Precipice Training is committed to providing excellence in practical training for geoscience professionals. Our principal instructors have extensive experience in academia and consulting and have worked around Australia and internationally. Some of our courses have been offered since 1995, originally through the Queensland University of Technology and later Whistler Research. Mark and Ian now offer these and other courses through Precipice Training. We believe that the best way to do geology is to get out in the field, supported by the very best in geophysics, geochemistry and geomatics.
We’ve undertaken field projects in many remote locations and are both qualified and experienced in first aid. We’re happy to take your staff anywhere – both geologically and geographically that’s of interest. Whatever your specific training requirements, we’re happy to design a course for your needs.
We bring to our courses a wide range of the very best guest lecturers from all around the world to give the best possible experience.
Mark Reilly
Mark is an experienced consultant petroleum geologist, having undertaken projects on the North West shelf, the Georgina basin and Libya. He has extensive experience in field geology and geomorphology, with extensive field experience in the Flinders Ranges and at Lake Eyre. He is currently managing director of Spinifex Geology and was formerly a consultant and instructor at Whistler Research. Mark has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geology from the Queensland University of Technology, Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics at the University of Adelaide and is a PhD candidate within the Australian School of Petroleum at the University of Adelaide. He is a casual lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Queensland and an adjunct associate lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at Flinders University. Mark has published in the EABS journal, APPEA journal and presented at many international conferences.
Publications:
Ceglar, N., Reilly, M.R.W., Payenberg, T.H.D. and Lang, S.C., 2004, Deepwater outcrop analogue study – Basal Bunkers Sandstone, Donkey Bore Syncline, Northern Flinders Ranges, Australia, EABS Journal.
Lang, S.C., Payenberg, T.H.D., Reilly, M.R.W., Kassan, J., Hicks, T. and Benson, J., 2004, Reservoir geometry in sand-dominated fluvial-deltaic and terminal-splay facies – lessons from recent flooding in Central Australia, APPEA Journal.
Reilly, M.R.W., Lang S.C., Payenberg, T.H.D. and Kassan, J., 2004, Sedimentary processes and facies geometry of a sandy ephemeral terminal splay complex, Umbum Creek, Lake Eyre, Central Australia, Abstract: AAPG Hedburg Conference, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Reilly, M.R.W., Lang, S.C. and Hill, S., 2003, Landforms and sediments of Umbum Creek and adjacent plains, Lake Eyre Basin, South Australia, Extended Abstract: CRCLEME Symposium, Adelaide.
Reilly, M.R.W. and Lang, S.C., 2003, A ponded basin floor fan outcrop analogue: Bunkers Sandstone, Northern Flinders Ranges, Australia, APPEA Journal.
Reilly, M.R.W., Lang, S.C. and Kassan, J., 2003, Modern Analogue of an Ephemeral Fluvial-Lacustrine Inland Delta – Umbum Creek, Lake Eyre, Central Australia, Abstract: AAPG Conference, Salt Lake City, 2003.
Reilly, M.R.W., Lang, S.C. and Kassan, J., 2002, Sedimentation in an ephemeral fluvial-lacustrine inland delta – Umbum Creek, Lake Eyre, Central Australia, Dryland Rivers: Process and Product, University of Aberdeen.
Reilly, M.R.W., Lang, S.C. and Lemon, N.M., 2002, A basin Floor Fan Outcrop Analogue: Reservoir Heterogeneity and Sequence Stratigraphy, Abstract: 16th Australian Geological Convention, Adelaide.
Ian Moffat
Ian is an experienced consultant, researcher and lecturer with expertise in sedimentology, geochemistry, geophysics and archaeology, particularly when applied together. His research has focused on topics including tracing mobility in the Palaeolithic of France and Israel, the detection of unmarked burials using geophysical techniques and the sedimentology of unconventional systems such as the Burdekin River delta, Lake Mungo and Lake Eyre. <br><br>
Ian completed his PhD entitled Spatially Resolved Strontium Isotope Micro-Analysis of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Fauna from Archaeological Sites in Israel and Southern France at the Research School of Earth Science, Australian National University. He is an adjunct associate lecturer within the Department of Archaeology at Flinders University. He teaches Australia’s only specialist course in Archaeological Geophysics to students in the Graduate Program in Archaeology/Cultural Heritage Management at Flinders and regularly supervises research students in geoarchaeology, archaeological geophysics and isotope geochemistry.
Ian was formerly the Communications and Business Manager of geophysical consulting company Ecophyte Technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and History and a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Earth Sciences from the University of Queensland. He has published extensively in academic journals and is a former associate editor of Exploration Geophysics.
Publications:
Dosseto, A., Vigner, N., Joannes-Boyau, R., Moffat, I., Singh, T. and Srivastava, S., 2015, Rapid response of silicate weathering rates to climate change in the Himalaya, Geochemical Perspectives Letters, 1 :10-19.
Joannes-Boyau, R., Scheffers, A., Chapoulie, R., Lahaye, C., Parr, J., Orange, M., Moffat, I. and Guibert, P., 2014, Thermal behaviour of organic radicals and paramagnetic centres in chert; a case study of Bergeracois brown chert Dordogne, France, Quaternary Geochronology, 23: 26-34.
Moffat, I., 2014, Isotope Geochemistry in Archaeology, in Smith, C. (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Global Archaeology, Springer, New York, 4106-4111.
