• B.S. Geophysics (1976) Purdue University
• Ph.D. Marine Geophysics (1982) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Marine Seismology, Geodynamics

• Center for Computational Geophysics

• Environmental and Energy Systems Institute

E-mail: dale@rice.edu
Phone: (713) 348-5106
Office: 313 Keith-Wiess Geology Labs

Dale S. Sawyer

Research Statement

My research interests center on the rifting of continental lithosphere leading to the generation of new oceanic crust. To this end, I have been involved with and often led the acquisition of reflection seismic profiles using RV Ewing, ODP drilling expeditions on DV JOIDES Resolution, and the conduct of geodynamic modeling of rifting processes. Most of this work has taken place on the Iberia Atlantic margin offshore of Spain and Portugal and the Newfoundland Atlantic margin. I have focused on this conjugate margin pair because it is considered the best studied example of a magma-starved rifted margin, one interesting end-member of rifting processes. It is also characterized by a lack of salt deposits, and by thin sediments, both of which make the acquisition of high quality seismic reflection data possible and allow drilling into the basement rocks using current academic community drilling technology.

For the past few years, I have focused on making the transition from 2D to 3D seismic, both in my own studies and in my desire to understand rifting processes at the Galicia margin. I built a team of investigators of like mind, Tim Reston (Birmingham, formerly GEOMAR), Tim Minshull (Southampton), Dirk Klaeschen (GEOMAR), Julia Morgan (Rice), Marta Perez Gussinye (Barcelona), Cesar Ranero (Barcelona), Stephen Clark (Bergen), and others. Together, we conceived a very large scale 3D seismic reflection/refraction experiment to image the outer part of the Galicia Bank, deep Galicia Basin, and the transition to Atlantic ocean crust. The experiment comprises 1) using the RV Langseth to shoot 3D seismic reflection data over a 28 km by 70 km survey box (70 days of ship time), 2) the recording of all the shots from the Langseth into an array of 80 OBS/OBH's distributed over the 3D survey box, and 3) a dense E-W (dip direction) linear array of OBS's through the middle of the 3D box, recording Langseth shots fired overhead. If acquired, this would be, by far, the largest academic 3D seismic reflection survey to date. The proposed program is designed to test several hypotheses regarding the late stages of continental breakup and initiation of seafloor spreading at a magma-starved rifted margin. A number of key questions relate to the timing of the formation of a series of rotated fault-block-bounded basins in the most extended continental crust. There is a paucity of unambiguous syn-rifting sediment identifiable in 2D profiles in these basins. We predict that this may be due to 3-dimensionality of the fault blocks and syn-rift strata. We predict that 3D data and the application of 3D Pre-Stack Depth Migration will be valuable in properly imaging the syn-rift strata. Because syn-rifting sediments were deposited in basins which appear isolated from one another in our 2D seismic profiles, we expect that the 3D data will allow us to correlate around the ends of fault blocks to obtain relative ages of sediment deposition. We also predict that imaging the reflectivity distribution on the S reflector, interpreted to be a low-angle detachment fault key to understanding the final breakup of continental crust at this margin, will show the lateral distribution of serpentinization of the upper mantle and tell us about water transfer pathways in the system. The coincident 3D long-offset experiment using OBS/OBH's are expected to provide velocity control for 3D migration and lithology identification as well as direct measurements of seismic anisotropy that may have formed during breakup. To implement this plan, we have submitted proposals to NSF, NERC, and the German Science Foundation. The NSF proposal requests 50 days of Langseth time and support for the Rice University science team. The NERC proposal requests NERC do a ship swap for 20 additional days of Langseth time, funds for the initial processing by an industry contractor of the 3D volume through "3D post-stack time and depth migration," the use of about 50 OBS/OBH's, and funds for the support of the Birmingham and Southampton science teams. The German Science foundation proposal requests the use of the RV Poseidon for the deployment and recovery of OBS/OBH's, for the use of about 30 more OBS/OBH's, and for the support of the GEOMAR science team. The NERC proposal received top marks, Alpha-5, in the UK proposal ranking system, and has been funded. We received word from NSF in January 2008 that our proposal received very strong external and panel reviews, and that it was the intention of the program to fund it in 2009 or 2010 pending Langseth ship scheduling. The proposal to the German Science Foundation has been submitted, and is currently being considered. I note that the experiment, including the entire 3D reflection survey, could go ahead with only the US and UK funding, but the long-offset part of the program would be less strong.

The ocean-continent transition at the Galicia margin is characterized by unusually thin extended continental crust (2-4 km) and areas of upper mantle rocks exhumed to the seafloor during the last stages of rifting. The exhumation of the mantle is commonly interpreted to have occurred on a low-angle normal or detachment fault. This detachment fault is of great interest because of the generally high quality of seismic images of the fault, because it is at a depth to which it may be possible to drill and sample, but most of all because the very existence of low angle detachment faults is hotly debated. Based on seismic reflection data I and colleagues acquired over the Galicia Margin in 1997, with grad student Stephen Clark, I have suggested an alternative interpretation of the formation of the thin continental crust, the apparent detachment fault, and the general sequence of events of the continental breakup. This hypothesis suggests that there was large scale (10's of km) mass wasting (rotational slumping) that caused blocks of continental crust and pre-slumping sediment to slide off the west side of the Galicia Bank over already exhumed mantle rocks. We suggest that there was 3-5 km of topographic relief at the edge of Galicia Bank at the time of continental crust separation; enough to drive the slumping. We suggest that the "detachment" fault may instead be the run-out surface of the slump, with slump material (continental crust blocks and sediment) above and very wet, exhumed mantle below. This hypothesis can explain many enigmatic aspects of the formation of this margin. We are continuing to develop this hypothesis, and note that the 3D seismic reflection dataset we propose to collect should unambiguously distinguish between the widely-held detachment model and our mass-wasting hypothesis.

I recently participated as a Core-Log Integration Specialist on IODP Expedition 314 to the Nankai Trough on the DV Chikyu. While I have not generally studied subduction margins, the objectives of the NanTroSEIZE experiment are very interesting to me. I am particularly interested in the combined use of 3D seismic, coring, and logging data to understand the physical properties of the accreted and subducting sediments and their role in seismogenesis and tsunami-genesis. Since the IODP is devoting a large fraction of its effort for the next 2-5 years to addressing Tectonics objectives in the NanTroSEIZE program, it seemed like an activity in which I could broaden my knowledge.

In collaboration with Andreas Luttge, a faculty colleague at Rice, Rolf Arvidson, research scientist, and Cornelius Fischer, post doctoral investigator, I helped develop a method of acquiring and processing VSI data in a manner to dramatically improve the lateral resolution of the method. With the assistance of Rice University, on 29 January, 2008, we have been issued a United States Patent (#7,324,215) on the technology and have been discussing licensing its development and marketing with a start-up firm in the optical metrology industry. VSI is a method of imaging the topography of surfaces. Its vertical resolution is a few nanometers and its lateral resolution is a few hundred nanometers. Our technology involves acquiring multiple VSI images while controllably moving the target laterally using a nano-positioning stage. We then interlace the multiple images and employ image enhancement/deconvolution methods to produce an image with increased lateral resolution. We have been able to demonstrate improvements in lateral resolution by factors up to 8x in images of dissolving mineral surfaces and of bacteria living on those surfaces. The VSI method, including our enhancement technology, is non-destructive and can be applied to image samples through windows and clear liquids in reaction chambers. This means that we can observe bacteria, and their influence on mineral dissolution, without dislodging them, killing them, or changing their environment by removing them from the reaction chamber. While there are higher lateral resolution methods for observing topography on such surfaces, atomic force microscopy and electron microscopy among them, all of them involve removing the sample from the reaction chamber, and bumping or killing the bacteria in order to obtain images.

Publications

Kinoshita, M., Tobin, H, Thu, M.K., and the Exp. 314 Scientists, (2008), Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 314 Preliminary Report, IODP-MI, doi:10.2204/iodp.pr.314.2008.

Kinoshito, M., Tobin, H., Thu, M.K., and the Exp. 314 Science Party, (in press), Initial Reports of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, Expedition 314, IODP-MI.

Kuramoto, S., Curewitz, D., Thu, M.K., Masago, H., and the Exp. 314, 315, and 316 Science Parties, (2008), The first D/V Chikyu IODP Operations: successful Drilling and Coring during NanTroSEIZE Stage 1 Expeditions, Scientific Drilling Journal, v. 6, p. 38-42.

Peron-Penvidic, G., Manatschal, G., Minshull, T.A., and Sawyer, D.S., 2007, Tectonosedimentary evolution of the deep Iberia-Newfoundland margins: Evidence for a complex break-up history, Tectonics, v. 26, TC2011, doi:10.1029/2006TC001970.

Reston, T.J., Leythaeuser, T., Booth-Rea, G., Sawyer, D.S., Klaeschen, D., and Long, C., 2007, Movement along a low-angle normal fault. The S reflector west of Spain, 2007, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 8, Q06002, doi:10.1029/2006GC001437.

D. Sawyer, M. Coffin, T. Reston, and J. Stock, 2007,Mission Continental Breakup: The formation and evolution of rifted continental margins, Scientific Drilling, No. 5, p. 13-25.

M. Coffin, D. Sawyer, T. Reston, and J. Stock, 2007, Mission Breakup: Report on an international workshop on continental breakup and sedimentary basin formation, Eos Trans. AGU.

Shillington, D.J., Tucholke, B.E., Karner, G.D., Sawyer, D.S., Holbrook, W.S., and Delius, H., 2007, Linking core and seismic data without logs: Core-seismic correlation at Site 1276, , In Tucholke, B.E., Sibuet, J.-C., and Klaus, A. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 210: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 1- 33. doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.210.110.2007.

Clark, S.A., D.S. Sawyer, J.A. Austin, Jr., G.L. Christeson, and Y. Nakamura, 2007, Characterizing the Galicia Bank-Southern Iberia Abyssal Plain rifted margin segment boundary using MCS, J. Geophys. Res., v. 112, B03408, doi:10.1029/2006JB004581.

Bird, D., Hall, S., Burke, K., Casey, J, and Sawyer, D., 2007, Central Atlantic Ocean seafloor spreading history, Geosphere, v. 3, p. 282-298, DOI: 10.1130/GES00047.1.

Tucholke, B.E., Sawyer, D.S., and Sibuet, J.C., 2007, Breakup of the Newfoundland - Iberia rift, In G. Karnir, G. Manatschal, and L. Pinheiro (Eds.), Imaging, Mapping, and Modelling Continental Lithosphere Extension and Breakup, Geol. Soc., Spec. Publ., 282:9-46.

Sawyer, D.S., and Fackler, D., 2007, Automatic method for associating lithologic type with laboratory measurements taken aboard the JOIDES Resolution, In Tucholke, B.E., Sibuet, J.-C., and Klaus, A. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 210: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 1-21. doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.210.109.2007.

Sawyer, D.S. and S. Clark, 2006, South-directed mass wasting from the Galicia Bank: How might it affect interpretations of seismic and drilling results in the Iberia Abyssal Plain?, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T51E-07.

Reston, T.J., Leythaeuser, T., Booth-Rea, G., Sawyer, D., Klaeschen, D., and Long, C., 2006, Movement along a low-angle normal fault. The S reflector west of Spain, Geosphere, in revision.

D. Sawyer, M. Coffin, T. Reston, and J. Stock, 2006,Mission Continental Breakup: The formation and evolution of rifted continental margins, Scientific Drilling, submitted.

M. Coffin, D. Sawyer, T. Reston, and J. Stock, 2006, Mission Breakup: Report on an international workshop on continental breakup and sedimentary basin formation, Eos Trans. AGU, in press.

D. Shillington, B. Tucholke, G. Karner, D. Sawyer, W. S. Holbrook, H. Delius, 2006, Linking core and seismic data without logs: Core-seismic correlation at Site 1276, Scientific Results of Ocean Drilling Program, v. 210, in press.

G. Peron-Pinvidic, G. Manatschal, T. Minshull, and D. Sawyer, 2006, How is continental break-up recorded in magma-poor rifted margins?, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T53A-1586.

Clark, S.A., D.S. Sawyer, J.A. Austin, Jr., G.L. Christeson, and Y. Nakamura, 2006, Characterizing the Galicia Bank-Southern Iberia Abyssal Plain rifted margin segment boundary using MCS, J. Geophys. Res., in press.

