Events

Mitchell Sustainability Symposium

This year’s Mitchell Sustainability Symposium will continue its focus on the intersection of sustainability and student education on UT Austin’s campus and beyond. The symposium will look into the state of sustainability at UT Austin through a series of panel discussions, lectures, and student presentations. Dr. Adam Met, adjunct professor at Columbia University, will provide the lunchtime keynote address.

The 2025 Mitchell Sustainability Symposium is co-sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, UT Energy Institute, Planet Texas 2050, and Environmental Science Institute.

DeFord Lecture | Terry Plank

Magma Stalling and Launching Depths beneath Active Volcanoes by Dr. Terry Plank, professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University

Abstract: How do volcanoes prepare to erupt? Where is magma stored prior to eruption? What roles do H2O and CO2 play in launching eruptions? This talk will address these questions by examining volcanic crystals and their melt inclusions as volatile archives, and comparing to geophysical studies of magma stalling and ascent.

UTIG Seminar Series: Collin Brandl, LDEO

Speaker: Collin Brandl, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Host: Harm Van Avendonk

Title: A New Subduction Zone in the Northeast Pacific? Seismic Imaging of the Queen Charlotte plate boundary

Abstract:

The formation of new subduction zones is critical for plate tectonics, but detailed records of subduction initiation are scarce. Obliquely convergent ocean-continent transform plate convergence may be one of the most favorable environments for subduction initiation due to their pre-existing weak zone and significant contrast in lithospheric properties, but there are few locales of this nature that can be observationally studied. The transform Queen Charlotte plate boundary (QCPB) separates the North American and Pacific offshore western British Columbia and southeastern Alaska, connecting the Cascadia and Alaska subduction zones. The QCPB accommodates up to 55 mm/yr of plate motion, mostly along the strike-slip Queen Charlotte Fault, but up to 15° of oblique convergence occurs in its southern segment, offshore Haida Gwaii, BC. A coincident sedimentary wedge (the Queen Charlotte Terrace), a 2012 M7.8 tsunamigenic thrust earthquake, and seismological indications of a dipping slab has led many investigators to consider this southern segment a subduction zone, but the region lacks many of the other defining characteristics. A paucity of crustal scale seismic imaging along the plate boundary has left the structure and behavior of the system uncertain. In this talk I will use multichannel seismic reflection profiles acquired in 2021 to constrain crustal structure along the southern segment of the QCPB. This dataset reveals the accommodation mechanisms of oblique convergence and is used to classify this segment as an incipient subduction zone, settling a decades long-debate over the nature of the plate boundary. As an incipient subduction zone, the southern QCPB provides crucial observations of early deformation and the structural evolution that occurs during subduction initiation. Motivated by the 2012 M7.8 earthquake and the potential for future events, I will also use this seismic dataset to estimate the thermal structure of the plate boundary through an analysis of bottom simulating reflectors, better informing future hazard analysis of the region.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

Remote sensing, urban sustainability; Natural H2 – seasonal variation – low temperature serpentinization

presented by

Dr. Yiming Zhang
Postdoctoral Fellow, BEG

and

Dr. Gabriel Pasquet
Postdoctoral Fellow, BEG

DeFord Lecture | Ian Kane

UTIG Seminar Series: Kelly Nunez Ocasio, Texas A&M

Speaker: Kelly Nunez Ocasio, Assistant Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University

Host: Danielle Touma

Title: Novel Regional Modeling Approaches for Current and Future Tropical Weather and Climate

Abstract: Africa’s weather–climate system, including the African Easterly Jet (AEJ) and West African Monsoon, strongly influences high-impact weather across Africa and the tropical Atlantic. However, how this system responds to climate warming remains unclear due to limitations in global climate models. We address this using convection-permitting simulations with MPAS-A and a pseudo-global warming approach. Results show a northward-shifting and intensifying AEJ under mid-century warming, alongside increased monsoonal moisture. These changes alter the intensity and location of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) and African Easterly Waves (AEWs), which can seed Atlantic tropical cyclones and cause significant impacts.

In the second part of the talk, I turn to Mesoamerica and the Caribbean—regions with complex hydroclimates and sparse observations. I will introduce the Mesoamerica Affinity Group (MAAG), an NSF NCAR-supported initiative promoting collaborative, high-resolution climate research. A key project includes a two-week convection-permitting MPAS-A simulation of Hurricane Maria (2017), using a variable-resolution mesh (15–3 km). Preliminary validation shows strong performance in simulating precipitation, the ITCZ, and low-level jets. This dataset, now publicly available via NCAR’s Research Data Archive, supports broader analysis of tropical cyclones and extreme rainfall events.

At Texas A&M, my group continues to explore how tropical systems across Africa, the Atlantic, Central America, and the Caribbean are evolving in a warmer, moisture-rich climate.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

pyCoreRelator: A Quantitative Tool for Core and Log Data Correlation
(Automated Stratigraphic Correlation, Dynamic Time Warping, Deep-Water Turbidites)

presented In Person by

Dr. Larry Syu-Heng Lai, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, BEG

Hot Science - Cool Talks: How to Make Your Cat Love You. With Science!

What if there was a science to making your cat love you? In the next Hot Science – Cool Talks, Dr. Mikel Delgado explores the secrets behind feline behavior. Learn what makes cats unique, how to create their purrfect home, and how to build a stronger bond with your whiskered companion with the power of science!

DeFord Lecture | Nadja Drabon

UTIG Seminar Series: Lizz Utlee, NASA Goddard

Speaker: Lizz Ultee, Associate Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Host: Ginny Catania

Title: Greenland ice sheet variability and its implications for sea-level projections

Abstract: In Greenland, ice flows from a central ice sheet out to the ocean through more than 200 outlet glaciers.  The balance of ice flow through those outlet glaciers is a fundamental control on the ice sheet’s contribution to global mean sea level rise.  Satellite remote sensing shows that outlet glaciers respond to changes in the atmosphere and ocean at different time scales.  While short-term variability is generally not accounted for in ice sheet models, model experiments show that including it affects sea-level projections at longer term.  In this talk, I will show how we identify responses across time scales in the satellite data and what we can gain from in situ data.  I will highlight preliminary findings from my group’s 2025 field campaign on Sermeq Kujalleq, Greenland’s fastest-flowing outlet glacier.  (Yes, there will be gratuitous photos of really cool ice.).  Finally, I will summarize how we can incorporate these insights into future sea-level projections.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

TBD – Topic, Title and Presenter updated once available

DeFord Lecture | Jeff Schragge

UTIG Seminar Series: Michael Young, The University of Texas At Austin

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

Landslides, critical zone, geomorphic decay of volcanic islands

presented In Person by

Dr. Justin Higa
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

DeFord Lecture | Shi Joyce Sim

UTIG Seminar Series: Shujuan Mao, UT Austin

Speaker: Shujuan Mao, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Texas at Austin

Host: Zhe Jia

Research Theme: Climate & MGGST; Shallow fluid systems including groundwater, geothermal energy exploitation, carbon capture and storage, and volcanic unrest

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

Remote sensing, water resources

presented In Person by

Dr. Bridget Scanlon
Research Professor, BEG