Events

UTIG Discussion Hour: Megan Kerr, UTIG

DeFord Lecture | Emily Grubert

Planning the Mid-Transition: Aligning Fossil Phase-out and Zero Carbon Phase-in for Just Decarbonization by Dr. Emily Grubert, University of Notre Dame

Abstract:  Responding to climate change requires rapid and deep industrial transformation, particularly related to phasing out fossil fuels and restructuring energy systems to deliver services without greenhouse gas emissions. This transformation presents a critical opportunity not only to decarbonize, but to remake the way we provide energy services with emphasis on justice. The period of remaking is a multidecade effort that requires both phasing out the majority of the existing energy system and phasing in a new system — all while continuing to provide energy services effectively, despite the growing challenges of climate change and deep inequality. The “mid-transition” period during which existing and new systems are each too small to provide all services on their own, but too large to avoid constraining the other, poses special challenges of safety, reliability, flexibility, measurement, and other considerations, with many implications for policy. A successful transition will require extensive coordination and planning, especially due to the dynamism imposed by both technology and climate changes.

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.

UTIG Seminar Series: Kaixuan Kang, UTIG

Speaker: Kaixuan Kang, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas Institute for Geophysics

Host: Benjamin Keisling

Title: The Effects of Non-Newtonian Rheology on Relative Sea Level Change Induced by Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Process and its Implications on Antarctic Ice Sheet Evolution

Abstract: Studies of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) – the ongoing, viscoelastic response of the Earth to the ice and ocean loading associated with last ice age – remains an active area of geophysical research, in part because of its central importance in studies of modern polar ice sheet stability. With very few exceptions, GIA models have assumed a Newtonian rheology, that is, a linear relationship between stress and strain rate, with viscosity in the mantle acting as the proportionality constant. However, laboratory experiments on rock deformation, observational studies of seismic anisotropy, and modeling of mantle dynamic processes strongly suggest that non-Newtonian rheology may prevail in the upper mantle of Earth. In this presentation, I will discuss the effects of non-Newtonian mantle rheology on ice age geodynamics, with a focus on understanding the physical process and mechanism. Our results demonstrated that rapid deglaciation may induce large stress in the mantle, leading to a reduction in the regional upper mantle effective viscosity of more than one order of magnitude. The weakened effective viscosity leads to an initially fast relaxation stage followed by a slow relaxation stage, which should manifest in relative sea level observables as a quasi-L shape. I will also discuss how we can use these insights to improve our understanding of the ongoing signal of GIA in Antarctica and the Antarctic Ice Sheet Evolution for the my ongoing and future proposed work.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Andrea Saavedra, MSU

21st Century Texas: Climate, water, science, and society

A lecture sponsored by The Cherry Award for Great Teaching

Climatological and geopolitical forces converge in Texas and have the potential to put extreme stress on natural resources and public health. Climate science can be used to project the consequences of increasing greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere for our state. Reconstructing past climate changes in Texas provides context for unprecedented drought and heat risks to come, and the associated impacts on our economy, well-being, and social equity. Are there paths forward to a resilient Texas and reasons for optimism?

Presented by Jay Banner, F. M. Bullard Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences, and director of the Environmental Science Institute at the University of Texas.

DeFord Lecture | Ken Belitz

The Quality of Groundwater Used for Public Supply in the Continental United States by Dr. Ken Belitz of the United States Geological Survey

Abstract: What is the quality of groundwater used as a source of public supply in the continental United States (CONUS)?  More specifically: Which constituents are most prevalent at elevated concentrations? How many people are potentially affected? What are the hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics of the aquifers where elevated concentrations are observed? These questions were addressed by evaluating the quality of groundwater in 25 Principal Aquifers (PAs) that account for 84% of the groundwater used for public supply in the CONUS (89.6 million people on a proportional basis). PAs are regionally extensive aquifers or aquifer systems that can provide large volumes of water for human use. Each PA was sampled across its lateral extent using an equal-area grid, typically with 60 wells per PA. Samples were analyzed for 502 constituents, of which 374 had either a regulatory or non-regulatory human-health benchmark.  In all but three PAs, the most frequently detected constituent at elevated concentrations was a geogenic constituent.  At the CONUS scale, geogenic constituents are more prevalent (based on area) and potentially affect more people than anthropogenic constituents.  The occurrence of elevated concentrations is affected by aquifer type (lithology, location, and climate), pH, redox, groundwater age, and land use. The findings from this study (Belitz and others, 2022) can be used by managers responsible for providing safe drinking water, regulators considering which constituents might require additional scrutiny, and researchers seeking to identify groundwater quality issues of relevance to human health.

