Events

DeFord Lecture: Sonia Seneviratne

Climate change and extreme events: Why every year matters

About Dr. Sonia Seneviratne
Interests in climate extremes, land-?climate processes, and climate changes; uses modeling (climate modeling, land surface modeling), data analysis (based on observations, reanalysis data, model simulations, satellite data), new approaches for the derivation of validation datasets, and own field experiments

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: Skyller Walkes, UT College of Pharmacy

Click to watch online.

Speaker: Skyller Walkes, UT College of Pharmacy

Host: Jamin Greenbaum

Title: Embracing Radically Inclusive Philosophies & Practices in Organizational Culture

Abstract:
Advancing understanding and vision for intersectionally inclusive practices to build a radically inclusive community

We will discuss the ways in which culturally responsive and inclusive practices can:
· Be effective in recruiting and supporting historically marginalized & underrepresented minority students, faculty, & staff
· Inform curriculum, pedagogy & intentionally inclusive programming
· Interrupt oppressive thought and practice for more inclusive edu-communal outcomes
· To achieve these goals, we will explore the following:
§ Diversity vs. Equity vs. Inclusion: Make attendees more familiar with the nuanced distinctions of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
§ Deconstructing power dynamics in organizational culture
§ From Theory to Practice: Provide practical tips for faculty and staff to begin inclusionary practices in their departments and in their daily interactions with junior staff and students.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Sean Gulick, UTIG and JSG

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Speaker: Sean Gulick, Research Professor, UTIG and UT Jackson School of Geosciences

Title: We are going back to the Moon: Science, Diversity, and Other Opportunities – A Discussion of the Artemis Program

DeFord Lecture: Nicole Gasparini

Evolution of the South Fork Eel River watershed: The known unknowns

About Nicole Gasparini
Geomorphologist; key developer of a recent model called LandLab which handles temporal scales from including individual rainfall and flood events, up to long-time landscape evolution in which climate, lithology, and tectonics can be incorporated. She also works on questions of tectonic geomorphology, including controls on the evolution of the Andes and Puerto Rico.

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: Silvia Brizzi, UTIG

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Speaker: Silvia Brizzi, Postdoctoral Fellow, UTIG

Host: Thorsten Becker

Title: Modeling subduction zones across time scales

Abstract: The amount of subducted sediments appears to play a key role in controlling the seismogenic behavior of the megathrust. However, its physical role is not yet fully understood, as the instrumental seismic record is limited to the last century, a very short time interval compared to the recurrence time of large earthquakes.

To investigate the link between long-term sediment subduction and earthquake cycles, we use visco-elasto-plastic, seismo-thermo-mechanical models. We show that increasing sediment thickness on the incoming plate results in a decrease of the slab dip, as the trench retreats due to the seaward growth of the sedimentary wedge. This decrease in megathrust dip results in a wider seismogenic zone, so that the maximum magnitude of megathrust earthquakes increases. Concurrently, the recurrence time of characteristic events increases and partial ruptures are introduced.

We further explore the role of sediment thickness on subduction dynamics. Sediments are usually taken to be frictionally or viscously weak and are thought to lubricate the megathrust, thereby promoting fast plate speeds. Yet, global observations show a negative correlation between the amount of sediments and subducting plate velocity. We find that thick sediments in fact decrease the velocity of the subducting plate, likely because of the development of a large accretionary wedge that increases the load at the shallow interface, hence resistance to subduction. Our results thus suggest that rheological properties of sediments are not the only control on plate kinematics. We are now investigating how the amount of incoming plate sediments and their frictional and rheological properties affect plate speed to better understand subduction dynamics.

Habitability Special Seminar: CPSH Seed Grant Recipients

A seminar from the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability

Watch the recorded talk (UT Zoom sign-in required)

Speakers:
Dr. Tim Goudge
Dr. John Lassiter
Dr. Nicola Tisato
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Zilong Wu
Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Conny Rasmussen
UT Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin

We will hear from our five seed grant recipients about their proposed research! Each will give a 8 minute long lightning talk with a couple minutes for Q&A each.

Title: Identifying the microbiome associated with the Breezeway bio-mediated speleothems
Nicola Tisato, Carole Lakrout, Nathan Jones

Title: Development of a Fully Integrated Opto-Thermo-Fluidic System for In SituDetection of Trace Chiral Prebiotic Molecules on Icy Bodies
Yuebing Zheng, Zilong Wu

Title: First steps towards quantifying habitability across the end-Triassic extinction in terrestrial ecosystems (Colorado Plateau, Round Rock, Arizona)
Cornelia Rasmussen

Title: Examining the relationship between continental weathering and Earth’s Great Oxygenation Event (GOE)
John Lassiter, Aaron Satkoski

Title: Quantifying paleoclimate and habitability timescales from coupled lake systems on Mars
Gaia Stucky de Quay, Timothy Goudge

https://habitability.utexas.edu/events/

UTIG Discussion Hour: Helen Stewart, C.H. #308, Fugro USA Marine

DeFord Lecture: Jaime Barnes

The role of the forearc in fluid-mobile elemental cycling through subduction zones

DeFord Lecture: Scott Tinker

Global Energy Poverty

About Dr. Scott Tinker
Works to bring industry, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations together to address major societal challenges in energy, the environment, and the economy. Recommended: watch Switch On, which explores energy across the developing world.

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: Beata Csatho, University at Buffalo

Click to watch online.

