John Clark

TRAVERSE CITY - As a college student in Colorado, John Clark became fascinated with geophysics and leading edge technology.Last year, his Traverse City-based company grossed $ 4 million looking beneath the earth's surface.

John Clark in his Robinwood Ct. office

Clark, who co-owns Bay Geophysical Associates Inc. with Phil Andrus, scopes the earth's surface through various methods, including seismic : small, evenly-placed explosions broadcasting sound waves into the ground ; radar : a technique powerful enough to detect wire mesh behind concrete ; and electromagnetics, which Clark likens to searching for coins on the beach with metal detectors.Clark, who co-owns Bay Geophysical Associates Inc. with Phil Andrus, scopes the earth's surface through various methods, including seismic : small, evenly-placed explosions broadcasting sound waves into the ground ; radar : a technique powerful enough to detect wire mesh behind concrete ; and electromagnetics, which Clark likens to searching for coins on the beach with metal detectors.
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They are also the sole geophysical contractor for Argonne National Laboratory, a government-sponsored laboratory in Argonne, Ill., which, according to Clark, developed the first atomic chain reaction.Other clients include IT Corporation, Brown & Root Environmental (a division of Halliburton), ERM Environmental, Westinghouse, Amoco, Sandia National Laboratory, CH2M Hill, the Canadian-based Pembina, and several local companies such as Miller Oil, Terra Energy, West Bay Exploration, Global Environmental and Gosling Czubak.

Clark and Andrus started Bay Geophysical in 1991.
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Before that, Clark worked with the Pittsburgh-based D'Appalonia, whose work included determining the ground condition for nuclear power plants, and as a senior geophysicist with Miller Oil Corp.In the mid-'80s, he created Apex Geophysical with former partner Mike Helbling.

Mike and I started Apex with the idea of doing oil and gas consulting and trying to get into environmental and engineering geophysics, said Clark.At that point, environmental companies were either trying to do geophysics themselves, or they just be not using it at all..

But, things took off for the company.When Clark hired his first employee, geophysicist Phil Van Hollebeke, he be not sure he would be able to keep him employed for more than a month or so.
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Computers last about two years at Bay Geophysical, before the software just eats them up, said Clark.And, the high-tech geophysical software they use needs to be continually updated.Last year, software maintenance fees alone set the company back $ 20, 000.

Clark said that over the past several years, the processing of geophysical data has accounted for somewhere between 60 percent and 70 percent of all computer usage on the planet.They use some of the most powerful computers for some of the imaging they do, he noted.And, a lot of real state-of-the-art stuff is used in the instrumentation. He added that much of the digital technology used on stereo equipment was developed in seismic processing, even before the invention of instruments capable of digitizing music.

A mix of trucks, boats and gear-laden trailers make up the balance.For lake excursions, Clark said they usually rent a tugboat or barge, using smaller boats to ferry data and equipment back and forth.Their marine excursions have included the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie, where, he noted, there are currently 600 producing gas wells, all on the Canadian side.Bay Geophysical has spent the past several summers looking for oil and gas under Lake Erie.

In northern Michigan, the term seismic exploration is generally associated with the oil and gas industry.Yet, it is now used in many other areas, including environmental, which may prove to be its most profound contribution.The discovery of what lies beneath the earth's surface will continue to be essential for the future of this country and of the planet, making companies like Bay Geophysical a hot commodity of the land down under for a long time to come.

Dr. Dietmar Schumacher , director of geochemistry at Geo-Microbial Technologies , and John Clark , vice president of Bay Geophysical Associates , Inc. , will talk about how using chemical/microbial analysis of soil and seismic imaging can locate petroleum reserves that remain in long-abandoned or marginally producing oil fields.
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Schumacher and Clark will present case histories to illustrate how new techniques are allowing oil producers to find more product and do so with little environmental impact.
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The techniques that Dr. Schumacher and Clark will discuss are surface techniques for finding oil , explains Dr. William Harrison III , director of the Michigan Basin Core Research Laboratory.