Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists ABN 71 000 876 040 ISSN 1443-2471 April 2005 Issue No.115 GEOPHYSICAL GGeophysicseophysics aatt NNewew ggeomagneticeomagnetic ffieldield ANNIVERSARIES NNewmontewmont – a hhistoryistory mmodelsodels rreleasedeleased A ggeophysicisteophysicist ooff iinnovationnnovation andand page 29 aandnd ssomeome ccamelsamels ddevelopmentevelopment page 16 page 19 CONTENTS ADVERTISERS 2 President's Piece Alpha GeoInstruments . 31 4 Conferences Auslog . 21 - AIP's International Year of Physics Baigent . 15 - ASEG and Indigenous Summer School Daishsat Pty Ltd . 5 ElectroMagnetic Imaging Technology . OBC 6 Calendar of Events Flagstaff GeoConsultants Pty Ltd . 3 Fugro Instruments . 5 7 Preview Information Geoimage Pty Ltd . 2, 7 Geophysical Software Solutions . 4 8 People Grant Geophysical Inc. (USA) . 30 - ASEG Officers - New Corporate Members Leading Edge Geophysics . 7 Outer-Rim Exploration Services . 10 10 Branch News Professional Investment Services . 3 Solo Geophysics . 31 11 Web Waves Systems Exploration (NSW) Pty Ltd . 2 - Freeware/Shareware for Geoscientists UTS Geophysics . 8 Zonge Engineering . 9 13 Canberra Observed - Some interesting inquiries 2005 Corporate Plus Members 14 Research Notes Velseis Pty Ltd - New global data sets from the internet 2005 Corporate Members 16 Geophysical History Beach Petroleum NL - A geophysicist and his camels BHP Billiton Minerals Exploration - Geophysics at Newmont Chevron Australia Pty Ltd Earth Resource Mapping Encom Technology Pty Ltd 22 Company Profile Eni - Velseis Fugro Airborne Surveys Geosoft Australia Pty Ltd 23 Progress Report on Geothermal Energy Haines Surveys Pty Ltd Exploration in SA Newmont Exploration Ltd Oil Search Ltd Origin Energy Resources Ltd 27 Sensing and modelling electric fields Outer-Rim Exploration Services Pty Ltd associated with high frequency excitation Petrosys Pty Ltd of plant roots PGS Australia Pty Ltd Primary Industries & Resources South Australia 29 New geomagnetic field models released Professional Investment Services Pty Ltd Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Ltd 31 Geophysics in the Surveys Santos Ltd Seismic Asia Pacific Pty Ltd 36 Industry News Veritas DGC WesternGeco WMC Resources Ltd 40 Book Review Woodside Energy Ltd - Physical Properties of Rocks: Fundamentals and Zonge Engineering & Research Organisation Principles of Petrophysics APRIL 2005 Preview 1 PRESIDENT'S PIECE upcoming Annual General Meeting, where Australian geoscientists, of whom thirteen are a similar summary of the past year will be ASEG members, contributed to refining the presented and new officers elected. translated English text and proposing technical suggestions. Inter-society Cooperation In a major advancement in publication ASEG was represented this year at meetings of modernisation, ASEG this year moved closer the European Association of Geoscientists and to full electronic publication and distribution of Engineers (EAGE), the SEG of Japan (SEGJ), its technical journal, Exploration Geophysics, the South African Geophysical Association with the release of a complete collection of past (SAGA), the SEG and the geological SEG. issues - from Volume 1 (1970) to Volume 34 Agreements of cooperation were signed (2003) — as a two-DVD set, a Herculean this year with EAGE and SAGA. Similar task led by the outstanding efforts of David agreements with the Korean SEG (KSEG) Howard and the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS) will be completed Work continues toward the goal of full ASEG 2004: Annus Plenus and signed in the coming months. electronic publication and online distribution of Exploration Geophysics and Preview. Three How many articles have been written in journals Farther afield, ASEG this past year provided key issues are being addressed: accessibility, such as this about “What this organisation underwriting support of the Australian Institute cost and methodology. means to you”? In this, my ultimate President’s of Physics (AIP) 16th National Congress 2005 Piece, I considered a similar banal theme about in February, and provided endorsement for Education which to write, to convince ASEG members the 12th Annual Cultural Heritage and Native that their organisation is a worthwhile one and Title Conference 2005 being held in Perth The 2004 Distinguished Instructors Short that their membership adds value to them in a this month. Course (DISC), featuring Paul Weimers demonstrable way. Bored with this approach addressing Petroleum Systems of Deepwater and about to give up, I suddenly realised that Publications Settings was held in Perth, and as a symposium the benefit of belonging to a multidisciplinary in conjunction with the 2004 ASEG-PESA geophysical society like the ASEG was staring EG and Preview