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UTIG Brown Bag: Rob Porritt
Start:February 4, 2020 at 12:00 pm
End:
February 4, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Naoma McCall, nmccall@utexas.edu
Informal weekly presentations by UTIG students and researchers. Bring your lunch!
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Speaker: Rob Porritt, Research Engineering/Scientist Associate V, UTIG
Title: Shear velocity structure of the continuous US from complementary imaging methods with USArray and TexNet
DeFord Lecture: Sedimentary Geology candidate
Start:February 4, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 4, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
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De Ford Lecture Series: Brett Carpenter
Start:February 6, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 6, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
UTIG Seminar Series: Wenyuan Fan, Florida State University
Start:February 7, 2020 at 10:30 am
End:
February 7, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Constantino Panagopulos, costa@ig.utexas.edu, 512-574-7376
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Host: Shuoshuo Han
Title: How to rock the Earth without an earthquake?
Abstract: In addition to earthquakes, seismometers record ground motions generated by various geological surficial processes, the ocean, the atmosphere, and anthropogenic activities, and the continuous seismic records are mainly these non-earthquake signals. However, these signals are complex and difficult to interpret, leaving their source mechanisms poorly understood. Therefore, these signals are often considered as noise, and have received limited observational or theoretical attention. Here, using ten years of continuous records from more than 2000 seismic stations spanning the whole U.S. continent and a novel surface wave detection method, we identify and locate various peculiar seismic sources like glacial quakes, landslides, and pressure sources from strong storms. In this seminar, I will discuss a newly discovered geophysical phenomenon–stormquakes, involving the coupling of the atmosphere-ocean and solid Earth. We discovered that large storms such as hurricanes and Nor’easters can excite coherent transcontinental seismic surface waves as large as those excited by M3.5 earthquakes. These stormquakes are fundamentally different from previously reported atmosphere-ocean-solid Earth couplings that produce incoherent seismic noise. I will also show the discovery of abundant submarine landslides in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, we identify and locate 85 previously unknown submarine landslides in the Gulf of Mexico from 2008 to 2015. Out of the 85 landslides, ten occurred spontaneously without preceding earthquakes, while the remaining 75 occurred nearly instantaneously after the passage of surface waves from distant earth- quakes, and hence were likely dynamically triggered by the earthquakes. The triggering earthquakes can have magnitudes as small as ~M 5. These discoveries suggest the richness of the continuous seismic wavefield, and hint future research directions.
UTIG Brown Bag: Jacob Mehr
Start:February 11, 2020 at 12:00 pm
End:
February 11, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Naoma McCall, nmccall@utexas.edu
Informal weekly presentations by UTIG students and researchers. Bring your lunch!
Speaker: Jacob Mehr, Undergraduate Student and Technical Cave Diver, Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences
Title: Cave Diving: Techniques and the unique geology in the exploration of flooded cave systems
DeFord Lecture: Sedimentary Geology candidate
Start:February 11, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 11, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
De Ford Lecture Series: Chris Bell
Start:February 13, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 13, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
UTIG Seminar Series: Alexey Portnov, Ohio State University
Start:February 14, 2020 at 10:30 am
End:
February 14, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Constantino Panagopulos, costa@ig.utexas.edu, 512-574-7376
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Speaker: Alexey Portnov, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ohio State University
Hosts: Manasij Santra and Steve Phillips
Title: Gas hydrates in dynamic geological systems
Abstract: Natural gas hydrate, a solid compound of water and gas, exists in permafrost regions, under ice sheets and in deep ocean sediments (?400 m water depth). These dynamic geological systems sequester and release carbon by modulating the stability of gas hydrate. In the Arctic, significant amounts of methane emissions are controlled by climate sensitive permafrost and glacial dynamics. Dissociation of sub-permafrost and subglacial gas hydrate reduces the cohesive properties of the sediment increasing its geohazard potential, while the released greenhouse gas may contribute to the atmospheric carbon budget. Deep ocean depositional systems are less climate sensitive than in the Arctic. There, gas hydrate is investigated as an unconventional future energy resource with potentially recoverable gas hydrate existing in sand-rich reservoirs. During this seminar I will discuss Arctic gas hydrate systems (Kara Sea permafrost regions and glaciated Barents Sea shelf) as well as the recently discovered salt-controlled reservoirs in coarse-grained depositional systems in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The major questions are: how sensitive is gas hydrate to environmental changes in the Arctic; what are the key elements of hydrate reservoir exploration and characterization in deep waters?
UTIG Brown Bag: Ian Dalziel
Start:February 18, 2020 at 12:00 pm
End:
February 18, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Naoma McCall, nmccall@utexas.edu
Informal weekly presentations by UTIG students and researchers. Bring your lunch!
Speaker: Ian Dalziel, Research Professor, UTIG
Title: Tectonics and Wildlife: circumnavigating the Falkland Islands under sail
Seminar features photography by Rick Tomlinson!
