SEMINAR: MGG Student Seminar - Tomorrow -Marichesini,Pierpaolo and Qian Yang

[Qian <qyang@rsmas.miami.edu>]

MGG Student Seminar

Tuesday, Mar 22

12:00pm CIMAS Conference Room

Qian Yang:
Title: Investigation of the Health of Greenland’s Ice Sheet

Abstract:There is widespread concern about the health of Greenland Ice Sheet because of its close relationship with global warming and sea level rise.
There is a lot of work going on now to try to understand the ice sheet dynamics:  is it healthy, will it melt quickly or not?
Observations (gravity, elevation and marginal outlet glacier velocity) over the past decades show a rapid acceleration of ice mass loss of the
Greenland’s ice sheet. In this talk, some background knowledge about the Greenland’s ice sheet will be given. Also, I’ll present how to use GPS data
 to study the mass loss of the Greenland, and how to correct atmospheric pressure loading and to avoid post-glacier rebound effect.

Marichesini Pierpaolo:
Title: What is the influence of fractures on fluid flow?
4D GPR gives a new prospective in characterizing fluid transport in carbonate rocks.

Abstract:Carbonate rocks hold more than 60% of the world’s oil, 40% of the world’s
gas reserves and are the most common of all bedrock aquifers.
Post-depositional mechanisms processes like diagenesis, compaction,
fracturing, shearing result in large variations in the reservoir quality
of carbonates. In particular, fractures represent major fluid conduits
often controlling control much or all of their permeability. Yet,
characterization of the parameters controlling fluid flow in fractured
carbonates relies largely on 0.01-0.1 m scale sample measurements,
upscaling, and modeling. For the first time we conducted a 1-10 m scale
infiltration experiment using time-lapse Ground Penetrating Radar (4D GPR)
to monitor fluid flow and quantify water content changes with centimeter
precision in a reservoir analog. Initial results help delineating
flooding/drainage boundaries,  determining the influence of faults and
deformation bands on fluid flow propagation rates and show a switch over
time from a gravity-driven to a capillary-driven transport mechanism.

-- 
Qian Yang
            
Graduate Student

Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics 

University of Miami, RSMAS 

4600 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, FL 33149