concentrationof Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere ReallyDangerous?”, an exhaustive review of globalclimate science by Chris de Freitas of theUniversity of Auckland (Bulletin of CanadianPetroleum Geology, June 2002; also posted onthe CSPG website).
THE CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATE
Many people argue that “greenhouse gases”emitted by human activities have upset naturalclimatic balances, causing anomalous global climatechange since the mid-20th century (see, forexample, the David Suzuki Foundation website,www.davidsuzuki.org). Claims of “scientificconsensus” backing these ideas are not well-founded, however, as summarized in the “CSPGBackgrounder”, which draws the followingconclusions:
� Global climate change has been a constantthroughout the history of the Earth, driven bya variety of global and astronomical naturalfactors. The variability of and interactionsamong these factors are the subjects of activeresearch, but are still very poorly understoodby climate scientists. Observations of pastclimatic variations show much bettercorrelation with astronomical variables suchas solar activity and orbital changes than theydo with atmospheric CO2 levels.
� Since the beginning of the 20th century,atmospheric CO2 has risen with acceleratedproduction of CO2 by human activities.However, using the best attempts to removebiases from temperature data, there is not agood correlation between atmospheric CO2and global temperatures.
� Global circulation models attempt torepresent climatic influences with numericalequations, and are used to predict futureclimate variations. However, they arehampered by our poor understanding of therelationships and feedback loops among manyof the key variables. GCM predictions ofwarming trends through the 21st century havedecreased systematically as the models havebecome more sophisticated.
� These observations suggest that global climatechange is a natural and fundamental part ofearth history, and that the effects of humanactivities on global climate are likely a poorly-understood fourth-order factor.
THE CSPG’S POSITION ONGLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Based on these conclusions, the Canadian Societyof Petroleum Geologists proposes the followingposition on global climate change:
Global climate change is a natural andcontinual process on Earth. Climate changessimilar to and much more severe than thosehappening today have occurred repeatedlythroughout historic and geologic time, as theresult of many natural factors.
Climate science is only beginning tounderstand these factors and theirinteractions. There is no “scientificconsensus” that “greenhouse gases”produced by humans are driving any unusualclimate changes.
Mankind’s greatest efforts to reduceproduction of carbon dioxide, a naturalcomponent of the atmosphere essential tovirtually all life, will not significantly affectclimate change. The climate will changenaturally, and mankind must adapt, as all lifehas done throughout the Earth’s history.
Regardless of the outcome of global climatechange debates, mankind should not bedistracted from the worthwhile goals ofusing all resources wisely, and of reducing itsproduction of polluting chemicals that aretruly harmful to life on Earth. We shouldfurther develop our scientific understandingof the earth, oceans, and atmosphere, toguide us in reducing our negative impacts aseffectively as possible.
CSPG FINAL POSITIONON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
DEVELOPED BY D.L. BARSS, ALBERT F. JACOBS, AND ARTHUR PATTERSON. EDITED BY BRAD HAYES, CSPG PAST PRESIDENT.
9
Assessment of Global Oil,Gas and NGL ResourcesBased on the TotalPetroleum System Concept
SPEAKERThomas S.AhlbrandtUnited States Geological Survey,Denver, ColoradoWorld Energy Project Chief
11:30 amTuesday, March 11, 2003
TELUS CONVENTION CENTRECALGARY, ALBERTA
Please note:The cut-off date for ticket sales is1:00 pm, Wednesday, March 5th.Ticket price is $25.00 + GST
Is the world running out of oil? Where willfuture oil and gas supplies come from? Tohelp answer these questions, the U.S.Geological Survey in 2000 completed anew assessment of the undiscoveredconventional oil and gas resources andpotential additions to reserves from fieldgrowth. One hundred and twenty-eightprovinces were assessed outside of theUnited States in a 100 man-year effortfrom 1995-2000. Total Petroleum Systems(TPS) were identified and described foreach of these provinces along withassociated Assessment Units (AU) that arethe basic units for assessing undiscoveredpetroleum. The assessment processcoupled geologic analysis with aprobabilistic methodology to estimateremaining potential. Within the 128assessed provinces were 149 TPS and 246AU. For these provinces, the endowmentof recoverable oil, which includescumulative production, remaining reserves,reserve growth, and undiscoveredresources is estimated at about 3 trillionbarrels of oil (TBO). The natural gasendowment is estimated at 2.6 trillion
barrels of oil equivalent (TBOE). Oilreserves are currently 1.1 TBO; worldconsumption is about .028 TBO per year.Natural gas reserves are about .8 TBOE;world consumption is about .014 TBOE.Thus, without any additional discoveries ofoil, gas or natural gas liquids,we have about2 TBOE of proved petroleum reserves. Ofthe oil and gas endowment of about 5.6TBOE, we estimate that the world hasconsumed about 1 TBOE, or 18 percentleaving about 82 percent of endowment tobe utilized or found. Half of the world'sundiscovered oil and gas potential isoffshore. Arctic basins with about 25percent of undiscovered petroleumresources make up the next great frontier.While petroleum resources in the worldappear to be significant, certain countriessuch as the U.S. may run into importdeficits, particularly oil imports fromMexico and natural gas from Canada.
Ten significant insights related to theelements of the Total Petroleum Systemsthat were evaluated include: (1) Petroleumis trapped in many ways, less than half ofknown petroleum occurs in exclusivelystructural traps, (2) Type II source rocksare by far the dominant source rock typeand source rocks occur throughout thesedimentary rock record, (3) Mesozoicsource rocks (particularly Jurassic-Cretaceous) are the most importantvolumetrically, (4) Young Cenozoicpetroleum systems are volumetricallydominant, and much petroleum has clearlybeen lost from older petroleum systems,(5) The key elements of petroleumsystems are cyclic and concentrated nearera boundaries, (6) Despite enormousrecent success with deepwater reservoirs,volumetrically they are currently the leastsignificant of those considered; continentalreservoirs are dominant, (7) Futurediscoveries will be dominantly from clasticreservoirs, (8) Salt is a very effective long-term seal, and salt seals are a criticalpreservational component of olderPaleozoic petroleum systems, (9) Most of
the petroleum systems in the world aredominated by vertical migration or limitedlateral migration (less than 20 kilometers)from the mature source rock area, and(10) Many major conventional natural gassystems are closely linked to largeunconventional (continuous) resources.
BIOGRAPHYThomas Ahlbrant is the World Energy ProjectChief with the United States GeologicalSurvey. Thomas received his B.A. and Ph.Dfrom the University of Wyoming in 1969 and1973, respectively. He worked withinternational oil firms such as Exxon, Amoco,and Amerada as well as several consultingorganizations prior to his current employmentwith the USGS. Thomas is a recipient ofnumerous honors such as 2002 AAPGDistinguished Service Award, 2000 Universityof Wyoming Distinguished Alumnus Award,1999 RMAG Outstanding Scientist, 1995-96AAPG Executive Committee and AAPGChairman, House of Delegates, and 1994RMAG Best Paper. He also is the author of175 publications on clastic depositionalenvironments, petroleum geology, resourceassessment, and petrophysics. Hisresearch emphasis is on the Middle Eastand Rocky Mountain areas, and on worldresource assessment.
MARCH LUNCHEON
PARTNERS in anew ENVIRONMENT2 0 0 3 C S P G / C S E G C o n v e n t i o nRound Up Centre, Stampede Park June 2 - 6, 2003C a l g a r y • A l b e r t a • C a n a d a
For more information visit www.cspg.org or www.cseg.ca
Retroarc Foreland Systems:Dynamics and Sedimentation
SPEAKEROctavian CatuneanuDept. of Earth and AtmosphericSciences, University of Alberta
11:30 amTuesday, March 25, 2003
TELUS CONVENTION CENTRECALGARY, ALBERTA
Please note:The cut-off date for ticket sales is1:00 pm, Wednesday, March 19th.Ticket price is $25.00 + GST
Retroarc foreland systems form throughthe flexural deflection of the lithosphere inresponse to a combination of supra- andsublithospheric loads. Supracrustal loadingby orogens leads to the partitioning offoreland systems into flexural provinces,i.e., the foredeep, forebulge, and back-bulge. Renewed thrusting (addition ofload) in the orogenic belt results inforedeep subsidence and forebulge uplift,and the reverse occurs as orogenic load isremoved by erosion or extension. Thispattern of opposite vertical tectonicsmodifies the relative amounts of availableaccommodation in the two flexuralprovinces, and may generate out-of-phase(“reciprocal”) proximal to distalstratigraphies. Coupled with flexuraltectonics, additional accommodation may
be created or destroyed by thesuperimposed effects of eustasy anddynamic (sublithospheric) loading. Thelatter mechanism operates at regionalscales, and depends on the dynamics andgeometry of the subduction processesunderneath the basin. The eustatic andtectonic controls on accommodation maygenerate sequences and unconformitiesover a wide range of timescales, both overand under 106 yr.
The interplay of base level changes andsediment supply controls the degree inwhich the available accommodation isconsumed by sedimentation. Thisdefines the underfilled, filled, andoverfilled stages in the evolution of aforeland system, in which depositionalprocesses are represented by deepmarine, shallow marine, and fluvialsedimentation respectively.
