Industry

CSIRO’s Deep Earth Imaging Future Science Platform is organising an interdisciplinary subsurface conference around the themes of imaging, conceptualisation and prediction of water, energy and mineral resources. Over two days, we will focus on the science required, developed and deployed by academia, industry and government to prospect today for the resources that will underpin our low energy future. The conference will include a combination of keynotes, panel discussions, presentations and networking opportunities. Particular emphasis will be placed on the next generation of techniques to acquire knowledge about the subsurface; by for example combining machine learning, forward modelling, inverse theory and predictive applications.

Registration now open.

Wednesday 12 - Thursday 13 Feb 2020

Optus Stadium, Perth

333 Victoria Park Dr, Burswood WA

The Deep Earth Imaging Future Science Platform is holding its inaugural conference that will focus on the scientific advancements required to progress the understanding of the systems behind the formation of water, mineral and energy resources. To unlock challenging-to-recover resources situated at depth requires improving the predictive power of geoscience tools to enable the capture and integration of subsurface, deep earth information for resource modelling. Key to this is to develop knowledge through inference from often incomplete, sparse, indirect and irregularly distributed measurements of the subsurface. The conference will serve as a platform to showcase current developments and to identify challenges and opportunities.

The Three Pillars

Imaging – An ever-increasing volume of geo-data drives the development of novel techniques that are able to produce snapshots of resource systems. Future breakthroughs will be based on advances in sensor networks and computational techniques to extract the maximum amount of information from our observations.

Conceptualisation – Our understanding of mineral, energy and ground water systems only increases when we combine images of the subsurface with geological knowledge. Confidence in predictions will increase if they are underpinned by formal interpretations of images and transparent conceptualisations of geological processes.

Prediction – Robust predictions are the key to de-risking exploration in geological complex settings and managing water and hydrocarbon resources. Improving prediction will require advancing inference capabilities so we can turn images and conceptualisations into insight and understanding.

Program highlights

Sessions dedicated to imaging, conceptualisation and prediction with keynote presentations that identify the challenges and opportunities in these spaces and knowledge development through inference.

Panel discussions by experts in industry, government and academy focused on the roles of imaging, conceptualisation and prediction, and the synergies between these activities.

A stream focused on the relevance and value of imaging, conceptualisation and prediction in the social license to operate context.

An introduction to the current and planned research initiatives by government and academia to aid prospecting for the resources that will underpin a low energy future.

Prizes for:

Best presentation by an early career researcher (less than 3 years relevant experience post PhD)

Demonstrated excellence achieved through interdisciplinary research (presentation)

Best poster

Why should you attend?

Gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities shared between imaging, conceptualisation and prediction for energy, mineral and water resources.

Learn about new developments in inversion of geophysical data by academia, industry and government agencies.

Familiarise yourself with CSIRO’s role in the Deep Earth Imaging innovation space.

Abstracts

100 to 500 words abstract with a maximum of one figure.

No abstract submission fee.

Please submit your abstract to sub20@csiro.au

The deadline for abstract submission is Tuesday 24th December 2019.

Authors will be contacted and invited to present either a talk or a poster by Friday 10th January 2020.

Download the abstract template (Word, 205KB)

Registration

Opens November 2019.

The first 25 registrations will be covered by CSIRO’s Deep Earth Imaging Future Science Platform.

Date: Thursday 28th Nov

Time: 4.30 to 6.00pm

Venue: Scrivener room, Geoscience Australia, Symonston

Title: Earthquake catalogues and 3D earth structure: a coupled problem

Speaker: Babak Hejrani

Abstract:

The majority of the Earth’s seismic activity occurs within the top 30 km of the crust which illustrates the shallow dynamic of the driving plate tectonics of our planet. At the same time large, shallow and tsunamigenic earthquakes are among the most destructive natural disasters which surround Australia in the Pacific ‘ring-of-fire’. The 2004 Great Sumatra earthquake and associated tsunami killed ~230,000 people in 14 countries. Thus, the accurate estimation of the location and mechanism of shallow earthquakes is highly crucial for seismic hazard assessments and a better understanding of the shallow dynamic of the Earth. I have developed and implemented methods to incorporate the 3D heterogeneity of the earth into seismic source parameter estimation. Based on these developments, I have drawn a new earthquake catalogue for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands using a 3D continental earth model of the Australasian regions. Using high-resolution 3D Earth models, I present a high-frequency simulation of the 2016 Petermann Ranges earthquake in central Australia.