DeFord Lecture: Sedimentary Geology candidate
Start:February 18, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 18, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
De Ford Lecture Series: A. Joshua West
Start:February 20, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 20, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
UTIG Seminar Series: Edgard Rivera-Valentin, LPI
Start:February 21, 2020 at 10:30 am
End:
February 21, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Constantino Panagopulos, costa@ig.utexas.edu, 512-574-7376
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Speaker: Edgard Rivera-Valentin, Planetary Scientist, Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI)
Host: Cyril Grima
Title: Following the water towards habitability beyond Earth
Abstract: Water is a vital component for life as we know it. This has fueled NASA’s “Follow the water” philosophy in its exploration of our Solar System and beyond. Pure liquid water, though, is rarely, if at all, stable on Solar System bodies. Indeed, brines may be the more appropriate liquid to consider owing to their increased stability. Furthermore, to refine our understanding of planetary habitability, we need to consider environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, and radiation. In this talk, I’ll use Mars as a case study and constrain its present-day potential to harbor habitable liquids. We will then explore the icy moons in our Solar System and compare with Mars in order to understand the potential for habitable abodes beyond Earth.
UTIG Brown Bag: Judson Kauffman, Joe Wolfel and Ken Childress
Start:February 25, 2020 at 12:00 pm
End:
February 25, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Naoma McCall, nmccall@utexas.edu
Informal weekly presentations by UTIG students and researchers. Bring your lunch!
Speakers: Judson Kauffman, Joe Wolfel and Ken Childress, Terradepth
Title: Scaling Deep Ocean Data
DeFord Lecture: Sedimentary Geology candidate
Start:February 25, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 25, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
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DeFord Lecture: Ariel Anbar
Start:February 27, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 27, 2020 at 5:00 pm
De Ford Lecture Series: Ariel Anbar
Start:February 27, 2020 at 3:30 pm
End:
February 27, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Location:
JGB 2.324
UTIG Seminar Series: Zach Sickmann, UTIG
Start:February 28, 2020 at 10:30 am
End:
February 28, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Location:
PRC ROC Room 1.603
Contact:
Constantino Panagopulos, costa@ig.utexas.edu, 512-574-7376
View Event
Speaker: Zach Sickmann, Richard T. Buffler Postdoctoral Fellow, UTIG
Host: Sean Gulick
Title: Detrital Signals of the Anthropocene
Abstract: Humans have interacted both directly and indirectly with natural sedimentary systems in a myriad of ways for thousands of years. These interactions that help define the informal “Anthropocene period” leave signals in the recent detrital record that can be teased out in a variety of ways. The Monterey Bay sediment dispersal system of onshore and offshore central California offers a natural laboratory to explore these detrital records using both traditional and novel detrital markers. In the sand fraction, human perturbations to coarse sediment budgets are preserved in detrital provenance signatures while the addition of non-natural detrital material helps trace human perturbations in the mud fraction. The rate at which signals of anthropogenic perturbations to the system propagate differs widely between the two fractions with signals in the mud greatly outpacing signals in sand across the system. Lessons from Monterey Bay combined with a global assay of previous studies on human perturbations to modern sediment dispersal provide a conceptual framework for understanding detrital signal propagation generally and for using traditional sedimentology perspectives and techniques to describe the role of human activity in shaping natural environments.
Hot Science - Cool Talk "NASA’s Next Mission to Mars"
Start:February 28, 2020 at 7:00 pm
End:
February 28, 2020 at 8:15 pm
Location:
Burdine Hall (BUR)
Contact:
Didey Montoya, didey@austin.utexas.edu, 5124714211
View Event
What is involved in selecting the perfect landing place for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission? What is involved in getting there? What will we find? Dr. Tim Gouge shares what makes the Jezero Crater such a perfect location, with its amazing geological formations.
DeFord Lecture | Dr. Richard TaylorApril, 25 2024Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PMLocation: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324) Adapting to the Amplification of Climate Extremes Through Freshwater Capture: Evidence from the Tropics by Dr. Richard Taylor, Department of Geography, University College London Abstract: In low-income countries of the tropics undergoing rapid growth, global warming presents challenges to the expansion and sustainability of water supplies required to advance progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Substantial uncertainty persists in projections of precipitation under climate change. A widely observed impact, pronounced in the tropics, is the intensification of precipitation comprising a transition towards fewer but heavier rainfalls. How does this transition impact terrestrial water balances? How might these changes influence freshwater demand? I will interrogate these questions and review mounting empirical evidence from the tropics of the resilience to climate change of groundwater resources, which act as a natural inter-annual store of freshwater supporting adaptation to the amplification climate extremes. Presented evidence includes case studies and local-to-regional scale analyses from tropical Africa and the Bengal Basin of South Asia. Outcomes emphasize the interconnected nature of surface water and groundwater as well as the value of groundwater as a natural, distributed store of freshwater. This insight provides a platform to explore more equitable and sustainable water development pathways resilient to climate change. |
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 |