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WA

WA tech talk: Geophysics and Graphite - from Foe to Friend

Tuesday, August 22, 2023
1730
1930

Title: Geophysics and Graphite - from Foe to Friend

Presenter: Barry Bourne

Date and time: 22/08/2023 at 1730

Location: The Shoe Bar and Cafe 376 - 420 Wellington Street Perth, WA 6050

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/aseg-wa-special-tech-night-by-barry-bourne-tickets-694459455927

 

 

WA Branch Tech Talk: Automating Digital Surface Processing And Object Delineation Using Differential Geometry.

Thursday, July 27, 2023
1730
1900

The WA Branch of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicist invites members and non-members to quickly rsvp for the special talk scheduled as:

Date:      Thursday, July 27, 2023
Time:      5:30pm (AWST)
Location: The Shoe Bar and Cafe 
               376 - 420 Wellington Street Perth, WA 6050
Parking: CPP parking is close by for those of you who will be driving to the city. 

Registration: Here

Bio:

James (Jim) Dirstein studied Geology and Geophysics at the University of Toronto. For more than 40 years he has enjoyed working as a geophysicist on many resource projects in Australia and overseas. In addition to his project work, Jim has played a role in the commercialization of several transformative technologies. During his career, these efforts   have involved working as an early adopter, angel investor or collaborator, in the fields of time series analysis, digital surface analysis along with a patented airborne acquisition system and a fully trained and patented Artificial Intelligence (AI). Outside of the realm of geophysics Jim has presented papers at metallurgy conferences on the role of microbes for in-situ mining, minesite remediation, Carbon capture and using microbes for permeability enhancement and the production of Hydrogen.

Abstract

The art of data interpretation is about finding patterns in data. Finding patterns requires careful observations. Human beings are very much visual creatures with our perception of the world based upon what we can see. Unfortunately, traditional interpretation methods are often biased by our senses as well as pre-existing ideas. Therefore, the combination of confirmation bias, along with things we “don’t see” distorts our perception of reality. Often data we are tasked with interpreting is presented to us a surface. This surface could be a digital elevation map or more likely data from remote sensing methods such as Potential Fields, Radiometrics or Seismic attributes, etc. As geoscientists we are always looking for ways that help us to organise information into more meaningful formats, enabling both accurate and time efficient reviews of data. Moreover, since most of interpretation of the geophysical data we acquire is non-unique in nature, we need to consider workflows to help minimise this non-uniqueness.
 

Since a fundamental property of any surface is its geometric characteristics, the identification and extraction of these properties can reveal features and objects not easily identifiable by visual analysis alone. In 2013, a new method for digital surface analysis was introduced to address some of the limitations of traditional surface analysis methods. This mathematical solution applies a completely different approach without the use of existing techniques or algorithms. With this method, the analysis of a digital surface involves the calculation of a complete set of morphometric properties as it is defined by differential geometry (e.g. Dupin Indicatrix). The resulting database of geometric elements is queryable using a GIS style interface providing an attractive means to simplify and accelerate the data mining process.
 

This analysis technique was introduced to the ASEG at the 23rd International Conference and Exhibition, 11-14 August 2013 Melbourne, Australia. The presentation and extended abstract was entitled “Digital surface Analysis: -A new approach using differential geometry”.

 

While the 2013 publication provided background and several examples, our evening presentation will discuss several new examples and workflows from our use of this technology over the last decade.

Drinks and nibbles will be available from 5:30pm - 6:15pm. The talk will commence promptly at 6:15pm. The ASEG WA thanks our sponsors for their continued support.

Please contact wapresident@aseg.org.au with any queries.

CAGE 2023 - Camp for Applied Geophysics Excellence

Sunday, September 24, 2023
0900
1900

We are delighted to announce that CAGE is back for 2023!

 

The Australian Society of Exploration Geophysics is hosting a one-week Camp for Applied Geophysics Excellence in Western Australia from Sunday 24th of September, returning on Sunday October 1st, 2023. This field camp will involve seven days of real-world application of major geophysical techniques.

 

The camp kicks off with an introduction to the approaches, goals and challenges of geophysics for mineral exploration. The necessary field training, theory and methodologies of major geophysical techniques will be provided by industry-recognized experts. Potential field, electrical, electromagnetic and seismic methods will be explained, together with their applications for mineral exploration, natural resource management and geotechnical work. The deployment of geophysical equipment, work health and safety considerations and survey design will also be covered.

 

Participants will learn how to process geophysical data and utilise various commercial and open-source software packages. They will complete practical sessions on basic data importation and reduction, filtering, modelling, inversion, data display and importantly, interpretation. The camp also covers how to integrate diverse geophysical datasets to map/image the sub-surface in the vicinity of a sulfide target in Forrestania, Western Australia.

 

Attendance cost is fully covered by our sponsors and there are limited spaces available. Applicant selection will be based on the answers provided in these forms. 

 

Please fill out the expression of interest form below BEFORE June 26th for a chance to be selected for this amazing opportunity! 

https://shorturl.at/cnAGT.

Successful applicants will be notified by July 8th.

 

If your company is interested in sponsoring or providing in-kind support for CAGE 2023, please get in touch to find out more or for a copy of our sponsorship packages.

 

For any queries please contact continuingeducation@aseg.org.au

Key contacts are:

Kate Brand - ASEG Professional Development Chair 

Kate Selway - CAGE coordinator

Sasha Aivazpourporgou - CAGE logistics coordinator

 

WA: PESA-SPE-ASEG YP Networking Evening May 2023

Friday, May 26, 2023
1700
2000

Please join the Perth Young Professional Geoscientists and Engineers from the petroleum and mining industries for a light-hearted night of in-person networking and great conversation

 

Event Details:

Date: Friday, 26th May 2023 5:30-8:00pm.
Venue: The Shoe Bar, Yagan Square

There will be a Panel of 3 industry professionals to talk about their careers and answer some of your questions.

Kirsten Rose, CSIRO

Katarina Van Der Haar, RISC

Patricia Durance, Sensore

 

Ticket Prices:

Free: Please register here for catering purposes by Thursday 25th 5pm

 

This event is exclusively for Young Professionals and early career professionals (people who have been working in the Oil and Gas or mining industry for less than 10 years). Please come along if you’re a student, graduate or working professional. Meeting your industry peers is a good chance to talk about your different backgrounds, experiences, projects and companies with like-minded people in a very laid back and friendly setting.

MAG23

Wednesday, November 15, 2023
0800
1900

WA tech talk: Geophysics for a Sustainable Future

Thursday, June 1, 2023
1730
1900

Title: Geophysics for a Sustainable Future
Date & Time: 1 June 2023, 5:30 pm
Speaker: Michelle Thomas
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/aseg-wa-special-tech-night-michelle-thomas-tickets-633138493277

Venue:

The Shoe Bar and Cafe
376 – 420 Wellington Street
Perth, WA 6050

Abstract:

In her talk this June at ASEG WA technical night, Michelle will discuss minerals geophysicists’ role in achieving the United Nations General Assembly’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focused on the dimensions of People, Prosperity, and the Planet. This discussion will build upon the Geophysical Sustainability Atlas published in the Leading Edge by Capello et al., 2021, and the UNESCO Geoscience in Action report it subsequently inspired. 

Biography: 

Michelle Thomas is the global practice lead of geophysics at BHP, responsible for geophysics technical excellence and capability at BHP. Her focus is on connecting the physical properties of the Earth to critical business decisions across BHPs global value chain today and into the future.

Michelle joined the mining sector early in 2021 following a 22-year career in the petroleum industry, including senior technical and leadership roles in innovation, exploration, and geophysics.

Michelle holds a BA(Hons) in Earth Sciences from the University of Cambridge, UK, and an MSc in Petroleum Geology from the Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP) in France.
 

ASEG WA tech night: Surface and borehole seismic monitoring of CO2 geological storage

Thursday, April 27, 2023
1730
1900

Title: Surface and borehole seismic monitoring of CO2 geological storage

Speaker: Professor Roman Pevzner

Date and time: 27 April 2023, 5:30pm

Location: The Shoe Bar and Cafe 376 - 420 Wellington Street Perth, WA 6050

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/aseg-wa-special-tech-night-prof-roman-pevzner-tickets-599937548357

Abstract:

Geological carbon capture and storage (CCS) or sequestration is a critical component of CO2 emission reduction, which aims to alleviate global climate change. Geological carbon storage always requires a subsurface monitoring program to address two main goals: (1) surveillance at the reservoir level to verify compliance of the growing CO2 plume with the original plan and (2) early detection of adverse effects, such as leakage of the injected fluid from the containment zone or significant induced seismicity associated with the injection.

