Dr. Tip Meckel conducts sequestration research for the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Master’s degree in geology from the University of Montana in Missoula in 1998 and his doctorate in geology from The University of Texas at Austin in 2003. He subsequently taught undergraduate geology at Colby College in Maine before working with the U.S. Geological Survey as a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow in Woods Hole, MA for two years on subsidence issues in Louisiana.

He joined the Gulf Coast Carbon Center at the Bureau in 2006, focusing on geologic characterization, structural geology, monitoring design, and pressure evolution for CO2 injections. Tip directs the research program for the NETL-funded SECARB demonstration project in Cranfield Mississippi, and leads the Texas research initiative to identify sequestration potential in State offshore lands.

Areas of Expertise

Stratigraphy, structural geology, tectonics, CO2 sequestration, carbon capture and storage


Research Locations



Current Research Programs & Projects

Evaluating carbon dioxide storage potential in the Gulf of Mexico (seismic, reservoir, basin, fault seal, fluid migration) ( view )

Digital rendering of sedimentary-relief peels: implications for clastic facies characterization and fluid flow


Best Presentation by Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin (2003 - 2003)

Banks Scholarship, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin (2002 - 2002)

Best Presentation by a Fellowship Recipient, Institute for Geophysics, The University of Texas at Austin (2002 - 2002)

Gale White Fellowship, Institute for Geophysics, The University of Texas at Austin (2001 - 2002)

Research Grant, Geological Society of America, distinguished for exceptional merit in conception and presentation (2000 - 2000)

Departmental Award for Academic Scholarship, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin (1999 - 1999)

Scholarship, Academic Excellence and Field Research, Billings Geophysical Society, Billings, Montana (1997 - 1997)

Graduate Students

Erin N Miller, M.S., expected 2012

Kerstan J Wallace, M.S., expected 2013

Julie N Ditkof, Ph.D., expected 2016


Seismic acquisition, processing, interpretation (Graduate or Undergraduate - Funding secured through Fall 2014)
Two exciting student research opportunities exist in the context of an active project evaluating carbon dioxide storage potential in the Gulf of Mexico
(see: http://www.beg.utexas.edu/gccc/miocene).

The project utilizes basin hydrocarbon migration concepts and software, and some aspects include reservoir modeling and fluid flow simulation.
(see: http://www.permedia.ca)

We have access to over 4,000 sq. km of continuous 3D data along the Texas inner shelf. We seek students interested in regional interpretation and local mapping for structural interpretation and reservoir characterization. This is an unprecedented data volume with numerous research opportunities.

The project also collects high resolution 3D seismic data using our own P-Cable system (see: http://www.pcable.com). We have one volume in hand and will collect two new volumes in the Gulf of Mexico over the next 2 years. Students with research interests in 3D seismic acquisition, processing, and/or interpretation can be involved of all aspects of working with this unique high resolution dataand emerging technology.

 

Gulf Coast Carbon Center