The
importance of field schools to practicing geologists is unquestionable; yet,
the opportunities to experience field geology are dwindling. The Geological
Society of America (GSA), in cooperation with ExxonMobil, is currently offering
three programs to support and encourage field geology. This
non-profit/industry collaboration has proven very successful and in 2011 over
300 geology students and professors applied for these awards.
(1)
The GSA/ExxonMobil Big Horn Basin
Field Award
(deadline 2 April, 2012) - a one week field seminar that offers 20
undergraduate and graduate students and 5 faculty members a chance to receive a
high-quality educational experience in the spectacular Bighorn Basin of
north-central Wyoming. The course is free to accepted participants, and all
transportation, meals, and living expenses are covered.
The
seminar focuses on multi-disciplinary integrated
basin analysis and enables awardees to study exposures of individual hydrocarbon system play elements, such as
source, seal, reservoir and structure, within a prolific hydrocarbon
basin. For more than a century, the Bighorn Basin has been studied by
academic, industry and government geoscientists, who have focused on the
exceptional outcrop exposures, as well as subsurface borehole and seismic data.
Our current understanding of the basin derives from both industry and academic
perspectives.
This is not, however, a course on the detailed geology
of the Bighorn Basin. Instead, our objectives are to introduce the concepts of
integrated basin analysis, including evaluation, prediction, and assessment of
play element distribution and quality, using the Bighorn Basin as a natural
laboratory. Via this laboratory, we will
explore the concepts, methods, and the tools of petroleum geoscience that we
use on a day-to-day basis in the energy industry. Our discussions on the outcrop and in the
classroom will focus on how we make decisions with limited data and how
critical information is identified in order to evaluate risk vs. uncertainty.
We also use the excellent field setting to teach fundamental geoscience skills
in structure, stratigraphy, geochemistry, etc.
By the end of the school, the teams will generate play element maps,
play summary charts, cross-sections, and play fairway maps. The highlight of this course is the
presentation of these ideas to the group and the ensuing discussions about how
these ideas and play assessments could be further developed.
This seminar is team taught by four ExxonMobil
professionals. These geoscientists represent over 100 years of research in
integrated basin analysis, with specific skills in tectonics, geochemistry,
structure, sequence stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, hydrocarbon
systems analysis, and integrated play analysis. GSA’s role is to select
awardees and to handle all logistics.
(2)
The GSA/ExxonMobil
Field Camp Scholar Award (deadline 12 March,
2012) - provides 17 undergraduate
students $2,000 each to attend the field camp of their choice based on
diversity, economic/financial need, and merit. Funds for this award have been
provided by ExxonMobil. Selections of awardees are completed by GSA.
(3)
The GSA/ExxonMobil
Field Camp Excellence Award (deadline 12 March, 2012) - provides one
geologic field camp an award of $10,000 to assist with their summer field camp
based on safety awareness, diversity, and technical excellence..