Bird, D., Hall, S., Burke, K., Casey, J, and Sawyer, D., 2006, Central Atlantic Ocean seafloor spreading history, Geosphere, in revision.

Tucholke, B.E., Sawyer, D.S., and Sibuet, J.C., 2006, Breakup of the Newfoundland Iberia rift, In G. Karnir, G. Manatschal, and L. Pinheiro (Eds.), Extensional Deformation of the Lithosphere, New York, Columbia University Press, in press

Sawyer, D.S. and Fackler, D "Automatic method for associating lithologic type with lab measurements taken aboard the D/V JOIDES Resolution." Science Results of the Ocean Drilling Program, 210 (2006).(In Press)

Sawyer, D.S., Clark, S., and Morgan, J. (2005), Large scale mass wasting as a possible mechanism of formation of highly thinned continental crust and the S reflector on the Galicia rifted margin, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T43B-1392.

Sawyer, D.S., (2005), Non-volcanic rifting: New processes and new materials, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(18), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract T51A-01.

Sawyer, D.S., Henning, A.T., Shipp, S., and Dunbar, R.W. "A Data Rich Exercise for Discovering Plate Boundary Processes." Journal of Geoscience Education, 53 (2005): 65-74.

Guedez, M.C., Zelt, C.A., Magnani, M.B., Levander, A., Ghristeson, G.L., and Sawyer, D.S. (2005), BOLIVAR: Crustal Structure Across the Caribbean-South American Plate Boundary at 70W: Results from Refraction and Reflection Data, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T11B-0386.

Clark, S.A., Levander, A., Magnani, M., Zelt, C.A., Sawyer, D.S., Ave Lallemant, H.G., and BOLIVAR Working Group (2005), Crustal Structure of the Caribbean-South American Diffuse Plate Boundary: Subduction Zone Migration and Polarity Reversal Along BOLIVAR Profile 64W, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T11B-0390.

Clark, S.A., and Sawyer, D.S., (2005), Depth-Imaging the Transfer Boundary Between the Galicia Bank and Iberia Abyssal Plain Rifted Margin Segments, Integrating MCS and OBS Data, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(18), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract T42A-03.

Sawyer, D.S. "Discovering Plate Boundaries." Digital Library for Earth Systems Education (2005).

Magnani, M., Zelt, C.A., Sawyer, D.S., Levander, A., and BOLIVAR Working Group (2005), Imaging the SE Caribbean Accretionary Boundary: Results from the BOLIVAR Seismic Reflection and Refraction data at 65W, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T11B-0388.

Bird, D., Hall, S.A., Burke, K., Casey, J.F., and Sawyer, D.S. "Ridge jumps and asymmetric spreading in the central Atlantic Ocean." American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin (2005).(In Revision)

Tucholke, B.E., Sawyer, D.S., and Sibuet, J. (2005), Rifting and Breakup Between Newfoundland and Iberia, EOS Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T52B-01.

Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 210, Shipboard Scientific Party "Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Part A: Initial Reports, Leg 210." Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Part A: Initial Reports, Leg 210, 210 (2004).

Ocean Drilling Program, Leg 210, Shipboard Scientific Party "Margins of the Newfoundland-Iberia Rift; ODP Leg 210 explores the Newfoundland Basin." JOIDES Journal, 30 (2004): 20-24.

Henning, A. T., D. S. Sawyer, and D. C. Templeton "Exhumed upper mantle within the ocean-continent transition on the northern West Iberia margin: Evidence from prestack depth migration and total tectonic subsidence analyses." Journal of Geophysical Research, 109 (2004).

C. A. Zelt, K. Sain, J. V. Naumenko, and D. S. Sawyer "Assessment of crustal velocity models using seismic refraction and reflection tomography." Geophysical Journal International, 153 (2003): 609.

ODP Leg 210 Shipboard Scientific Party "Leg 210 Preliminary Report: Drilling the Newfoundland Half of the Newfoundland-Iberia Transect: The First Conjugate Margin Drilling in a Nonvolcanic Rift." (11/4/2003).

