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Soft Rock Seminar: Julio Leva
Start:December 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm
End:
December 3, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Location:
JGB 3.222
Contact:
Rattanaporn Fongngern (Jah), rattanapornf@utexas.edu
BEG Friday Seminar Series: Dr. Osareni Ogiesoba, BEG
Start:December 7, 2012 at 9:00 am
End:
December 7, 2012 at 10:00 am
Location:
J.J. Pickle Research Campus, Bldg. 130, room #1.202
Video Streaming: Not available for this seminar
SEISMIC INVERSION FOR SHALE GAS/OIL IN THE AUSTIN CHALK AND EAGLE FORD SHALE IN A SUBMARINE VOLCANIC TERRAIN, MAVERICK BASIN, SOUTH TEXAS
Osareni (Chris) Ogiesoba
Bureau of Economic Geology (STARR)
Hydrocarbon exploration in the Austin Chalk began in 1916 with the discovery of hydrocarbon traps located in and around volcanic centers (serpentine plugs) encased by Austin Chalk. Owing to the occurrence of hydrocarbons around these serpentine plugs, exploration efforts were focused on identifying surface as well as subsurface locations of volcanic centers within the Austin Chalk. However, with the realization of the existence of fault-related, fractured reservoirs within the Austin Chalk in the 1980’s, fault zones became the main target of exploration—and the drilling spree started. To date, more than 2,000 horizontal wells have been drilled within the Austin Chalk.
Although some of these wells were successful, many others failed either because they did not penetrate hydrocarbon sweet spots, or hydrocarbon-source-rock distribution within and outside the Austin Chalk was unknown. In this project, seismic inversion studies was conducted by combining seismic data with wireline logs to determine sweet spots and predict resistivity distribution (using the deep-induction log) within the Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.
Results show that >90% of productive zones are in the lower part of the Austin Chalk and are associated with Eagle Ford vertical-subvertical en echelon faults, suggesting hydrocarbon migration from the Eagle Ford Shale. Furthermore, the lower Austin Chalk and upper Eagle Ford Shale together appear to constitute a continuous (unconventional) hydrocarbon play.
In addition, local accumulations within the Austin Chalk may be related to Austin TOC-rich zones or migration from the Eagle Ford through fractures. The quality-factor attribute (Q) can serve as a tool for detecting high-water saturated zones. Although Q was not selected as one of the primary attributes for predicting resistivity, it nevertheless can serve as a good reconnaissance tool for predicting resistivity and brittle zones. Wells that have high water production do so because the water-bearing middle Austin Chalk that sits on the downthrown side of Eagle Ford regional faults constitutes a large section of the horizontal well, as evidenced by the Q attribute. Finally, based on the seismic stratigraphic positions of identified submarine volcanic mounds within the Austin Chalk, volcanic activity probably continued up middle Campanian time.
JSG Fall Graduation
Start:December 8, 2012 at 1:00 pm
End:
December 8, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Location:
McCullough Theatre (in the Performing Arts Complex)
Contact:
Erin Negron, erin.negron@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-471-5870
View Event
Event: The Jackson School of Geosciences 2012 Fall Commencement Ceremony and Reception
Speaker: Brewster McCracken
Reception: Immediately following ceremony, at Holland Family Student Center (JGB), refreshments will be served
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesJanuary, 30 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: BEG VR Room 1.116C BEG Seminar presented in person by Dr. Todd Halihan, Oklahoma State University, and Chief Technical Officer for Aestus, LLC in person Topic: Subsurface hydrogeology |
Energy AI HackathonJanuary, 30 2026Time: 12:00 AM - 12:00 AMLocation: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Building UT PGE’s annual Energy AI Hackathon is one of UT Austin’s premier data analytics events. Over the course of a weekend, current students from across the university work together in teams to solve a real-world energy challenge using machine learning in Python — and compete for thousands in prize money and the opportunity to present to event sponsors at their corporate offices. This is open to all UT students. |
SSL Seminar Series | Mackenzie DayFebruary, 03 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324) From sand to stratigraphy: How dunes record the changing landscape of Earth and other planets by Dr. Mackenzie Day Abstract: Desert dune fields preserve rich sedimentary records of environmental change, providing insight into both past climate and modern landscape evolution. This presentation explores three desert systems on Earth and Mars, using dune fields as a lens to examine how landscapes, both ancient and modern, respond to shifting environmental conditions. These investigations address the longevity of Earth’s dune fields, the interplay between wind and water, and the applicability of aeolian sedimentology to planetary bodies beyond Earth. Together, they highlight how dune fields serve as dynamic archives of change, and how Earth, Mars, and other bodies can be studied in tandem as natural laboratories for generalizing aeolian sediment transport to arbitrary fluid-gravity conditions. |
SSL Seminar Series | Marjorie CantineFebruary, 05 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324) Human, climate, sediment and geobiological history of a rapidly-growing carbonate island by Dr. Marjorie Cantine Abstract: You may have heard the line that real estate is valuable because \"they aren\'t making more land\"; in this talk, I\'ll show you that that\'s not true. I\'ll use the sedimentary and radiocarbon records of a carbonate island in the Caribbean, Little Ambergris Cay, to describe its formation over the last millenium, how its growth relates to past climate, and what it means for mechanisms potentially capable of protecting shorelines in the near future. I\'ll leverage geobiological field experiments to help explain the mechanisms of island growth. Finally, I\'ll share how ongoing work in my group is leveraging geoarchaeological archives to better understand the human and climate histories of the Common Era and inform hazard predictions in the region through testing climate models. I will also briefly describe other work ongoing in my group, which tackles questions at the nexus of time, sedimentary processes, and geochemistry from the Precambrian to the Common Era. |
15th Annual Jackson School of Geosciences Student Research SymposiumFebruary, 06 2026Time: 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM |
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesFebruary, 06 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: BEG VR Room 1.116C BEG Seminar presented by Stacy Timmons and Mike Timmons, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, in person. Topic: New Mexico Geological Survey |
SSL Seminar Series | Vamsi GantiFebruary, 10 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324) From Dunes to Channel Belts: How Rivers Organize and Move Across Scales by Dr. Vamsi Ganti Abstract: Rivers are Earth’s arteries: they transport water and sediment from uplands to oceans, sustain ecosystems and agriculture, and build the stratigraphic record of past environmental change. Yet rivers are far from static—they are dynamic systems that evolve across scales, from ripples and dunes on the riverbed to entire channel belts. In this seminar, I will present three discoveries that reveal the mechanisms shaping alluvial river form and motion across these scales. (1) Laboratory experiments and theory identify a previously unrecognized transition in river-dune organization at the onset of significant suspended sediment transport. This transition influences flow roughness, flood-driven dune reconfiguration, and the nature of preserved fluvial strata. (2) Using a new image-processing tool, we analyzed 36 years of satellite imagery from 84 rivers to uncover the origins of single- versus multithread channels. Single-thread rivers achieve a balance between lateral erosion and accretion, maintaining equilibrium width, while multithread rivers arise when erosion outpaces accretion, causing individual threads to widen and split. This mechanistic insight informs both planetary geomorphology and cost-effective river restoration. (3) Finally, I’ll show how human activity and climate change are already altering the way rivers flow and evolve. Dams dampen river motion and reduce the number of active threads, whereas increased sediment supply from land-use change and glacial melt are making rivers in the Global South and High Mountain Asia more dynamic. Together, these discoveries provide a mechanistic view of river evolution across scales and highlight why understanding river behavior is essential—not only for managing water, life, and landscapes they sustain today, but also for decoding the history of environmental change recorded in sedimentary strata. |
DeFord Lecture | Jake JordanFebruary, 12 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
DeFord Lecture | Daniel MinisiniFebruary, 19 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesFebruary, 20 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: BEG VR Room 1.116C BEG Seminar presented by Dallas Dunlap, BEG, in person. Topic: Channel Architecture Influenced by Precursor Channelized Submarine Landslide Topography in the Taranaki Basin |
Hot Science - Cool Talks: The Biology of LoveFebruary, 20 2026Time: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PMLocation: Welch Hall 2.224 and Grand Hallway What does science say about love and long-term relationships? In this Hot Science – Cool Talks event, biologist Dr. Steven Phelps explores the biology of love through the surprising world of prairie voles, one of the few monogamous mammals. By studying how vole brains form lasting bonds, Dr. Phelps reveals what biology, brain chemistry, and evolution can teach us about human connection and commitment. This engaging talk offers a fresh, science-based look at why we pair up right after Valentines Day! |
DeFord Lecture | Roland BürgmannFebruary, 26 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesFebruary, 27 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: Zoom BEG Seminar presented by Dr. Anne Glerum on Zoom. Topic: Geodynamic controls on clastic-dominated zinc-lead deposit formation |