Sean Gulick

Research Scientist

Ph.D., Lehigh University (1999); B.S. University of North Carolina (1993).

Telephone 512-471-0483
email: sean at ig.utexas.edu

Active tectonics: convergent margins, transitional tectonics and microplates, seismic hazards, and tectonic-glacial climate interactions.  Impact cratering: Chicxulub, mass extinctions, and impact deformation.

Research Interests
Sean's primary scientific interest is in the examination of deformation of the Earth in convergent margins, complex transitional tectonic environments such as microplates, and the massive deformation due to bolide impacts. Convergent margins represent the most numerous and potentially most deadly locales for earthquake production, requiring a greater understanding of the interplay of subduction zone tectonics, structural deformation, accretionary prism development, and migration of fluids and gases from deep in the accretionary margin to the seafloor. Deformation in active tectonic regimes affects the geologic record of the continental margins and basins through sediment deformation, uplift and/or subsidence, orogenesis, and interplay with climate. A completely non-tectonic source of deformation in the earth and yet vital to understanding the planet's history are impacts from meteors and comets and their effect on global climate and life.  2-D and 3-D seismic reflection techniques provide both regional and/or local information regarding the nature and timing of the deformation, yield partial geologic histories of basins, and can be used to examine the physical properties of the fault zones. Information gathered by the marine geophysical techniques is even more powerful when ground-truthed using ocean drilling and/or direct submersible observations.

Current projects that Sean, his students, and colleagues are working on include high-resolution imaging of sediments in south-east Alaska's fjords and continental shelf basin to investigate glacial erosion in a complex tectonic setting and interpretation of a new suite of seismic reflections lines collected this year over the Chicxulub impact crater. Planning is underway for additional seismic studies (see STEEP) in Alaska, investigating the tectonic underpinnings, crustal structure, and geologic-climatic history that has built the highest coastal mountains in the world (the St. Elias Mountains) and potentially affected northern hemisphere climate.  An industry-collected 3-D seismic experiment to image the Nankai trough near the Kumano Basin is proposed to examine in detail the seismogenic (earthquake producing) portion of the subduction zone off southeast Japan.  Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) expeditions to the Gulf of Alaska to investigate tectonic-climate linkages (see NSF-JOI Workshop), to the Nankai trough to study seismogenesis (NanTroSEIZE), and to the Chicxulub impact crater to understand impact cratering and cause of the K/T mass extinction are all in the planning stages.