Tucholke, B.E., Sawyer, D.S., and Sibuet, J.C. "Breakup of the Newfoundland - Iberia Rift." MARGINS Theoretical and Experimental Earth Science Series.(In Revision)

G. Peron-Pinvidic, G. Manatschal, T.A. Minshull, D.S. Sawyer, in press, The tecto-sedimentary evolution of the deep Iberia-Newfoundland margins: Evidence for a complex break-up history, Tectonics, in press.

Presentations

Speaker. "Subsurface Geoscience Professional MS at Rice." Anadarko Petroleum, Woodlands, TX. (2 May 2006)

speaker. "An Industry Sponsored Scientific Ocean Drilling Program: Ocean Drilling Consortium." Inst. for Geophysics, Univ of Texas, Austin, TX. (28 April 2008)

Speaker. "Discovering Plate Boundaries." Fort Bend ISD, Clements High School. (3 Oct 2006)

Speaker. "Large Scale Landsliding During Rifting at the Galicia Margin." Shell Oil Research Company, Houston, TX. (9 July 2008)

Speaker. "Plate Tectonics." Rice/HISD Model Science Lab, Sanchez Elementary School. (14 Nov 2006)

Speaker. "Seismic Studies in the Atlantic Offshore Portugal and Spain." Inst. for Geophysics, Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX. (10 July 2008)

Speaker. "Large Scale Landsliding during Rifting at the Galicia Margin." Rift Renaissance Workshop / Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX. (19 Aug 2008)

Speaker. "Ocean Drilling Consortium." Rift Renaissance Workshop / Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX. (19 Aug 2008)

Speaker. "Proposed Scientific Activities of the Ocean Drilling Consortium." EcoPetrol Oil Company, Bogata, Columbia. (17 November 2008)

Speaker. "Proposed Scientific Activities of the Ocean Drilling Consortium." Total Oil Company, Paris, France. (4 December 2008)

Gulick, S.P., Bangs, N.L., Moore, G.F., Martin, K.M., Sawyer, D.S., Nakamura, Y., and Tobin, H.J.(2008), Kumano Forearc Basin Uplift and Megasplay Fault Development: 3D Seismic Images of Nankai Margin off Kii Peninsula, Japan, EOS Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T21F-08.

Co-author. "The Galicia Bank Influence on the Southern Iberia Abyssal Plain Drilling Transect." AGU Fall Meeting 2007, San Francisco. (12/13/2008) With Stephen Clark and Jan Faleide.

Sawyer, D.S. and S. Clark, 2006, South-directed mass wasting from the Galicia Bank: How might it affect interpretations of seismic and drilling results in the Iberia Abyssal Plain?, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T51E-07.

Speaker. "Rifting and the creation of new ocean between Iberia and Newfoundland." IODP Exp 314 Science Party, Drilling Vessel Chikyu, Phillipine Sea. (9/30/2007)

Speaker. "GSA Short Course: Discovering Plate Boundaries, an Active Learning Approach for Plate Tectonic Boundary Processes." Geological Society of America, Houston, TX. (3 Oct 2008)

G. Peron-Pinvidic, G. Manatschal, T. Minshull, and D. Sawyer, 2006, How is continental break-up recorded in magma-poor rifted margins?, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T53A-1586.

Co-author. "Geophysical Investigation of an Abandoned Cemetery: Teachers Discover Evidence of Unmarked Graves in Prairie View, TX." AGU Fall Meeting 2007, San Francisco. (12/14/2007) With A Henning, R Baldwin, A Kahera, and A Thoms.

Co-Author. "Emplacement of the Peridotite Ridge Within the Ocean-Continent Transition on the West Iberia Continental Margin." American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco. (12/8/03) With Henning, A.T.

Henning, A.T., Sawyer, D.S., and Milliken, K., (2008), Geophysical Field Work for Educators: Teachers Use Ground-Penetrating Radar to Study San Jacinto Battlefield Park, EOS Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED53A-0577.

Nakamura, Y., Moore, G., Gullick, S., Sawyer, D.S., Tsuji, T., Kinoshita, M., and Tobin, H., (2008), Seismic Attribute and Logging Data Correlation at IODP NanTroSEIZE Sites C0001, C0002, and C0004, EOS Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T31B-1998.

speaker. "Development of the Ocean Drilling Consortium Model." Ocean Drilling Consortium / Rice University, Houston, TX. (16 June 2008)

Coauthor. "The Galicia Bank Southern Iberia Abyssal Plain Rifted Margin Segment Boundary. Investigating Continental Break-Up and Sedimentary Basin Formation." IODP Workshop on Continental Breakup and Sedimentary Basins, Pontresina Switzerland. (16 Sept 2006) With S. Clark.

