SEG Annual Research Articles

Conference Preview: 2021 Summit on Drone Geophysics set for 2 to 5 November

Postconvention workshops focused on drones, unmanned airborne systems (UASs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have occurred previously at the SEG Annual Meeting. In 2017, the SEG Near-Surface Geophysics Technical Section conducted the first such event called Drones Applied to Geophysical Mapping. This first event ushered in the topic for future Annual Meetings. In 2018, the postconvention event was called Advances in Unmanned Airborne Systems Geophysics. Both events were hugely successful and helped set the stage for the standalone reoccurring virtual Summit on Drone Geophysics.

Annual Meeting Update

The SEG Annual Meeting is rapidly approaching (11–16 October), and we are looking forward to providing a top-notch online event experience. In this article, we will discuss the 2020 Technical Program's focus as defined by the program's content, challenges, and resulting improvements, and we will briefly discuss the new virtual experience, which has been introduced in response to the unprecedented environment that has affected everyone around the globe.

Annual Meeting Update

In addition to the substantial technical program provided during the SEG Annual Meeting, there are also special sessions designed to bring focus to important and relevant topics of interest to attendees. A global technical session this year will highlight Africa while the Business of Applied Geophysics (BAGS) plenary sessions will highlight several additional topics of interest. We believe these special sessions fit the needs and interests of many, and we look forward to seeing you 11–16 October in Houston.

Student Zone

The 2019 SEG Annual Meeting featured a variety of student activities, such as the SEG/ExxonMobil Student Education Program and the SEG/Chevron Student Leadership Symposium (SLS). As president of the State University of Rio de Janeiro Geophysical Society (an SEG student chapter), I was invited to participate in SLS to learn more about leadership and communication.

Honors and Awards

One of SEG's great traditions is the special recognition of individuals and organizations for their contributions to geophysics and to the Society. The following individuals and groups were honored during a ceremony at the 2019 SEG Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Their names, as well as the names of past awardees, are listed at https://seg.org/about-seg/governance/honors-and-awards .

Geophysics Bright Spots

Volunteers are busy putting together the technical program for the SEG Annual Meeting in San Antonio. As members of the SEG Research Committee, Ray Abma and I are organizing the “Recent advances and the road ahead” special session. We invited several TLE special section editors to present hot topics. In addition, we invited a few authors of papers nominated by the editors of this column to present their cutting-edge research. I think it will be an interesting mix. The session will focus on seismic technology, and I wish we had more room for some of the great nonseismic innovative work. I am always impressed with the diversity and quality of the Geophysics papers nominated for this column, like the ones below.

Geophysics Bright Spots

SEG members can be proud of the journal Geophysics, which continues to have a high impact factor. At the SEG Annual Meeting in Anaheim, editor Valentina Socco reported an ever-increasing number of submissions to Geophysics. In the last 12 months, there were 867 submissions with an acceptance rate of 53%. Because of the high volume and the extra work on the editors, the turnaround time to first decision has increased somewhat to 58 days. Socco personally looks at every paper that is recommended for acceptance, and the team of editors works to ensure high-quality papers and a constructive review process. Starting in January 2018, the submission and review process was made double-blind to reduce bias, and the system has worked smoothly.

2018 SEG Annual Meeting to feature Business of Applied Geophysics plenary sessions

This year, SEG is instituting a series of plenary sessions from industry experts focused on the business of applied geophysics (BAG). Sessions will be held in conjunction with the 2018 International Exposition and 88th Annual Meeting, 14–19 October in Anaheim, California. The BAG series is intended to highlight the business importance of geophysics in the petroleum industry to managers, geologists, engineers, and working geophysicists.

Bigger in Texas

“Everything is bigger in Texas,” as the saying goes, and that certainly holds true for SEG's International Exposition and 87th Annual Meeting, which will take place 24–29 September at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. This year's Annual Meeting will feature an expansive exposition hall showcasing state-of-the-art products, technologies, and services; a full slate of continuing education courses and postconvention workshops; and the largest Technical Program in SEG Annual Meeting history.

Introduction to special section: Computer-assisted seismic interpretation methods

In the call for papers for this special section, we looked back to 1993 when a workshop at the SEG Annual Meeting explored the future of seismic interpretation. Much like today, it was a time of cheap oil and significant corporate downsizing. The industry was also in the midst of a dramatic

Record technical program highlights SEG's 2016 Annual Meeting

An industry downturn could not dampen the spirit of the geosciences community as 5791 people traveled from 86 different countries to attend SEG's International Exposition and 86th Annual Meeting, held 16–21 October 2016 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2016 SEG Annual Meeting built upon several successful initiatives from the previous year's event in New Orleans, Louisiana, to create an unforgettable six-day experience.

