Geology and Natural Resources of the Black Hills and Adjoining Basins in Rapid City, South Dakota!
On behalf of the organizing committee, it is with great pleasure that I announce the American Institute of Professional Geologist’s 49th Annual Meeting, Geology and Natural Resources of the Black Hills and Adjoining Basins. The meeting is being co-sponsored by the South Dakota Section of AIPG. This year, the AIPG annual meeting is being held in conjunction with the 2012 New Horizons
in Oil and Gas Conference, which brings together petroleum geologists and engineers from across the United States who are engaged in developing technology to tap unexplored and underexplored hydrocarbon resources. Holding these annual meetings in conjunction provides enhanced opportunities to AIPG members to learn through the technical sessions, short course, and field trips.
The Black Hills are a Laramide domal uplift that exposes Proterozoic crystalline rocks in the center of the uplift that were intruded into a complexly folded metasedimentary sequence. Paleozoic and younger strata dip away from the crystalline core forming a ring-like structure. Tertiary strata onlap onto the dipping beds around the periphery of the uplift. This geologic history has produced a unique succession of rocks from Proterozoic to modern deposits that represent all stratigraphic ages except Silurian. The Black Hills serve as type section for many of the hydrocarbonbearing strata in the surrounding basins and has been widely studied. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience this geological wonderland for yourself.
Technical sessions: are being offered in twelve areas spanning a breadth of geologic topics and include:
- Sedimentation and Stratigraphy
- Hydrology
- Mineralogy and Petrology
- Mining and Economic Geology
- Energy
- Engineering Geology
- Environmental Geology
- Paleontology/Archeology
- Structural Geology, Tectonics
- Planetary Geology/Space
- Climate Change
- Special Topics
Actual sessions will be dependent upon the abstracts received in these topic areas. I encourage you to strongly consider submitting an abstract for this meeting along your lines of expertise.
Field trips: are planned to occur both pre- and post-meeting. These trips will be led by local experts and will provide opportunity for you to see and learn about the unique and diverse geology that is the Black Hills. Pre-meeting trips will be on Sunday, September 23rd and include:
- Geology and Paleontology of the White River Badlands, South Dakota
- Precambrian Geology and Mineralogy of Classic Pegmatite Localities in the Black Hills
- Paleofloods and Hydrogeology of the Black Hills: 40th Anniversary of the 1972 Rapid City Flood
- Devil’s Tower and Other Tertiary Igneous Intrusions in the Northern Black Hills
Post-meeting field trips will run on Wednesday, September 26th and include:
- Gold Mineralization in the Black Hills
- Petroleum Reservoir Rocks and Classic Exposures of the Northern Black Hills
- Reclamation at Active and Closed Large-Scale Gold Mines in the Black Hills
- Engineering Geology Related to Development
Short course: entitled Natural Fractures in Hydrocarbon Reservoirs is planned as part of the Oil and Gas Conference. Mr. Scott Cooper (FractureStudies LLC and Cooper Geological Consulting LLC) will facilitate the short course. A full description
will be available in the conference advertisement.
The conference center has been established at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Rapid City. This venue provides easy access to dining and shopping. Rapid City is located on the eastern flank of the Black Hills and is within easy driving distances of many unique geologic sites in the region.
Maps and various site locations will be available at the conference center to aid you in planning short to longer duration
self-guided field trips. Come early, or stay later and enjoy the uniqueness of the Black Hills in Autumn.
The Rapid City regional Airport is located 5 miles east of Rapid City and has shuttle service to the Conference Center. Car rentals are also available from several vendors at the airport. Visit the airport website for additional details: http://www.rcgov.org/Airport/.
The conference organizing committee consists of Drs. Larry Stetler (Immediate past-president AIPG SD Section) professor of geological engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) and Foster Sawyer (National AIPG Secretary, assistant professor of geological engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) and Mr. Thomas Durkin (President AIPG SD Section, Deputy Director of NASA South Dakota Space Grant Consortium). The committee would also like to recognize Cathy Duran, Wendy Davidson, and the rest of the AIPG Headquarters staff for their time and effort in arranging the conference venue and scheduling.
I hope you will become a participant in the 2012 AIPG Annual Meeting in September. Happy travels and I look forward to seeing you at the conference!
Larry D. Stetler, PhD, CPG-10955
Immediate Past-President
South Dakota Section of AIPG
General Co-chairperson
AIPG 2012 Annual Meeting
