Events
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JSG | BEG | UTIG | EPS |
Soft Rock Seminar
Start:April 1, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 1, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Anastasia Piliouras, piliouras@utexas.edu
UTIG Seminar Series: Douglas Foster, ConocoPhillips
Start:April 2, 2013 at 10:30 am
End:
April 2, 2013 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78758
Contact:
Paul Stoffa, DGS, pauls@ig.utexas.edu, 471-0464
“Amplitude Interpretation of Seismic Reflections”
Abstract:
The effects of changes in rock and fluid properties on the amplitude of reflection seismic waves are described. This analysis is commonly known as amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis. Attributes characterizing the seismic response are useful for determining subsurface rock and fluid properties. In the slope-intercept domain, reflections from wet sands and shales fall on or near a trend, which we call the Fluid Line. Reflections from the top of sands containing gas or light hydrocarbons fall on a trend approximately parallel to the Fluid Line; reflections from the base of gas sands fall on a parallel trend on the opposing side of the Fluid Line. Typically, rock properties of sands and shales differ, and therefore, reflections from sand/shale interfaces are also displaced from the Fluid Line. The distance of these trends from the Fluid Line depends upon the contrast of the ratio of P-wave velocity, Vp, and S-wave velocity, Vs. This ratio is a function of the pore fluid compressibility and implies that distance from the Fluid Line increases with increasing compressibility. Reflections from wet sands are closer to the Fluid Line than hydrocarbon related reflections. Porosity changes affect acoustic impedance, but do not significantly impact the Vp/Vs contrast. As a result, porosity changes move the AVO response along trends approximately parallel to the Fluid Line. These observations are useful for interpreting AVO anomalies in terms of fluids, lithology and porosity.
UTIG Seminar Series: Dr. John Dewey, Natural History Museum, London
Start:April 3, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 3, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78758
Contact:
Ian Dalziel, ian@ig.utexas.edu, 471-8844
View Event
“Transtension in the Eastern California Shear Zone”
Abstract:
A major problem of structural geology is how biaxial, uniaxial, and triaxial strains in the brittle upper crust are effected by fault systems. Transtension generates noncoaxial constriction and poses difficult problems of wrench/normal fault-combination block rotation and strain. Normal faults rotate around vertical and horizontal axes to give oblique slip, and wrench faults rotate around vertical axes. Kinematic problems arise because blocks of varying size and shape bounded by normal and wrench faults rotate at different rates about vertical and horizontal axes while shortening or lengthening. Compatibility problems may be solved by block margin deformation, by bulk block strain, by buckling of faults, by volume increase with holes opening at block intersections, by alternating periods of normal and wrench faulting, by discrete arrays of normal and wrench faults. The Coso transtensional region, in southern California is active, the horizontal strain rates are high, and there is a huge amount of seismic, heatflow, fluid flow, and borehole and surface geologic data. Between the Sierra Nevada and the Argus Range, the transport direction (from GPS) is roughly NNW at about 10 mmyr. This generates triaxial constriction with an instantaneous stretching direction roughly WNW and a horizontal strain rate of about 10-14 sec-1. Constriction is modeled by a combination of NNE normal faults, NE wrench faults, and WNW folds and thrusts, which rotate clockwise with vorticity, and N wrench faults that rotate counterclockwise against vorticity, a pattern of faulting, folding, and bulk strain recorded closely by fault slip data from earthquakes and field observations. In deformation zones, GPS and moment tensor sum data indicate very smooth velocity fields, which in turn means that the commonly accepted view of the rotation of large rigid blocks cannot be correct; instead, the upper crust behaves as a “continuum rubble” of very small “blocks”.