Willmes, M., McMorrow, L., Kinsley, L., Armstrong. R., Aubert, M., Eggins, S., Falguères, C., Maureille, B., Moffat, I., and Grün, R., 2014, The IRHUM (Isotopic Reconstruction of Human Migration) database – bioavailable strontium isotopes of France for geochemical fingerprinting, Earth System Science Databases, 6: 761-777.
Long, K., Stern, N., Williams, I., Kinsley, L., Wood, R., Boljkovac, K., Kelly, T., Fallon, S., Kokkonen, H., Moffat, I. and Grün, R., 2014, Fish otolith geochemistry, environmental conditions and human occupation at Lake Mungo, Quaternary Science Reviews, 88: 82-95.
McKinnon, J.F., Wesley, D., Raupp, J.T. and Moffat, I., 2013, Geophysical Investigations at the Anuru Bay Trepang Site: A New Approach to Locating Macassan Archaeological Sites in Northern Australia, Bulletin of the Australasian Institute of Maritime Archaeology, 37: 106-112.
Moffat, I, Stringer , C and Grün, R., 2012, Spatially Resolved LA-MC-ICPMS Strontium Isotope Micro-Analysis of Archaeological Fauna, Palaios, 27: 667-670.
Marshallsay, J., Moffat, I and Beale, A., 2012., Geophysical Investigations of the Tabernacle (Yilke) Cemetery, Encounter Bay, South Australia, Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia, 35: 91-103.
Aubert, M., Williams, I.S., Boljkovac, K., Moffat, I., Moncel, M-H., Dufour, E. and Grün, R., 2012, In situ oxygen isotope micro-analysis of faunal material and human teeth using a SHRIMP II: a new tool for palaeo-ecology and archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Science, 39 (10): 3184-3194.
Bladon, P., Moffat, I., Guilfoyle, D., Beale, A. and Milani, J., 2011, Mapping Anthropogenic Fill with GPR for Unmarked Grave Detection: A Case Study from an Alleged Location of Mokare’s Grave, Albany, Western Australia, Exploration Geophysics¸ 42(4): 249-257.
Moffat, I., David, B., Barker, B., Kuaso, A., Skelly, R. and Araho, N., 2011, Magnetometer Surveys as an Aid to Archaeological Research in Papua New Guinea: a Case Study from Keveoki I, Gulf Province, Archaeology in Oceania, 46(1): 17-22.
Moffat, I., Wallis, L.A., Hounslow, M., Niland, K., Domett, K. and Trevorrow, G., 2010, Geophysical prospection for Late Holocene burials in coastal environments: Possibilities and problems from a pilot study in South Australia, Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 25:5, 645-665.
Wallis, L.A., Keys, B., Moffat, I. and Fallon, S., 2009, Gledswood 1 Shelter: initial radiocarbon dates from a Pleistocene aged rockshelter site in north Queensland, Australian Archaeology, 69: 71-74.
David, B., Araho, N., Barker, B., Kuaso, A. and Moffat, I., 2009, Keveoki I: Exploring the Hiri Ceramics Trade at a Short-Lived Village Site near the Vailala River, Papua New Guinea, Australian Archaeology, 68: 11-22.
Wallis, L.A., Moffat, I., Trevorrow, G. and Massey, T., 2008, Archaeological geophysics in the Indigenous reburial process: A case study from Ngarrindjeri ruwe, South Australia, Antiquity, 82: 750-760.
Moffat, I. and Raupp, J., 2008, A New Approach to Investigating Shipwreck Sites in Littoral Environments: Multi-Technique Geophysical Investigations of Port Elliot, South Australia, Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology, 3:1-7.
Moffat, I., Wallis, L.A., Beale, A. and Kynuna, D., 2008, Applications of geophysical techniques for the detection and identification of open Indigenous sites in Australia: A case study from inland northwest Queensland, Australian Archaeology, 66:60-64.
David, B., Araho, N., Kuaso, A., Moffat, I and Tapper, N., 2008, The Upihoi find: wrecked wooden lagatoi hulls of Epemeavo village, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea, Australian Archaeology, 66, 1-14.
McKinnon, J.F., Smith, A. and Moffat, I., 2007, Kangaroo Island Shipwreck Shelter Huts,Bulletin of the Australasian Institute of Maritime Archaeology, 31:63-72.
McKinnon, J., Moffat, I and Smith, A., 2007, A Needle in a Haystack: Archaeological and Geophysical Investigations of Historic Shipwreck Shelter Huts on Kangaroo Island, in McKinnon, J. and Raupp, J. (eds.) A Year in Review: 2006 Program in Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Monographs Series, 13:4-16.
Dappert, C and Moffat, I., 2007, Search for the Independence Construction Site, American River, Kangaroo Island, in McKinnon, J. and Raupp, J. (eds.) A Year in Review: 2006 Program in Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Monographs Series, 13:27-45.
Moffat, I., Raupp, J. and Van Zandt, D, 2007, Attention to Detail: Geophysical and Historical Investigations around Port Elliot, South Australia, in McKinnon, J. and Raupp, J. (eds.) A Year in Review: 2006 Program in Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Monographs Series, 13:4-16.
Moffat, I., The Neales River Overflow in: Krapf, C. and Lang, S., (Eds.) 2005 The Second Dryland Fluvial Reservoir Workshop, Lake Eyre Basin, Central Australia, Australian School of Petroleum, Adelaide.
Moffat, I., Ground Penetrating Radar in:Krapf, C. and Lang, S., (Eds.) 2005 The Second Dryland Fluvial Reservoir Workshop, Lake Eyre Basin, Central Australia, Australian School of Petroleum, Adelaide.