History
1971 – The SEG forms the "Engineering, Groundwater and Construction Committee", the first group with a near-surface focus.
1972 – The Engineering, Groundwater and Construction Committee is incorporated into the existing Mining Geophysics Committee. The Mining Geophysics Committee becomes the "Mining, Engineering, and Groundwater Committee".
1977 – At the annual meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, discussion begins on forming a separate Engineering and Groundwater Geophysics Committee and is subsequently proposed to the SEG.
1978 – The proposal to create the Engineering and Groundwater Geophysics (E&GG) Committee is approved by the SEG.
1979 – The E&GG Committee meets for the first time. The chairman position is established as a two-year office. Phil Romig serves as the first chairman followed in subsequent years by Tom Dobecki, Clark Davenport, Jim Hunter, Richard Hopkins, Robert Ballard, Phil Romig again, and Doug Crice.
1982 – The first E&GG session is organized at the SEG annual meeting. Jim Hunter, et al., present their seminal paper entitled "Field experience with the ‘optimum window‘ hammer seismic reflection technique".
1983 – The number of E&GG sessions at the SEG annual meeting increases to three, and peaks in 1990 and 1991 with four.
1985 – Stan Ward as Editor in Chief of Geophysics, establishes an Associate Editor position for an E&GG Committee member. Don Steeples serves as the first Associated Editor of Geophysics with near-surface geophysics expertise.
1986 – The first special issue on "Engineering and Groundwater Geophysics" is published as the February issue of Geophysics, followed in March by an issue on "Archaeology and Geophysics".
The first annual Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP) takes place to "reach out to the potential clients of engineering and environmental geophysicists and help them to better understand both the capabilities and limitations of shallow geophysical surveys" (excerpted from the "President's Page" by P. Romig and D. Steeples, The Leading Edge, Volume 12, Issue 3, March 1993). The formation of SAGEEP is followed by formation of the Environmental and Engineering Geophysics Society (EEGS) six years later, providing a complementary society with an exclusive engineering and environmental focus.
1989 – Don Steeples becomes Editor in Chief of Geophysics, serving for 2 years.
1990 – Geotechnical and Environmental Geophysics, Volumes I-III, edited by Stan Ward, is published and becomes one of the highest selling SEG publications of all time.
Membership in the E&GG Committee peaks to over 110 members.
1991 – At its regular meeting, the E&GG Committee discusses becoming a section of the SEG in order to enhance the status of near-surface geophysics and increase its flexibility to respond to the needs of its membership and the community. Don Steeples coordinates the effort to write a set of founding documents.
1992 – The E&GG Committee approves the draft charter and authorizes Don Steeples to submit the charter to the SEG Executive Committee.
1993 – On May 3, "the SEG Executive Committee approves the formation of the Near-Surface Geophysics Section (NSG). The action [is] taken in response to a petition put together by members of SEG' s Environmental Engineering and Groundwater Geophysics Committee, Mining and Geothermal Committee, and Gravity and Magnetics Committee. The NSG is the first SEG Section based on disciplinary interest, a concept provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws. It will work within SEG' s existing structure whenever possible, but will have the flexibility to quickly follow appropriate new directions when necessary to serve the needs of the growing near-surface geophysics community" (excerpted from "The Near-Surface Geophysics Section" by D. Steeples, The Leading Edge, Volume 12, Issue 9, September 1993).
The official NSG Section mission: to promote the rigorous practice of the science of shallow-earth geophysics including mining, engineering, environmental and groundwater applications; to represent that science to the public, governmental and other regulatory bodies; to encourage fellowship and cooperation among those persons interested in related geophysical methods and problems; to support the mutual economic, professional and educational interests of such persons; and to foster the development of programs and activities that relate to those interests.
The first NSG Section executive committee consists of Don Steeples as President, Ben Sturnberg as President-Elect, Bill Jones as Vice President, Phil Romig as Treasurer, Dwain Butler as Newsletter Editor, and Rick Miller as Secretary. The section's first membership business meeting occurs later that year at the SEG annual meeting in Washington, D.C. along with two NSG oral sessions.
1994 – Membership in the NSG Section peaks at over 700 members, second only to the Houston Geophysical Section. Over the coming years the section remains the second largest in the SEG, with the membership stabilizing at a baseline count of ~400 members, increasing steadily each year with the influx of new students.
The number of NSG sessions at the SEG annual meeting increases to three (all oral), and peaks in 2002 with nine (four oral plus five poster). In the 15 years since its formation, the NSG total session count per annual meeting has averaged 4.5.
1995 – The NSG Section bestows the first of their annual awards to recognize excellence in near-surface geophysics: the Frank Frishknecht Award and the Harold Mooney Award.
1997 – A special issue on "Near-Surface Geophysics" is published as the November issue of The Leading Edge.
1998 – A special issue on "Shallow Seismic Reflection" is published as the July/August issue of Geophysics.
1999 – Special sections on "Engineering Geophysics" and "Geophysics in Japan" are published in the December issue of The Leading Edge.
2001 – The SEG Executive Committee offers the NSG Section host duties of the SEG annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. As host, the NSG Section raises the awareness of the general SEG membership on the importance of geophysical studies for understanding the near-surface. In addition, the NSG Section accounts are bolstered by the funds provided to the host section by SEG, favorably positioning the NSG Section for future growth, including expanded student support.
2002 – A special issue on "Geophysics and the Environment", with Rosemary Knight making the statement on the President's Page, is published as the January issue of The Leading Edge. A special issue on "Near-Surface Geophysics" is published as the May issue of The Leading Edge. A special section on "Geohazards" is published in the July issue of The Leading Edge.
2003 – Corporate sponsorship from near-surface geophysical companies in the consulting, equipment manufacturing, and data analysis software business sectors is generous and an integral part of the financial health of the section. Corporate donors help make possible the publication and distribution of Near-Surface Views, the NSG Section newsletter, the Student Travel Grants program, and the annual Business Meeting and Reception.
A special issue on "Mining Geophysics" is published as the June issue of The Leading Edge.
2004 – A special section on "Near-surface Problems and Solutions" is published in the July issue of The Leading Edge.
2005 – The follow-on tome to Stan Ward's Geotechnical and Environmental Geophysics, Near-Surface Geophysics, edited by Dwain Butler, is published.
2006 – The year of Hydrogeophysics: a special section on "Hydrogeophysics" is published in the June issue of The Leading Edge and a multi-day workshop sponsored by the SEG Research Committee takes place in Vancouver, Canada, to explore the science of geophysics as related to the exploration, development, remediation, storage, and monitoring of water resources.
Marking SEG' s 75–year anniversary, Don Steeples takes a look back in his article "Near-surface geophysics: 75 years of progress".
The original NSG Section website is completely over-hauled and expanded with significantly more pages of news, images, listings, resources, and references.
2008 – The 15th year anniversary of the NSG Section. Since its inception, the field of near-surface geophysics has grown considerably with particular current application interests in the fields of hydrology, environmental, military/surveillance, mining, and petroleum. Over the past 5 years, the section executive committees have been comprised of volunteers serving multiple years providing consistency and a foundation for developing and implementing new programs to support the dynamic and wide range of NSG applications. Six new NSG Section Standing Committees are developed: Advisory, Membership, Public Relations, Inter-Section Liaison, Honors and Awards, and Publications, served by existing executive committee members as well as general members. The section newsletter, Near-Surface Views, is converted from hard copy delivered via post to an electronic version delivered more widely and cost-effectively via email.
Relationships with fellow near-surface geophysics societies (EEGS, EAGE, AGU NSG Focus Group) are integral and strong. Through pursuit by Leon Thompsen, SEG President (2007), and Ted Bakamjian, SEG Director of Publications, the EEGS Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics (JEEG) and SAGEEP Proceedings are included in the SEG Digital Library. A joint effort between the EAGE and SEG (pursued by Louise Pellerin, SEG Second Vice President and former NSG Section President) leads to a special publication of Near-Surface Geophysics on "Hydrogeophysics".
NSG paper submittals to the SEG annual meeting increase each year, highlighted by special sessions and forums. In particular, the 2008 SEG Forum has an NSG focus ("Managing our Groundwater Resources for the Future") for the first time in its history in honor of the NSG Section's 15–year anniversary.
2010 – The NSG Section website is completely redesigned with an enhanced interface including an online membership application.
Thank you to Don Steeples, and Mandi Duckworth and Elise Cunningham of the SEG for their research assistance.
Researched and authored by Deborah Underwood, NSG Section Webmaster (2005-2010). Comments and contributions welcome. Revision 3e, February 8, 2011.