Events

UT Paleontology Seminar: Simon Scarpetta (PhD Talk)

Simon Scarpetta (Jackson School of Geosciences, Bell Lab)

PhD Talk

Research Interests: Lizard biogeography and systematics, Influence of climate on cladogenesis

DeFord Lecture: Rufus Catchings

Near-surface earthquake fault exploration and evaluation

About Dr. Rufus Catchings (USGS)

Geophysical earthquake research, studying fault zones in Los Angeles, Beijing, and other places; precise locations and identification of faults at the surface using sensors to measure energy traveling within fault zones, and ratio of P- to S-wave velocities. Read more about his research and experience here.

DeFord Lecture Series
Since the 1940’s, the DeFord (Technical Sessions) lecture series, initially the official venue for disseminating EPS graduate student research, is a forum for lectures by distinguished visitors and members of our community. This is made possible through a series of endowments.

Dr. Patrick Dobson - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

UTIG Seminar Series: Cyril Grima, UTIG

Speaker: Cyril Grima, Research Associate, UTIG

Host: Don Blankenship

Title: Deciphering the surface and near-surface of planets with radar statistics

Abstract: The outstanding achievements of in situ planetary exploration by automatic landers and rovers has received well-deserved media coverage. However, the production of knowledge on how those worlds work is still mainly driven by sets of remote orbital observations that offer fragmented insights of surface processes at meter scales, and a hollow vision of the near-surface structure down to several decameters deep.

Yet, those superficial planetary portions hold signatures of outstanding processes related to the regional depositional and erosional history, but also structures relevant to future in situ exploration such as surface roughness and porosity for landing site reconnaissance, coveted ice deposits, basaltic caves and putative accessible aquifers.

Because of its meter-scale wavelengths, the surface echo from space-born radar transmitters convolves much information on surface and near-surface structure and composition. The Radar Statistical Reconnaissance (RSR) is a technique developed at UTIG to disentangle those signatures from spaceborne and airborne radar sounder observations. We review a set of outstanding science questions addressed by the RSR in planetary cryospheres, and we discuss future theoretical and practical advancements.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Kirk Scanlan, UTIG

Speaker: Kirk Scanlan, Postdoctoral Fellow, UTIG

Title: Using REASON to investigate Europa plumes

LEO Seminar Series: Didey Montoya and Alison Mote

The purpose of LEO is to create a more inclusive and educated community within the JSG by sharing and listening to each other’s stories. Speakers will interview each other and talk about why they are involved in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts and the heart behind their work. By learning more about why individuals are involved in DEI, we will broaden our understanding of the impacts the JSG is making on students, faculty, staff, and greater society. Taking initiative to get to know each other, ask questions, and Listen to Each Other is a skill that will propel us further to be leaders in the geosciences.

UT Paleontology Seminar: Katelyn McDonough

Katelyn McDonough (Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University)

Research Interests: Palynology, Human-environment interactions, Hunter-gatherer foodways, Paleoenvironmental reconstruction

DeFord Lecture: Frances Rivera-Hernandez

From Grains to Landscapes: Reconstructing Martian Environments at Multiple Scales

About Dr. Frances Rivera-Hernandez (Georgia Tech)

Planetary geologist focused on using the sedimentary record to reconstruct what the surface of planetary bodies may have looked like in the past and to evaluate whether they had conditions capable for supporting life.

DeFord Lecture Series
Since the 1940’s, the DeFord (Technical Sessions) lecture series, initially the official venue for disseminating EPS graduate student research, is a forum for lectures by distinguished visitors and members of our community. This is made possible through a series of endowments.

Dr. Jean-Philippe Nicot & Dr. Peter Eichhubl - GCCC & FRAC consortiums

UTIG Seminar Series: Christopher Piecuch, WHOI

Speaker: Christopher Piecuch, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Host: Patrick Heimbach

Title: Likely weakening of the Florida Current during the past century revealed by sea-level observations

Abstract: The Florida Current marks the beginning of the Gulf Stream at Florida Straits, and plays an important role in climate. Nearly continuous measurements of Florida Current transport are available at 27N since 1982. These data are too short for assessing possible multidecadal or centennial trends. Here I reconstruct Florida Current transport during 1909-2018 using probabilistic methods and principles of ocean physics applied to the available transport data and longer coastal sea-level records. Florida Current transport likely declined steadily during the past century. Transport since 1982 has likely been weaker on average than during 1909-1981. The weakest decadal-mean transport in the last 110 y likely took place in the past two decades. Results corroborate hypotheses that the deep branch of the overturning circulation declined over the recent past, and support relationships observed in climate models between the overturning and surface western boundary current transports at multidecadal and longer timescales.