Underfilled foredeeps are dominated bygravity flow processes, as exemplified bythe Late Permian submarine fans in thesouthern Karoo Basin. Each submarinefan is coeval with the progradation of adeltaic succession in the forebulge regionalong the distal shoreline of the interiorseaway, which generates sequencescomposed of pelagic facies (potentialsource rocks) that grade laterally intoforedeep and forebulge reservoirs(turbidites and deltas respectively).
Similar out-of-phase base level changesbetween the foredeep and the forebulgealso generate distinctive stratigraphic
architectures in shallow marine andfluvial successions. The BearpawFormation in Alberta and Saskatchewanillustrates a filled foreland system, inwhich foredeep transgressions correlatewith forebulge regressions and vice versa,in response to high frequency (105 yr)orogenic cycles of loading and unloading.Once the sediment supply exceeds theavailable accommodation, the depozoneof the foreland system becomesrestricted to the region that undergoesflexural subsidence at the time. Thisdefines the stratigraphic architecture ofoverfilled foreland systems, in whichforedeep fluvial sequences correlate withforebulge unconformities and vice versa,in response to the same cycles oforogenic loading and unloading. Fluvialsequences display predictable changes instyle between higher and lower energysystems, with important implications forthe distribution of reservoirs in theoverfilled sections of the basin.
BIOGRAPHYOctavian Catuneanu is an Associate Professorat the University of Alberta, with a PhD ingeology from the University of Toronto. He isthe recipient of a 2002 Best Paper Award ofthe Geological Society of America, and aspecialist in sedimentology, sequencestratigraphy, and basin analysis.He is currentlyinvolved in several international researchprograms, and as an instructor of sequencestratigraphy workshops for conferences and oilcompanies from around the world.
MARCH LUNCHEON
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The History of a New Play:Thunder Horse Discovery,Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
SPEAKERCindy A.YeildingBP, Houston,Texas
11:30 amThursday, April 10, 2003
TELUS CONVENTION CENTRECALGARY, ALBERTA
Please note:The cut-off date for ticket sales is1:00 pm, Monday, April 7.Ticket price is $25.00 + GST
The Thunder Horse discovery is anaccumulation of over one billion barrels ofoil in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Thistest challenged traditional explorationphilosophies in the GoM and led to thediscovery of a new play.After early successin the amplitude-driven deepwater play,pool sizes were declining and success ratewas flat at best.After multiple explorationfailures in the conventional attribute-driven play, we adopted a 'back to basics'exploration philosophy which focused onthe geologic elements of the basin. Wealso focused on exploring from the sourcerock up. These concepts changed the waywe viewed prospectivity in the GoM andsteered us towards targeting older
stratigraphic intervals in previouslyuntested deeper structures.
Regional work indicated that theMississippi Canyon protraction area was atop place to focus our exploration efforts.Existing discoveries proved the presenceof a world-class petroleum system andshowed that large structures withsignificant fetch areas were present. Oursubregional analysis focused on high-grading structural features with the bestfetch areas and well-developed reservoir.The analysis indicated that the BoarsheadBasin in south central Mississippi Canyonheld promise as a top area to test this newplay concept and two structures wereprepared for testing. Both prospects wereturtle structures with primary targets inMiocene strata.
Before we could drill, several majorhurdles had to be overcome. The acreageposition had to be secured, and rigs withthe ability to drill in these water depthshad to be obtained. Three-D seismicsurveys and depth-imaging breakthroughswere required to describe the prospectelements and position a well. Depthimaging was especially important, as itprovided a much better structural imagefor prospect description and wellpositioning. When we finally tested thetwo top prospects in the play, one(Thunder Horse) was successful and one(MC 911-1) was a failure. Post-appraisal ofthese wells helped us understand the
potential and risks of this new play,although each new well in the playcontinues to teach us new lessons andkeep us humble.
The process of continued focus has led usto this success. In building a regionalframework for the northern Gulf ofMexico basin, we were able to focus oursubregional analysis on interpreted sweetspots that we were constantly high-grading.While the regional and subregionalwork were very efficient in terms of costand time, prospect maturation and drillingwere extremely cost- and team-intensive.
BIOGRAPHYCindy Yeilding earned her MSc in 1984 fromthe University of North Carolina. She hasbeen employed by BP for 18 years and iscurrently the Global Geoscience TechnologyManager for the Upstream Technology Groupin Houston, Texas. She has developed andled short courses and field seminars indeepwater clastic systems in the US andCanada, salt/sediment workshops, and basicpetroleum geoscience. She has also chairednumerous AAPG sessions, presented over 20AAPG/SPE/GCSSEPM talks, and participatedin Hedberg conferences. Her primaryresearch has been in salt sedimentinteractions and her recent focus has been inexploration of deepwater clasticdeposystems, with development, access, andtesting of new plays.
Please note:The cut-off date for ticket sales is1:00 pm, Monday, April 21.Ticket price is $25.00 + GST
Antarctica has controlled glacial eustasythroughout most of the Neogene. Thistalk will provide a review of the evidencefor Antarctic glaciation in the Cenozoicand a discussion of the glacial eustaticcontrol on global stratigraphicarchitecture. The most recent glacialeustatic cycle, which is by far the bestdocumented, is used to understand thosefactors that regulate ice sheet expansionand decay. In summary, future changes inthe volume of the ice sheet and itspotential impact on civilization by coastalflooding are discussed.
BIOGRAPHYJohn B. Anderson graduated in 1968 with hisB.S. in Geology from the University of SouthAlabama. He then went on to receive hisM.Sc. in Geology from the University of NewMexico in 1970 and he received his Ph.D. in
Geology from Florida State University in 1972.John was an Assistant Professor at HopeCollege in Holland, Michigan from 1972 to1975. Since 1975, John has been a professorat Rice University in Houston,Texas where hehas held various positions includingDepartment Chair from 1992 to 1999. Johnis currently the Maurice Ewing Professor ofOceanography.
John is involved with the study of MarineGeology and Sedimentology in Antarctica as wellas the Quaternary Evolution of the NorthernGulf of Mexico Basin. These studies haveinvolved 21 scientific expeditions to Antarcticaand the Gulf. John is involved with the AAS-PolarResearch Board, AGU-Antarctic ResearchSeries, the AAPG, and is currently President-electfor the Society for Sedimentary Geology. Johnhas also authored and co-authored 120refereed publications and three books.
ROCK SHOP
COURSE ANNOUNCED:PETROLEUM EXPLORATION
IN FOLD & THRUST BELTS - GEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES
By Peter B. Jones
April 29-May 2 in Calgary, ABFor geoscientists, engineers and managers
working in domestic and foreign deformed belts.For information call:
Dalhousie University, Geodynamics GroupDepartment of Oceanography
Research Associate* and Team Leader Lithospheric Extensional Processes (*Requires PhD and Postdoctoralexperience). See website for further details: http://adder.ocean.dal.ca/ for information and deadline.
Applications to: Dr. Chris Beaumont [email protected]; FAX: 902-494-3877Please include: CV, Canadian Status (Canadian, permanent resident, or not), evidence of qualifications(see website), and three letters of recommendation.
Halifax, NS B3H 4J1
E m p l o y m e n t O p p o r t u n i t i e s
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Use of formation waterchemistry to aid oilexploration in southeasternAlberta
SPEAKERColleen WendebornUniversity of Calgary
12:00 NoonFriday, March 28, 2003(note change from the normal day)
Encana Amphitheatre2nd Floor, east end of the CalgaryTower Complex1st St. and 9th Avenue SE,Calgary, Alberta
The chemical and isotopic compositionof formation waters is of growingimportance in oil exploration. Themapping of these compositions can be anaid to indicating the degree ofcommunication between formations, thedegree of influence of non-formationwaters, and possible structural controls.Geochemical maps may also outlineareas of bacterial activity, indicatingheavier oils. A project was undertakento map a specific area within the Palliserblock of southeastern Alberta; thesmaller area is bounded by townships 12- 23, and ranges 10 to 18W4.Geochemical compositions weremapped for the Upper Mississippian, theBasal Quartz of the Lower Mannville, and
the Glauconitic of the Upper Mannville.It is known that formation waters have adistinct chemical signature, and thechanges in composition from formationto formation will be discussed, as well asthe possibility of an isotopic signature forformation waters. Also, possiblestructural controls on the distribution offormation water composition will bebriefly examined.
INFORMATIONThe luncheon talks are free and open to thepublic. Please bring your lunch. Refreshmentsare provided by Norwest Laboratories andEncana. For further information, or to presenta talk, please contact Stephen Grasby at(403) 292-7111 or [email protected].
