INRTU Geological Workshop: Discussions, Field Tests and Archaeology at the Olkhon Area
X All-Russian Scientific and Practical Workshop dedicated to the modern methods of prospecting, surveying and preserving subsurface resources was held at the Chernorud base of practices. Participants from Russia, Africa and Kyrgyzstan shared their experience in geology and geophysics, conducted field tests and got acquainted with the Olkhon area archaeology. The project was managed by INRTU Siberian School of Geosciences (SSG).
The event was held on May 20-26 and was dedicated to the memory of Geliy Vakhromeev and Yuri Davydenko, who had worked at INRTU for many years. The latter had also significantly contributed to the workshop's development.
According to SSG staff member Svetlana Khristova, about 60 scientists and business community representatives from Irkutsk, Moscow and Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Mirny, Bryansk, and Bishkek showed interest in the workshop. Over 30 reports were presented. Experimental and methodological work and equipment demonstration from INRTU Siberian School of Geosciences, SIGMA-GEO, Tensor-M, Al Terra, TSIKL GEO also took place.
Besides, the event’s itinerary included a field trip around the Olkhon area guided by Sergey Snopkov, a geologist and SSG staff member. The researcher showed the participants the archaeological sites in the Sarma River valley and those near the Kurma area. The organizers and participants of the Workshop were grateful to Yuri Agafonov of SIGMA-GEO for providing transport and material support.
"It was a high-level, vibrant and exciting event - exactly at the level that used to be set by Yuri Davydenko," said Svetlana Khristova.Valeria Zadorozhnaya, a visiting professor from South Africa, spoke at the Workshop. She devoted her report to the types of polarization effects occurring in rocks and their manifestations in geophysical methods. The Professor, together with a third-year student of the Siberian School of Geosciences, also made a presentation. The project deals with "floating" plane-based data analysis for EMS-IP (electromagnetic sensing and induced polarization technology). Ilya and Valeria Zadorozhnaya will continue their research in September 2024 during their grant trip to Japan.
Among the participants was the Novosibirsk TSIKL GEO team. The company has a nearly 30-year experience in electromagnetics. The company also specializes in the development and production of equipment for TEM subsoil surveys (near-field transient electromagnetic sounding). This method is widely implemented in Russia and abroad. Alexander Zakharkin, TSIKL GEO Chief Geophysicist, spoke on magnetic viscosity effect on TEM data.
Pavel Sekachev, Director of TSIKL GEO, showed how the TSIKL equipment works in the field and told the students and colleagues about its advantages. The tests were conducted at the Barun-Khal II site (the Chernorud area).
In addition, Pavel Sekachev conducted UAV TEM research with the INRTU SSG team. After processing, the data will be published in scientific articles.
According to Pavel, the lectures, practical sessions and field trip were very useful:
"Sometimes backstage debates heated up in earnest, because of which even more serious issues were discussed than those on the official program. This is what makes the Workshop so valuable. For me, it was also a good networking opportunity. Talking to customers and rival companies revealed some details about the operation of our equipment. Later, we will be able to modernize it according to our customers' needs. I am grateful to the INRTU team for providing us with comfortable camp environment. This was my second visit to the Workshop. I hope to come again next year".Désiré Onamoun, an oil engineer and geologist from Ivory Coast, attended the Workshop for the first time. He studied at the master's program of RUDN (Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia) and the French UPPA University. He also worked for Lukoil and Afrik Santa Cruz as well as managed projects on the Gulf of Guinea shelf (Ivory Coast, Ghana and Sierra Leone). Desiree is currently a postgraduate student at the Siberian School of Geosciences (research supervisor Andrei Miromanov).
In his report, Désiré focused on the importance of studying seismic attributes for oil and gas exploration. Attributes are all values obtained from seismic data. They are divided into physical and geometric (azimuth, amplitude, phase, frequency, etc.). As an example, Désiré Onamoun referred to data from an attribute study of a field in the Gulf of Guinea.
"I really enjoyed the event. I have seen state-of-the-art geophysical equipment in action and learned a lot about geological techniques. The tour was also very memorable. I heard a lot about Lake Baikal and Siberian nature when at school, and now I have seen this beauty with my own eyes! After the Workshop I decided to stay in Chernarud for a while. I have joined the student interns to learn more about electric prospecting," said the African postgraduate student.Photos provided by the Workshop participants
