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Hello Don't miss these HGS events in September! Aside from some great lunch and dinner meetings (see below), we have these two special events . . .  ...

The Graying of Petroleum Historians Jeff Spencer (jspencer@blackpoolenergy.com) In 2009, the petroleum industry will celebrate the 150th anniversary ofColonel Drakes’s oil discovery near Titusville, Pennsylvania — the event traditionally regarded as the start of the industry in the United States. People interested in the history of the oil age are organizing a number of events commemorating this sesquicentennial anniversary. One of these events was the International Oil Symposium ...

Volunteers are needed to staff the HGS Career Booth at the Houston Gem and Mineral Show, September 26-28. Help introduce thousands of school kids to exciting careers in the geosciences.

When a Fault System Re-Awakens Observations on China’s Longmenshan Thrust Belt When a Fault System Re-Awakens, ICGR - Institute for Creative Geology Research Dr. Franz L. Kessler, ICGR - Institute for Creative Geology Research On May 12, 2008, China’s most powerful earthquate in 58 years occurred along the Longmenshan Thrust Belt in Sichuan Province. The 7.9-magnitude earthquake caused widespread destruction and killed more than 69,000 people. The Longmenshan Thrust Belt constitutes ...

Download September 2008 Bulletin

The Wise Report Henry M. Wise, P.G. August 15, 2008 From the TCEQ: The TCEQ is seeking volunteers from environmental interest and local government groups, consultants and environmental managers to participate in two staff-led subcommittees developing guidance for the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) rule with input from the TRRP Steering Committee. The planned documents will address representative concentrations for ecological exposure (TRRP-15E) and human exposure (TRRP-15H). The ...

Geologic Website of the Month www.usgs.gov Michael Forlenza, PG The Geologic Website of the Month is a new Bulletin feature. Over the next several issues, this feature will present a brief tour of selected websites of interest to geologists. Some of the selected websites will be straightforward sources of data, information, and mapping resources while others will be a pleasant or interesting diversion related to the earth or planetary sciences. The initial ...

New Editor, New Feature, and The Price of Energy Michael Forlenza, PG The September Bulletin kicks off the 2008 – 2009 year for the Houston Geological Society. As the new editor of the Bulletin, I plan to continue to provide our members with the quality publication that previous editors have delivered. I hope that you look forward to receiving the Bulletin and take some time to read through the information on the upcoming activities and meetings. September will start off an ...

HGS Looks Forward to a Busy Year We are at the start of another HGS year, and what a year it will be! Stepping into my new role as president, I am amazed at the scope of the events we do, and honored to be walking in the footsteps of so many capable presidents that have come before me. This will be a year of abundant technical information. It seems to me that the pace of information keeps getting a little quicker, and I’m glad to be able to attend symposia that sum it all up and keep me ...

The International Year of Planet Earth is an initiative founded by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and 38 partner organizations including NASA, the AAPG and GSA. There are now 70 National Committees. It was designed to foster outreach and research activities pertaining to Earth Science and will run from 2007 through 2009. Contributions such as funding of ...

The Wise Report Henry M. Wise, P.G. July 19, 2008 The TCEQ has posted their proposed agenda for their August 6, 2008 meeting. Of isterest is their item #78, Docket No. 2008-0863-RUL. They will be considering publication of, and hearing on, proposed amendments to 30 TAC Chapter 336, Radioactive Substance Rules, Sections 336.1, 336.101, 336.103, 336.105, 336.107, 336.1105, 336.1109, 336.1113, 336.1125, and 336.1235; proposed new Sections 336.114, 336.208, 336.210, 336.1301, 336.1303, ...

The 25th Annual HGS Skeet Shoot took place at the Greater Houston Gun Club in Missouri City on June 28, 2008. The event drew 164 shooters, with two perfect scores from Tim McGinty and Dennis Moore, from Corpus Christi. Congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks to the many generous sponsors of this popular event.

Hello [firstname], To reduce money-handling and speed check-in at the HGS General Lunch and General Dinner meetings, ...

The Wise Report Henry M. Wise, P.G. June 29, 2008 Tom Stare, with Eagle Construction & Environmental Services, L.P., sent me the following information on new regulationss for high-visibility vests for emergency responders. If you're working on or near roads you may want to follow these guidelines as well. On November 24 2008, a new federal regulation (23 CFR 634) goes into effect mandating that anyone working in the right-of-way of a federal-aid highway must be wearing ...

Tarek Ghazi takes over as HGS Web Manager effective June 25, 2008. Please welcome him.

As a member of HGS you have a benefit you may not be aware of at this time.  ...

Jim Reilly, NASA astronaut, geologist was the feature presenter at Guest Night 2008 in the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Here are the slides he presented.

The Wise Report Henry M. Wise, P.G. June 15, 2008 The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) met on June 6, 2006. The video of the meeting is available at: http://www.texasadmin.com/cgi-bin/txgeo.cgi. The highlights of the meeting were: The TBPG has a list server to inform people of the latest news and events concerning the agency. Over 3,200 licensees currently have e-mail addresses on file with the Board and they will automatically be included on the e-mail ...

Sandy depositional environments in the Bossier Shale (a mud-dominated system) of the East Texas basin range from fluvial to deep water. Their occurrence is controlled by a combination of climate and sea level change. Sequence/seismic stratigraphic analysis of well logs and 2-D seismic lines from the East Texas basin demonstrates that the Bossier Shale can be subdivided into two sequences separated by a major sequence boundary (SB-2). Bossier Shale is also bracketed by a basal (SB-1) ...

by Mike Cline, Consulting Geophysicist, T/X Resources This is Part One of an expanded article describing two alternative seismic fault interpretation techniques. These were summarized in my “Rocks-2-Digits” web log; however, I also thought that they might be of interest to those who may not have seen them already. Part Two, which will be published next month, will show how shaded relief maps can be used to delineate very small faults. Technique #1—Horizontal Fault Interpretation As ...