HYDROGEOLOGY DIVISION
A “Pop-Up” StructurePreserved Near the LeadingEdge of the Foothills,Blairmore Map Area(82G/09E),Alberta
SPEAKERGlen S. StockmalNatural Resources Canada,Geological Survey of Canada (Calgary)
12:00 NoonThursday, March 6, 2003
+30 (3rd floor) ConocoPhillipsConference Centre (inside SunterraMarket), Gulf Canada Square,401 - 9th Avenue SW.Calgary, Alberta
Recent mapping in the Blairmore east-half map area (Stockmal and Lebel, GSCOpen File in preparation) has delineateda “pop-up” structure transected by theCrowsnest River. At scenic LundbreckFalls, the sub-horizontal attitude of theVirgelle Formation (Milk River Group) isunusual in comparison to fault-boundedslices to both the east and west, where
strata display steep to moderate dipsmore typical of Foothills structures.Therelatively broad (750 m across strike)flat-lying panel exposed at LundbreckFalls is bounded downstream to the eastby a foreland-directed thrust faultplacing Virgelle Formation on LundbreckFormation (Belly River Group). To thewest, this panel is overridden by asteeply west-dipping foreland-directedthrust carrying Milk River and BellyRiver strata in its hanging wall.Stratigraphic offset across this thrustfault is apparently small to negligible atthe Crowsnest River, but increasesmarkedly at higher elevations to thenorth. Map and stratigraphicrelationships suggest that, at the riverand adjacent low elevations, the sub-horizontal panel is actually bounded tothe west by a cryptic west-directedbackthrust that is overridden up-slopeby the foreland-directed fault justdescribed. These features comprise a“pop-up” structure, similar to thoseinterpreted elsewhere within thetriangle zone in the subsurface. Theinferred backthrust is not alone in thisarea. Two kilometres downstream, thewell-exposed section of Milk River
Group strata at the popular “Lundbrecktransition outcrop” lies in the east limbof an upright anticline.The hinge of thisfold is removed to the north by anothereast-dipping, west-directed backthrust.
BIOGRAPHYGlen received his education at theUniversity of Manitoba (B.Sc.(Hons)), theUniversity of Calgary (M.Sc.), and BrownUniversity (Ph.D.). He has undertakenstructural mapping in westernNewfoundland, southern Alberta, andnortheastern B.C., and has active interestsin thrust-and-fold belt mechanics andlinkages with erosion and sedimentation. Hehas been a research scientist with the GSCsince 1985.
INFORMATIONThere is no charge. Non-members of theCSPG are also welcome. Please bring yourlunch. Deserts are provided by NorwestLaboratories. Beverages are provided by HEFPetrophysical. For details or to present a talk inthe future, please contact Luc Lalonde at 403-201-4344, e-mail: [email protected] orEric Hanson at 403-233-3250, email:[email protected]
STRUCTURAL DIVISION
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Unconventional Gas Shales:U.S. Experience and Outlookfor Canada
SPEAKERJ. Michael Gatens Chairman & CEO, MGV Energy Inc.
Presentation will summarize the history of thegas shales experience in the U.S. and provide anearly outlook for gas shale resource potential in
the WCSB. Gas shales are the third leg of themajor unconventional gas plays in the U.S., theothers being CBM and tight sands. In 2000, U.S.gas shales produced over one bcf/d from over17,000 wells. Major shale plays reviewed willinclude the Devonian Shales of the AppalachianBasin, Antrim Shale of the Michigan Basin,Barnett Shale of the Ft. Worth Basin, and theNew Albany Shale of the Illinois Basin. Otheremerging plays will also be discussed briefly.Basic reservoir characteristics will besummarized as well as completion andproduction practices that have evolved for theseshales. A brief overview of the major potentialgas shales in the WCSB and the gas resourcepotential will follow the U.S. shales discussion.
BIOGRAPHYJ. Michael Gatens is Chairman and CEO of MGVEnergy, Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of
Quicksilver Resources Inc. (KWK: NYSE). Mr.Gatens is a Distinguished Member of the Societyof Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and has spentmost of his career evaluating and developingunconventional gas resources throughout theworld. He authored or co-authored numeroustechnical reports, papers, and presentations ongas shales as a principal investigator on variousGas Research Institute (GRI) shale researchprojects and is currently leading MGV’sunconventional gas efforts in the WCSB.
INFORMATIONAll luncheon talks are free – please bring your ownlunch. If you would like more information aboutfuture EPRD activities, please join our e-maildistribution list by sending a messages with thetitle “EPRD list” to [email protected].
EMERGING PETROLEUM RESOURCES DIVISION
Lowstand Fans ofthe Permian Basin
SPEAKERBruce Hart McGill University
12:00 NoonFriday, March 14, 2003
Room 17G, West TowerPetro-Canada Centre150 - 6th Avenue SWCalgary, Alberta
Permian rocks of the Brushy CanyonFormation (Guadalupian) and the underlyingBone Spring Formation (Leonardian) areexcellent examples of reciprocalsedimentation. Carbonate sedimentationdominated during sea-level highstands,whereasduring lowstands siliciclastic sediments weredelivered to the exposed shelf margin andsubsequently redistributed to fans on the slopeand basin floor. The integration of 3-D seismicand wireline data, supplemented by outcropobservations, leads to insights in terms ofunderstanding: a) the controls on lowstand fandevelopment and b) how similar deposits maybe recognized and analyzed elsewhere.Sedimentation patterns in the Brushy Canyonand Bone Spring were affected by seafloor
relief, with sands preferentially accumulating inpaleobathymetric lows on the slope and basinfloor. Although sediment appears to have beensupplied to the shelf margin via a line source,forming a slope apron, intraslope basins actedas local depocenters. Further out on the basinfloor, sandy channel fairways generally followpaleobathymetric lows. The thickness oflowstand fans is variable. Fans in the BoneSpring may locally be over 100 m thick andshow well-developed facies architecture thatmay be imaged with well logs or seismic data.One of the fans is much thinner (generally < 10m), presumably a result of sediment supplyand/or duration of the lowstand. This thin fandoes not show the same internal stratigraphicarchitecture on logs, and is a seismic thin bed.Case studies will show the seismic and logexpression of these features and how log,seismic, and production data may be integratedto: a) understand the controls on their originand b) map reservoir properties of interest.
BIOGRAPHYBruce Hart is an Assistant Professor at McGillUniversity. His research focuses on the use of 3-Dseismic data in reservoir characterization programs.Prior to joining McGill in the Summer of 2000, heheld positions with the New Mexico Bureau ofMines, Penn State, and the Geological Survey ofCanada. His website (http://eps.mcgill.ca/~hart)describes his teaching and research activities.
INFORMATIONBASS Division talks are free. Please bring yourlunch. For further information about the division,joining our mailing list, a list of upcoming talks, orif you wish to present a talk or lead a field trip,please contact either Steve Donaldson at 403-645-5534, email: [email protected] Mark Caplan at 403-691-3843, email:[email protected] or visit our web page atwww.cspg.org/basin_analysis.html.
BASIN ANALYSIS DIVISION
KEEPING TRACK
SCOTT GARDINER
New:General Manager -
International New VenturesNexen Inc., Calgary
Previous:Manager - Yemen Business
DevelopmentNexen Inc., Calgary
Plio-Pleistocene Lacustrineto Fluvial Deposits in theTurkana Basin, NorthernKenya: Sedimentology andIchnology of Hominid-Bearing Strata
SPEAKERRobert E. Lamond Imperial Oil Resources
12:00 Noon,Friday, March 21, 2003
Encana Amphitheatre2nd Floor, east end of the CalgaryTower Complex1st St. and 9th Avenue SE, Calgary, AB
The stratigraphic record of the TurkanaBasin in northern Kenya reflects anextremely dynamic paleogeographycharacterized by numerous transgressionsand regressions of vast lakes that occupiedthis region during the past four million years.Understanding the paleoenvironmental andpaleogeographic fluctuations that occurredhere is of great interest because of the very
significant fossils of human ancestors (bothAustralopithecus and Homo) that havebeen discovered in these sedimentsbordering modern Lake Turkana.
Diverse, recurrent associations of tracefossils (ichnofacies) and biogenicsedimentary fabrics (ichnofabrics) occur influvial and lacustrine sandstone,mudstone,and limestone facies of the Plio-Pleistocene Nachukui Formation. Thetrace-fossiliferous strata represent faciesranging from ephemeral, braided, andmeandering stream paleoenvironments tolake margin beach, lagoon, and shallowoffshore paleoenvironments.
While locally abundant and well-preserved,trace fossils are sparsely distributedstratigraphically and spatially throughoutthe Turkana Basin. Although individualichnofacies typically exhibit low diversitiesconsisting of only a few ichnogenera, thereare many different ichnofacies andichnofabrics preserved, representingvarious paleoenvironmental settings. Theenvironmental factors that control thedistribution of the trace fossils includesediment composition and texture, current
and/or wave energy, water chemistry, andwater saturation of the sediment. Sevenlocal, paleoenvironmentally controlledichnofacies can be recognized:Termitichnus,Taenidium-Palaeophycus, Skolithos-Arenicolites, Teichichnus, Sertaterebrites,Lockeia, and Piscichnus ichnofacies. Inaddition, several distinctive ichnofabrics,including mammal trample beds andrhizolith-rich beds, can be discerned.
These ichnofabrics provide biostratigraphic,paleoecological, and paleoenvironmentalinsights into the history of this basin, andgive us a hint of what the conditions mayhave been like for the early hominidsoccupying this area two to four millionyears ago.
INFORMATIONPlease note that there has been avenue change. Talks are free – don’tforget to bring your lunch!
For more information about this talk, orabout presenting a talk, please call ScottLeroux at (403) 645-2419, (email:[email protected]).
SEDIMENTOLOGY DIVISION
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DIVISION PROFILE - INTERNATIONAL DIVISION
The International Division has been runningsince the early 1990’s.The Division mandateis to provide a CSPG forum for memberswho are interested in learning more aboutthe geology and hydrocarbon potential ofcountries other than Canada.This is achievedby holding regular technical presentations.
