Fully-funded studentships are available for the following PhD topics:
SEISMIC INVESTIGATION OF GAS HYDRATE IN
CONTINENTAL MARGINS
Supervisors: Dr Sheila Peacock & Prof Graham Westbrook,
University of Birmingham
email: [log in to unmask]
Gas hydrates are now known to be common in sedimentary
deposits in submarine continental margins and may constitute 50%
of the global quota of carbon. The EC-funded HYDRATECH
PROJECT has the objective of detecting hydrate, measuring its
abundance and availability as a fuel resource, and predicting the
stability of the host sediments in the event of dissociation of the
hydrate. This project concentrates on the detection and
measurement of abundance, in particular the detection of
alignment of the pores containing the hydrate. Principal methods
will include analysis and modelling of P- and mode-converted S-
wave ocean bottom recordings, and the amplitude-versus-offset
response of bottom-simulating reflectors (the reflective base of
the gas hydrate stability zone) to estimate anisotropy and gas
concentration.
AUTOMATED INTERPRETATION OF GEOLOGICAL
FAULTING USING 3D SEISMIC DATA
Supervisors: Dr Jonathan Turner & Dr Mike Spann (Elec. Eng.),
University of Birmingham
email: [log in to unmask]
This EPSRC-funded project combines expertise from structural
geology and computer vision/image processing to develop
prototype software for extracting complete fault surfaces from
3D seismic data. Information on the geometric and statistical
behaviour of faults will be combined with image processing
algorithms to validate, expand and merge fault 'patches'
highlighted using proprietary Shell software. As well as liaising
with our industrial collaborators on the project, the student will
work closely with a post-doctoral computer vision/image
processing researcher and will receive training in seismic
interpretation and visualization, and computer programming.
Dr Jonathan Turner
Research Postgraduate Tutor
The University of Birmingham
School of Earth Sciences
Birmingham B15 2TT
Tel. (44) 0121 414 6155 (voicemail)
Fax. (44) 0121 414 4942
Visit our website at http://www.bham.ac.uk/EarthSciences
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