Speaker: Beata Csatho, University at Buffalo

Host: Sophie Goliber

Title: Local processes and regional patterns – interpreting Greenland Ice Sheet changes from the altimetry record

Abstract: The response of the cryosphere to increasing global temperatures has severe consequences for society. Predictions of the rate of sea-level rise through the next century rely on accurate understanding and modeling of glacier and ice sheet behavior. Remote sensing has provided a detailed and accurate record of the changing Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, including observations of ice sheet elevation, velocity, and extent. Since the late 1990s, these observations have revealed dramatic changes in many ice streams and outlet glaciers with alarming mass-loss rates.

While regional trends exist, the different patterns of change within a single drainage basin and between neighboring glaciers indicate that local conditions highly modulate individual outlet glaciers’ response to external forcings. The significant spatiotemporal variability, compounded by irregular observations in space and time, makes the interpretation of the remote sensing record challenging. Moreover, the unprecedented resolution and accuracy of the observations from recent satellite missions (e.g., ICESat-2, DigitalGlobe/WorldView) necessitated the development of novel data processing methods, such as the MOsaic Utility and Large dataset Integration for Surface Elevation And Change detection (SERAC) (MOULINS) and the Approximation by Localized Penalized Splines (ALPS) approaches. By fusing all elevation data set, detailed and calibrated reconstructions of outlet glacier changes are generated with spatiotemporal details necessary to the attribution of dynamic changes to different climatic forcings and local conditions.

The presentation will focus on interpreting the Greenland ice-sheet elevation change record since the Little Ice Age (LIA) compiled from remote airborne and spaceborne laser altimetry and stereo photogrammetry, historical records, and glacial geomorphological evidence of former ice sheet margins. After reviewing the long-term Greenland mass loss and thickness change history, I will explore the local character of rapid contemporary changes experienced by marine-terminating glaciers during the last two decades. The ice sheet surface elevation, velocities, and glacier terminus change records reveal that ice thickness changes related to ice dynamics often provide the first evidence of processes that initiate outlet glacier retreats and mass loss, including the onset of thinning near the grounding line, changes in subglacial hydrology, and shear margin migration as demonstrated by various examples (e.g., Helheim, Kjer, Hayes, Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden (N79) glaciers). Different spatiotemporal patterns of dynamic thinning could also indicate changes in changes in the potential driving mechanism. For example, while the rapid thinning of Jakobshavn Glacier in the late 1990s exhibited a diffusion pattern consistent with changes initiated near the calving front, a later thinning episode around 2012 has a rapid thinning over a more extensive area and thus could be associated by increased melt-water production.

Lacking detailed observations of earlier deglaciations and current limits on ice-sheet model capabilities, the expanding details of these combined observational records may provide a valuable analog for studying past ice sheet dynamics and projecting future ice loss.

UTIG Discussion Hour: Phil Orlandini, JSG

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Speaker: Phil Orlandini, Research Associate, UT Jackson School of Geosciences

Title: As above, so below: Linking ductile microstructure to seismic anisotropy

DeFord Lecture: Dan Breecker

Has Eastern China always been summer-wet?

DeFord Lecture: Chris Walker

The importance of geoscientists through the energy transition: Carbon Capture, Use, and Storage project development

About Dr. Chris Walker
Structural geologist for BP, providing subsurface characterization of storage complexes for CO2 sequestration projects worldwide.; deputy leader of the Structural Geology Community of Practice responsible for delivering training, sharing learnings and building the structural capabilities of the geoscience population.; integration of diverse datasets and the effective communication of risks and uncertainties that impact business decisions.

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: Earle Wilson, California Institute of Technology

Click to watch online.

Speaker: Earle Wilson, California Institute of Technology

Host: Charles Jackson

Title: Ice-ocean interactions, sea ice variability, and high-latitude climate change

Abstract: The polar gyres of the Southern Ocean form an important dynamical bridge between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the major sites of bottom water formation around Antarctica. These gyres both upwell and modify Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) as it flows toward the continental shelf, thereby setting the stage for the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)–the water mass that fills most of the abyssal ocean. Despite their uniquely important role, these gyres are generally neglected in conceptual models of the Southern Ocean, which to tend to focus on the overturning that occurs within the ACC. Here, we challenge this paradigm by presenting idealized simulations that isolate the impact of the polar gyres on the regional overturning. We find that the formation of a polar gyre is strongly dependent on the presence of a zonal ridge along its northern boundary. This ridge helps to localize and strengthen the gyre as well as restrict the poleward flow of warm water toward the continental shelf. Furthermore, we find that the presence of a well-formed polar gyre substantially modifies the Southern Ocean’s sensitivity to changes in surface winds. These results suggest that the dynamics of these gyres play an under-appreciated role in setting the response of the Southern Ocean to regional climate change.

Hot Science At Home "Leaping Lemurs"

Madagascar, off the coast of Africa, is the land of lemurs. It is home to over 100 lemur species, including the “sifaka”. Sifaka are unusual primates with crazy-eyed stares, amazing leaping abilities, and societies where females are at the top of the hierarchy. Join Rebecca Lewis as she talks about the unique challenges of fieldwork in Madagascar and shares her research about lemurs.

Habitability Seminar: Prof. Brandon Jones, UT Austin

A seminar from the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability

Title: Small Satellites: Not Just for Technology Demonstration

Speaker: Prof. Brandon Jones, University of Texas at Austin

https://habitability.utexas.edu/events/

UTIG Discussion Hour: JSG Alumni Talks - Alison Mote, Texas OnRamps

WATCH A RECORDING OF THE TALK

Speaker: JSG Alumni Talks: Alison Mote, Course Manager, Texas OnRamps, UT Office of Strategy and Policy