Welcome to the Geological Society of Minnesota
The Geological Society of Minnesota is a nonprofit educational organization in operation since 1938. Our mission has been to promote public interest and to supply educational support in the geological sciences. We sponsor free lectures and labs at the University of Minnesota, conduct statewide and regional field trips, hold classroom presentations for schools, maintain a media library, publish relevant information for public distribution, and maintain and expand upon a series of geological markers throughout the state.
GSM Seminars
GSM seminars with slide show presentations are free and open to the public. They are presented by leading professionals in their fields and are aimed at learners from high school to adult. A question-and-answer session follows each seminar. The labs, also free and open to the public, allow a hands-on learning experience and demonstrate the ideas and principles of geology and earth science. Live lectures and labs require no registration; just show up a few minutes early on the evening of the lecture. These lectures and labs are eligible for Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits.
Except as noted, live lectures during fall 2024 are Mondays at 7:00 PM CT on the University of Minnesota campus, Keller Hall, Room 3-230. A lecture with (V) following its title is an online virtual lecture. For these, free registration is required by non-members; the instructions are supplied with the lecture description.
The schedule of seminars and labs for fall 2024 is here. For a printable version of our schedule of seminars and labs, click here. Our schedule is planned over 6 months in advance, so changes may occur. Always check this website shortly before each lecture for the latest seminar information.
Winter weather will come and snow might impact our lectures. The GSM will make any decision about cancelling or postponing a lecture due to inclement weather no later than 3:00 PM the day of the lecture. This information will be posted on this page. So check our home page shortly before each lecture in case there is a cancellation or a last-minute change. Also, we will e‐mail lecture postponement and cancellation information to our members.
Recordings of some past GSM lectures are available on the Geological Society of Minnesota YouTube channel. Subscribe to this channel for updates.
Virtual lecture 7:00 PM CT.
Participation instructions will be e-mailed to GSM members. If you are not a member of GSM and wish to attend this free seminar online, register as follows by 12 noon CT Monday, Nov 25: Go to the Contact menu above and select "Ask GSM". In the form that appears, enter your name and e-mail address. Enter "Nov 25 lecture" in the subject line. In the message body, please enter the city and state or country from which you will view the seminar. You will receive instructions by e-mail prior to the lecture. Check your spam folder if the instructions do not appear in your in-box at least one hour prior to the lecture.
Summary: Over the last 20 years, oil and gas production from shale reservoirs has grown from a small fraction to more than half of total U.S. hydrocarbon production. This presentation is an attempt to give a high-level overview of the development and current state of shale oil and gas in the United States and Texas. A brief history of hydrocarbon production from shale in the U.S. is given, which shows that the “shale revolution” was the product of more than two decades of experimentation and technology development, rather than an overnight success. A review of the basin development and geologic characteristics of major shale plays highlights that many of these “different” reservoirs were deposited in similar conditions and are sometimes stratigraphically equivalent. We end with a discussion of shale resource base and production trends.
Biography: Tim McMahon is the Project Manager for the Tight Oil Resource Assessment (TORA) consortium at the Bureau of Economic Geology. Prior to joining the BEG in July 2022, Tim spent more than 25 years as a geologist in the oil and gas industry, including 10 years with ConocoPhillips, mostly as an exploration geoscientist. He has worked on projects around the world, and lived in Canada, Norway, and Malaysia. After leaving ConocoPhillips, he founded Cutlass Exploration where he participated in onshore US exploration wells and provided geoscience consulting around play-based exploration, resource assessment and application of machine learning to geological problems. He received a B.A. in Geology from Rutgers, an M.S. in Geology from NMSU, and a PhD from UT-Austin.
Minnesota's Geology Markers
Discover Minnesota’s fascinating 3 billion years of geological history by visiting 70-plus geology markers placed around the state by the Geological Society of Minnesota since 1949. Observe and learn about a rift valley, volcanoes, agates, inland seas, glaciers, rivers, caves, sinkholes, iron mining, and more. Click Minnesota’s Geology Markers to see where these markers are located. You can see most markers from your car.
Field Trips
GSM conducts professionally guided geology field trips. These excursions visit locations not usually experienced by the casual traveler. Local field trips can be a few hours long, encompass a weekend, or last longer than a week. Find more information here.
GSM's Student Outreach
Speakers for metro area elementary schools are available through the Public Service Committee to help enrich the education of young learners, particularly the 2nd to 8th grade levels. Find more information here.
Membership
Membership in the society is open to anyone with an interest in geology. The benefits of membership include:
- The opportunity to meet others of who share an enthusiasm for learning and a curiosity for the natural world.
- The rewarding feeling of supporting a nonprofit organization dedicated to public education.
- GSM Newsletter - A quarterly publication contains announcements of upcoming activities, articles on the earth sciences, and GSM projects and activity reports. Past issues
- Extensive Media Library - GSM maintains a collection of more than 330 geological DVDs. These are available to the members at lectures or through the mail for a nominal rental fee. Catalog
- GSM Directory - This annual book is a handy resource and makes it easy to access the organization.