Seismic methods play an important role in achieving both goals. Change in CO2 saturation in the pore space inside of the storage reservoir or in the overburden results in the change of elastic properties detectable through changes in seismic reflectivity or travel times. Induced seismicity generates a direct signal usually associated with the propagation of the pressure front.

The range of seismic methods — which can be deployed — includes surface and borehole active time-lapse seismic surveys with re-deployable or permanently mounted source and receiver arrays and passive monitoring, e.g. using any components of the wave field that originated from the seismic sources beyond our control. Many CO2 geosequestration sites are located near large sources of CO2 emission, such as populated areas with existing infrastructure. As such, the monitoring strategy must accommodate sharing the land (or ocean) with other users and have a minimal environmental impact. Furthermore, geosequestration is a form of waste disposal that must be cost-efficient. All these factors make CCS a leader in innovation, being an early adopter of such disruptive technologies as distributed fibre optic sensing and permanent reservoir monitoring. Small-scale demonstration projects focusing on the testing and development of CCS technologies play a critical role in this innovation.

This lecture is based on Australian CCS projects, such as the CO2CRC Otway Project and CSIRO In-situ Lab Project, which showcase the evolution of the seismic monitoring technology from conventional land 4D seismic to continuous or on-demand monitoring using permanent downhole and near-surface geophone and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) arrays. We discuss how monitoring objectives can be achieved using various acquisition geometries, including land 4D, 4D vertical seismic profiling (VSP), and offset VSP, all of which can be implemented using conventional and permanently mounted seismic sources. Also covered is the automation of data acquisition and analysis, as well as passive data analysis.

Drinks and nibbles will be available from 5:30pm - 6:15pm. The talk will commence promptly at 6:15pm. ASEG would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support.

Bio:

Professor Roman Pevzner joined Curtin University (Perth, Western Australia) in 2008 as an associate professor in the Discipline of Exploration Geophysics, progressing to professor in 2018. Previously he headed the software development department at DECO Geophysical service company from 2002–2008. At the same time, Roman has also conducted research and teaching at the Geological Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Seismometry and Geo-acoustics Department. Roman Pevzner received his PhD in Geophysics (2004), Masters of Science in Geophysics (2001), and Bachelor of Science in Geology (1999) from Lomonosov Moscow State University.

His main areas of interest include subsurface monitoring using active and passive seismic methods, borehole seismic, distributed fibre optic sensing for geophysical applications, and CO2 geosequestration. Roman has co-authored 75 journal papers and more than 170 refereed conference publications.

ASEG WA Tech Night: REBIRTH OF A MATURE OIL FIELD IN EASTERN CARPATHIANS, CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPE: A SYNERGETIC APPROACH.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
1730
1900

Title: REBIRTH OF A MATURE OIL FIELD IN EASTERN CARPATHIANS, CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPE: A SYNERGETIC APPROACH.

Speaker: Prof Victor Mocanu,

Registration:  ASEG WA Special Tech Night - Prof Victor Victor Mocanu Tickets, Wed, Mar 22, 2023 at 5:30 PM | Eventbrite

Location: The Shoe Bar and Cafe 376 - 420 Wellington Street Perth, WA 6050

Date and time: Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 5:30 PM AWST

Details:

We demonstrate the effectiveness of using complementary geophysical and geological methods to better understand the structure and petroleum potential in a mature, late life producing oil field in the internal part of the Romanian Eastern Carpathians, in the so-named Tisza-Dacia block, an area in Central-Eastern Europe.

161 years ago exploration work indicated positive results and several wells were drilled. Crude oil extraction started as early as 1899 and continues until present, with several interruptions. Without serious advanced exploration activities and mainly based on interpretation of poor well cores, the extraction was a temptation despite the not-so-significant production.

Several wells reported basement at shallow depth between two major crustal faults and so the hydrocarbon prospective was considered as limited.

