Peter Flemings - Opportunities for Graduate Students and Post Doctoral Scientists
The GeoFluids Research Group has immediate opportunities for graduate and post-doctoral study. Dr. Flemings is most enthused by students who have a commitment to a doctoral program because that allows time to delve deeply into research. However, he also regularly accepts exceptional M.S. students into our research group. If you are interested, please e-mail, Peter Flemings (pflemings@jsg.utexas.edu).
Current Research Opportunities:
1. Hydrate Melting:
Examine the melting of methane hydrates in Arctic systems. DOE funded effort will examine the impact of warming over human time scales and longer. The project description is found here. We are looking for students and post-doctoral scientists with a fascination for marine geology and a yen for quantitative analysis of fluid flow.
Contributors to this research:
Andrew Smith (graduated 2012)
Related publication by Flemings' group:
- Flemings, P.B., Liu, X., and Winter, W., 2003, Critical pressure and multiphase flow in Blake Ridge gas hydrates: Geology, v. 31, p. 1057-1060.
- Liu, X., and Flemings, P.B., 2006, Passing gas through the hydrate stability zone at southern Hydrate Ridge, offshore Oregon: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 241, p. 211-226.
- Liu, X., and Flemings, P.B., 2007, Dynamic multiphase flow model of hydrate formation in marine sediments: Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, v. 112.
- Liu, X., and Flemings, P.B., 2009, Dynamic response of oceanic hydrates to sea level drop: Geophys. Res. Lett., v. 36, p. L17308.
- Smith, A.J., Flemings, P.B., and Fulton, P.M., 2012, Observations and Models of Heat and Salt Generation at a Deepwater, Abstract, 2012 UT GeoFluids Meeting, Austin, TX
- Smith, A.J, Thesis: Observations and Models of Venting at Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Vents
2. Mass Transport in Shales:
Study transport processes in shale systems! You will perform permeability testing of shales (e.g. the Barnett, the Marcellus…) and develop multi-scale numerical models to describe mass transport within these systems. The work will include both laboratory analysis and sample characterization. This project is supported by Shell.
Contributors to this research:
Michael Cronin
Julia Schneider Reece
Athma Bhandari
Related publication by Flemings' group:
- Reece, J.S., Flemings, P.B., 2012, Prediction of hydraulic diffusivity in marine mudstones through
resedimentation experiments, Abstract, presented at: AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 2-7, 2012.
3. GeoPressure Analysis:
Study geopressure in sedimentary basins through our industry funded consortium UTGeoFluids. Dr. Flemings is always looking for students with a yen to characterize and model overpressure in sedimentary basins.
Contributors to this research:
Baiyuan Gao
Julia Schneider Reece
Michael Merrell (graduated 2012)
Derek Sawyer (graduated 2011)
Related References:
- Merrell, M. Thesis: Pressure and Stress at Mad Dog Field, Gulf of Mexico
- Sawyer, D. Thesis: Failure Mechanics, Transport Behavior, and Morphology of Submarine Landslides
- Schneider, J., Flemings, P.B., Dugan, B.E., Long, H., Germaine, J.T., 2009, Overpressure and consolidation near the seafloor of Brazos-Trinity Basin IV, Northwest Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, J. Geophys. Res., 114, B05102, doi:10.1029/2008JB005922
- Dugan, B., Flemings, P.B., 2000, Overpressure and Fluid Flow in the New Jersey Continental Slope: Implications for Slope Failure and Cold Seeps, Science, V. 289, p. 288-291.
- Long, H., Flemings, P.B., Germaine, J.T. and Saffer, D.M., 2011, Consolidation and overpressure near the seafloor in the Ursa Basin, deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 305, 11-20
- Reilly, M., Flemings, P.B., 2010, Deep Pore Pressures and Seafloor Venting in the Auger Basin, Gulf of Mexico, Basin Research, V. 22, p. 380-397, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2117.2010.00481.x
- Flemings, P.B., et al., 2008, Pore pressure penetrometers document high overpressure near the seafloor where multiple submarine landslides have occurred on the continental slope, offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 269, p. 309-325, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.12.005.
4. Mudrock Geomechanics:
Study the geomechanics of mudrocks through experimental analysis. This research is supported by UTGeoFluids. In this research, we analyze both intact samples (from industry and the ocean drilling program) and we synthetically create mudrocks. We ask fundamental questions such as, how to mudrocks compact?, what is the permeability of mudrocks and how does it evolve? What is the strength of mudrocks.
Contributors to this research:
Julia Schneider Reece
Will Betts
Related publication by Flemings' group:
- Schneider Reece, J.S, Disertation: Compression and permeability behavior of natural mudstones
- Schneider, J, Flemings, P.B., Day-Stirrat, R.J., Germaine, J.T., 2011, Insights into pore-scale controls on mudstone permeability through resedimentation experiments, Geology, October 4, doi:10.1130/G32475.1