2016 UAA Annual Core Workshop

by Michelle Saport  |   

UAA Annual Core Workshop Rock core displays, discussion and student posters. Featured cores:

North Slope Cores: Wainwright #1, JW Dalton #1 and Badami #5 Cook Inlet Cores: Redoubt #2

Tuesday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Drop in any time and stay as long as you like. Alaska Geologic Materials Center (3651 Penland Pkwy. View a map here.)

2016-uaa-annual-core-workshopMany oil and gas companies acquire cores of rock from deep below the surface as a way to better characterize oil- and gas-bearing rocks. The rock cores are cylinders of rock about 3-4" in diameter that are taken from depths of up to about 16,000 feet below ground. Once the cylinders of rock are acquired they are cut in half so that geologists can describe the internal fabric of the rock. Stratigraphers are interested in understanding the layering of sedimentary rocks and the evolution of ancient landscapes recorded in those layers. These cores provide critical information that helps geologists understand the formation of the layers, which ultimately helps explain why some rocks contain oil and others do not.

The UAA Annual Core Workshop will feature presentations by UAA students, largely junior-level undergraduates who have spent the last three weeks describing the rock core as part of their Stratigraphy course (a core requirement of the Geology B.S. at UAA). They will present their rock descriptions, interpretations and final geologic model in a professional poster format with cores out on display. The students, and their professor, Jennifer Aschoff, will be available to explain the features in the rock core and provide insight into the work that geologists do. The general public may come at any time and stay as long as they like. K-12 groups are encouraged to attend, but they should schedule a time to visit if the group is larger than 10 students.

This year we have an interesting array of rock cores from oil/gas fields in Cook Inlet and the North Slope. Several cores are stained with naturally occurring oil, and a wide range of lithologies is represented: sandstone, shale, coal, limestone and dolostone.

In addition to the general public, local professional geologists from the USGS, ConocoPhillips, Glacier Oil and UAA judge the student posters and engage students in technical discussions. By integrating professional geologists and non-geologists, students can hone their communication skills for a broad audience.

For questions or additional information, please contact Jennifer Aschoff, professor of geological sciences, at jaschoff@alaska.edu or (907) 786-1442.

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