Speaker. "Site Characterization for Future Ocean Drilling." IODP Workshop on Continental Breakup and Sedimentary Basins, Pontresina Switzerland. (16 Sept 2006)

Coauthor. "Subduction zone migration and polarity reversal along the Caribbean-South American diffuse plate boundary at 64W. Tectonics, Circulation, and Climate in the Caribbean Gateway." IODP Workshop on Cribbean Tectonics, Austin TX, USA. (30 Mar 2006) With Clark, S.A., A. Levander, M.B. Magnani, C.A. Zelt, H.G. Ave Lallemant, and the BOLIVAR Working Group.

Theses

John Bradford, Doctoral. "Characterizing Shallow Aquifers with Wave-Propagation based Geophysical Methods: Imaging and attribute Analysis." (1998).

Frank Condi, Doctoral. "Estimating subsurface structure through gravity and gravity gradiometry inversion." (1999).

Laurel Kirkland, Doctoral. "Infrared Spectroscopy of Mars." (1999).

Michael R. Unger, Masters. "Structural and tectonic interpretation of deep seismic reflection data offshore Spain and Portugal: a tectonic rifting model." (2000).

Tyler Knoll, Masters. "Rifting of the Iberia Margin: Multiple Suppression and Geological Interpretation." (2001).

Sunitha Kesavan, Masters. "Geostatistics of Topography in the Basin and Range Province." (2001).

Alison Henning, Ph.D. "Tectonics of the West Iberia Continental Margin from Seismic Reflection Data." (2004).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)

Awards

Distinguished Alumni Award, Purdue University Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. (15 March 2007).

Positions Held

Member and Vice Chair, IODP Site Survey Panel. (1/1/05 - 12/31/07).

Professional Experience

Amoco Production Company, West Texas Division, Geophysicist. (1/1/1977 - 8/31/1977). (Houston, TX)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Earth and Planetary Science, Research Assistant. (9/1/1977 - 5/31/1982). (Cambridge, MA)

University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Geophysics, Research Associate. (6/1/1982 - 6/30/1986). (Austin, TX)

University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Geophysics, Research Scientist. (7/1/1986 - 6/30/1988). (Austin, TX)

Rice University, Earth Science, Associate Professor. (7/1/1988 - 6/30/1997). (Houston, TX)

Rice University, Earth Science, Professor. (7/1/1997 - Present). (Houston, TX)

Outreach Activities

Press Appearances Interviewed and quoted on front page of USA Today regarding tanker sinking and oil spill in Atlantic offshore Spain (11/20/2002)

Taped interview by Channel 13 regarding Hector Earthquake, 16 Oct 1999

Discovering Plate Boundaries, A resource for Earth Science Teachers

Lead a short course on "Discovering Plate Boundaries" at Fall meeting of MATS (Metropolitan Area Teachers of Science). 13 October 2001.

Press Appearances Interview with Channel 13 regarding local affects of the Denali earthquake in Alaska. Clips used on 4PM, 6PM, and 10PM news. (11/5/2002)

Earth Science Day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

Lead a short course on "Discovering Plate Boundaries" at Spring meeting of MATS (Metropolitan Area Teachers of Science). 24 February 2001.

Public Appearances Discovering Plate Boundaries, Workshop presentation at GIFT Workshop for San Francisco Bay Area Science Teachers (12/6/2002)

Spoke to the Rice Society of Women about "Earthquakes." 8 October 2001.

Public Appearances Discovering Plate Boundaries, workshop presentation for Metropolitan Area Teachers of Science. (3/10/2002)

Public Appearances Discovering Plate Boundaries: a data rich classroom exercise, Invited presentation for American Association for Petroleum Geologists Geoscience Teacher Workshop (10/12/2002)

Patents and Copyrighted Software

US Patent #7,324,215 - Non-destructive optical imaging system for enhanced lateral resolution: Issued 1/29/2008