Some 15 y ago the new 2D seismic was of modest quality, so resistivity, gravity and magnetics plus MT data were added over geochemical sampling and geological re-mapping. This is an example of how a historic production could be boosted by integration of geophysical with non-geophysical methods so that the resulting geological model is modernly calibrated. The seismic data reprocessing by better velocity picking, statics and migration was based on a mixture of geodata. But the real original approach is represented by carefully looking into complex methodology with positive results in a mature field of over 100 y of production history.

 

Drink tokens and nibbles will be available from 5:30pm - 6pm. Technical presentation will start shortly after 6pm. ASEG would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support.

ASEG WA Tech Night: Geologically constrained level-set inversion with null-space analysis for evaluation: application in the Western Pyrenees.

Thursday, March 2, 2023
1730
1900

Title: Geologically constrained level-set inversion with null-space analysis for evaluation: application in the Western Pyrenees.

Presenter: Jeremie Giraud

Date: 02/03/2023

Time: 1730-1900

Location: The Shoe Bar and Cafe 376 - 420 Wellington Street Perth, WA 6050

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/aseg-wa-tech-night-jeremie-giraud-ticket...

 

Details:

We present and apply an algorithm integrating automated geological modelling into geometrical gravity inversion. The method we employ is based on a generalized, iterative level-set inversion scheme where geological units are deformed automatically to fit geophysical data. The proposed approach is formulated to account for geological data and principles during geophysical inversion. This is achieved by incorporating an automated geological modelling scheme in the regularization term of the geophysical inverse problem’s cost function. The geological modelling term provides model-dependent geological constraints and encourages geological realism during inversion. After summarizing the method that we employ, we present a field application where we refine a pre-existing 3D geological model which is locally inconsistent with geophysical data. The objective of this application case is to automatically resolve this inconsistency by improving geophysical data fit (i.e., the Bouguer anomaly) in selected areas while maintaining consistency with some geological observations (e.g., contact locations, orientation data) and principles (e.g., are relationships, structural rules). We consider a subduction zone generated during the Iberian and Eurasian intraplate collision with a partial uplift of the upper mantle located in the Western Pyrenees Mountain range across France and Spain. We focus on the structure of the upper crust and investigate the presence of abnormally dense material. We also use our algorithm to explore alternative geological scenarios and assess their consistency with geophysical data using the concept of 'null-space shuttle' to derive geophysically equivalent models.

AuScope Special Seminar with ChEESE Program Leader Prof Arnau Folch

Monday, February 6, 2023
1200 AEDT
1330 AEDT

HPC is increasingly being used in solid Earth Geophysics in Europe and AuScope has organised this Special Seminar with Arnau Folch, leader of the EU ChEESE Program

ChEESE is the EU Centre of Excellence for Exascale in Solid Earth and develops translational research capabilities in High Performance Computing to the Exascale in geophysics, enabling multiscale, multiphysics and multi-hazard analysis.

In this seminar, Arnau will present the results of ChEESE-1P Exascale Pilot Demonstrators, including:

·  Rapid probabilistic forecasts of tsunami inundations; 

·  Earthquake source prediction; and

·  The atmospheric volcanic ash dispersal models validated in real time against high-resolution geostationary satellite data.

And, introduce ChEESE-2P and highlight its role in an ecosystem of projects that are shaping Europe’s Digital Future, including:

·  A Digital Twin for GEOphysical Extremes (DT-GEO);

·  Destination Earth (DestinE); and 

·  European Plate Observing System (EPOS)

Date: February 6th from 12 pm to 1:30 pm AEST.

Please register here via Eventbrite.

 

Background

The first phase (ChEESE-1P) ran from 2018-2022 and addressed scientific and technical computational challenges in moving existing systems to Exascale in seismology, tsunami science, volcanology, and magnetohydrodynamics. ChEESE-1P initiated the optimisation of 10 Community flagship European codes for the European pre-Exascale and Exascale supercomputers and developed 12 Pilot Demonstrators (PD) that enabled services oriented to critical aspects of geohazards, including hazard assessment, urgent computing, and early warning forecasting.

Following the success of ChEESE-1P, a second 4-year phase (ChEESE-2P) with funding of € 7.8 million was launched in January 2023. Arnau will lead a team of Earth and Computer Scientists across multiple programs that will further develop the ChEESE-1P codes and new codes in geodynamics and glaciology.

We are delighted to be hosting Arnau and welcome you to join us in what will surely be a great seminar.

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