were published this year Conference and Exhibition in August in me in the face, and it looks like this: in the usual way, informing the geophysical Sydney. Attendance levels approached 100, a community and attracting the high quality number we hope to improve upon in 2005 with In Australia, one of the hottest topics articles the ASEG membership have come to the reprise of the DISC program. in petroleum geophysics is seafloor expect. Publications chair Terry Crabb and electromagnetics and one of the hottest topics editors David Denham and Lindsay Thomas A workshop entitled Risk Assessment in in mining geophysics is high resolution have worked tirelessly to produce and distribute prospect evaluation from a geophysical seismic. the journals, and my appreciation to them viewpoint was held in Perth in July, built knows no bounds. around the SEG 2004 Spring Distinguished There. It’s said, and I could stop there. The value Lecturer, Bill Abriel and his talk entitled Earth of an organisation in which diverse specialists ASEG has worked with SEG Japan in their Model Complexity and Risk Description in can trade expertise for the good of all needs publication of the Manual of Geophysical Resource Exploration and Development. A little further elaboration. Consequently, I need Surveys for Engineering and Environmental series of excellent talks from a number of not proselytise. But now that I have the floor Application. This is a publication that industry speakers, and insightful commentary I won’t pass up the opportunity to recap the SEGJ published in Japan in 2001 and was from a number of participants resulted in a past year’s accomplishments in advance of the subsequently translated into English. Fifteen very successful workshop. GEOIMAGE ROCK PROPERTIES SPECIALISTS IN IMAGE PROCESSING MASS - Density, Porosity, Permeability MAGNETIC - Susceptibility, Remanence REMOTE SENSING AND GEOPHYSICAL ELECTRICAL - Resistivity, IP Effect APPLICATIONS ELECTROMAGNETIC - Conductivity DIELECTRIC - Permittivity, Attenuation Angus McCoy SEISMIC - P, S Wave Velocities THERMAL - Diffusivity, Conductivity MECHANICAL - Rock Strength Suite 4, First Floor, CML Building, 59 Smith Street, Darwin NT, 0800 SYSTEMS EXPLORATION (NSW) PTY LTD G.P.O Box 1569, Darwin NT, 0801 Contact - Don Emerson Geophysical Consultant Email: [email protected] Phone: (02) 4579 1183 Fax: (02) 4579 1290 WWW: www.geoimage.com.au Tel: (08) 8941 3677 Fax: (08) 8941 3699 (Box 6001, Dural Delivery Centre, NSW 2158) email: [email protected] 2 Preview APRIL 2005 PRESIDENT'S PIECE The EAGE Distinguished Lecturer this year an afternoon with 22 highly motivated year whom we hope will feel welcome for years was Paolo Dell’Aversana. His lecture was 11 and 12 Indigenous students selected from to come. entitled Time-depth processing of global offset across Australia. The day was satisfying for data: a new perspective for seismic imaging all concerned, but the success will ultimately ASEG organisation in thrust belts. He was the second keynote be measured by how many of these students speaker in an ASEG Conference session called were impressed enough on the day to study One of the most profound changes to the ASEG Innovative Seismic Methods, following Peter geophysics at a tertiary level. organisation in the past year was the move to Duncan, SEG President, with his talk Passive a new secretariat. CASM, based in Perth, has seismic: when, where and why. Conference taken on the behind-the-scenes duties that keep the machinery of ASEG ticking over. ASEG sponsored the development of the short The 17th Annual ASEG Conference and The few glitches caused by the changeover are course Information from Geospatial Data for Exhibition in Sydney was an unqualified almost all ironed out. We welcome CASM to Natural Resource Management. The three day success. With a budget of more than $1 our organisation. course, aimed at giving scientists working million, the August 2004 Conference attracted in landcare a better understanding of how almost 600 delegates, while exhibitors filled 94 The new ASEG constitution approved at the geophysics can help them, was assembled booths. Attendees from 23 countries were able last AGM in March 2004 is now in force, primarily through the efforts of Greg Street. to benefit from four simultaneous technical and officially registered with ASIC. The new The course has been run twice in Perth and sessions over four days. The Conference constitution deals with everyday rules of the once in Orange, NSW, and is available for Committee, chaired by Barry Smith and Tim society, and ensures that the organisation future sessions. Pippett, is to be heartily congratulated. complies with applicable legislation. Part of that compliance is related to financial control The ASEG Research Foundation was active