The technical presentations vary betweenoffering detailed investigations of specificbasins or hydrocarbon provinces to moregeneral overviews of a particular country.The talks always aim to offer some generalinterest geology (including elements ofsequence stratigraphy, basin formation,structural geology, etc.), general interest
geography, and personal insights on thecultural aspects of other countries. Alsoincluded are thoughts on the philosophyand economic imperatives of doing businessin foreign places.
Our meeting schedule is to have oneinformal brown-bag talk every monthexcept during the summer. Talks normallystart at 12:00 noon and finish before 1 pm.Each talk consists of a 40 minute technicalpresentation followed by a ten minutequestion period. Currently, our meetingsare held on the second floor of the Calgarytower in the EnCana Amphitheatre.
Involvment of our CSPG members is the keyto the success of the Division. Individuals areecouraged to take part in all activities.Service companies and students are alsoencouraged to attend Division meetings.
The Division Chair is Geoffrey Say, of ECLCanada. If you are interested in joining ourmailing list and learning more about theInternational Division, or if you care tosuggest a technical topic or present a talkto the division, please contact Geoff at(403)263-0449 or [email protected].
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Unconventional Gas Shales:U.S. Experience and Outlookfor Canada
Mount Royal College Science Wing(Lower Level), 4825 Richard Road SW,Calgary, Alberta
Saturday, March 15, 2003
10:00 amRelationships and functional morphologyof Walliserops, a peculiar Devoniantrilobite genus from MoroccoKevin Brett, University of Alberta
10:30 amFootprints in the Sands of Time:Trackingthe earliest animals on landDr. Rob MacNaughton,Geological Survey of Canada
11:00 amSauropod body shapes & narrow andwide gauge trackwaysDonald Henderson, University of Calgary
11:30 amSnakes with LegsDr. Michael Caldwell, University of Alberta
12:30 pmPoster Viewing (Presenters to be available)
2:00 pmJurassic Dinosaur Tracksites,American SouthwestDebra Mickelson, University of Colorado
2:30 pmWhat's your sign beautiful? At 200 dB:Sexual Selection in Giant SauropodDinosaursEric Snively, University of Calgary
3:00 pmFossil tracks from Tumbler Ridge: a briefhistory of collaboration betweenamateurs and academicsRichard McCrea, University of Alberta
3:30 pmDinosaurs in the Deep:The sinking of theSS Mount Temple and Related MilitaryHistoriesDarren Tanke, Royal Tyrrell Museum(Keynote talk)
WORKSHOPSRoom B108Sunday March 16th
9 AM to NoonFossil Plants of Alberta:Precambrian to TertiaryINSTRUCTORGeorgia Hoffman
1 PM to 4 PMFunctional Morphology of Vertebrates:Interpreting the SkeletonINSTRUCTORDr.Anthony Russell, University of Calgary
Sunday workshops restricted to those whoregister and pay the associated workshop fees.To register please contact Vaclav Marsovsky [email protected] or phone 403-547-0182.Workshops are $15.00 each to covercost of handouts or a special reduced fee of$25 for those attending both.These fees areused to offset the expense of the workshopsand symposium.
FURTHER INFORMATIONThe symposium is free and open to the general public.Fossil displays and a fossil identification booth will alsobe part of the event.To present a poster, volunteer, orfor more info contact Philip Benham at (403)-691-3343 or email [email protected].
Visit the APS website for confirmation of event timesand upcoming speakers: http://www.albertapaleo.org
“FOSSILS IN MOTION”SIXTH ANNUAL PALAEONTOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM
Tim Howard has been the CSPG BusinessManager (BM) since December 5, 1995. Prior tojoining the CSPG, he served as DevelopmentOfficer with the Royal Tyrrell Museum ofPalaeontology for 2 1/2 years and, prior to that,was with the Canadian Armed Forces for 21 years.His last post was as Senior Project Officer on theMuseum Of The Regiments development programfrom 1978-1981. Tim’s service in the militaryincluded both time with the Princess Patricia’sCanadian Light Infantry as an infantry officer andon submarines as a naval officer. He graduatedfrom the Royal Military College of Canada in 1974with a Bachelor’s degree in History. Over theyears, Tim has been active in biathlon in Canadaand, in the early 80’s, competed on Canada’snational team and coached several battalion teamsto Army championships. He is married to Louiseand has five children and three grandsons.
As BM for the Society,Tim’s primary roles includeensuring the smooth operation of theorganization’s day-to-day activities and its financialwell-being. With the creation of the BM’s position,the Executive Committee moved away from beingan ‘operational’ body to a ‘strategic’ one, focusingon the long-term management of the CSPG. Earlychanges included reorganization of the Societyalong functional lines to reflect the needs of themembership: Executive, Programs, Services,Communications, Finance, and Operations. Hand-in-glove with this structural change, the Societycentralized the accounting of the Society and
established a committee-driven budgeting systemthat provided reliable and current information onwhich the Executive could base planning decisionsand stabilize the Society’s cash flow. Tim’sresponsibilities include development of the annualbudget, management of the Society’s investments,and preparation for the annual audit in concertwith the Finance Committee, and assisting the on-going development of the Strategic Business Plan.
Operationally, Tim serves as ‘adjutant’ to theExecutive Committee-coordinating meetings,preparing agendas and minutes, and developingreports and proposals. Additionally, he providesthe continuity of liaison, intramurally, with theSociety’s 45 committees and, externally, to manyof our sister societies and agencies. Tim alsoworks very closely with the CSPG EducationalTrust Fund, supporting their accounting andfundraising. Within the office itself,Tim supervisesand administers the three office staff andCorporate Relations contractor, is responsible forstaff delivery of services plus operations andmaintenance of the office itself, the Society’s legaland insurance needs, and federal reports andreturns related to both the CSPG’s non-profitstatus and the ETF’s charitable status.
The role of the office is to provide administrativesupport to the Society’s many committees,enabling volunteer members to focus on deliveryof top-notch technical programming for themembership. The growth of office staff is a direct
reflection of this focus. Stabilization of logisticalfunctions has had a meritorious effect incommunications, conventions, finance, and, mostrecently, corporate relations. As integration ofmore and more of the Society’s data managementfunctions takes place through the office, theSociety will be better able to track and benefitfrom the inter-relationships already in existencethroughout the operations and services of theCSPG. Tim’s personal goal is to ensure that theCSPG staff provides service second-to-none.
Deanna Watkins, Programs and Services Manager andTim Howard, Business Manager, enjoying a beautifulmorning in the CSPG Centre.
STAFF PROFILE: TIM HOWARD – BUSINESS MANAGER
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Enthusiastic volunteers are welcomed tocontribute in the success of the 2003CSPG/CSEG Convention. Individuals willbe needed shortly for activities prior to theconvention and numerous volunteers willbe required for specific duties during theconvention. Previous experience iswelcome but not a prerequisite. Industry,academia and student bodies are allencouraged to join.
If you are interested please complete theonline Volunteer Form located on theConvention Website via www.cspg.org orwww.cseg.ca
For more information please contact KarenGreengrass, Marketing / Publicity Co-Chairand Volunteer Coordinator at 403-680-6985 or [email protected]
Join in the fun! Network withnew friends and colleagueswhile adding to the successof the 2003 CSPG / CSEG
Convention.
SPECIAL BENEFITS FORSTUDENTS!!
2003 CSPG / CSEG CONVENTION CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
The 2003 Core Conference will be heldat the AEUB Core Centre on June 5th and6th. Cores will be showcased from thelast decade of discoveries in frontier andinternational areas, as well as,conventional areas of Alberta, B.C., andSaskatchewan. Authors will be presentingnew ways of exploring for oil and gasthrough valuable geological andgeophysical partnerships.
Conventional or heavy oil,shallow or deep gas, close tohome or across the globe,
there will be somethingfor everyone.
Once again audio-visual cameras will beused for easy viewing of cores andcuttings during author presentations.Various international core presentationswill be shown on a large screen.
During the Core Conference, refreshmentswill be provided by Core Labs and luncheswill be provided by Hycal.The ever popularCore Meltdown / Wind-Up Party will followthe final presentation on Friday, June 6th.Thisspecial event will host the awardpresentations for Best Paper,Poster,Core aswell as Best Student Paper,Poster and Core.
We hope you will attend the CoreConference and join with your friends
and colleagues as we wind up the 2003CSPG / CSEG Convention - PARTNERSin a New ENVIRONMENT at the AEUBCore Centre.
2003 CSPG / CSEG CONVENTION CORE CONFERENCE
ATTENTION STUDENTSAND LONG TIME
MEMBERS!!!!
