Events

DeFord Lecture | Mattia Pistone

Exploring Gas Accumulation in Magmas: Bridging the Gap Between Field and Laboratory Measurements by Mattia Pistone, associate professor at the University of Georgia

Abstract: Gas accumulation in magmas prior to eruptions represents a key process that controls the explosivity of volcanoes. The efficiency of accumulating gas in a magma is modulated by chemical and physical parameters such as magma ascent rate, modal proportions of melt, minerals, and exsolved fluids in the magma, and geochemistry of mafic to felsic magmas and associated fluids. Currently, we deal with an interesting conundrum of data acquisition. In the field, we largely monitor and study mafic volcanoes because they degas and erupt more frequently than their felsic counterparts. Vice versa, in the lab, we often study pre-eruptive gas accumulation in felsic magmas that are commonly associated to the most hazardous volcanism. In this case, lab experiments are often conducted using felsic materials because they are thick/viscous (all the phases including gas bubbles are efficiently trapped), undercooled (“slow and lazy” in crystallising), and geochemically evolved (their composition does not change much during the experiment). In this seminar, I want to explore this dichotomy of lessons that we gain from natural volcanoes and laboratory. Based on my research in the lab and in the field, I will showcase my attempt in filling the existing gap in knowledge between mafic and felsic systems by exploring: 1) how gas bubbles influence magma transport, and 2) how gas geochemistry modulates the level of isolated porosity in magmas.

UTIG Spring Seminar Series 2026: Andrew Hoffman

Speaker: Andrew Hoffman, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory

Title: Beyond ice thickness: Toward spatially-distributed measurements of 3D englacial structure, ice-sheet vertical velocity, and crystal-orientation fabric

Host: Benjamin Keisling

Abstract: Radar technology has transformed our ability to map ice-sheet thickness and subglacial topography. Yet the processes controlling ice-sheet response to climate change (basal sliding and internal deformation) depend on mechanical properties of ice, which are rarely observed.

In this talk, I will describe how new radar technology and survey strategies are moving radio glaciology beyond 2D geometric mapping to distributed measurements of 3D subglacial and englacial structure, ice deformation, and ice crystal-orientation fabric. This requires the application of two new radar technologies: multi-element 3D (swath) imaging and radar polarimetry.

First, I will highlight how swath radar surveys at Hercules Dome, Antarctica reveal U-shaped valleys and mega-scale lineations beneath a region of modern slow ice flow. This subglacial landscape requires past fast flow and informs hypotheses for ice-sheet nucleation from this region. Then, I will describe ice-flow theory that motivates the potential for repeat-pass (or multipass) radar interferometry, showing how depth-resolved phase changes of internal reflectors can be converted to englacial strain rates using repeat-pass radar data collected near the Summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet and Camp Century. Finally, I will discuss quad-polarimetric radar observations collected in both Greenland and Antarctica that demonstrate how measurements of dielectric anisotropy can be used to make profiling measurements of crystal-orientation fabric.

I am also starting a new glacier geophysics group at Rice University. The group will develop phase-coherent and polarimetric radar instrumentation, and build integrated analysis frameworks to deliver model-ready constraints on ice-sheet physics. Prospective graduate students and postdocs interested in joining our group should get in touch.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

BEG Seminar presented by Dr. Gabriel Pasquet, in person.

Topic: Natural hydrogen, field survey, Texas

DeFord Lecture | Sarah Katz

Andean Climate and Hydrology over the Last 650,000 Years: Insights from Lake Junín, Peru by Sarah Katz, postdoctoral associate at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Yale University

Abstract: In this talk, I will discuss the hydroclimate history of the central Peruvian Andes over the last 650,000 years. Specifically, I will show how carbonate clumped and triple oxygen isotope measurements from Lake Junín (11°S) sediment cores can be used to reconstruct ancient monsoon dynamics, local water balance and temperatures, and sediment transport in the basin. First, I will present evidence linking South American Monsoon intensity to Earth’s orbital configuration during two recent interglacial periods. Further, I will show that these forcings directly impact local water balance, linking tropical hydroclimate to global climate forcings. Second, we will examine the glacial intervals of the core when carbonate isotope stratigraphy is compromised by detrital carbonates; I will present a framework for using clumped isotopes to extract meaningful paleoclimate information from the Junín cores and other carbonate archives.

UTIG Spring Seminar Series 2026: Craig Martin

Contact: social@ig.utexas.edu

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

BEG Seminar presented by Dr. Zoltan Sylvester in person.

Topic: Accreting, fast and slow: Geometry, kinematics and sediment load of sinuous channels

2026 Solar Climate Intervention Impacts on Extremes (SCI-EX) Workshop

About the 2026 Solar Climate Intervention Impacts on Extremes Workshop

The first SCI-EX workshop will focus on impacts on extreme climate events under stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB). The goal of the workshop is to explore and develop internal and external collaborations to expand and advance solar climate intervention research at UT Austin. The workshop will be organized around three main topics, including (1) Downscaled and high-resolution SCI simulations, (2) Cascading and compounding extremes under SCI, and (3) S2S2D predictability under SCI. We will also have speakers that will be discussing ethical and funding considerations of SCI research.

For more information, including how to submit an abstract, please reach out to Danielle Touma.

2026 Solar Climate Intervention Impacts on Extremes (SCI-EX) Workshop

About the 2026 Solar Climate Intervention Impacts on Extremes Workshop

The first SCI-EX workshop will focus on impacts on extreme climate events under stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB). The goal of the workshop is to explore and develop internal and external collaborations to expand and advance solar climate intervention research at UT Austin. The workshop will be organized around three main topics, including (1) Downscaled and high-resolution SCI simulations, (2) Cascading and compounding extremes under SCI, and (3) S2S2D predictability under SCI. We will also have speakers that will be discussing ethical and funding considerations of SCI research.

For more information, including how to submit an abstract, please reach out to Danielle Touma.

DeFord Lecture | Yanlan Liu

Plant Responses to Drought Across Scales: From Hydraulics to Resilience by Yanlan Liu, associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Geography

UTIG Spring Seminar Series 2026: Rachel Abercrombie

More details on this seminar will be available soon.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

BEG Seminar presented by Dr. Daniella Rempe (EPS UT Austin) in person

Topic: Hydrology, near surface environment

Hot Science - Cool Talks: The Story of Our Cosmic Home

What secrets are hiding in the stars above us, and what can they tell us about our galaxy? In the next Hot Science – Cool Talks, astronomer Dr. Keith Hawkins takes us on a galactic journey through the Milky Way. Using stellar light and chemical fingerprints, Dr. Hawkins’ research reveals previously hidden regions of the Milky Way’s spiral arms, reshaping how we understand our home galaxy. This event will make you see the night sky in a whole new light.