September 2026 SCGS Meeting

*If you plan to attend the meeting and wish to pay at the door, please choose the "Pay at Door" option for your membership category.

South Coast Geological Society invites you to attend our August ("September") 2026 meeting and lecture! Yannick Wirtz, Geologist with Earth Consultants International (ECI), will present his project: Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Nameson and Davis’ Balanced Cross Sections: A Regional Structural Model of Southern California.

Abstract:

In the late 1980s Jay Namson and Thom Davis published a series of balanced cross-sections that became foundational to structural interpretations of Southern California. Built using geometric and kinematic balancing principles and constrained by deep well control and detailed geological mapping by Tom Dibblee, these profiles were widely applied in California’s petroleum industry and academia. Balanced and retrodeformable cross sections proved highly effective in structurally complex basins, providing internally consistent structural models that supported prospect generation, trap definition, and risk reduction. That methodology continues to add value today in refining structural working concepts and evaluating new and mature exploration opportunities in a structurally highly complex environment like California. This project integrates fifteen Namson-Davis cross-sections into a single georeferenced three dimensional structural model built in Blender, an open-source 3D modeling software. By preserving the original balancing logic while extending thrust ramps, flats, folds, and fault linkages between sections, the model reveals crustal-scale continuity not fully apparent in isolated 2D profiles. The result is both a historical synthesis and a modern structural framework, demonstrating the enduring relevance of balanced cross section methodology for internally consistent structural interpretation of Southern California.

Speaker Information:

Yannick Wirtz is a geologist with Earth Consultants International (ECI), a geological consulting firm based in Santa Ana, California. Originally from Germany, Yannick earned his B.S. in Geology from RWTH Aachen University in Germany before finishing an internship at ECI and the pull of Southern California culture set the course for his career. He went on to complete his M.S. in Geology at California State University, Long Beach under the supervision of Dr. Richard Behl as part of the MARS (Monterey and Related Sediments) research group and Dr. Nate Onderdonk. His thesis investigated the structural complexities of the upper Monterey and Sisquoc Formations in the southern Santa Maria Basin of California, comparing outcrop-scale observations with the crustal-scale balanced cross-sections of Namson and Davis (who co-advised him on this project) to reveal striking fold-strain variations across spatial scales. That work was presented at scientific symposia around the world and published in 2022. Since 2017, Yannick has worked as a geologist at ECI specializing in geologic hazard investigations and subsurface 3D modeling for the oil and gas, and renewable energy industries. He also volunteers with Californians for Energy and Science, a non-profit dedicated to promoting sciencebased energy policy in California. When he's not in the field or creating geological models, Yannick works on music projects or can be found in the water, surfing the breaks near his home in San Clemente.

-

Thank you to our individual and corporate sponsors whose generous donations help make these events sustainable! If you or your company would like to become a 2026 corporate sponsor, please contact [email protected].

-

Dave and Busters

20 City Blvd West

Orange, CA

Member : $50

Non-member: $60

Students and early-career geologists (0-1 year job experience): $20

Membership Dues:

As a reminder, annual membership dues expire at the end of each calendar year.

2026 Membership dues can be paid here as a registration add-on: $50

Dues can also be paid in-person by visiting the Treasurer during meeting check-in!

Note: Membership dues increased to $50 beginning in March.

Current university students do not need to pay annual membership dues.

6:00 PM - Check-in and social hour

6:30 PM - Dinner served

7:00 PM - Presentation begins after brief announcements

Walk-ins are accepted, but early registration helps ensure enough food is prepared.