Geoscientists and Hydrologists
Study the composition, structure and other physical attributes of the Earth and other planetary bodies to increase scientific knowledge and to locate, model and advise on planetary processes and the extraction of minerals, petroleum and ground and surface water.
A core shed on a deadline
You are a field geologist at a mineral exploration company, logging rock cores from a drilling program that is close to a big announcement. It is a hot afternoon at the core shed. The company is due to brief investors on Friday, and today you have to deal with a mix up, a request from your boss and a question from a landholder.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I think the trays from yesterday's hole might be out of order. Two of them were stacked the wrong way round when they came in, and I am not sure I put them back right. I did not want to say, but it might matter.
Reassure Tui that it is probably fine and carry on logging
The depths in your log are wrong for part of the hole. Weeks later the results do not make sense, and the whole hole has to be relogged.
Thank Tui, stop logging and check the order against the depth markers and photographs, then record what you found
You find the two trays swapped and fix the log before any results depend on it. Tui learns that owning up early is welcome, and the data stays trustworthy.
Tell Tui to sort it out and let you know when it's fixed
Tui does a decent job, but you have not checked, and a depth is still slightly off. The correction was the right idea, and it needed a second pair of eyes.
Investors are coming on Friday. The early assay results are interesting. Can you put together a slide that says this looks like a major discovery? I know it is early, but they need to hear something exciting.
Make the slide say what the results show and what is not known yet, and suggest next steps that would be exciting if confirmed
Bruce is a little disappointed but uses the slide. The investors respect the straight talk, though some of the energy he wanted is missing.
Show a short, honest slide with the results, the uncertainties and the plan to test further
Bruce presents confidently because he knows exactly what is solid. Investors ask sharp questions and get clear answers. A good geologist is credible because they say what they don't know.
Write the slide Bruce asked for, since it is only an early presentation
Investors act on a claim the data cannot yet support. Later results are weaker, and everyone remembers who wrote the slide.
You have been drilling near my stock bore. The water has been tasting different this week and my cattle are drinking less. I do not know if it is you, but I wanted to ask before the rest of the season.
Take it seriously, sample his water now, check your drilling records and report back
The results show the water is within its usual range, and you tell him so with the figures. Mr Abara is reassured, and he lets the program continue on his land.
Tell him the drilling could not possibly affect his bore, so he has nothing at all to worry about
You cannot know that without checking. He feels dismissed, and later tests show the issue was unrelated, but by then he has told his neighbours the company ignores complaints.
Say you will report it to the company and leave it with them to follow up whenever they can
Passing it on is correct, but a week of silence follows and he calls again, angrier. He wanted someone to look at his bore while he was there.
How it went
The trays are back in order, Friday's slide tells the truth and Mr Abara's water has been tested. Geoscience is detective work at a grand scale, with commercial pressure that tests your honesty. Would you like reading a story written in rock?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The town bores that kept dropping
A fictional case set in a geoscience team: core sheds and drill sites in the field, and a water agency office in town.
The situation
Alicia was a hydrologist for a regional water agency, looking after the groundwater that supplied the farming town of Dunmore. After a dry year the bores that served the town began to drop faster than expected. The council wanted to know whether to impose tight water restrictions, which would anger farmers and shopkeepers, or to wait and hope for rain. Both groups called her office, each hoping she would say their side was right.
What they did
Alicia gathered readings from every monitoring bore going back many years, and compared them with rainfall and the amount of water being pumped. She built a simple model showing that the water level was falling mainly because of heavy pumping during the hottest months. She told the council that she was reasonably confident about the pattern, and less sure about exactly how long the water would last. She presented three options, including a staged restriction that eased as levels recovered.
How it turned out
The council chose the staged restriction. Some farmers were unhappy and the first months were tense. When rain finally came the bores recovered, and the farmers, who had been shown the data, accepted the staged lifting of the limits.
What would you do?
- How would you explain what you are sure of and what you are not to a council?
- Why might it matter that people can see the data behind a decision?
- How would you feel about a decision that makes your neighbours angry but protects their water?