Seismic Soundoff

Since episode 72, host Andrew Geary has been asking his guests one question - "What is one piece of advice you would offer someone that would like to succeed in this field?" To celebrate 100 episodes of Seismic Soundoff, Andrew has selected the top 10 responses. In reviewing the responses, common themes repeated throughout. These themes included keeping an open mind and staying flexible. Another c...

Dr. Lucy MacGregor highlights her 2021 Distinguished Lecturer talk, "Multi-physics analysis: extracting the most from diverse datasets." In this incisive conversation, Lucy shows how combining datasets can compensate for weaknesses in each, how utilizing gravity data improves the seismic image, the biggest obstacle in utilizing datasets, and more. This episode will get you excited to start working...

Dr. Saleh A. Al-Dossary highlights his 2020 Honorary Lecturer tour, "Improving reservoir characterization using four innovative seismic technologies." In this intriguing conversation, Saleh explores four new techniques to extract new geologic information from seismic data and to enhance the understanding of geologic features in a reservoir. This episode will inform you of the latest technology wit...

Andrea Crook, President of OptiSeis Solutions Ltd., joins the podcast to discuss how to take full advantage of online learning and continuing education. Andrea shares the learning resources supporting her professional development, the activities she considers essential for all geophysicists, how her company has adjusted during the pandemic, and the future of geophysical software. This is a helpful...

SEG President-Elect Anna Shaughnessy joins the podcast to highlight her 2020 Honorary Lecturer tour, "Developing a successful career in geophysics today." In this timely discussion, Anna shares her insights on navigating your career in a transitional industry, how to stay relevant no matter your discipline, actions to take to set up for a successful career, and offers the key to choosing your care...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Ariel Lellouch and Tieyuan Zhu on distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), the featured special section in November's The Leading Edge. Ariel and Tieyuan highlight new developments in algorithms impacting microseismic, new findings for hydraulic fracturing, and discuss their disagreement for the current rate the geophysics industry is adopting and utilizin...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Mehdi Aharchaou on machine learning and AI, the featured special section in October's The Leading Edge. Mehdi shares his expertise in machine learning as we explore the potential and limitations of this cutting edge research. Mehdi highlights how these papers can improve the industry and why he views explainable AI and machine learning as the key to t...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with author Vladimir Grechka on his latest book, Anisotropy and Microseismics: Theory and Practice. Vladimir highlights why anisotropy and microseismics are a great pairing, how the shift from P-waves to shear waves changed the industry, and reflects on what we will find in seismology books in the next decade. Each chapter of the book starts with a questio...

In this episode, the keynote address and SEG president's State of the Society address from the Opening Session at the 90th Annual Meeting hosted virtually for the first time in its history. First, the SEG President Rick Miller presents the State of the Society address, summarizing the year in applied geophysics and what to expect in 2021 at the Society and in the industry. Then Rick is followed by...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Dr. Wafik Beydoun, the Chair of the Annual Meeting Steering Committee, to discuss SEG20. Wafik and Andrew discuss what to expect during the all-virtual event, the unique benefits and value of the virtual setting, highlights of the technical sessions, and how networking will be as strong as any SEG. Visit https://seg.org/am to register for SEG20 today!...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with SEG President Rick Miller to celebrate SEG's 90th birthday. Rick reflects on the milestones of the organization, the role of professional societies in 2020, how the digital transformation has impacted the field, and his future vision for applied geophysics. For long-time members and those just getting started in the science, this episode will trace ho...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Steve Sloan on smart city geophysics, the featured special section in September's The Leading Edge. Steve highlights the wide array of papers highlighting the tools and techniques used to achieve the best results in less than ideal environments. We discuss the importance of geophysics in urban settings, how geophysics is uniquely suited to work in the...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Roberto Fainstein on Southeast Asia, the featured special section in August's The Leading Edge. Roberto showcases his vast knowledge of this region of the world while highlighting the geological and geophysical historical developments in this region. Through the papers in this special section, he also outlines the fascinating research path ahead. If y...

Staying up to date on the latest techniques and technology is a key part of being a geophysicist. In this episode, Patricia de Lugão provides a helpful analysis of the benefits and uses of magnetotellurics (MT), based on her upcoming 2020 Honorary Lecturer (Latin America) tour called "Environment-friendly exploration using magnetotellurics." Patricia highlights the role of MT in geophysics and min...

Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) represent two of the trendiest and important topics in geophysics right now. In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Aria Abubakar on his 2020 SEG-AAPG Distinguished Lecturer tour on the "Potential and challenges of applying artificial intelligence and machine-learning methods for geoscience." This conversation explores machine learning and...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with David Johnston on reservoir monitoring, the featured special section in July's The Leading Edge. This conversation covers a great deal of valuable information in a short time. David shares why reservoir monitoring is the specialization for generalists, the future and value of carbon sequestration, and why he believes there is another Copernican Revolu...

Getting involved in your professional association is the key to unlocking its power. And volunteering is a great way to get started. At SEG, committees serve this vital role of connecting members to the society, as well as to each other. In this conversation with Andrew Geary, Dr. Sergio Chávez-Pérez, Chair of the Research Committee, discusses what the committee does, how to get involved, and how...

On June 5, 2020, Hendratta Ali released the "Call for a Robust Anti-Racism Plan for The Geosciences" petition. In the petition, Dr. Ali and her collaborators outline 15 action steps for societies, organizations, companies, and individuals to take to strive toward anti-racism and equity. In this conversation with Andrew Geary, Dr. Ali discusses how the petition originated, what it means for a profe...

Seismic Soundoff is excited to welcome back Kurt Marfurt. Kurt joined the podcast for our second-ever episode that still remains one of the most popular episodes. For this conversation, Kurt highlights the present state of education and training in geophysics, including the value and benefits of virtual education. He shares his thoughts on the most important area of focus for geophysicists right n...

How can couples best navigate dual careers? How do you balance work-life throughout a career? How can dual-career couples benefit companies? Eve Sprunt answers these questions and shows how management and individuals alike can truly activate the power of dual-career couples. This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on career development, workplace bullying, how professional societies can p...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with Sarah Morton Rupert, lead author on "Time-lapse monitoring of stress-field variations within the Lower Permian shales in Kansas" in May's The Leading Edge. This conversation is a great primer on the value of near-surface geophysics to scientists and the public. Whether building a house, building a bridge, or remediating an old salt mine, Sarah provide...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary speaks with biogeophysics pioneer Estella Atekwana. Their conversation highlights Estella's upcoming virtual course called "Biogeophysics: Exploring Earth’s subsurface biosphere using geophysical approaches." Estella explains how geophysical tools helped develop biogeophysics, why microorganisms play such a key role on the Earth, how her research applies to the s...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary showcases Johan Robertsson's upcoming virtual course on generalized sampling and gradiometry. Johan spotlights the importance of mathematician Harry Nyquist to geophysics, explains the increased interest in rotational seismology, what geophysicists can learn from seismic data acquisition on Mars, and shares important advice for anyone seeking to succeed in geophy...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary highlights Sid Misra's course on Machine Learning Techniques for Engineering and Characterization. Sid provides a great background on machine learning and the value it brings to geophysics, why the coding language Python is essential (and easy-to-learn), one action you can take today to succeed in the field, and the advantages of virtual courses over in-person ev...

In this episode, host Andrew Geary highlights Sergey Fomel's Distinguished Lecturer tour, "Automating seismic data analysis and interpretation." Sergey and Andrew dive deep into automatic picking, why humans will always be essential to data analysis and interpretation, the value of this lecture for someone not familiar with programming, and one tip to help anyone succeed as a geophysicist. Note: S...