Events

UTIG Seminar Series: Perianne Johnson, UTIG

Speaker: Perianne Johnson, Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow University of Texas Institute for Geophysics

Host: Krista Soderlund

Title: Seafloor Sediment Dynamics on Ocean Worlds

Abstract: Water-rock interactions occurring on the seafloor are of great interest for understanding the geochemistry and habitability of ocean worlds. Like Earth, Enceladus and Europa are expected to have ocean currents, due to buoyancy from temperature and salinity gradients, as well as possibly from tidal forcing and libration (e.g. Jansen, et al., 2023, Soderlund, et al., 2024). If these currents are fast enough, which we quantify in this presentation, they may transport loose sediment and lead to seafloor erosion. Ocean world seafloors may look very different from Earth’s, since they do not have river sediment nor any known biogenic sediment sources. Therefore, their seafloors could lack the protective alluvial layer that Earth has and the seafloor could be subject to bedrock incision, analogous to rivers on Earth.

We present the first model of seafloor erosion for ocean worlds, adapted from a model for subaerial rivers on Earth (Sklar and Dietrich, 2004). This model takes grain and flow properties (e.g. grain size and density, fluid density and viscosity, and flow dimensions) as inputs, and outputs the bedrock abrasion rate. The abrasion rate is calculated as the product of the volume of bedrock removed by a single grain impact, the rate of grain impacts, and the fraction of the bedrock which is exposed. This final factor is included because an existing layer of stationary sediment acts to protect the bedrock from erosion by absorbing the energy of grain impacts.

Gravity at the seafloor is the largest control on the erosion, with Europa (g = 1.41 m/s2) having an erosion rate about 10x smaller than Earth and Enceladus (g = 0.133 m/s2) about 100x smaller for equivalent grain and flow properties. In this presentation, we will quantify how the grain and flow properties affect the erosion rate. We will also discuss the current velocities needed for transport of sediment on ocean worlds and how that compares to predictions for currents from other analyses. We will speculate on what this means for the seafloor topography, both positive and negative, as well as the total volume of sediment produced over the lifetime of the moons.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

UTIG Seminar Series: Daniel Horton, Northwestern University

Speaker: Daniel Horton, Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Northwestern University

Host: Danielle Touma

Title: Adapting WRF-Hydro for Use in Land Surface Hazard Applications

Abstract: Storm systems often have widespread impacts, including producing rainfall-induced land surface hazards. However, the spatial coverage of most operational land surface hazard prediction tools is inconsistent with synoptic scale meteorological events. To address this gap, research presented in this talk will chronicle the augmentation and application of the U.S. water model, WRF-Hydro, for use in regional land surface hazard applications, including post-wildfire debris flow susceptibility prediction and landslide hydrometeorological regime classification.

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

UTIG Seminar Series: Ruthie Halberstadt, UT Austin

Speaker: Ruthie Halberstadt, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, UT Jackson School of Geosciences

Host: Benjamin Keisling

Research Theme: Integrating geologic data and numerical models to reconstruct Antarctic climate and ice sheet dynamics across many different time periods

Hot Science - Cool Talks: "The Genius of Dogs"

Dogs have an astounding ability to read our gestures and understand our words, often seeming to know exactly what we’re thinking. But exactly how smart is man’s best friend? Join Hot Science – Cool Talks for a conversation with Dr. Brian Hare, whose research focuses on understanding and explaining canine cognition. Dr. Hare will share the inside scoop on how the dog brain works and how to use his research to raise a great dog yourself. Registration will open 3 weeks before the event.

[5:30 – 6:40 pm] Cool Activities- Activity fair

[7:00 – 8:15 pm] Talk with Q&A

[8:15 – 9:00 pm] Book Signing with Dr. Hare

GSA ’24 Friends and Alumni Reception

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

WHEN: Monday, September 23 | 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: Puesto Anaheim | 1040 W Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92802

Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series

UTIG Seminar Series: Maria Nikolinakou, BEG

Speaker: Maria Nikolinakou, Research Professor, UT Bureau of Economic Geology

Host: Kehua You

Research Theme: Stress and pressure in subduction zones