LongtimeMembers ReceptionPlease join us for a reunion of old friendsand the re-kindling of old memories at thisyear’s Longtime Member Reception. The
event is open to CSPG members with 30+years of membership. Come out and catchup with colleagues at a special receptionjust for you! This popular event is byinvitation only and all longtime members
2003 CSPG / CSEG CONVENTION SPECIAL EVENTS
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For more information please visit www.cspg.org or www.cseg.ca
PARTNERS in anew ENVIRONMENT2003 CSPG / CSEG ConventionRound Up Centre, Stampede Park June 2-6, 2003
will be receiving an invite in the comingmonths. The reception will be held onJune 3rd from 4:00-6:00pm at the Round-Up Centre (room TBA) and you do notneed to be a convention delegate toattend. If you have any questions, or donot receive your invitation, please contactNathan Humphrey at 233-3205 or email [email protected]
Student/Faculty/IndustryReceptionThis is a casual event FREE of charge forstudent delegates to meet with faculty,industry representatives, and studentsfrom other universities. Industry andacademia will have the opportunity tomeet the talented and energetic mindsof tomorrow; students will have theopportunity to network and have a greattime discovering what’s new in the oiland gas industry! The reception will beof benefit for all who attend – helpingindustry make good recruiting decisions,giving faculty the chance to socializewith former and future pupils, andproviding students with the chance tojumpstart their careers or pursuegraduate school opportunities! Theevent will be held Wednesday, June 4th,from 4:00-6:00pm (room TBA). Formore information, please contact GillianStoyko at 770-4646 Ext 3082 or email [email protected]
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Pre-register on-line athttps://commerce.aapg.org
Pre-registration deadline:April 8, 2003!• 275+ exhibitors • 985 technical presentations • 19 short courses • 23 field trips• Luncheon speakers • Teacher program • 40+ countries at the International Pavilion
and much, much more!
For convention and exhibit details visit www.aapg.org/meetings/slc03/
AAPG Convention DepartmentPhone: 1 888 945 2274 ext. 617 (U.S. and Canada only) or 1 918 560 2617
Fax: 1 800 281 2283 (U.S. and Canada only) or 1 918 560 2684E-mail: [email protected]
AAPG Annual MeetingSalt Lake City, Utah
May 11-14, 2003
DATE: March 12-13, 2003EVENT: History of Geophysics,The Geological Society
LOCATION: The Geological Society Burlington House, Piccadilly, LondonINFORMATION: The History of Geology specialist group of The Geological
Society, London, UK, is holding a meeting on history ofGeophysics at The Geological Society Burlington House,Piccadilly, London on 12-13th March 2003. Offers ofpapers should be sent to the convener, ProfessorRichard J. Howarth, Department of Geological Sciences,University College London Gower StreetLondon WCIE 6BT, EnglandEmail:[email protected]
DATE: April 6-10, 2003EVENT: SAGEEP 2003
LOCATION: San Antonio,TexasINFORMATION: The Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society
(EEGS) invites you to submit a paper for presentation atthe 2003 Symposium on the Application of Geophysics toEnvironmental and Engineering Problems (SAGEEP 2003).In addition to world-class oral and poster presentationson the application and recent developments in appliedgeophysics, there will be a suite of workshops, as well asan exhibition showcasing geophysical products and services.For more information on EEGS please visit our site atwww.eegs.org. Please submit abstracts electonically tothe SAGEEP 2003 Technical Chair, Cathy Skokan [email protected]
DATE: April 27, 2003EVENT: Saskatchewan Geological Society Core Workshop
LOCATION: Industry and Resources Core Laboratory201 Dewdney Avenue East, Regina, Saskatchewan
INFORMATION: Theme: Characterization ofHorizontal Well ReservoirsRegistration Fee: Cheques ormoney order only - No CreditCards, Cdn $75 (includes CoreWorkshop volume) StudentsCdn $30 (Core Workshopvolume extra) Please Note:Payment should be made out tothe Saskatchewan GeologicalSociety, and sent to SaskatchewanGeological Society, P.O. Box 234,Regina, Saskatchewan, S4P 2Z6.For more information please call:Melinda Yurkowski: Phone: (306)787-0650, Fax: (306) 787-4608,E-mail: [email protected]
DATE: April 27-29, 2003EVENT: Eleventh Williston Basin
Horizontal Well & Petroleum Conf.LOCATION: Delta Regina Hotel, Regina,
and workshops on geology,engineering; and geophysicspertaining to new developmentsin petroleum exploration andproduction within or applicableto the Williston Basin. Forinformation call 306-787-7662(Canada) or 701-328-8000 (US).
DATE: May 11-14, 2003EVENT: AAPG Annual Meeting
LOCATION: Salt Lake City, UtahINFORMATION: For more information please visit
www.aapg.org
DATE: June 2-6, 2003EVENT: 2003 CSPG/CSEG Annual Convention -
“Partners in a New Environment”LOCATION: Round Up Centre, Stampede Park, Calgary, Alberta
INFORMATION: For more information please contact Lori Humphrey-ClementsTel: 403-264-5610Email: [email protected]
DATE: August 10-14, 2003EVENT: GeoSciEd IV: Earth Science for the Global Community
LOCATION: Calgary, AlbertaINFORMATION: The fourth international meeting for earth science teachers
from elementary to university level, and for earth scientistswho deliver educational outreach programs through theircommunities, museums, or science centres.The purpose isto share ideas and concepts in earth science education andin the development of programs that lead to an integratedunderstanding of the Earth.The innovative technicalprogram will include keynote addresses, workshops, andoral and poster sessions. Field trips will visit many world-renowned sites of interest including the RockyMountains, the Burgess Shale, the Royal Tyrrell Museumof Paleontology, the Frank Slide, and the Athabasca Glacier.Please visit www.geoscied.org for details.
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2003 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Please visit www.cspg.org to download or printthe monthly version of the calendar of events.
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Following the disbandment of the UnitedStates’ Petroleum Administration of War in late1946,Max Ball was appointed Director,Oil andGas Division, Department of the Interior inearly January, 1947. In this capacity he servedas a liaison between government and industryuntil December, 1948, at which time heresigned his office to reenter private practice.
The destruction by fire of the first AbasandOils facility in November, 1941, had given theoperators time to reevaluate and remedy thefinancial, technical, and logistical problemsthat had plagued their attempts to attaincommercial viability, but to no avail. A rebuiltplant commenced the following year but, ittoo, was unable to reach anticipatedproductions goals. It was at this juncture thatthe Dominion Government reached anagreement with Abasand Oils to take over itsplant which was located on Dominion CrownLand. Max Ball had no other recourse but torelinquish the operatorship of Abasand’s plantin the spring of 1942. General Engineeringhad been contracted by the Government toredesign and rebuild the existing plant as apilot operation. The reality of the transferwas in effect face-saving, albeit Ball hadassumed that he and his management team,including advisor Sydney Ells would continueto provide input into the refurbished plant’soperations. However, Ball’s anticipatedscenario was not to be. According toComfort (Darlen J. Comfort, 1980, TheAbasand Fiasco, pp.82, 100), Ottawa’s OilController appointed a new plant managerfrom its staff and planned for GeneralEngineering personnel to be engaged inoperating the pilot plant. Suffice to say, thenew role to be played by the replacementswas certain to create feelings of frustrationand antagonism amongst Abasand’s formerstaff. To acerbate the impending problem,McClave’s hot water separation process wasto be eliminated and an alternate process,utilizing mineral flotation cells, substituted.
Abasand’s pilot plant, with a projectedprocessing capability of 600 tons per day,commenced operations in September, 1944.According to Sydney Ells, some 19,500 tonsof bituminous sand was treated by June 15 ofthe following year. It was on the latter datethat the recently completed 500 barrel perday separation unit, as well as ancillaryequipment, was destroyed by fire (Comfort,pp.122-124).
The second destruction by fire of Abasand’sHorse River plant accorded its death toll.WWII had come to an end and theDominion Government had lost interest inthe project. It had been initiated as awartime measure in the interest of nationalsecurity. No doubt the government’s financialinjection into the project became a matter ofconcern considering the disappointing resultsof the scheme. Undaunted, Abasand Oilsapproached the Government to jointlyrebuild its Horse River plant. It was proposedto be refinanced on a matching basis, utilizingthe $350,000 insurance award that AbasandOils had received, but the Government wasnot interested in any further involvement.Abasand Oils’ tenacity could be consideredan attempt to emulate the mythical legend ofthe Phoenix.
Despite Max Ball’s preoccupation, in theearly years of the Great Depression with hisattempts at raising venture capital for hisproposed Abasand Oils’ extracting,separating, and upgrading facilities at theHorse River Reserve, he was able toprepare a paper on the Athabascabituminous sand, which he presented at theAmerican Association of PetroleumGeologist’s annual convention held inOklahoma City on October 26, 1934. Thepaper was entitled: Athabasca Oil Sands:Apparent Example Of Local Origin Of Oil.
It was the first comprehensive report by anindustry entrepreneur in which the arealextent, oil (bitumen) content, and genesis ofthe deposits were theorized.
Utilizing Fort McMurray as a reference point,Ball delineated the probable northwardextent of the Athabasca bituminous sanddown the Athabasca River where the sanddisappears below younger Cretaceous beds.He defined the eastern limits, up theClearwater River, by the erosional edge ofthe McMurray Formation. Ball delimited thebituminous sand’s southwesterly expression,some 40 miles up the Athabasca River, whereit is covered by younger strata. Mostsignificantly, he recognized its continuity inthe subsurface, some 80 miles to thesouthwest, by the bituminous sand’spresence in the Dominion Government’sPelican Portage well which had beenspudded in 1897 (now recognized as thediscovery well for the Portage gas field).Based on these parameters, Ballcircumscribed an area of 10,000 square mileswhich he postulated was underlain bybituminous sand. He further speculates thatshould the saturated sand extend 20 milessouth of the Pelican Portage well and 80miles to the west of the exposed deposits,that: “It appears then, that saturated sandsunderlie at least 10,000, probably 20,000, andpossibly 30,000 or more square miles”.
JACK PORTER-VIGNETTES OF CANADIAN PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
Aerial view of Abasand Oils’ plant taken June 15, 1945; the date it is reported to have been destroyed by fire.Apparent cloud in upper right left background marked “X” on photograph may be smoke from the initial blaze. thefire commenced at the loading ramp adjoining the large building to the left of centre which housed the separationunit. this plant, financed by the Dominion Government as a wartime measure, commenced operation in September,1944 but was incapable of attaining its projected output of 600 tons per day of bitumen. In 1948 the AlbertaGovernment also financed the building of a 500 ton per day plant at Bitumount utilizing K. A. Clark’s hot waterprocess. it too was short-lived. Credit: National Archives of Canada. Used with permission.
Continued from the February Reservoir
In his discussion, relative to the varyinghabitat of bitumen associated with thedeltaic sedimentology, characteristic of theMcMurray Formation, Ball deduced a totalsaturation range, relative to the Formation,of 80 to 240 million barrels. Ball consideredthat only 15 to 20 percent of the McMurrayFormation contained bituminous sand, aconclusion presumably derived by S.C. Ellsof the Dominion Mines Branch from theresults of his extensive surface sampling andcore-drilling.
In terms of the genesis of the bitumen hostedby the McMurray Formation, Max Balladvanced a theory that negates long-distancemigration. He believed it to have originated insitu and that:“The oil sands seem to lie too flatto have induced migration” and further, “In alllikelihood this is not an old oil that has lost itslighter constituents, but rather a young(immature) oil that has never been geologicallygently cracked or decomposed into lighter andheavier fractions”. Moreover, in reference tothe McMurray sand as a regional conduit forlong-distance migration: “It apparentlydisappears toward the west and south, at leastas a continuous sand body, and is apparentlynot continuous with any sand that underliesthe greater part of the geosyncline”. With this,he negates the theories previously advanced inpublished works and expounded by hisgeological colleagues.
To be continued.
23
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She can also provide information about any ofthe Society’s numerous committees if you
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Colin Martindale submits this neat putdownagainst the computer types in our offices.TheIT department at Colin’s company had beendoing some designing of new reserves dataentry screens and when they came across acolumn with the heading “Z Factor”, the geekasked: “What is Z Factor?” Colin figured thiswas his chance to get even with the IT folksfor their own typically baffling gobbledygookas he responded: “It’s the compressibilityfactor”. Upon further inquiring by the ITperson Colin continued: “It is derived fromthe Standing and Katz equation of state for animperfect gas”. Once he realized he couldcontinue to string the guy along Colin added:“It is based on a ten-term polynomial thatapproximates to a three-dimensional surface.”The IT guy finally muttered quietly: “I wish Ihadn’t asked”. It’s nice to see someone elsebesides a computer-type get the upper hand! _____________________________________
Andy Porter offers the following explanationof the Pythagorean Hypothesis:
There were once three pregnant NorthAmerican aboriginal women. One slept upon
the skin of an elk and, when her time came,she gave birth to a fine, bouncing baby boy.Another slept upon the skin of a buffalo andshe too was blessed with a male heir.However, the third young lady,whose husbandwas a bit of a ‘bon vivant’ and world traveler,slept on the skin of a hippopotamus. Whenher blessed day arrived, she became the proudmother of twin boys. This, of course, provesthat:“The squaw of the hippopotamus is equalto the sons of the squaws of the two othersides”.And that, dear readers, is the geometrylesson for today._____________________________________
In the November/December 2002 issue ofCanadian Geographic we learn what it takes tobe a geologist.The author of the article statesthat the markings of a geologist are: “…plaidshort-sleeved shirt, khaki trousers and stoutshoes…” He was referring to well knowngeology professor,Dr.Bob Dalrymple,who wasdescribing the rocks, fossils, and outcrops at alocale in Ontario.But Dalrymple realizes that ittakes more than a few articles of clothing tomake a geologist. He suggests that “geologistshave to be able to think in four dimensions at
once”. Now I know my problem – threedimensions are difficult enough, but, four!!_____________________________________
Now it’s time to get a pet peeve off my chest– why is it that professionals have a ‘practice’?You would think that after years of universitytraining plus gaining experience on the jobthey would not have to ‘practice’ any more.Certainly professional athletes need to keeppracticing, but when I go to the dentist I surehope he is not practicing on me. And, myaccountant better not be practicing with myall-important company and personal finances.Do geologists ‘practice’? Some of my so-calledfriends keep asking me when I am going tostop practicing my coloring and I tell them thatI already stay inside the lines most of the time!_____________________________________
So until next issue - baffle those IT folk;study your geometry; wear the propergeologist’s attire; think in four dimensions;keep on ‘practicing’; and - above all - stayinside the lines. Oh, and write something forGneiss and Lite, and send it in [email protected]
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To borrow from the Real Estate catch phrase,oil andgas exploration is heavily dependent on “location,location, location.” Since the start of the petroleumindustry, knowing where something occurs relativeto something else has been the key to success.Thisis the case whether it has been in rank wildcatexploration where a trend is being followed intonew areas to determining who owns the land rightsover a prospect to identifying what interval toperforate. Increasingly, oil and gas companies areturning to geographic information systems to helpresolve these and related questions.
First, what is a Geographic Information System?This is probably the most asked question posed tothose in the GIS field and is probably the hardestto answer in a succinct and precise manner. Onebasic definition is that it is a disciple thatincorporates graphical features with tabular datain order to address problems of a geographicalnature.This idea has been around for a long time.For example, maps drawn by the Frenchcartographer Berthier showed troop movementson hinged overlays for the Battle of Yorktownduring the American Revolution. One of theearliest examples of geographical analysis wasdone by Dr. John Snow, who used a map showingthe locations of death by cholera in centralLondon during September, 1854 to track thesource of the outbreak to a contaminated well.
Other definitions used to describe GIS include:
"In the strictest sense, a GIS is a computer systemcapable of assembling, storing, manipulating, anddisplaying geographically referenced information, i.e.data identified according to their locations.Practitioners also regard the total GIS as includingoperating personnel and the data that go into thesystem." USGS
"A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that existand events that happen on earth. GIS technologyintegrates common database operations such as queryand statistical analysis with the unique visualization andgeographic analysis benefits offered by maps." ESRI
"GIS is an integrated system of computer hardware,software, and trained personnel linking topographic,demographic, utility, facility, image and other resourcedata that is geographically referenced." NASA
Geographic Information Systems have their rootin the science of cartography, which is the makingand study of maps. All maps are concerned withtwo main elements – location and site-specificcharacteristics. From these two basic elements,many relationships can be defined. Some examplesinclude: relationships between locations, such asdistances or directions; relationships between alocation’s attributes such as porosity and rocktype; and relationships between established andpredicted trends. In a broad sense, GIS includesthe collection, analysis, and manipulation of dataand the presentation of that information in agraphic manner.
In addition to cartography, there are a number ofinformation systems that pre-date and are drawnon by the modern GIS. The major categories ofthese systems are database management,computer-aided design, and remote sensingsystems. Each of these systems addresses spatialinformation in different ways. For example,database management systems are designed forthe storing and retrieval of (generally) non-graphicattribute data while remote sensing systems aredesigned to collect, store, manipulate, and displayraster data. The major characteristic of GIS thatsets it apart from these other information systemsis its emphasis on analysis of spatial data. Some ofthe basic questions that can be investigated usingGIS are:
1) location – what is at…2) condition – where is it…3) trend – what has changed…4) routing – which is the best way…5) pattern – what is the pattern…6) modeling – what if…
The evolution of a geographic information systemwithin a company typically occurs in three stages. Inthe early stage of development, the systems areoriented towards data collection and inventoryoperations. The questions asked at this time arealong the lines of “what are the company’s assetsand where are they”. In the second stage, thequestions become more analytical and the focus is
on helping the company conduct its day-to-daybusiness, e.g., “how far to a pipeline tie-in”. Finally,the GIS develops into a decision support system formanagement. In this phase, emphasis is on spatialanalysis and modeling activities that help seniormanagement define and reach corporate goals.
The origin of GIS is somewhat hard to define, as itdepends on the definition chosen. A generalinterpretation as any system capable of handlinggeographic data could include not only Berthier’smaps of the American Revolutionary War but alsopotentially could include prehistoric cave drawingsthat depict animal migration routes. However, ascurrently accepted, GIS is basically a computer-based system used to analyze spatial data. Themodern GIS field began around 1960, with thediscovery that maps could be programmed usingsimple code and then stored in a computer forfuture modification when necessary. This was awelcome change from the days of manualcartography when maps had to be painstakinglycreated by hand and even small changes requiredthe creation of a new map.At the same time thatimprovements in computer hardware (especiallygraphic capabilities) and software were beingmade, new theories of spatial processes ineconomic and social sciences were beingdeveloped. The key word in this technology isgeography – this usually means that some
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMSBY BEN MCKENZIE
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Continued on Page 26 . . .
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proportion of the data has a spatial component. Inother words, the data is in some way referencedto locations on the earth. It has been estimatedthat 80% of all data have a geographic component.Coupled with this geographic data is usuallyadditional information known as attribute data.Anexample of geographic data could be oil or gaswell coordinates. Attribute data could includeinformation on the ownership, completion,production, etc. of each well considered.