Belitz and others, 2022, “Quality of Groundwater Used for Public Supply in the Continental United States:  A Comprehensive Assessment,” Environmental Science and Technology – Water. doi.org: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00390

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.

UTIG Seminar Series: Jingxuan Wei, UTIG

Speaker: Jingxuan Wei, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas Institute for Geophysics

Host: Sean Gulick

Title: Acoustically Mapping the Ocean: The Progress and Prospects of Seismic Oceanography

Abstract: Exploring and characterizing the ocean are crucial for understanding its conditions and addressing on-going challenges like climate change. Yet, our understanding of the ocean is limited by existing data sampling capabilities. There remains a considerable observational gap, specifically in the submesoscale (1-10 km) to mesoscale (10-100 km) range where energy transfer occurs through vertical mixing that drives the exchange of heat, nutrients, and organic matters. These limitations in observations leave uncertainties in how best to represent ocean circulation in computer simulations, contributing to the large spread in climate model projections.

Seismic Oceanography (SO) is an emerging acoustic technique adapted from reflection seismology that offers a solution to several observational limitations. The unique combination of extensive coverage and high spatial resolution making SO an ideal tool to characterize a wide range of oceanic processes from basin-scale currents to turbulent flows. The greatest strength of SO is the synergy of mapping thermohaline structures and calculating distributions of oceanographic properties, such as temperature, salinity, current speed, and diapycnal diffusivity (turbulent mixing).

However, since its first application in 2003, SO has not yet becoming a widely accepted tool. In this talk, I will introduce its potential, challenges, ongoing development and discuss future possibilities. First, I will demonstrate the capabilities of SO by presenting a case study in the South Atlantic where seismic data reveals enhanced turbulent mixing caused by storm and topography. In the second part, I will focus on my recent work on standardizing SO to accurately derive turbulent mixing rates. Finally, through my recent proposal, I will discuss future efforts to be taken to promote SO for wider application and unlock the immense potential of existing seismic dataset for better ocean characterization.

GSA Friends and Alumni Reception 2023

Join the Jackson School of Geosciences for a friends and alumni reception during GSA’s annual meeting.

WHEN: Monday, October 16 | 5:30-7:30pm
WHERE: Scarpino at 960 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
RSVP HERE

UTIG Discussion Hour: Sohini Dasgupta, UTIG

DeFord Lecture | Adam Atchley

Wildland Wildfire Science: Mechanistic models for understanding ecosystem and hydrological resiliency in a changing climate

 by Dr. Adam Atchley of Los Alamos National Laboratory

Abstract: Over 70% of the terrestrial Earth is affected by fire in some way and roughly 50% of terrestrial ecosystems are fire dependent – meaning fire is necessary for these ecosystems to exist including the critical services these ecosystems provide such as carbon storage, and water resources.  Climate change is rapidly changing Earths fire activity – we are now seeing larger and more extreme wildfires that are burning at times we have not seen before.  Moreover, climate change in pushing conditions beyond the validation range of the empirically based models used to predict fire behavior and ecosystem response. This is referred to as the no-analog future, which necessitates a new fire modeling approach. Providing today’s society with the tools necessary to reduce wildfire risk, maintain ecosystem function – including water resources in light of climate change requires state of the art wildfire science that accounts for a rapidly changing landscape.  Here at Los Alamos, we are working on the science necessary to reduce wildfire risk, while maximizing landscape carbon stabilization to mitigate climate change and protecting water resources – often in the form of safely reintroducing necessary fire to a landscape that has on one hand not seen fire in over a century and on the other requires fire for is very existence through the use of prescribed fire. This requires a multi-disciplinary approach that includes ecosystem science, hydrology, wildfire behavior, atmospheric chemistry, and use of physics based mechanistic models to capture a systems response in the no-analog future.  I will be showcasing new wildland fire and ecosystem process-based models developed at LANL to understand how tightly entwine interactions of fire behavior, hydrology, and ecosystem structure drive ecosystem resiliency in a changing climate.

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.

UTIG Seminar Series: Evan Solomon, University of Washington

Speaker: Evan Solomon, Professor, University of Washington, College of the Environment

Host: Shuoshuo Han

Title: Geochemical and thermal constraints on forearc dewatering and megathrust pore fluid pressure at the Hikurangi and Cascadia subduction zones

Abstract: The balance of fluid inputs, storage, and drainage is thought to play an important role in the nature of fault slip at subduction zones. However, significant uncertainties exist in the distribution and rates of forearc dewatering due to the challenges of making in situ observations of pore fluid pressure and fluid flow rates. Models show that fault zones within the outer forearc are important pathways for fluid flow and enhance drainage of the plate boundary as faults often exhibit higher permeabilities than the matrix sediments. Indeed, long-range transport of chemically distinct fluids has been observed along the plate boundary and splay faults sampled through scientific ocean drilling at several subduction zones. However, only a few fault zones have been sampled, and direct measurements of the rates of fault-hosted fluid flow in the outer forearc of subduction zones are sparse. Seafloor seep sites often coincide with faults that extend to the megathrust, and, as such, are accessible locations to investigate both background rates and transients in fault-hosted fluid flow. In this talk, I will present the results from three recent offshore field campaigns where we cored, collected heat flow measurements, and deployed long-term continuous benthic fluid flow meters at fault-hosted seep sites and off-fault locations at the northern Hikurangi and central Cascadia subduction zones. The combined results of these expeditions highlight the important role of the forearc permeability structure in governing the distribution and rates of fluid flow, megathrust effective stress, fault behavior, and geochemical cycling.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Carson Miller & Charles Babendreier, UTIG

DeFord Lecture | Gabe Filippelli

Managing the unmanageable: What else needs to be done to eliminate lead exposure to children?

by Dr. Gabe Filippelli, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis

Abstract:

Albeit slow and not without its challenges, lead (Pb) emissions and sources in the United States (U.S.) have decreased immensely over the past several decades. Despite the prevalence of childhood Pb poisoning throughout the twentieth century, most U.S. children born in the last two decades are significantly better off than their predecessors in regard to Pb exposure. For example, in the 1970’s virtually every child in the U.S. would be considered Pb affected by today’s regulatory blood Pb standard, which is 5 micrograms/deciliter, with some variations among state health departments as to what level a given state begins case management for children. However, the rate of decline in blood Pb levels is not equal across demographic groups, with urban children and children of color exhibiting disproportionately higher average blood Pb levels than their non-urban and white counterparts. In part to address this disparity and to continue to reduce population and individual blood Pb levels, many U.S. federal agencies are moving quickly in various “Close to Zero” efforts, including newer regulatory guidance to further limit lead exposures.

The current state of lead exposure sources is much different than it was 40 years ago. For example, modern atmospheric emissions of Pb in the U.S. are nearly negligible since the banning of leaded gasoline in vehicles and regulatory controls on Pb smelting plants and refineries. This is evident in the rapid decrease of atmospheric Pb concentrations across the U.S. over the last four decades. One of the most significant remaining contributors to air Pb is aviation gasoline (avgas), which is minor compared to former Pb emissions. However, continual exposure risks to legacy Pb sources exist in older homes and urban centers, where leaded paint and/or historically contaminated soils and dusts can still harm children. Thus, while effective in eliminating nearly all primary sources of Pb in the environment, the slow rate of U.S. Pb regulation has led to still-significant legacy sources of Pb in the environment. Substantially more work is required to identify where legacy Pb sources are actively exposing children to harm, and substantially more resources, and new approaches, are needed to provide mitigation relief to parents. The presentation reviews the progress made in Pb abatement, its status, and discusses urban Pb exposure, and future research and regulatory needs.

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.

UTIG Seminar Series: Indujaa Ganesh, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Speaker: Indujaa Ganesh, Research Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

Host: Cyril Grima

Title: Volcanism on Venus: tools for studying past and potentially ongoing activity

Abstract: Prior spacecraft and Earth-based observations of Venus have revealed a planet with a dense carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere, extreme ambient temperature and pressure conditions, a young surface, abundant volcanic landforms, and a lack of Earth-style plate tectonics. Studies in the immediate aftermath of the Magellan mission to Venus hypothesized that Venus today is “dry” and “dead”, i.e., depleted in interior water, and volcanically inactive following planet-wide cataclysmic eruptions ~500 Myr ago. Over the past decade, these early notions of a “dry” planet have been challenged by numerous works which collectively argue for a volatile-rich lower mantle. A recent study identified surface changes in repeat imaging data suggesting that Venus might be volcanically active today (Herrick and Hensley, 2023). From understanding the evolution and habitability of rocky planets to gaining insights into processes that occur in extreme environments on Earth, investigating the volcanic modification of Venus’ surface has a wide range of implications that extend beyond just improving our understanding of Venus. In this talk, I will discuss studies of volcanism on Venus with specific emphasis on models and tools for investigating past and potentially ongoing eruptions on Venus. I will also elaborate on how such studies fit the interests of the broader planetary and Earth science community, and support upcoming spacecraft missions to Venus.