GSA South Central Section Meeting
Start:April 4, 2013
End:
April 5, 2013
Location:
AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
Contact:
Elizabeth Catlos, ejcatlos@gmail.com, 512-471-4762
View Event
47th Annual Meeting of the South Central Section, Geological Society of America
Hosted by the University of Texas at Austin
GSA South Central Section Meeting
Start:April 4, 2013
End:
April 5, 2013
Location:
AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
Contact:
Elizabeth Catlos, ejcatlos@gmail.com, 512-471-4762
View Event
47th Annual Meeting of the South Central Section, Geological Society of America
Hosted by the University of Texas at Austin
Soft Rock Seminar: Alex Parker, EPS
Start:April 8, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 8, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Anastasia Piliouras, piliouras@utexas.edu
Outcrop Characterization of Grayburg Ooid Grainstones in the Guadalupe Mountains, NM
UTIG Seminar Series: Clara Deser, NCAR
Start:April 12, 2013 at 10:30 am
End:
April 12, 2013 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78758
Contact:
Yuko Okumura, yukoo@ig.utexas.edu, 471-0383
View Event
“Climate Projections over North America in the Coming Decades: Uncertainty due to Natural Variability”
Abstract:
Future climate change at local and regional scales will result from a combination of human and natural factors. In this talk, I show that unpredictable, internally-generated climate fluctuations make a substantial contribution to climate trends projected for the next fifty years over North America. My results are based on large ensembles of climate change integrations with two state-of-the-art coupled climate models. I will also show that the large-scale atmospheric circulation is responsible for much of the diversity in climate change projections across the individual ensemble members. I conclude by discussing some implications of the results for model validation, inter-model comparisons, and interpretation of observed climate trends.
Hydro Brown Bag: Ben Tobin,Texas State University
Start:April 12, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 12, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Lichun Wang, wanglichun@utexas.edu
Soft Rock Seminar: Jessi Kopp, EPS
Start:April 15, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 15, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Anastasia Piliouras, piliouras@utexas.edu
THE EFFECTS OF VARYING SUBSIDENCE IN A FLUVIO-DELTAIC SYSTEM:
Responses to Lateral Tectonic Tilting in 3D Physical Models Applied to the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta
UTIG Seminar Series: Nicholas Schmerr, Planetary Geodynamics Lab
Start:April 16, 2013 at 10:30 am
End:
April 16, 2013 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78759
Contact:
Don Blankenship/Luc Lavier, blank@ig.utexas.edu/luc@ig.utexas.edu, 471-0489/471-0455
View Event
“Seismology in the Solar System: Exploring the Interiors of the Planets”
Abstract:
Understanding the internal structure of objects such as planets and moons is essential for deciphering the formation and evolution of our Solar System. Seismology provides a powerful tool for accessing the detailed innards of these objects, allowing the linkage of surface observables provided by remote sensing, geochemistry, petrology, volcanology, dynamics, and tectonics to deep internal processes. On Earth, seismological remote sensing has led to a revolution in our understanding of Earth¹s interior, allowing us to probe the driving mechanisms behind mantle convection and study the detailed evolution of the atmosphere, oceans, crust, mantle, and core. Today, seismological science has been in a golden era of seismic data acquisition and analysis. In this talk, I will present recent research into understanding the structure at the base of a tectonic plate and Earth’s upper mantle; research that takes advantage of the multitude of seismic data freely available to the scientific community. While our understanding of Earth¹s interior grows, we only have a tantalizing glimpse of planetary interiors elsewhere in the Solar System, with seismic datasets provided by instruments deployed by the Apollo astronauts on the Moon and data from the Viking II mission to Mars. I will present some of my latest work that is combining observations from the Apollo seismic dataset with GRAIL mission gravity measurements and LRO high resolution imaging to further improve our knowledge of the Moon’s crustal structure and deep interior. In addition, future missions are currently underway to develop and deploy new seismometers in the Solar System (e.g., InSight). Deployment of seismometers across a wide variety of objects will usher in a new era of planetary exploration, allowing us to link the evolution and dynamics of planetary interiors across a wide variety of objects within the Solar System and beyond.
Statoil Lunch & Learn
Start:April 17, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 17, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
Barrow Conference Room, JGB 4.102
Contact:
Maurine Riess, mriess@jsg.utexas.edu, 5122327673
All students and faculty are invited to have lunch and enjoy a presentation by a Statoil professional on a specialized topic. The title of the talk will be published as soon as it is available.
UTIG Brown Bag: Marcia McNutt (Science)
Start:April 17, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 17, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
UTIG Seminar Room
Contact:
Kaustubh Thirumalai (UTIG), kau@ig.utexas.edu
View Event
Title: How Washington Works: A Former Insider’s Guide to Navigating our Nation’s Capital
Speaker: Marcia McNutt (Former Director, USGS & Editor-in-Chief, Science)
CIESS Talk: Tom Bogdan (UCAR)
Start:April 18, 2013 at 10:00 am
End:
April 18, 2013 at 11:00 am
Location:
JGB 4.102 (Barrow Conference Room)
Contact:
Jessica Smith, jsmith@jsg.utexas.edu
A Conversation with UCAR President Tom Bogdan
UTIG Eminent Scholar Lecture: Marcia McNutt (Science)
Start:April 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm
End:
April 18, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Location:
Connally Ballroom, Etter-Harbin Alumni Center, 21st & San Jacinto
Contact:
Rosalind Gamble, rgamble@ig.utexas.edu
Communicating Science: Perspectives from the Trenches
6 pm social hour with lecture following at 7 pm
RSVP to Rosalind Gamble: rgamble@ig.utexas.edu
BEG Friday Seminar: Dr. Jeffrey May, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2013
Start:April 19, 2013 at 9:00 am
End:
April 19, 2013 at 10:00 am
Location:
BEG Main Conference Room 1.202
Contact:
Ned Frost, ned.frost@beg.utexas.edu, 512/471-4331
Video Streaming Link: Pending
Dr. Jeffrey A. May
Chief Geologist (Retired)
EOG Resources
*AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2013
http://www.aapg.org/education/dist_lect/may.cfm
Title: “Mudrock Reservoirs – Why Depositional Fabric & Sequence Stratigraphic Framework Matter”
Abstract:
Mudrocks comprise any deposit with >50% of grains <62 microns in size. Composition, fabric, and texture often are extremely variable. Major influences on these parameters include tectonic setting, source terrane, basin physiography, water depth, circulation and upwelling, oxygenation, climate, eustasy, and detrital influx. Thus, mudrock character – which ultimately controls the distribution and deliverability of hydrocarbons – is anything BUT homogeneous.
Macroscopic core description, tied to stratigraphic framework and integrated with lab analyses and petrophysical interpretation, is critical in understanding variability and deciphering patterns in composition, fabric, and texture. A rich diversity of facies can be discerned. Sedimentary structures such as ripple cross laminae, graded bedding, scour surfaces, rhythmic couplets, and minute burrows to “cryptobioturbation” are common. Stratigraphic variations in these features relate directly to changing depositional conditions and sequence position.
Mudrocks do not simply fill basins passively. Competition between extrabasinal input and intrabasinal biogenic productivity creates conditions for lithologic cycles, clinoform geometries, and water-column stratification. Benthic fauna colonize the seafloor during dysaerobic to aerobic periods, then experience “terror” during periods of mass transport. An understanding of these stratigraphic relationships requires regional correlations that commonly cover thousands of square miles.
Depositional patterns from basins of the Rocky Mountains, Gulf of Mexico, and Canada suggest that mudrock reservoirs are associated with distinct sequence stratigraphic hierarchies. Most prospective mudrock intervals develop during 2nd-order transgressions. In basins with strong extrabasinal sediment influx, the better reservoirs require load-bearing grains and typically form during either 3rd-order highstands or lowstands. By contrast, in basins dominated by intrabasinal biogenic material the best reservoirs often occur in 3rd-order condensed sections. Such units are frequently brittle, with low clay content, high TOC, and abundant microfossils. Thus, the integration of rock description and sequence framework provides better insight into lateral and vertical changes in mudrock character and reservoir targeting.
