Nominated by: David Zinzer, Resource Evaluation Division

Jack Caldwell has shown strong leadership in the geophysical services industry with regards to environmental issues related to marine seismic surveys. He has worked directly with MMS’s program (Environment and Resource Evaluation) offices and employees in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region, Gulf of Mexico (GOM) OCS Region and in Headquarters.

Dr. Caldwell has been one of he most respected members of the MMS High Energy Seismic Survey (HESS) team since 1996. As an active participant in the HESS meetings and the 1997 Pepperdine University workshops, he has made geophysics, and in particular seismic surveying, easier for everyone to understand. Dr. Caldwell has worked not only with representatives of the MMS, but also with the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, California Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, County Air Pollution Control Districts, other county agencies, the oil and gas industry, and the environmental community.

Dr. Caldwell has also contributed his expertise to the MMS seismic ramp-up study, several Information Transfer Meetings in the GOM, and to the pending MMS publication, "Marine Geophysical Exploration for Oil and Natural Gas." Dr. Caldwell was also instrumental in getting an article about seismic sound issues published in the September 13, 1999, issue of the Oil & Gas Journal.

His efforts continue by arranging meetings between industry, the MMS, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and others. Such meetings facilitate better understanding of seismic air guns, propagation of sound in water, possible effects on marine animals, and attendant regulatory issues.