Bio:

I am from Kurdistan (in Iran). I did my bachelor degree in pure mathematics in University of Kurdistan. I moved to Tehran (Iran’s capital) to do a master degree in Geophysics.

I did my PhD studies on 3D Earth imaging in Aarhus University, Denmark. I moved to Australia, 5 years ago, to undertake a post-doctoral research on incorporating 3D earth structure into earthquake monitoring.

My presentation today will bring together various strands of my research and its application to earthquakes within the Australasian portion of the ring-of-fire

December 5th in Perth: Blockchain in Oil & Gas Australia

Australia is set to become the world’s largest gas exporter by 2020, yet the industry faces the ever-increasing threat of consistently low crude oil prices, ageing infrastructure, machinery and equipment, and rising bottom-line pressures.  The need to rapidly drive down costs and increase operational efficiencies has never been more crucial.

This one day event brings together industry leaders from leading oil and gas companies in Australia, to discuss and strategise how to develop and implement cutting-edge blockchain technologies. 

Hear from 25+ leading local and global thought leaders on how blockchain technology such as smart contracts, distributed data, and public ledgers can be leveraged to transform your operational efficiency.

Attending this event will ensure that you:

Understand how to smartly develop blockchain scalable solutions for your company

Uncover exactly why blockchain is an ideal technology for oil and gas

Save time and money by being ahead of the blockchain adoption curve

Accelerate your blockchain learning journey by investigating the newest and latest technologies

Network with peers and exchange ideas in a space, which is new, uncertain and rich in opportunity

Meet the entire Australian Oil & Gas value chain from producers, operators, oil services companies and technology providers

More details can be found here: https://www.blockchain-oilandgas-australia.com/

December 3rd - 4th, 2019

This event brings together senior executives representing the entire Oil & Gas value chain in Australia, to discuss, strategise and debate the new digital disrupters in the Oil & Gas sector:  IoT & Machine Learning.  

Australia is set to become the world’s largest gas exporter by 2020, yet the industry faces the ever-increasing threat of consistently low crude oil prices, ageing infrastructure, machinery and equipment, and rising bottom-line pressures.  The need to rapidly drive down costs and increase operational efficiencies has never been more crucial.

IoT & Machine Learning in Oil & Gas Australia 2019, is the strategic meeting place to learn about how this digital transformation will revolutionise the oil and gas industry, and enable greater efficiencies and insights in reporting, analytics and large-scale business decisions.

Hear from 25+ leading local and global thought leaders on how to harness the power of intelligent technologies to respond to and navigate volatile oil prices, constantly rising bottom-line pressures and seamlessly digitise your operational capability.

More details can be found here: https://www.iotinoilandgas-australia.com/home

UPDATE: Please note that due to COVID-19, the AEO has been postponed to August 2021. Details and further announcements can be found on the website - https://earthobsforum.org/

The Advanced Earth Observation Forum 2020 to be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from the 23rd of August - 27th August, 2021.

Please see the flyer here
 

SEISMIX 2020
19th International Symposium on Deep Seismic Profiling of the Continents and their Margins
www.seismix2020.org.au
15 - 19 March 2020
Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle, Western Australia

Find a flyer for the event here.

Title : A new magnetic tensor approach to mapping magnetic rock properties and cover depth using AI

Date : 12th of November, Drinks and food from 4:30 for a 5pm start.

Presenter : David Pratt, Manager Research & Development, Tensor Research.

Location : Geoscience Australia, Scrivener Room.