The beginnings of geographic information systemswere predominately North American in origin.To alarge part, this reflects the domination of the UnitedStates in development of computer science after theSecond World War. To a secondary degree, it alsoreflects the corporate / government willingness tochange with regards to how things were done. Forexample, Europe, with its much longer history, haddeveloped methods to deal with administrativedetails. That these may not have been the mostefficient way to do things was not necessarily reasonenough to change. North America, i.e., Canada andthe U.S., were relatively young countries that wereundergoing significant expansion. The existingadministrative systems could not meet the demandsput upon them and there wasn’t as much “politicalincentive” to maintain the status quo as there was inEurope.As a result, there was more of a willingnessto try new ideas.
One of the earliest geographical informationsystems developed was the Canada GeographicInformation System (CGIS), which got its start in1963 and is still operating today. This large-scalesystem was developed to analyze the datacollected for the Canada Land Inventory (CLI) andproduce statistics to assist in developing landmanagement plans for large areas of rural Canada.The CLI created maps at a scale of 1:50,000 usinga simple rating scheme to classify land usingvarious themes such as soil capability foragriculture, recreation capability, capability forwildlife, and present land use. Shortly afterdevelopment of the CGIS, the U.S. Census Bureaubegan investigations into the use of GIS. Thatgovernment agency was mandated to conduct anation-wide census every ten years. By 1960, it hadbecome apparent that they could not obtain andanalyze all the data they had to collect before itwas necessary to start collecting for the nextcensus. In 1967, automated systems that dealt withaddress matching, computer mapping, and small-area data analysis were put in place.
Computers, in the 1960s, generally had noexplicitly graphical capabilities and were veryexpensive and underpowered by today’sstandards. Nonetheless, they were becomingincreasingly available in universities andgovernment agencies. One of the earliestrecognized uses of computers was automatingmap production. By the end of the 1960s, theCanadian Hydrographic Survey had automateddisplay facilities in operation and had embarked ona program to apply automated cartography to the1:50,000 scale map series in Canada. TheOrdnance Survey in Britain began digitizing maps
in 1973 and the U.S. Geological Survey automatedthe production of topographic maps in the early1980s. However, it was not until the mid-1980s,when hardware costs started to fall, thatcomputer mapping began to be cost-effective.Initially, these systems were meant only to mimicmanual production methods and little interest wasshown by the various government agencies todevelop spatial statistics from them.
The use of early computer mapping in governmentagencies was largely restricted to getting anexisting task done more efficiently. However, theuse of computers in university settings was not solimited. There, the aim was to produce mapsquickly and cheaply so as to display the attributesand to undertake simple analysis by relatingdifferent parameters of the data. One of the earlycenters for this research was the Laboratory forComputer Graphics at Harvard University. Led byHoward Fisher, a team of programmers developedone of the first mapping packages – SYMAP. Thisprogram was capable of producing a variety ofmap types (isoline, choropleth, Thiessen polygon,etc.) and was relatively easy to use. SYMAP wasimportant as it was the first widely distributedcomputer package for handling geographical dataand introduced large numbers of users to thepossibilities of computer mapping.
About the same time that Fisher was developinghis computer mapping ideas at Harvard, RogerTomlinson was involved in getting the Canadiangovernment to invest in the creation of theCanada Geographic Information System (CGIS).As a result of his efforts,Tomlinson is consideredto be the father of GIS. The background for thisbegan when the company Tomlinson worked for,Spartan Air Services, was asked to perform aforest survey in East Africa.The estimated costs todo this project manually were so high that theproposal was dropped. However, Tomlinson hadargued that such analyses could be economicallyperformed by a digital methodology. A chanceencounter on a subsequent plane trip found himsitting next to Lee Pratt, a Department ofAgriculture administrator.The Dept. of Agricultureat the time was involved in planning a mappingprogram to determine the land capability for thewhole of settled Canada. Analysis of these mapswas expected to assist in the agriculturalrehabilitation of marginal farms. Tomlinson againexpressed his belief that computer-basedtechniques could perform such analyses faster andmore cheaply than manual methods. He apparentlymade his case well, as Spartan was awarded acontract to conduct a feasibility study for theproject. That report was accepted by theDepartment and Tomlinson was subsequentlyasked to direct the program’s development in1963. However, it wasn’t until 1971 that CGIS wasfully operational.
The next major advance involved topologicalmodeling.This is the process that allows a GIS todetermine adjacency (what is next to what),containment (what is enclosed by what), andproximity (how close something is to something
else).The U.S. Census Bureau became substantiallyinvolved in this process starting in 1967. TheirNew Haven Census Use Study of that year led tothe development of the Dual Independent MapEncoding (DIME) scheme. The essence of DIMEwas that it described the urban structure throughrecording the topological relationships of streets.By checking the completeness of maps built upfrom street boundaries, the Bureau coulddetermine the completeness of its survey data.
In the early 1970s, the U.S. Geological Surveyentered the GIS field with development of itsGeographical Information retrieval and AnalysisSystem (GIRAS). This system was created tohandle the large datasets becoming available onland use and land cover and to be able to integratethem with other datasets such as politicalsubdivisions and land ownership. Initially, the landcover information had been manually produced on1:250,000 scale maps derived from aerialphotographs. The initial goal was to be able toupdate these maps without manual intervention,using data from the newly developed Landsatseries of satellites.To do so, the maps first had tobe digitized in polygon format to allow their inputinto the computer system that had been designedto store, manipulate, and analyze the data. Inaddition to developing this mass-conversionmethodology, The USGS is also noteworthy asbeing a continuing major source of digital data.
While early developments in GIS were largelyrestricted to government agencies anduniversities, by the late 1960s, there were thebeginnings of commercial interest in the new field.Frequently, these business ventures grew out ofthe university research. In some cases, theresearch programs became reasonably successfuland began contracting out their services or sellinglicenses for their mapping programs. In othercases, students that had been exposed to themethodologies went on to develop the ideas aftergraduation. One such success story is that of JackDangermond. Dangermond was exposed to thework done by the Laboratory for ComputerGraphics while a student at Harvard. Aftergraduation, he founded the Environmental SystemsResearch Institute (ESRI) in 1969. Initially a non-profit organization engaged in environmentalconsultancy, the company developed over theyears a proficiency in computer graphics and GIS.Eventually, ESRI’s ongoing efforts to improve itsproducts and expand the company’s scope led tothe development of ARC/INFO.This program, andits associated family of GIS products (ArcView,ArcGIS, ArcMap, etc.) have led to ESRIcommanding nearly 40% of the worldwide GISmarket.
In summary, the history of GIS can be viewed asfour overlapping phases. The first was that of thepioneer or research frontier period.This began inthe 1950s with the advent of computertechnology and lasted till about 1975. It wascharacterized by individual developments, limitedinternational contact, little data in machine-readable form, and goals that far outstripped the
27
computer capabilities of the day. Formalexperimentation and government-funded researchmarked the second phase, which extended to theearly 1980s. During this period, digital data becamemuch more common and knowledge of GISsystems became more widespread. This phasefairly rapidly morphed over to the next, which sawa significant increase in commercial applicationsbeing developed. GIS, as a field of science,benefited greatly as computer capabilitiesincreased and prices decreased. Although thetechnical advances that marked this period aresignificant, the increase in digital data availability isno less important. With the advent of relativelyinexpensive desktop computers and the increasingavailability of digital data, GIS has entered into thefourth phase where it is becoming more end-userdriven.A small company or individual can now setup a geographic information system to handle veryspecific tasks at a fraction of the cost and effortthat would have been required only a few yearsago. The increasing availability of these powerfulanalytical tools will continue to present new waysto convert raw data into interpreted informationand to discover the associated spatial relationships.
GLOSSARYAttribute: a characteristic of a geographic featuredescribed by numbers, characters, images, and CADdrawings, typically stored in tabular format andlinked to the feature by a user-assigned identifier.
Choropleth: a thematic map portrayingproperties of a surface using area symbols such asshading to represent categorized classes of themapped data (Figure 1).
Isoline: a line on a surface connecting points ofequal value, e.g., a contour line (Figure 1).
Raster: a method for the storage, processing, anddisplay of spatial data. Each given area is dividedinto rows and columns to form a regular gridstructure. Each cell within this matrix contains anattribute value as well as location coordinates.Themain advantage of raster data over vector data isthat it tends to have smaller file sizes and is fasterto manipulate (Figure 2).
Thiessen polygon: a polygon bounding theregion closer to a point than to any adjacent point.The polygons are drawn so that the lines are ofequal distance between any two adjacent points(Figure 1).
Topology: the relationships (adjacent, connected,contained) between spatial features (points, lines,areas).
Vector: a coordinate-based data structurecommonly used to represent lines or arcs, whichare defined by beginning and end points.The mainadvantage of vector data over raster data is that itis more precise (Figure 2).
REFERENCEShttp://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/agidexe- accessed January 20, 2003.http://www.esri.com/library/glossary/glossary.html -accessed January 20, 2003.http://geomatics.eng.ohio-state.edu/GS_607_Notes/Class_3/Lecture_304.html- accessed January 20, 2003.http://gislounge.com/library/introgis.shtml- accessed January 10th, 2003.http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/klink/gis.notes/ncgia/u23.html- accessed January 12th, 2003.Maquire, D.J., Goodchild, M.F., and Rhind, D.W.(eds), 1991, Geographic Information Systems:
Principles and applications,Volume 1, John Wileyand Sons, Ltd., New York, 649 pages (availableonline at http://www.wiley.com/gis).