SEG Annual Meeting, Dallas, October 2016

SEG Annual Meeting, Dallas, October 2016

From the Other Side

I have sad news centering not on my ignorance but on my ability to delay chores. After seven days in Dallas at the SEG Annual Meeting, I returned home to find my faithful desktop computer acting strangely. Well, no big deal. I called a technician to fix the problem. (Dumb.) This was an online session in which the technician “asks” if it is OK to take over my computer. (Dumb.) I gave him/her the go-ahead, and, after several hours, I was told we would need to reset the computer to factory settings. That seemed reasonable. (Dumber.) Because of these dumb moves, I have purchased a new computer and wonder where all my data and applications have gone. Wouldn't that make a grown man (or woman) cry?

Bylaws

The SEG Board of Directors has endorsed three sets of proposed changes to SEG Bylaws. Chief among them is a proposal to merge Active Member and Associate Member classifications into one Member classification. Another indicates an adjustment to the timing of creation and SEG Council approval of the SEG Annual Report to reflect the Society's recent change from a July-to-June fiscal year to a calendar fiscal year. A third calls for an adjustment related to composition of the SEG Honors and Awards Committee.

SLS students build lifelong professional networks

Fifty students from 23 different countries gathered 17–18 October 2015 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, for an educational and motivational weekend at the SEG/Chevron Student Leadership Symposium (SLS). Sponsored by Chevron, this annual SEG short course brings student leaders together for the weekend preceding the SEG Annual Meeting and International Exposition by providing travel, lodging, and registration.

2015 SEG Near-Surface Annual Meeting recap

The SEG Near-Surface Technical Section (NSTS) had many great events this year at the SEG Annual Meeting. John Lane, SEG NSTS chair, started the week off by attending the SEG Council Meeting and was able to experience the procedural aspects of the SEG Council. The official kickoff for near-surface geophysics was a poster session on Monday, which included a good group of students and young professionals involved in both presentations and judging. There were great discussions and excellent posters.

Bylaws

Each SEG district would elect two district representatives, regardless of member population, under one of five sets of Bylaws changes the SEG Council will consider at its 18 October meeting in New Orleans during the SEG Annual Meeting.

Full Spectrum

Sally Zinke is an outstanding geophysicist who has left an indelible mark on SEG with her many achievements. Most notably, she is the only woman to date who has served as President of our Society. Zinke received a B.S. in geology and geophysics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, an M.S. in geophysics from Pennsylvania State University, and midway through her career completed the executive M.B.A. program at the University of Denver with an emphasis in finance. She has worked for a major oil company, Mobil Oil; a large independent, PanCanadian Petroleum; was a faculty member at the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology; worked as a consultant on many exploration-related projects; and most recently was director of exploration/director of new ventures for Ultra Petroleum. Throughout that time, she has been a volunteer in her local SEG section, the Denver Geophysical Society, and has served on numerous SEG committees and several Executive Committees. While President in 2000–2001, Zinke, along with her Executive Committee, developed a Strategic Plan to take SEG into the 21st century. She also ably handled the 9/11 interruption of the SEG Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Through all of this, Zinke was a single mom, and as she claims, “My greatest success is my 22-year old daughter — I built an intelligent, strong, yet compassionate woman.”

Herron: Build it and they will come

This SEG Wiki interview, the third in the series, features Donald Herron, author of two books in the SEG Geophysical Monographs Series, The Misadventures of Interpreter Sam and First Steps in Seismic Interpretation. Herron joins me, Isaac Farley, SEG digital publications manager, to discuss articles he has published recently in the SEG Wiki and application of the wiki for interpreters. In the coming months, look for wiki interviews with Karl Schleicher and John W. Stockwell Jr., filmed in October 2014 during the SEG Annual Meeting. [Figure: see text]

SEG continues video expansion on YouTube

At just over one year old, the SEG channel on YouTube has enjoyed a good deal of growth both in video content and in viewership. The SEG YouTube channel, which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/segeophysicists , first went online in October 2013. The channel currently contains video content about SEG programs and initiatives, webinars, interviews with industry leaders, archival video content recorded at SEG Annual Meetings, and practitioner insight and instruction.