April 1, 2008
Moving towards a viable 4-D model for thrust-belt evolution: a multidisciplinary investigation of the Wyoming Salient
Arlo Weil
Bryn Mawr College
April 8, 2008
Pore Pressure, Sedimentation, and Submarine Landslides
Peter Flemings, JOI Distinguished Lecture:
University of Texas, Austin Co-Sponsored with Ocean Sciences
PORE PRESSURE, SEDIMENTATION,AND SUBMARINE
When fine grained sediments are deposited unevenly above a confined
aquifer, flow is driven laterally, effective stresses above the aquifer
are reduced, and slope failure can occur. This process is like stepping
on a water balloon: rapid sedimentation acting as the 'heel' drives
water towards the 'toe' where its high pressure causes large blocks of
sediment to slide downhill. Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP)
Expedition 308, named "Gulf of Mexico Hydrogeology," examined pore
pressure, fluid flow, and slope stability at the mouth of the
Mississippi delta-one of the great sediment dumps of the world. We found
an abrupt jump in pressure immediately beneath a zone of large submarine
landslides that span hundreds of square miles and conclude that
sedimentation, driven by changes in climate and associated sea-level
change, generates pressure, drives fluid flow, and induces landslides.
In the Pleistocene, during sea level low stands, this process may have
set loose significant submarine landslides around the world. Ultimately
these studies may allow us to predict in what locations around the world
submarine landslides are more likely-and hence what structures and local
populations are at greater risk. Dr. Flemings has sailed on Ocean
Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 174A and 196 and was co-chief scientist of
IODP Expedition 308. He has served on numerous ODP and IODP advisory
panels and currently chairs the Engineering Development Panel.
April 15, 2008
Kinematic and Erosional Histories of the Himalayan Fold-Thrust Belt in Nepal, with Implications for the Geodynamics of the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogenic System
Peter DeCelles
The Univeristy of Arizona
April 22, 2008
Everything My Mother Taught Me About Plutons Was WRONG
Drew Coleman,
UNC Chapel Hill
April 29, 2008
Monitoring ice sheets mass variations from GRACE
Isabella Velicogna
UC Irvine
Monitoring ice sheets mass variations from GRACE
The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are home to the largest fresh water reservoirs in the world. Any substantial changes in the size of the ice mass could have important effects on global sea level, ocean circulation and climate. We used gravity field data obtained by the dual satellite Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE), to observe the fluctuations in The gravitational field generated by Greenland's and Antarctica's ice Sheet from 2002 to 2007. The gravitational variations were then used To determine the total mass of the ice sheet. Measuring the mass of the Ice sheets has been attempted by several other techniques, but has Proven difficult due to the complexity of measuring such a large area in a uniform manner. The use of GRACE, avoids those difficulties by measuring mass changes over the entire ice sheet. GRACE generates a new independent and powerful estimate of the polar ice sheet mass balance. Both ice sheets display a large mass imbalance during the analyzed period. The mass of the Antarctica ice sheet decreases significantly from 2002 to 2007. Most of this mass loss is generated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The Greenland ice sheet display significant mass loss during the same period, with most of the signal coming from the South East glaciers. The uncertainty estimates for both Greenland and Antarctica are dominated by the effects of GRACE measurement errors and errors in our Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) correction. This lecture will provide a detailed analysis of results and will summarize the exciting contribution that time variable gravity can provide to improve our understanding of climate change.
May 6, 2008
Melt inclusions in basaltic rocks: Do they really provide useful information?
Adam Kent
Oregon State University
May 13, 2008
Submarine basaltic eruptions- - much more than pillow basalt
Dave Clague
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
May 20, 2008
The Differentiation History of Mars Inferred from Isotopic Studies of Martian Meteorites
Lars Borg
Lawrence Livermore
May 27, 2008
Magnetism on the angrite parent body and the early differentiation of planets
Ben Weiss,
MIT
June 3, 2008
Sulfur Isotopes and the End Permian Mass Extinction
Pedro Marenco,
UC Riverside |
