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Jackson School 10th Anniversary Celebration & Research Symposium
Start:January 22, 2016 at 9:00 am
End:
January 22, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Location:
Student Activities Center Ballroom
Contact:
Mayda Cruz, mayda.cruz@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-471-4670
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On Jan. 22 the Jackson School of Geosciences will celebrate the incredible legacy of Jack and Katie Jackson and the 10th Anniversary of the formation of the school. It has now been 10 years since The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology, Department of Geological Sciences and Institute for Geophysics came together to fulfill the Jacksons’ vision to create one of the most dynamic schools of geosciences in the world. To celebrate, the Jackson School will be hosting a research symposium organized around Jack Jackson’s vision that the school should conduct research and educate young people “in the subjects of geology; geophysics; energy, mineral and water resources; and broad areas of the earth sciences, including the Earth’s environment.”
For more information visit http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2016/01/jackson-school-10th-anniversary-celebration-and-research-symposium/
UTIG Seminar Series: Dargan Frierson, University of Washington
Start:January 22, 2016 at 10:30 am
End:
January 22, 2016 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78758
Contact:
Charles Jackson, charles@ig.utexas.edu, 512-471-0401
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“Why Tropical Rainfall Peaks in the Northern Hemisphere, and Why Models Have a Double Rain Band Problem”
Abstract:
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the narrow band near the equator with some of the heaviest rainfall on Earth, is clearly located in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) for the majority of the year. We propose a new explanation for this feature, based on a theoretical framework that essentially postulates that the ITCZ shifts towards heating in any part of the globe. We show that the NH location of the ITCZ is due to the meridional overturning circulation of the ocean, that transports heat northward in the Atlantic. The ocean circulation warms the North Atlantic, and the warmth spreads into the tropics, bringing the ITCZ into the NH.
Climate models struggle to simulate the ITCZ, often producing too much rainfall in the Southern Hemisphere. This aspect of the “double ITCZ problem” has plagued models for decades, and has not improved in recent years. We show that this is due to the remote response to poor simulation of clouds over the Southern Ocean. A lack of clouds in the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes makes this region too warm, which again spreads into the tropics, causing the double ITCZ problem.
The ITCZ shifted southward in the late 20th century, a feature that is simulated by climate models. Within models, we show that the change is due to increased sulfate aerosols within the NH, which cooled the entire hemisphere and shifted the tropical rains southward.
BasinDynamics Info Session: Jon Rotzien
Start:January 28, 2016 at 11:00 am
End:
January 28, 2016 at 12:15 pm
Location:
JGB 4.102 Barrow Conference Room
Contact:
Maurine Riess, mriess@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-7673
Basin Dynamics, LLC was formed to fill a niche in the area of understanding process sedimentology and reservoir architecture in marine depositional systems. The company pioneers methods to reduce uncertainty in some of the main risks in oil and gas drilling: reservoir presence, reservoir deliverability, seal, and trap. Basin Dynamics consults for the global oil and gas industry, conducts original research and patent development, and leads training and field trips for industry professionals.
www.BasinDynamics.com
Jon R. Rotzien, Ph.D.
President
Basin Dynamics, LLC
Mobile: 650 862 0574
De Ford Lecture Series: Tim Bartholomaus
Start:January 28, 2016 at 4:00 pm
End:
January 28, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Location:
Boyd Auditorium
UTIG Seminar Series: Jacob Covault, BEG
Start:January 29, 2016 at 10:30 am
End:
January 29, 2016 at 11:30 am
Location:
PRC, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196, Rm 1.603, Austin, TX 78758
Contact:
Sean Gulick, sean@ig.utexas.edu, 512-471-0483
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“Supercritical Submarine Channel Morphodynamics from Western North America”
Abstract:
Submarine channels are conduits through which turbidity currents and related mass movements transport sediment into the deep sea, thereby playing important roles in the development of continental margins and biogeochemical cycles. To gain a better understanding of submarine channel morphodynamic evolution we explore a variety of channel systems from the western North American continental margin with varying sinuosity and levee geometry, terraces, channel cut-offs, and sediment waves in incipient channels, along thalwegs of well-developed channels, and on levees. Repeat bathymetric surveys of submarine channels in fjords of British Columbia and the Monterey canyon underscore the transience of fine-scale detail in channelized geomorphology, and multi-phase bed reworking, local deposition, and bypass of turbidity currents. Numerical modeling is combined with interpretations of channel geomorphology and strata in the Monterey and San Mateo canyon-channel systems to demonstrate that some of the sediment waves are likely to be cyclic steps. Submarine cyclic steps are long-wave, upstream-migrating bedforms in which each bedform in the series is bounded by a hydraulic jump in an overriding turbidity current, which is Froude-supercritical over the lee side of the bedform and Froude-subcritical over the stoss side. Submarine turbidity currents are susceptible to supercritical flow because of the reduced gravitational acceleration of dilute suspensions. Higher submarine slopes common to the North American continental margin also promote supercritical flow, which might not be as common across lower slopes of large passive margins such as the Amazon, Indus, and Bengal submarine fans. We posit that cyclic steps are a common morphodynamic expression in many continental margins. Continued integration of high-resolution data, such as repeat geophysical surveys, acoustic doppler current profiler measurements, and turbidite outcrops, which provide insights into the longer-term stratigraphic evolution of submarine channels, and approaches, including empirical experimentation and numerical modeling, are aimed at improved understanding of submarine channel morphodynamics.
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 |