Events

November 2024 January 2025
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Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

November, 05 2024

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

DeFord Lecture | Dr. Bill Dietrich

November, 07 2024

Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324)

UTIG Seminar Series: Gavin Piccione, Brown University

November, 08 2024

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: PRC 196/ROC 1.603

SpeakerGavin Piccione, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Environment and Society, Brown University

Host: Ruthie Halberstadt

Title: Constraints the Oxygen Isotope Composition of Antarctic Ice Recorded in Subglacial Rocks: A Case Study from the Late Miocene

Abstract: Long-term, continuous records of global ice volume have been derived using δ18O values of benthic foraminifera (δ18Ob), which record the balance between water held in the ocean and trapped on the continents. However, these ice volume approximations are confounded by the fact that δ18Ob values change as a function of ocean bottom water temperature and cannot account for spatiotemporal variation in the ?18O of ice sheets. Therefore, direct constraints on the ?18O of ice sheets are necessary to link the ?18Ob record to sea level change. In this talk, I will present geochemical data from Antarctic subglacial opal and calcite precipitates, a novel archive for reconstructing ice sheet ?18O values. Uranium-series and uranium-lead dating reveal the formation histories of these samples, spanning the late Pleistocene to late Miocene. Paired carbonate clumped isotope temperature estimates and opal triple oxygen measurements characterize the oxygen isotope composition of basal ice. Using a simplified mass balance calculation, I will explore the mass and sea level contributions of the late Miocene Antarctic Ice Sheet given these newly defined oxygen isotopic constraints.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

November, 12 2024

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

DeFord Lecture | Dr. Carl Tape

November, 14 2024

Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324)

UTIG Seminar Series: Kate Rychert, WHOI

November, 15 2024

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: PRC 196/ROC 1.603

SpeakerKate Rychert, Associate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Host: Thorsten Becker

Title: A dynamic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary: the PI-LAB experiment

Abstract: Plate tectonics revolutionized our understanding of how the Earth works, providing a framework for volcanism, earthquakes, continental formation and breakup and the geologic record of climate change. Yet, what makes a plate “plate-like” and where and how the rigid lithospheric plate transitions to the underlying weaker asthenosphere are widely debated. I present new geophysical constraints on the LAB from the PI-LAB (Passive Imaging of the LAB) experiment using a range of methodologies, techniques, and resolutions in one location near the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We find that the LAB has a variable character depending on location: simple, with monotonic age progression, undulating, and underlain by a thin melt channel. The result reconciles seemingly discrepant and variable reports of the LAB and partial melt from previous studies. Putting the LAB result from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the context globally, in particular, by considering a new interdisciplinary compilation of LAB depths, suggests that temperature determines the thickness of the plate to first order. However, the LAB is dynamic. Composition, in addition to melt generation and migration also affect the depth and definition of the LAB and likely play a role in driving plate tectonics.

Hot Science - Cool Talks: \"This is Your Brain on Birth Control\"

November, 15 2024

Time: 5:30 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Welch (WEL) 2.224

Birth control has revolutionized fertility control, but its effects extend far beyond reproductive health. The powerful hormones in birth control influence billions of cells throughout the body, particularly in the brain, shaping stress responses, eating habits, romantic attraction, and more. Join Hot Science - Cool Talks for an enlightening discussion with Dr. Sarah Hill as we explore the hidden impacts of birth control and empower everyone to make informed decisions about their health and well-being. (Recommended PG-13)

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

November, 19 2024

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

DeFord Lecture | Dr. Sumant Nigam

November, 21 2024

Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324)

UTIG Seminar Series: Eloi Camprubi Casas, UT Rio Grande Valley

November, 22 2024

Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: PRC 196/ROC 1.603

Speaker: Eloi Camprubi Casas, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Host: Elizabeth Spiers

Title: On wet rocky worlds – How does origin of life research impact space exploration efforts at ocean worlds?

Abstract: Many settings have been proposed as the cradle of life on Earth. Amongst these, Hadean alkaline hydrothermal systems have been proposed as electrochemical reactors driving an autotrophic origin of life. Recent experimental discoveries demonstrate some of the crucial synthetic steps are indeed favored under these conditions. We have developed a high-pressure microfluidic reactor to simulate the out-of-equilibrium conditions found in these extreme submarine environments. How does this research impact the strategy for biosignature detection at Ocean Worlds? What role does the icy surface environment play when trying to detect signs of life? This talk will present the work done at the Astrobiochemistry Lab at UTRGV connecting abiogenesis and biosignatures research.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

November, 26 2024

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM