OSU Geology_Newsletter 2017-draft2

13 University will focus on advancing the multicomponent seismic exploration for better characterization of anisotropic reservoirs. We will investigate the different mode‐converted seismic waves and the more information that can be derived from these modes for better reservoir characterization. Parallel to that, we will work on advancing the use of pure and mode‐converted shear waves in groundwater exploration, aquifer characterization, seismic hazards analysis and geotechnical site characterization. I have started working on establishing an exploration geophysics lab that will combine seismic acquisition system and analysis software. I started the work on designing a multicomponent seismic land streamer to speed up the acquisition of P‐and S‐wave seismic data for imaging the upper few hundred meters of the subsurface. I have acquired five workstations running industry‐standard software for seismic processing, interpretation and inversion including ProMax, Kingdom Suite, Petrel and HampsonRussell. I am in the process of acquiring the Omega software from Schlumberger mainly to analyze converted mode seismic data. I have recruited two MS students and they are both working on projects related to seismic processing and interpretation using ProMax and Petrel Software. During the past few months, I was able to submit three abstracts; the first one was presented at the NRIAG conference in Egypt, the second one was presented at the AGU annual meeting in San Francisco and the third one will be presented at the SAGEEP conference in Denver this March. I also submitted one peer reviewed journal paper and a book chapter. Regarding teaching, I taught my first class at OSU, Introduction to geophysical exploration with 17 students. It was a successful class and I received very positive evaluation from the students. Out of the seventeen students that attended the class, five students showed interest in undergraduate research with me and two other students showed interest in going for MS degree in geophysics under my supervision. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to join the OSU family and I look forward to working with our distinguished OSU students and scientists for many more years to come. Drop by when next you are in town for a tour of our new geophysics lab. Dr. Priyank Jaiswal Assistant Professor; Seismology, Inverse Theory, Petroleum Systems; Gas Hydrates Howdy folks. From Egypt to Pawnee, 2016 was exciting. Here is how it went. The highlight of 2016 was our data acquisition trip to Egypt. NSF and USAID had jointly funded a research project to look into their acquirers in Western Desert. We were supposed to use the same tools and techniques as in hydrocarbon exploration and look for water. We did exactly the same. 10 miles south of the city of Al‐ Kharga, we laid out the most advanced wireless equipment along a 4km long seismic profile. Field acquisition always has a curveball somewhere. This time it was our source. Nothing worked on sand. We had to improvise. We got a crane, took a 1Tonne weight 100ft high and aimed the drop precisely on a 1sq ft steel plate below. Bang! We collected the most awesome data and now we think we have found a new acquirer below what is currently known. Then in May, I headed over to Japan to sample sediments from 3km long core that we cut from the Indian ocean in 2014. This was to understand the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) in deep oceans. The contrasts in the two projects was as much as the cultures of their host countries, Japan and Egypt. Later in the year, the 5.8 Mw Pawnee Earthquake happened, which set many of us scrambling for data. OSU was lucky in that Bob Springman, an alumnus and a long‐time friend, let us look over the 3D volume acquired over Pawnee sometimes ago. The dataset opened my eyes to how amazingly full of character is the Oklahoma’s basement. Last year, I got tenured, which means I have really committed myself to this academician’s world for the rest of my life. Last fall I graduated my first PhD student. The near‐surface imaging tool that we developed through his thesis is now being considered by a few groups for commercial purposes. Being a co‐editor of the AAPG Memoir on the Mississippian Carbonates was another memorable experience. I hope 2017 turns out to be as productive and exciting if not more. Dr. Daniel A. Laó Dávila Assistant Professor; Structural Geology; Plate Tectonics; Fault Slip Analysis and Carribiean Geology Hello to all alumni and friends of the Boone Pickens School of Geology. This year has been very busy in the Structural Geology realm at the School. I have contributed in teaching 42 students from the Structural Geology course, and 23 students from the Plate Tectonics course. I also ran a Geologic Field Course to Puerto Rico in which 11 students participated. I am supervising two graduate students on research. Sam Dawson successfully defended his thesis on the effects of Precambrian structures on new rifting in northern Malawi and is now working in Austin, Texas with Drilling Info. Inés Barrios Galíndez is investigating active tectonics in western Puerto Rico, and Steven Johnson is working on border faults of southern Malawi. Research continued in East Africa. Four students and I travelled to Malawi for 4 weeks to conduct research of continental rift initiation in Malawi. The students learned about tectonics in one of the best places to study continental rifting and then presented their research at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco, and at the Geological Society of America in Denver. We will return this year with 5 new students to the southern part

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAxMjk=