Events

BEG Friday Seminar: Steven Bachtell, Adjunct Faculty, EPS/UT Austin

Video Streaming Link: Pending

Steven Bachtell
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Geological Sciences, UT Austin
steve.bachtel@chevron.com

TITLE: To Be Announced

UTIG Seminar Series: Duncan Young, UTIG

“New Constraints on the Evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from Aerogeophysics”

Abstract:

The glaciation of the Antarctic has played a crucial role in shaping the ‘icehouse’ world that humans arose in, and may play an important role in our future. Ice sheets have a significant impact on sea level variability, as well as ocean and atmospheric circulation variability on evolutionary time scales. The underlying geology and geomorphology of the Antarctic continent, (which can be inferred from airborne observations) both played a critical role in shaping ice sheets, and represents a record of their evolution. While the idea of greenhouse-icehouse transition in Earth’s climate during the Cenozoic is well established, ocean records imply several paradoxes related to ice volume that must be reconciled to understand how we got to our modern climate regime. Going forward into a world with ‘greenhouse’ levels of carbon dioxide, we must understand which lessons from the past climate transition apply to current climate change given ice sheet hysteresis and very different rates of change on forcing. New aerogeophysical data from East and West Antarctica combining radar sounding, magnetics, gravity, and altimetry elucidate the geology of the Antarctic continent, and thus help constrain the geometry of ice sheet change over the Cenozoic. We focus on East Antarctica’s Aurora and the Wilkes Subglacial Basins and the constraints they offer on the Cenozoic evolution of the ice sheet margin, as well as new data in West Antarctica that help reconcile the history of that vulnerable ice sheet.

Hydro Brown Bag: Jesus D. Gomez, New Mexico Tech

Age distributions and dynamically changing hydrologic systems: exploring topography-driven flow

The 2013 EDGER Forum Annual Meeting & Technical Symposium

The 2013 EDGER Forum Annual Meeting & Technical Symposium

DATES
Monday, March 4th – Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

REGISTRATION
To register please RSVP the Project Coordinator, Margo C. Grace by email: margo@jsg.utexas.edu or tel: (512) 232-1920

CONFERENCE LOCATION
The Thompson Conference Center, 2405 Robert Dedman Drive on campus http://www.utexas.edu/ce/tcc/attend/maps-directions/

HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS
Guest rooms are available at the hotel located in the AT&T Executive Education Center on campus. To book a room, please call (512) 404-3600 or online http://meetattexas.com/

ANNUAL DINNER
The 2013 EDGER Forum Kickoff Dinner will be held at 7pm on Monday, March 4th, 2013 in the North Ballroom of the new Student Activity Center on campus
http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/sac.html

Latin American Forum

The Latin American Forum is a unique by-invitation-only event that addresses a critical need to bring together government and industry decision makers, scholars and scientists, to foster dialogue around geosciences, technology, and energy and environmental policy issues. Please email latinamericanforum@jsg.utexas.edu for more information.

Soft Rock Seminar: Gregory Hurd

“Compression Behavior of Carbonate Mudrocks”

The 2013 EDGER Forum Annual Meeting & Technical Symposium

The 2013 EDGER Forum Annual Meeting & Technical Symposium

DATES
Monday, March 4th – Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

REGISTRATION
To register please RSVP the Project Coordinator, Margo C. Grace by email: margo@jsg.utexas.edu or tel: (512) 232-1920

CONFERENCE LOCATION
The Thompson Conference Center, 2405 Robert Dedman Drive on campus http://www.utexas.edu/ce/tcc/attend/maps-directions/

HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS
Guest rooms are available at the hotel located in the AT&T Executive Education Center on campus. To book a room, please call (512) 404-3600 or online http://meetattexas.com/

ANNUAL DINNER
The 2013 EDGER Forum Kickoff Dinner will be held at 7pm on Monday, March 4th, 2013 in the North Ballroom of the new Student Activity Center on campus
http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/sac.html

Latin American Forum

The Latin American Forum is a unique by-invitation-only event that addresses a critical need to bring together government and industry decision makers, scholars and scientists, to foster dialogue around geosciences, technology, and energy and environmental policy issues. Please email latinamericanforum@jsg.utexas.edu for more information.