UTIG Seminar Series: Wes Patterson, John Hopkins University, APL
Start:April 19, 2013 at 10:30 am
End:
April 19, 2013 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78758
Contact:
Britney Schmidt, britneys@ig.utexas.edu, 471-0377
View Event
“Judging a Book by Its Cover: Inferring the Plumbing of Europa’s Icy Shell from Surface Geology”
Abstract:
The Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn have revolutionized our understanding of icy satellites but have also left us with a number of open questions. From a geologic perspective, the role of cryovolcanism/magmatism in the formation and evolution of icy satellite surfaces is primary among them. On Earth, hydrostatic pressure is capable of bringing mafic and silicic magmas to the surface. For icy satellites, hydrostatic pressure is sufficient to bring icy ‘magma’ to the surfaces of bodies the size of Enceledus but not to bodies the size of Europa. Hence, evidence for cryovolcanism among the icy Galilean satellites has been sparse, while active jetting from the south pole of Enceladus has been observed. Does this mean that the outer ice shells of bodies like Europa harbor, or have harbored, intrusive bodies of water or briney material? More specifically, having only remotely sensed data, is it possible to infer the presence of intrusive/cryomagmatic bodies within the outer shells of icy satellites? Topographic information for two prominently observed morphologies on the Galilean satellite Europa – double ridges and chaos – suggest the answer is yes.
Hydro Brown Bag: Timberly Mayers, EPS
Start:April 19, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 19, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Lichun Wang, wanglichun@utexas.edu
Soft Rock Seminar: Matt Hiatt, EWRE
Start:April 22, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Anastasia Piliouras, piliouras@utexas.edu
Movie: Perfect Storms: El Salvador's Ilopango Eruption
Start:April 23, 2013 at 6:00 pm
End:
April 23, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Location:
Liberal Arts Building (CLA) Room 0.130
Contact:
Geoff Hensgen, ghensgen@austin.utexas.edu
View Event
For over a decade Dull and Dr. John Southon of the University of California at Irvine have been researching the eruption of Lake Ilopango in El Salvador, and have recently tied the event to what’s known in the scientific community as the “AD 536 Event,” a period of extreme climate change that led to global crop failures, famine and the potentially the first mass outbreak of bubonic plague in the Mediterranean which killed up to 25 million people in Europe.
New evidence uncovered by Dull’s research team since 2010 has led him to believe the trigger for the event was the 6th century eruption of Lake Ilopango, a massive caldera volcano located in present day El Salvador.
Part of the Hot Science – Cool Flicks series from the Environmental Science Institute. Q&A will follow the screening.
UTIG Seminar Series: Jacob Walter, Georgia Tech
Start:April 24, 2013 at 10:30 am
End:
April 24, 2013 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78759
Contact:
Ginny Catania, gcatania@ig.utexas.edu, 471-0403
View Event
“Dynamic Behavior of Ice Sheets on Seismic and Slightly Longer Timescales”
Abstract:
A glacier emits seismic waves during a variety of processes like when it undergoes basal stick-slip sliding, calves icebergs, or drains a supraglacial lake. One particularly prominent emitter has been the Whillans Ice Plain (WIP), which may be the most seismically active glacier in the world, in that its bi-daily stick-slip events generate seismic waves observable up to 1000 km away. I will present new field observations from the WIP detailing the rupture process and suggest that the rupture speed may provide not only insight into glacier basal conditions, but basic rupture physics of tectonic earthquakes. Next, I will show that the dynamics at Store Glacier, an outlet glacier in West Greenland, are influenced by ocean tides and the seasonal removal of compacted icebergs and sea ice during the spring. Finally, I highlight the connection between the solid earth and cryosphere by showing that surface waves from distant, large earthquakes, trigger icequakes across Antarctica. The work yields information regarding the sensitivity of ice and tectonic processes occurring on various spatial and temporal timescales. Detailed study of many of these processes is still needed before ice sheet models can realistically forecast ice sheet response to climate forcing.
UTIG Seminar Series: Michael Bender, Princeton University
Start:April 26, 2013 at 10:30 am
End:
April 26, 2013 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78759
Contact:
Terry Quinn, quinn@ig.utexas.edu, 471-0464
View Event
“Climate of the Last 800 Ka And Beyond Recorded in Ice Cores”
Abstract:
Earth’s climate oscillated between glacial and interglacial conditions with a period of 40 kyr between about 2.8 Ma and 0.9 Ma, and a period of 100 kyr since. Many important climate properties are recorded in ice cores dating to about 130 ka in Greenland and 800 ka in Antarctica. Major results will be summarized, along with efforts to extend the Greenland and Antarctic ice core records to earlier times.
Hydro Brown Bag: Dr. Marc Hesse, Faculty, EPS
Start:April 26, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 26, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Lichun Wang, wanglichun@utexas.edu
Professional Licensure of Geologists
Start:April 26, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 26, 2013
Location:
JGB 2.216
Contact:
Rania Eldam, rania553@utexas.edu
View Event
This is a great opportunity for geology students, faculty and professionals interested in understanding how to become a licensed Professional Geologist in Texas, why it is important, and pertinent information regarding the first step: the Fundamentals Exam.
Lecture by Christopher Mathewson. Hosted by GLOW, Geoscience Leadership Organization for Women. Sponsored by Assoc. of Environmental & Engineering Geologists Texas Section. Lecture at noon, followed by a meet and greet with Dr. Mathewson at 1:00 pm.
Soft Rock Seminar: Charlie Kerans, EPS
Start:April 29, 2013 at 12:00 pm
End:
April 29, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Anastasia Piliouras, piliouras@utexas.edu
The Evolving Integrated Stratigraphic and Structural Framework of the Permian Section, Guadalupe Mts.
UTIG Seminar Series: Cornelia Rasmussen, UTIGApril, 26 2024Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMLocation: PRC 196/ROC 1.603 Speaker: Cornelia Rasmussen, Research Associate, University of Texas Institute for Geophysics Host: Krista Soderlund Title: The Emerging Field Of Position-Specific Isotope Analysis: Applications in chemical forensics, exobiology, geo- and environmental sciences Abstract: Complex organics can be found all over our solar system and within each living thing on our planet, be it as part of its physiology or as a contaminant. However, different processes can lead to the formation of chemical identical molecules. This makes answering a number of scientific questions challenging. One example is distinguishing between biotic and abiotic molecules, hence hindering life detection on early Earth but especially on other planetary bodies, such as on Mars, Titan, Enceladus and on meteorites where organics have been detected. Moreover, tracing molecules as they move through the environment can be demanding, yet is essential in studying the flow of organic molecules as well as correlating pollutants with their source. Novel tools to address these challenges are currently being developed. Especially, the emerging field of position-specific isotope analysis is beginning to grant access to the unique intramolecular carbon (13C/12C) isotope fingerprint preserved in complex molecules. This fingerprint can be applied in various scientific disciplines, ranging from forensics to exobiology, geo- and environmental sciences, including geo health. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) has the potential to become a key player in this research area, as it allows the analysis of organics within complex mixtures, all without the need to fragment the molecule into single carbon units or the combustion of the molecule of interest. We have been developing several NMR tools that allow us to investigate the intramolecular carbon isotope distribution within various molecule classes and to test the central hypothesis that the position-specific carbon isotope distribution within complex organics depends on a molecule’s source and formation history. |
Planetary Habitability Seminar SeriesApril, 29 2024Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: PMA 15.216B UT Center for Planetary Systems Habitability Seminar Series. See website for speaker schedule and more details: View Events Join remotely: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/94052130734 In person: Classroom 15.216B, Physics, Math and Astronomy Bldg. UT Austin, Department of Astronomy 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400 Austin, Texas 78712-1205 |
UTIG Discussion Hour: Kristian Chan - PhD Talk (UTIG)April, 30 2024Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PMLocation: ROC 2.201 |