Events
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Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series
Start:May 6, 2025 at 10:00 am
End:
May 6, 2025 at 11:00 am
Contact:
Dena Miller, dena.miller@beg.utexas.edu, 512-471-2677
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series
Start:May 13, 2025 at 10:00 am
End:
May 13, 2025 at 11:00 am
Contact:
Dena Miller, dena.miller@beg.utexas.edu, 512-471-2677
MG&G Field Course Presentation Day
Start:May 30, 2025 at 10:00 am
End:
May 30, 2025 at 12:00 pm
Location:
ROC 1.603
Contact:
Kristen Tucek, ktucek@jsg.utexas.edu, 5124712223
Each Maymester, the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) offers a field course designed to provide hands-on instruction for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in the collection and processing of marine geological and geophysical data. The course covers high-resolution air gun and streamer seismic reflection, CHIRP seismic reflection, multibeam bathymetry, sidescan sonar, sediment coring, grab sampling and the sedimentology of resulting seabed samples (e.g., core description, grain size analysis, x-radiography, etc.).
Scientific and technical experts in each of the techniques first provide students with several days of classroom instruction. The class then travels to the Gulf Coast for a week of at-sea field work and on-shore lab work. Two small research vessels are used concurrently: one for multibeam bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and sediment sampling, and the other for high-resolution seismic reflection and CHIRP sub-bottom profiling. Students rotate daily between the two vessels and lab work.
Upon returning to Austin, students work in teams to integrate data and techniques into a final project that examines the geologic history and/or sedimentary processes as typified by a small area of the Gulf Coast continental shelf. Students spend one week learning interpretation methods using industry-standard, state-of-the-art software (Focus, Landmark, Caris, Fledermaus). On the last day, students present their final project to the class and industry sponsor representatives.
SSL Seminar Series | Vamsi GantiFebruary, 10 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: Boyd Auditorium (JGB 2.324) From Dunes to Channel Belts: How Rivers Organize and Move Across Scales by Dr. Vamsi Ganti Abstract: Rivers are Earth’s arteries: they transport water and sediment from uplands to oceans, sustain ecosystems and agriculture, and build the stratigraphic record of past environmental change. Yet rivers are far from static—they are dynamic systems that evolve across scales, from ripples and dunes on the riverbed to entire channel belts. In this seminar, I will present three discoveries that reveal the mechanisms shaping alluvial river form and motion across these scales. (1) Laboratory experiments and theory identify a previously unrecognized transition in river-dune organization at the onset of significant suspended sediment transport. This transition influences flow roughness, flood-driven dune reconfiguration, and the nature of preserved fluvial strata. (2) Using a new image-processing tool, we analyzed 36 years of satellite imagery from 84 rivers to uncover the origins of single- versus multithread channels. Single-thread rivers achieve a balance between lateral erosion and accretion, maintaining equilibrium width, while multithread rivers arise when erosion outpaces accretion, causing individual threads to widen and split. This mechanistic insight informs both planetary geomorphology and cost-effective river restoration. (3) Finally, I’ll show how human activity and climate change are already altering the way rivers flow and evolve. Dams dampen river motion and reduce the number of active threads, whereas increased sediment supply from land-use change and glacial melt are making rivers in the Global South and High Mountain Asia more dynamic. Together, these discoveries provide a mechanistic view of river evolution across scales and highlight why understanding river behavior is essential—not only for managing water, life, and landscapes they sustain today, but also for decoding the history of environmental change recorded in sedimentary strata. |
DeFord Lecture | Jake JordanFebruary, 12 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
DeFord Lecture | Daniel MinisiniFebruary, 19 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesFebruary, 20 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: BEG VR Room 1.116C BEG Seminar presented by Dallas Dunlap, BEG, in person. Topic: Channel Architecture Influenced by Precursor Channelized Submarine Landslide Topography in the Taranaki Basin |
Hot Science - Cool Talks: The Biology of LoveFebruary, 20 2026Time: 5:30 PM - 8:30 PMLocation: Welch Hall 2.224 and Grand Hallway What does science say about love and long-term relationships? In this Hot Science – Cool Talks event, biologist Dr. Steven Phelps explores the biology of love through the surprising world of prairie voles, one of the few monogamous mammals. By studying how vole brains form lasting bonds, Dr. Phelps reveals what biology, brain chemistry, and evolution can teach us about human connection and commitment. This engaging talk offers a fresh, science-based look at why we pair up right after Valentines Day! |
DeFord Lecture | Roland BürgmannFebruary, 26 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesFebruary, 27 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: Zoom BEG Seminar presented by Dr. Anne Glerum on Zoom. Topic: Geodynamic controls on clastic-dominated zinc-lead deposit formation |
DeFord Lecture | Mattia PistoneMarch, 05 2026Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PMLocation: JGB 2.324 |
Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar SeriesMarch, 06 2026Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PMLocation: BEG VR Room 1.116C BEG Seminar presented by Dr. Gabriel Pasquet, in person. Topic: Natural hydrogen, field survey, Texas |