NEWS RELEASE: WSGS Publication Receives National Award

WSGS Publication Receives National Award

The Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) has received the Association of American State Geologists’ 2021 Charles J. Mankin Memorial Award for their publication titled “Upper Cretaceous Strata in the Powder River Basin: Formation Tops Database, Structure and Thickness Contour Maps, and Associated Well Data” (Open File Report 2020-9), by Derek T. Lichtner, Rachel N. Toner, Jackie M. Kleinsasser (née Wrage) and Ranie M. Lynds.

The Association of American State Geologists is an organization that unites chief executives from state geological surveys of all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The Mankin Award is one of AASG’s most prestigious awards. This national award is given each year to a geological map, compilation or report on regional, energy or mineral resource geology. The intent of the award is to honor the memory of Charles Mankin (1932–2012), a tireless advocate for geologic mapping who served as Director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey for forty years, from 1967 to 2007.

Dr. Erin Campbell, WSGS director and state geologist, applauded the award. “This is truly an honor. The WSGS report was selected from publications nominated by state geological surveys around the nation. Derek and the rest of the team have created an outstanding report. They expertly assessed the needs of the state and produced a publication that directly addresses our mission of promoting the beneficial and responsible development and use of Wyoming’s geologic, mineral and energy resources. Publications like this will be used by industry and academia for decades to come, helping to drive investment in the state as well as developing a broader understanding of the geologic history of eastern Wyoming from about 100 to 70 million years ago.”

Open File Report 2020-9 is a comprehensive resource for subsurface information related to Wyoming’s hydrocarbon-rich Powder River Basin. The publication details the Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy associated with the Powder River Basin’s unconventional tight oil and gas reservoirs, their source rocks, and intervening formations. “We never expected to win an award,” says WSGS geologist and lead author Derek Lichtner. “Our intent was to provide thorough, vetted and easily accessible data in a part of the state where oil and gas exploration is ongoing.”

More information on Open File Report 2020-9 is available here. The report can be downloaded for free from the WSGS publications webpage, and includes links to the full supplemental dataset as well as the option to view the associated maps on the WSGS Interactive Oil and Gas Map of Wyoming.