Some general-information GIS websites:http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/webglishttp://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/frames.htmlhttp://gislounge.com/library/introgis.shtmlhttp://www.eis.noaa.gov/http://www.esri.com/http://www.fgdc.gov/clearinghouse/clearinghouse.htmlhttp://www.geocomm.comhttp://www.geoconnections.orghttp://www.geographynetwork.comhttp://www.gis.comhttp://www.gisdatadepot.comhttp://www.usgs.gov/network/
Figure 1
Figure 2
We would like to make a few comments on therecent article by James Dixon of the GSC (CSPGReservoir; vol. 30, issue 1; January, 2003). Weappreciate that this article,written for the Reservoiras one of general interest, is not intended to providecomplete evidence to substantiate interpretationsor preliminary observations such as those thatDixon has presented.We applaud Dixon’s goal ofattempting to correlate the Middle Triassicsuccession of the Western Canada SedimentaryBasin (WCSB) from its eastern subcrop edgewestwards to the Rocky Mountain outcrop belt.Wehave long felt that such a project would shed furtherlight on the depositional and structural evolution ofthe Triassic succession in the WCSB andconsequently help in understanding the varioustypes of hydrocarbon traps in the Doig,Halfway,andCharlie Lake formations. However, we ardentlychallenge Dixon’s assumptions about Middle Triassicstratigraphy, especially in light of the volume ofpublished work and personal observations thatcontradict his suggestion of basin-wideunconformities in the Doig-Halfway-lower CharlieLake succession.
To begin with, Dixon poses a rhetorical questionwith the title of his article:“Is there a basin-wide
unconformity associated with the Triassic Doigto Charlie Lake succession?” Quite simply, theanswer to that question is no.There are severalwell-documented examples from west-centralAlberta which demonstrate that thelithostratigraphic Doig, Halfway, and lowermostCharlie Lake formations are genetically-relatedfacies tracts of a prograding arid clastic coastalsystem: the Doig Formation consists of marineoffshore to lower shoreface shale, siltstone, andsandstone with local, anomalously thick, growth-fault-controlled sandstones in areas of greatestsedimentation; the Halfway Formation consistsof more proximal shallow marine sandstonesdeposited in a variety of environments includingbarrier island shoreface and tidal inlet channels;and the lowermost Charlie Lake Formationcomprises lagoonal, tidal flat, and supratidalsediments (Barclay and Leckie, 1986; Cant, 1986;Campbell and Horne, 1986; Wittenberg, 1992,1993; Willis, 1992; Willis and Moslow, 1994a,b;Davies, 1997; Zonneveld et al., 1997; Zonneveld,1999; Willis and Wittenberg, 2000). Marineflooding surfaces bound parasequencescontaining facies belonging to all threelithostratigraphic units, demonstrating theirtime-equivalence.
Interestingly enough, as noted by Dixon, thereare “a few” (unreferenced) authors who havedocumented erosional surfaces within the Doig-Halfway-lower Charlie Lake interval, which weassume must include Caplan and Moslow (1997,1999), Evoy (1997), and Young (1997).All of thiswork comes from northeastern BritishColumbia. Dixon infers that these differentobservations and/or interpretations from west-central Alberta and northeastern BritishColumbia cannot both be correct and claimsthat the lack of “regional work” made it difficultfor previous investigators to observe the basin-wide unconformity that he has. We note thatmost of these authors of local studies, for goodreason, did not attempt to extrapolate theirwork beyond their respective study areas.Ironically, it was Young (1997), in questioning thesupposedly dogmatic stratigraphic frameworkproposed by previous researchers of Triassicstratigraphy in west-central Alberta, that cameup with his own rigid interpretation based on hisobservations of a local area (Wargen-Umbach)in British Columbia.
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IS THERE A BASIN-WIDE UNCONFORMITY ASSOCIATED WITHTHE TRIASSIC DOIG TO CHARLIE LAKE SUCCESSION? NO!
Moslow et al, Fig. 1: Schematic stratigraphic relationships of the Doig, Halfway, and Charlie Lake formations in the Wembley area of west-central Alberta. Note that eachparasequence contains facies of the lithostratigraphic Doig,Halfway, and lower Charlie Lake formations.To the east, the lower Charlie Lake and Halfway formations are truncatedbeneath intra-Charlie Lake unconformities, and the upper part of the Charlie Lake Formation rests unconformably on the Doig Formation.
BY THOMAS MOSLOW, ANDREW WILLIS, JOERG WITTENBERG, MARK CAPLAN, AND RICHARD EVOY
Continued on Page 30 . . .
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We concur with Dixon that lithostratigraphicterminology can be a hindrance tounderstanding true stratigraphic relationshipsand for this reason have emphasized the use ofsequence stratigraphy in our own work on theMiddle Triassic succession in the WCSB. Basin-scale correlation within the Middle Triassicsuccession is hampered by the lack of any usefulsubsurface dating methods.Ammonoids and fishare useful where found, but are rarely recoveredfrom the subsurface, and calcareous microfossilsare rarely preserved. Conodonts do show somepromise (Orchard and Tozer, 1997) but this workis in its infancy. In the absence of such a detailedbiostratigraphic framework in which to placelocal subsurface successions, the only practicalmethod of constructing a basin-scalechronostratigraphic framework for the MiddleTriassic succession is through sequencestratigraphy. This requires the painstakingidentification of depositional successions andtheir bounding surfaces in cored sequences andthe correlation of these chronostratigraphicallysignificant bounding surfaces (sequenceboundaries and maximum flooding surfaces)throughout their extent, be it local or regional.
Each of us has conducted detailed local studies ofthe Middle Triassic succession in areas of densecore control and has been impressed by thestratigraphic complexity present within even asingle township. The succession abounds inerosion surfaces, many of which are the result oflocal autocyclic processes such as channel scours(Willis and Moslow, 1994a) or shorefaceravinement (Willis and Moslow,1994b;Zonneveldet al., 1997; Willis and Wittenberg, 2001). Somedocumented erosion surfaces are the product ofallocyclic relative sea level changes (Evoy, 1997),while others are the product of pre-, syn-, andpost-depositional tectonics (Davies, 1997; Caplanand Moslow, 1997). The geological record ofdeposition of the Middle Triassic in the WCSB is aproduct of high frequency, small-scale extensionaltectonics and sedimentation that makes attemptsat basin-wide correlation of these disconformablesurfaces exceedingly difficult. Likewise, tosuperimpose or “force-fit” a global sea level curveon these disconformable surfaces, and / orapparent unconformities, is pointless, if notmisleading. Dixon acknowledges that his “basin-wide unconformity” occurs variously at the baseof the Halfway sandstone, within the Halfwaysandstone, or below the Charlie Lake Formation.We suggest that these are precisely as hedescribes them: distinct erosion surfaces atdifferent stratigraphic levels and of unknown arealextent, and not a single basin-wide unconformity.
In summary, through the effects of localizedfaulting and both autocyclic and allocyclicprocesses of erosion, multiple erosionaldisconformities of variable lateral extent areobserved in the Middle Triassic succession of theWCSB. It is this stratigraphic complexity thatprovides the myriad of hydrocarbon-trappingpossibilities in the Doig, Halfway, and CharlieLake formations that we all strive to understand.Similar stratigraphic complexities have been
unraveled over the last few years in othershallow marine lithostratigraphic units in theWCSB such as the Cardium and Vikingformations. Few would now argue that theseunits represent single basin-wide blanketsandstones as Dixon proposes for the upperHalfway Formation. Our work has convinced usthat the Doig-Halfway-lower Charlie Lakesuccession is equally complex. Whereas Dixonconsiders any interpretations derived from localstudies in areas with abundant core and well logcontrol to be “problematic”, we prefer toconsider such studies the foundations uponwhich any meaningful regional correlation workshould be based.We feel that such a frameworkwould be best built by integration of detailedsedimentological and sequence stratigraphicstudies supported by as much biostratigraphy aspossible, not regional wireline log correlation.
Thomas Moslow Andrew WillisMidnight Oil & Gas Talisman Energy
Joerg Wittenberg Mark CaplanParamount Resources Shell Canada
Richard EvoyPetro Canada
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Campbell, C. and Horne, 1986. Depositional facies ofthe Middle Triassic Halfway Formation, WesternCanada Basin. In: Modern and Ancient Shelf Clastics:ACore Workshop.T. F. Moslow and E. G. Rhodes (eds.).SEPM Core Workshop No. 9,Tulsa, p. 413-459.
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Caplan, M. L. and Moslow, T. F. 1999. Depositionalorigin and facies variability of a Middle Triassic barrierisland complex, Peejay Field, northeastern BritishColumbia.AAPG Bulletin, v. 83, p. 128-154.
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Willis,A. J. and Moslow,T. F. 1994a. Sedimentology andstratigraphy of tidal inlet reservoirs in the TriassicHalfway Formation,Wembley field, Alberta. Bulletin ofCanadian Petroleum Geology, v. 42, p. 245-262.
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Wittenberg, J. 1992. Origin and stratigraphicsignificance of anomalously thick sandstone trends inthe Middle Triassic Doig Formation of west-centralAlberta. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Alberta,Edmonton, 600 p.
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