Doctoral Defense: Simon Scarpetta

Please join the Department of Geological Sciences for the final doctoral examination of Simon Scarpetta’s PhD project, “Miocene modernization of the North American lizard fauna.” This PhD was supervised by Dr. Chris Bell, and committee members include Drs. Krister Smith, Daniel O Breecker, Timothy B Rowe, David Cannatella, and Travis J Laduc.

The defense is open to all members of the University community and the public.

https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/theses-and-dissertations/doctoral-candidacy/oral-examinations/upcoming

Hot Science At Home "Amazing Amazonian Monkeys"

Humans have long been fascinated with their evolutionary cousins in the primate world, monkeys. Anthony Di Fiore combines observational methods and modern technology to study the behavior and ecology of spider monkeys and woolly monkeys in the Amazon rain forest of Ecuador. Join us as he talks about the fascinating social behavior of these creatures and how they may be both strikingly similar to, and vastly different from, humans.

The event will be streamed online through YouTube and Facebook and will include a Q&A with Dr. Di Fiore.

For additional information about other events, please visit www.hotsciencecooltalks.org.

Doctoral Defense: Ken Ikeda

Please join the Jackson School of Geosciences for the doctoral defense of “Frequency-dependent elastic properties of geomaterials: Laboratory experiments and digital rock physics” by Ken Ikeda.  This research was supervised by Dr. Nicola Tisato with additional committee members including Drs. Mrinal K Sen, Marc A Hesse, Luc L Lavier , Kyle T Spikes and Beatriz Quintal.

Habitability Seminar: Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Auburn University

A seminar from the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability

Title: Small bodies are suppliers, builders, and destroyers of habitability: Understanding their contributions to the lunar surface ice evolution and preventing their impacts on the Earth 

Speaker: Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Department of Geosciences, Auburn University

https://habitability.utexas.edu/events/

UTIG Discussion Hour: Jay Hariharan, Andrew Moodie, and Eric Barefoot

Speakers: Jay Hariharan, Andrew Moodie, and Eric Barefoot – UT Cockrell School of Engineering, Rice University

Title: Building Modern Tools for River Delta Simulation and Analysis

UT Paleontology Seminar: Sarah N. Davis

Sarah N. Davis (Jackson School of Geosciences, Clarke Lab)

Research Interests: Avian evolution, Avian diversity dynamics, Pigmentation and integumentary structure

DeFord Lecture: Christine McCarthy

Dynamic ice here and there: experimental studies to understand the mechanical behavior of both terrestrial and planetary ice

About Dr. Christine McCarthy (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)

Studies the way that micro-features control macro-behavior; how grain and phase boundaries, defect concentration, and partial melt influence the mechanical behavior of terrestrial and planetary materials.

DeFord Lecture Series
Since the 1940’s, the DeFord (Technical Sessions) lecture series, initially the official venue for disseminating EPS graduate student research, is a forum for lectures by distinguished visitors and members of our community. This is made possible through a series of endowments.

Doctoral Defense: Son Phan

Please join the Jackson School of Geosciences for the doctoral defense of “Machine Learning Algorithm for Solving Some Seismic Inversion Challenges” by Son Phan.  This research was supervised by Dr. Mrinal K Sen with additional committee members including Drs. Charles S Jackson, Douglas J Foster, Kyle T Spikes and Sergey B Fomel.

Dr. Ernst Huenges - GFZ Potsdam

UTIG Seminar Series: Lauren Simkins, University of Virginia

Speaker: Lauren Simkins, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia

Host: Ginny Catania

Title: Beyond reconstructions: paleo-perspectives on marine-ice sheet grounding line environments

Abstract: Ice sheets resting on geologic beds below sea level are vulnerable sectors of the cryosphere and have the potential to make rapid and large contributions to future sea-level rise. The stability of marine-based ice sheets is largely dictated by perturbations at or near the grounding line, the downstream most location glacial ice is in contact with the underlying bed – the point where marine and glacial processes converge. The geological record of deglaciated continental shelves extends spatial and temporal perspectives on ice-sheet processes and behavior that transcend the timeframe of modern oceanographic and on-ice and above-ice instrumental observations. Based on geophysical and sedimentological data from deglaciated continental shelves, I will discuss my work on (near) grounding line environments, including channelized meltwater drainage and landform-based approaches to understanding ice-flow and grounding line behavior. The work that I will present highlights the importance of understanding past ice-sheet changes in assessing the stability of contemporary glacial systems – and what the multi-faceted term of stability means in this context.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Natalie Wolfenbarger, UTIG

Speaker: Natalie Wolfenbarger, Graduate Research Assistant, UTIG

Title: Compositional controls on the distribution of potential habitats within the ice shells of ocean worlds

Doctoral Defense: Eric Goldfarb

Please join the Jackson School of Geosciences for the doctoral defense of “Predictive Digital Rock Physics ” by Eric Goldfarb.  This research was supervised by Dr. Nicola Tisato with additional committee members including Drs. Gary Mavko, Richard A Ketcham, Sean S Gulick, Kyle T Spikes, and Masa Prodanovic.

JGB 4.102 AND Zoom https://utexas.zoom.us/j/98297853933

UT Paleontology Seminar: Oona Takano

Oona Takano (Deparment of Biology, University of New Mexico)

Research Interests: Late Pleistocene birds, Raptor evolution in North America, Fossil bird communities

DeFord Lecture: Christine Chesley

Electromagnetic data at the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand reveal fluid-rich subducting seamounts in a region of shallow slow slip

About Dr. Christine Chesley (Lamont Doherty/Columbia University)

Novel EM methods to study crustal and hydrological processes; freshwater resources offshore the NE US, and is also involved in imaging studies of subduction zones. Her work spans a range of processes and settings in areas of growing interest (water resources, subduction hazards)

DeFord Lecture Series
Since the 1940’s, the DeFord (Technical Sessions) lecture series, initially the official venue for disseminating EPS graduate student research, is a forum for lectures by distinguished visitors and members of our community. This is made possible through a series of endowments.

Dr. Kimberly Lau - Penn State University

UTIG Seminar Series: Tolulope Olugboji, University of Rochester

Speaker: Tolulope Olugboji, University of Rochester

Host: Thorsten Becker

Title: Submarine Exploration of Ocean Basins: Silencing the Singing of Sediments

Talk Flyer and Bio

Abstract: A growing compilation of passive-source seismic surveys reveal a transition across normal oceanic lithospheric plates that is sharp. A simple view of ocean plate formation and evolution where thermal cooling governs with only a confined role for intermittent hotspot/plume activity is challenged by these seismic constraints. In my talk, I discuss how new seismic constraints, i.e., attenuation and age-dependence of a sharp low velocity zone lend support to a subsolidus elastically accommodated grain-boundary sliding (EAGBS) model. While these results are compelling, one challenge often remains when interpreting scattered wave constraints obtained from seafloor stations: the severe ringing of waves trapped in a sediment layer. In my talk (poster), I will describe a technique for silencing the singing of sediments that interfere with conversions from the underside of the oceanic plate. We anticipate that signal processing using our recommended approach will improve scattered wave imaging, especially with amphibious seismic arrays where the water and sediment layer is expected to vary significantly.

Doctoral Defense: Kelly Olsen

Please join us for the doctoral examination of Kelly Olsen’s  PhD project “Investigating Trench Sediment Consolidation And Upper Plate Structures And Their Links To Seismic Behavior Using Active-Source 2d Seismic Data in South-Central Chile and Hikurangi.” This project was supervised by Dr. Nathan Bangs with additional committee members including Drs. Brian K Horton,  Luc L Lavier, Harm J Van Avendonk, Jaime D Barnes and Shuoshuo Han.

