Andrew Smith studies undersea gas vents, large volcano-like features on the seafloor that spew plumes of oil and gas into the ocean. Scientists have long been interested in them because many contain large amounts of gas hydrate, an icy substance made of natural gas and water. Gas hydrates might be mined someday as an alternative…
Releases & Features
This past summer, a team of scientists from the University of Texas at Austin completed the first of a series of expeditions in the Gulf of Mexico surveying potential offshore storage sites for carbon dioxide (CO2). In the process, they tested out a new type of seismic instrument designed to reveal geologic layers and structures…
AUSTIN, Texas — A rapid response science team from the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics will help map the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the beach/barrier systems off the south shore of Long Island. Follow our rapid response field blog with live updates from the ship. The team will collaborate this month with…
The Jackson School community mourns the loss of David “Scotty” Holland and extend their condolences to his family. Scotty Holland passed away this Saturday, after suffering a brain injury from which he was unable to recover. An interment will be held in Abilene this Friday at 11 a.m. at Elmwood Memorial Park, 5750 Hwy 277…
In one of the most high-octane meetings since its launch in 2005, the Jackson School’s Latin American Forum on Energy and the Environment drew leaders from nine countries and representatives from across the Americas to Houston last March for a conference dominated by the impact of rising unconventional reserves in the southern hemisphere. Recent estimates…
Scientists have discovered underwater evidence that Haiti’s unusual 2010 earthquake may not have been the first of its kind in the region. They took core samples from the seafloor that reveal a 2000-year-old sequence of sediment layers closely resembling landslide deposits triggered by the 2010 quake, indicating an older event of similar violence and other…
The country’s biggest geosciences pipeline program just got bigger. This past summer, 16 incoming high school freshmen from native villages on the North Slope of Alaska joined the inaugural class of GeoFORCE Alaska. Students set out on a week-long field trip through some of Alaska’s geological hotspots, including Denali National Park, Earthquake Park in Anchorage,…
Last year, Suzanne Pierce was selected as one of the first 20 Fulbright Nexus Scholars, a group of early to mid-career experts working to bridge the gap between science research and the needs of society. The program is the newest initiative of the U.S. Department of State. Pierce’s project focused on helping indigenous communities in…
Scientists have discovered the cause for an observed slowdown in the Walker Circulation (WC) over the past 60 years, and in the process boosted their confidence in atmospheric models. The WC is a wind pattern in the tropical Pacific that, as it changes from year to year, spawns floods and droughts in North America and…
Marine scientists are using “earthstones” from Southern flounder to determine the age, growth history and migration patterns of fish. Nate Miller’s geochemical analyses are a critical part of the process.