Abstract

The presentation covers the use of an expert system AI method applied to magnetic gradient tensor data for mapping depth of cover and formation properties as a constrained 3D geological problem. The constraint takes advantage of an often, overlooked fact that the basement unconformity surface dominates the magnetic response measured in conventional airborne magnetic surveys. This dominance allows us to recover the rock properties and depth of the formations that are truncated by the basement unconformity. Recovery of rock property information from airborne surveys gives us the opportunity to look at old data with new eyes for the stones that were never turned.

Exploration under cover is very important to the discovery of new resources to replace existing mines as old resources are depleted. The magnetic method has evolved into an important tool for understanding the subsurface geology and location of favourable environments suitable for the emplacement of a broad range of economic minerals. A large part of the value is derived from qualitative interpretation of the spatial relationships and mapping of the inferred geology. However, much valuable information about the rock properties and cover depth is never recovered from the survey data.

Advances in the understanding of geologically constrained processing of the survey data along with rapid improvements in data quality and reduced line spacing promises to deliver higher resolution information on magnetic properties. Improved estimation of magnetic susceptibility provides guidance on the possible range of rock types associated with individual magnetic anomalies.

Magnetic remanence, often considered as inconvenient for interpretation, is an important indicator of a geological event, which in some cases may be associated with a mineralising process. We can now recover subtle magnetisation information indicative of magnetic remanence that is essentially invisible in a magnetic image. In many cases, subtle remanence events are lost in the low contrast blue areas of an image, yet these may contain clues to mineralising events.

About the speaker:

Manager Research & Development, Tensor Research. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. from the University of Sydney in Geology and Geophysics and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Newcastle. His early career started with the NSW Geological Survey, and then he worked as a geophysical consultant until 1984 when he co-founded Encom Technology. He was Managing Director from 2001 until it was acquired by Pitney Bowes Software in 2007. In 2010 he started Tensor Research with two colleagues to focus on advanced potential field research. He received the ASEG’s Grahame Sands Award in 2010 and Laric Hawkins Award in 2013.

Seminar Overview

The AusIMM Tasmania Branch, GSA, IAG and Tasmanian Government are pleased to bring you the Geoscience Forum.

The purpose of this forum is to assemble Geoscientists in one pleasant place to share their progress in exploration, mining and research.

This event is for sharing results and ideas in the geosciences and learning more about geology, in particular the geology of Tasmania.

Field Trip Friday, 6 December 2019

A field trip is planned the day after the Forum to visit historic and geological sites of interest in north east Tasmania.

Further details will be available shortly.

Accommodation

Delegates will need to book their own accommodation with the venue (Tidal Waters Resort) or at a venue of their choice.

Expressions of Interest for Guest Speakers

Please contact the Tasmanian Branch if you have any suggestions for speakers.

Sponsorship Opportunities

We welcome sponsors to assist in this event. Display tables will be available at the venue.

Contact the Tasmanian Branch to become a sponsor.

Registration details available here: https://ausimm.com/news/registrations-now-open-tasmania-branch-geoscienc...

AGS Tasmania Radar Interferometry Workshop

Registrations now open: AGS Workshop on INSAR and its Applications for Understanding Ground Movement

Radar interferometry (InSAR) is a rapidly expanding technique that offers valuable insight into ground deformation for a range of applications, particularly in the field of geotechnics. Due to advancing radar technology and increasing numbers of satellites, the quality and frequency of spaceborne radar coverage available for InSAR is continually improving. An increasing range of radar datasets are becoming freely available, further increasing application potential in geotechnical studies of various scale. However, InSAR is a technically complex technology necessitating appropriate planning, processing, and interpretation. This workshop is aimed at providing end-users and those commissioning imagery a basic understanding of the technique and its limitations in order to improve success and avoid disappointment. Those interested in conducting their own processing using commercially available software require further theoretical and applied background that is beyond the scope of this workshop.

Presenters

Dr. Bernhard Rabus is a Professor in the School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada. He has a geophysics background and is an internationally recognised expert in InSAR technology and processing with numerous academic publications to his credit, plus prior experience in government and industry roles. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in synthetic aperture radar applications, including InSAR, and undertakes a range of radar-based research activities.

Dr. Nicholas Roberts is a natural hazards geologist in the Geological Survey Branch of Mineral Resources Tasmania. He has strong interests in landslides and Quaternary geology with a range of academic publications and previous industry and government roles. Nick is also an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University and collaborates with Dr. Rabus as an end-user to apply InSAR to a range of geological applications in diverse settings, including Tasmania.

Registration now open

An expressions of interest process earlier this year indicated strong support for the workshop to the point that the course is theoretically at capacity. Registrations are now open with priority given to those who previously responded if they register within 1 month of this notice being issued. Others are welcome to apply immediately should any spaces be available once the priority period is finished.

Day 1 (12 February) – The basics:

Providing high-level understanding of InSAR and its applications for a range of ground deformation questions through key lecture topics. The session will be held in central Hobart starting at 8:30

Basic introduction to synthetic aperture radar and its differences from remote sensing techniques conventionally used in geotechnical investigations (e.g. aerial photography, optical satellite imagery, LiDAR).

Overview of various InSAR techniques, their processing chains, and their strengths and weaknesses for particular applications.

Case studies of InSAR applications for slope stability and ground subsidence including discussion of specific considerations relevant to particular project types (e.g. pit mine stability, ground subsidence, landslide mapping, urban geohazards).

Merits of outsourcing and in-house processing (e.g. what to ask for when commissioning third party providers; assessing tenders from third party providers; what skill sets and resources are required for in-house processing; what data formats to specify from your provider).

Analysing and integrating InSAR data with other spatial data sets in a GIS environment (interested parties can bring laptops with Google Earth and QGIS installed and do some basic hands-on exercises).

Day 2 (13 February) – One-day field exercise:

Relating features in the field with their representation in InSAR datasets and building on the understanding of InSAR’s utility for addressing geotechnical questions in various environments.

Field sites will include locations for which various radar data and, where possible, InSAR results are available.

Please note that the field exercise will involve short walks over uneven ground to various sites. You are strongly advised to bring warm clothing.

Day 3 (14 February) – Technicalities of InSAR:

Providing greater detail on the processing chain for various InSAR techniques as well as specifics of data selection and access.

This final, lecture-based component of the workshop targets more advanced users including those with interest in conducting their own InSAR processing. Activities and topics will include:

Defining geotechnical problems in a way your InSAR provider will understand.

Selecting suitable imagery and satellites in greater detail.

Processing methods in more detail.

Advanced quality assessment of delivered products.

Registration fees

Standard Member rates*

Day 1 – The basics of InSAR $AUD700

Day 2 – Field Exercise $AUD500

Day 3 – Technicalities of InSAR $AUD500

Note: a $250 loading on the total fee applies to those who are not AGS members

Members of the NZ Geotechnical Society will qualify for AGS member rates

Student discount negotiable on application.

For all questions regarding registration and payments please contact the Secretary. For all technical questions please contact Colin Mazengarb at colin.mazengarb@stategrowth.tas.gov.au

See details at AGS’s website ( https://australiangeomechanics.org/courses/ags-tasmania-radar-interferom...) for registration. 

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the 2019 Industry Sponsors Night on Thursday 14th November at the Coopers Alehouse. We will have presentations from some of our valued sponsors. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear about some of the projects our sponsors have undertaken over the previous year, and what they might have in store. See the image below for details.

Location: Coopers Alehouse, 316 Pulteney St, Adelaide

Time: 5:30 pm for a 6:15 pm start

Cost: Members and students free, non-members $10, includes finger food and drinks.

Please also save the date for our annual Honours Night and Christmas Party. The event will be on the evening of Thursday 12th December with more details to follow shortly, but will include talks from geophysics honours students with ample networking and socialising opportunity, and as usual free for Members and students, non-members are $10.

I hope to see you at these events, and please feel free to circulate to anyone who may be interested. Please contact me with any questions at sa-ntpresident@aseg.org.au