Tech Session

Benjamin Byerlee: JGB 2.324
“TBA”

Yang Xue: JGB 3.222
“TBA”

The 2013 EDGER Forum Annual Meeting & Technical Symposium

The 2013 EDGER Forum Annual Meeting & Technical Symposium

DATES
Monday, March 4th – Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

REGISTRATION
To register please RSVP the Project Coordinator, Margo C. Grace by email: margo@jsg.utexas.edu or tel: (512) 232-1920

CONFERENCE LOCATION
The Thompson Conference Center, 2405 Robert Dedman Drive on campus http://www.utexas.edu/ce/tcc/attend/maps-directions/

HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS
Guest rooms are available at the hotel located in the AT&T Executive Education Center on campus. To book a room, please call (512) 404-3600 or online http://meetattexas.com/

ANNUAL DINNER
The 2013 EDGER Forum Kickoff Dinner will be held at 7pm on Monday, March 4th, 2013 in the North Ballroom of the new Student Activity Center on campus
http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/sac.html

UTIG Seminar Series: Dr. Gerard Schuster, KAUST

“Seismic Interferometry and Beyond: Harvesting Signal from Coherent Noise”

Abstract:

The cost of drilling and extraction has prompted energy companies to invest heavily in seismic acquisition and processing to harvest as much information as possible about the subsurface. In the past decade, this effort has been augmented by the parallel emergence of an exciting new technology – seismic interferometry. This technology is a means by which unused (and often discarded) events can be recombined into useful signal for existing imaging algorithms. For example, multiples can be recycled as virtual primaries to illuminate larger portions of the subsurface than seen by the recorded primaries.

The presentation by Gerard Schuster, one of the pioneers of this new technology, will introduce the concepts underlying seismic interferometry and present workflows for its implementation and practical application. The lecture will include several examples that illustrate the practical benefits of interferometry and other multiple imaging methods.

With the dwindling number of easy discoveries and ever increasing demand of energy resources, the oil and gas exploration industries are moving to less conventional plays, deeper water, and more difficult terrains. The attendant cost of drilling and extraction has prompted the energy and service companies to invest heavily in seismic data acquisition and processing to harvest as much illumination information as possible about the subsurface. Fortunately, the exploration geophysics community during the past decade has witnessed the parallel emergence of a new exploration geophysics topic – seismic interferometry. Seismic interferometry is a means by which unused events, often discarded as coherent noise, can be recombined to give usable signal for existing imaging algorithms. For example, multiple reflections can be recycled as virtual primaries that can illuminate larger portions of the subsurface than seen by the recorded primaries.

In this lecture, I will introduce the concepts underlying seismic interferometry and present the workflows for its implementations and practical applications. I will show various ways to harvest useful signal from portions of the data normally considered as noise in conventional processing. I will use several examples to illustrate the practical benefits of interferometry and other multiple imaging methods: increased subsalt illumination by multiple reflections, tripling of the aperture of usable refraction arrivals by supervirtual interferometry, significant widening of the illumination zone of VSP data by transforming multiples into primaries, and reduction of the cost of imaging by multisource phase encoded migration and waveform inversion.

Tech Session- Distinguished Guest Speaker

Fred L. and Frances J. Oliver Lectureship in Texas Hydrology and Water Resources

Tom Gleeson
McGill University

“TBA”

Networking with Polish

Professional Etiquette Consultant Diane Gottsman will help students with networking techniques.
In SAC 3.116

BEG Friday Seminar: Dr. Chris Paola, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2013

Video Streaming Link: Pending

Dr. Chris Paola
CSE Distinguished Professor
University of Minnesota

*AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2013
http://www.aapg.org/education/dist_lect/paola.cfm

Title: Pending

Hydro Brown Bag: Prof. Tom Gleeson, McGill University

Regional groundwater systems: numerical modeling and geospatial analysis

Soft Rock Seminar: Wayne Wagner, EPS

Tech Session

Michelle Stocker: JGB 2.324
“TBA”

Paul Betka: JGB 3.222

Tech Session: Distinguished Guest Speaker

Edwin Allday Lectureship in Geological Sciences

Shun-Ichiro Karato
Yale University

“TBA”

UTIG Seminar Series: Shun-ichiro Karato, Yale University

“Origin of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Structure in the Upper Mantle”

Abstract:

The lithosphere-asthenosphere structure is one of the most fundamental structure of the upper mantle. Such a mechanical layering is a key to the operation of plate tectonics and the survival and erosion of the lithosphere. A popular model to explain this layering is to assume that the asthenosphere is a layer where a significant amount of melt is present. However, the partial melt model has serious difficulties with being consistent with the petrological, geothermal and geodynamic model of the mantle. These models predict a small melt fraction in most of the asthenosphere that cannot explain the observed large velocity reduction at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). Sub-solidus models need to be invoked to explain geophysical observations on LAB. Challenges for sub-solidus model are to explain large and sharp velocity reduction at (oceanic) LAB. I will present a new version of sub-solidus model of the LAB that explain a majority of geophysical observations. This model also explains the enigmatic mid-lithosphere discontinuity observed at ~100 km in the old continental upper mantle.

Hydro Brown Bag: Elizabeth Smith, Edwards Aquifer Authority

Soft Rock Seminar: Sam Hiebert, EPS

UTIG Seminar Series: Andreas Aschwanden, University of Alaska

“Why We Model Ice Sheets”

Abstract:

Nearly 70% of the world’s fresh water resources are currently locked up in the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarcticata. Satellite observations reveal that our polar ice sheets are losing ice at an unprecedented, accelerating rate. Since 1992 the polar ice sheets have contributed, on average, 0.6 mm per year to sea level, which is roughly the yearly water usage of the United States. Rising sea levels are expected to cause adverse economic and social effects. To estimate the ice sheets’ future contribution to sea level, we need ice sheet models.

The skill of a predictive ice sheet model depends on the quality of data available for testing and on the implemented model physics. Testing, i.e. validation is a critical component of model development, yet notoriously challenging in ice sheet modeling. One approach to validation is hindcasting, i.e. forcing a model with known or closely-estimated inputs for past events and comparing model results to time-dependent observations. In other words I ask the question: “How successful is the state-of-the art Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) in reproducing observed changes over the last two decades?” I show that PISM reproduces some observations while struggling with others. This excercise highlights the importance of observation-based validation to reduce the uncertainty in projections of sea level rise.

BEG Friday Seminar: Dr. Ron Blakey, AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2013

Video Streaming Link: Pending

Dr. Ron Blakey
Professor Emeritus
Northern Arizona University
Colorado Plauteau Geosystems

*AAPG Distinguished Lecturer 2013
http://www.aapg.org/education/dist_lect/blakey.cfm#abstract

Title: “Using Paleogeographic Maps to Portray Phanerozioic Geologic and Paleotectonic History of Western North America”

Abstract:
Paleogeographic maps provide clear, concise pictures of the evolving complex geologic events of Western North America. Time slices are selected to show critical stages in the geologic history thereby providing a continuous view of the evolution of the region and clearly showing sequences of paleogeography and paleotectonics. The maps are particularly effective in demonstrating the geometry and history of terrane accretion and the affects of accretionary events on the growth of Western North America from Devonian to Present. The maps are also powerful tools for comparing varying or contrasting models of various terrane-accretion events and for showing cause and effect across broad geologic provinces. Other maps (isopach, paleogeology, facies, paleocurrent, etc.) can be used in conjunction with paleogeographic maps to further explain the geologic history.
The models presented here are derived and modified from the geologic literature. Data is plotted on basemaps and paleogeography is cloned from digital elevation maps to match the inferred distribution of landforms at given times and places. The paleogeography is shown in palinspastic restoration with reference to present political boundaries. The maps are finished in a fashion to show how paleogeography might have appeared as if seen from space. Colors suggest paleovegetation and inferred paleoclimate. Water depths are shown in shades of blue from evidence presented in the literature and presumed modern analogs. Although maps are assigned a specific geologic age, ranges are given to suggest the interval for which the maps are valid. The resulting series of paleogeographic maps provides a coherent picture of the geologic and tectonic history of Western North America that respects known and inferred geologic rates and geodynamic models.

UTIG Seminar Series: Leigh Stearns, University of Kansas

“Are We Any Closer to Understanding the Complex Interaction of Ice-Ocean Dynamics in Greenland?”

Abstract:

A doubling of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s contribution to sea level rise in the last decade coincided with a retreat, speed-up and dynamic thinning of numerous outlet glaciers around the periphery. The synchronous and widespread glacier changes, and their coincidence with a period of oceanic and atmospheric warming, suggest a common climate driver. Yet the details of how potential forcing mechanisms govern responses in outlet glacier dynamics are still not fully understood, particularly the interaction of ice and ocean interactions. An overarching goal of my research is to provide fundamental process-based insight into the interaction between the ocean and atmosphere and Greenland’s marine-terminating outlet glaciers. In this presentation I will outline some of the technology we’ve used to explore ice-ocean interactions, our scientific findings over the past few years, and the logistical challenges of studying the dynamic margins of outlet glaciers.

Hydro Brown Bag: Kevin Befus, EPS