The defense will be held via Zoom at:  https://utexas.zoom.us/j/97083871417

Habitability Seminar: Chenguang Sun, University of Texas at Austin

A seminar from the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability

Title: Magmatic controls on atmosphere oxygenation

Speaker: Chenguang Sun, Assistant Professor, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

https://habitability.utexas.edu/events/

Amin Kiaghadi, Ph.D. - Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)

Characterization and Modeling of Compound Flooding Events and Their Environmental Impacts

Part of the increase in damage of more recent storms (Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, for instance) can be attributed to the higher levels of flooding due to combined effects from riverine flows and storm surge, known as compound flooding. A compound event can be defined as a combination of simultaneous or sequential processes leading to a more significant event. In addition to land inundation and damages to the infrastructures, such events could cause significant social and environmental impacts at various scales from microbial communities and their role in ecosystems all the way up to community health and the built environment. Deep integration across disciplines in both science and engineering is necessary to tackle such a complex challenge.

In this talk, several predictive hydrodynamic modeling frameworks and their capability in simulation compound flooding will be discussed. Case studies along the coast of Texas will be used to better illustrate various factors that could change the behavior of compound flooding. Additionally, environmental and social aspects of the extreme events and the applications of the aforementioned frameworks beyond water surface elevation/depth and inundation levels will be covered.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Monique Holt, University of Utah

Speaker: Monique Holt, University of Utah

Title: A thorough investigation and optimization of M_L–M_C as a depth discriminant

UT Paleontology Seminar: Dr. Daniel Stockli

Dr. Daniel Stockli (Jackson School of Geosciences, UTChron)

Title: Direct Dating of Fossils by Calcite U-Pb Geochronology and the Impact of Chronostratigraphy.

DeFord Lecture: Marcelo Leppe

The biogeographical and evolutionary role of Southern Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous in the conformation of the modern biotas

This was an Edwin Allday Lectureship

About Dr. Marcelo Leppe (Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH)

Triassic flora of southwestern Gondwana; study of the connections between South America and Antarctica during the Mesozoic (mainly Cretaceous) and the origin of the southern South American biotas; Chilean representative at Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

DeFord Lecture Series
Since the 1940’s, the DeFord (Technical Sessions) lecture series, initially the official venue for disseminating EPS graduate student research, is a forum for lectures by distinguished visitors and members of our community. This is made possible through a series of endowments.

Dr. Rolfe D Mandel, Dir. and State Geo., Kansas Geological Survey

UTIG Seminar Series: Jennifer Glass, Georgia Institute of Technology

To watch the recorded talk online please request a link from costa@ig.utexas.edu.

Speaker: Jennifer B. Glass, Georgia Institute of Technology

Host: Cornelia Rasmussen

Title: Microbial interactions with gas clathrates: Implications for planetary habitability

Abstract: At moderate-to-high pressures and low temperatures, water molecules form pseudo-crystalline cages encasing guest gas molecules, most commonly methane, to form solid clathrate phases, also known as gas hydrates. Methane clathrates are likely widespread in our solar system on icy moons, comets, and the Martian subsurface. On Earth, methane clathrates occur beneath permafrost and in sediments underlying continental shelves, where they support vast chemosynthetic communities at cold seeps. Habitability and biosignatures of microbial activity in methane clathrates are relevant for future missions to planets and icy moons that may harbor clathrates (e.g. Mars, Europa, Titan, Enceladus). Gas clathrates are extreme habitats due to low water activity, high salinity, low temperatures, and high pressures, yet multiple studies have revealed the presence of microbial life inside hydrates. Survival strategies used by gas clathrate-inhabiting microbes could provide clues for searching for life beyond Earth. In this talk I will summarize our latest findings of the clathrate-binding properties of proteins native to marine hydrate-bearing sediment microbes from offshore Oregon and Japan. Bacterial clathrate binding proteins caused morphological changes in tetrahydrofuran clathrate (Johnson, Huard et al., 2020, Cryst. Growth Des.) and modulated the stability of methane clathrate in pressure chamber experiments. It is possible that microbes use CBPs as to survive life encased in clathrate, with intriguing implications for subsurface habitability of Mars and other planetary bodies.