130205 utig impactbro m · dr i ll i n g d i e o ut a. g i s tu d i r hq u e gi s s u j a d n e w...
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Understanding How Worlds Work
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10100 Burnet Rd. (R2200), Austin, TX 78758-4445Phone: 512-471-0464 Fax: 512-471-2370director@
ig.utexas.edu ww
w.ig.utexas.edu
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UTIG scientists are dedicated to understanding how
worlds w
ork. When a deadly
earthquake devastated Haiti, U
TIG scientists arrived within w
eeks, assessing
the damage, identifying future hazards, and advising rebuilding efforts. W
hen
Hurricane Ike hit G
alveston, UTIG took to the seas, conducting a Rapid Response
survey that showed dram
atic changes to the seafloor, information vital to the recov-
ery process. And when the G
alileo spacecraft sent back images from
Jupiter’s moon
Europa, UTIG used its know
ledge of Earth’s ice sheets to find a potential habitat for
life hidden under Europa’s icy shell. ¶ U
TIG is home to 35 doctorate-level scientists
— research entrepreneurs —
providing a broadband of expertise that can do every-thing from
conducting scientific ocean drilling to leading airborne radar studies of ice sheets. U
TIG scientists supplement their fieldw
ork with com
puter analysis,
modeling, and laboratory w
ork. ¶ U
TIG seeks state, national, and international
opportunities to leverage its proven geophysical expertise to address leading issues in resource developm
ent and environmental m
anagement. W
hen society faces
critical environmental problem
s that cause controversy among citizens and con-
fusion among governm
ent policymakers, U
TIG scientists engage the parties, plan
an appropriate and effective response, and collect the data that leads to responsible
solutions. For such issues, UTIG scientists don’t take sides; they find answ
ers.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
UT
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The UT Institute for G
eophysics (UTIG) is a w
orld leader in expeditionary-scale geophysical research, conducting investigations over land, at sea, and in the air. W
hether collecting seism
ic data, responding to natural disasters, or searching space for signs of life, U
TIG is there.
U T I G M I L E S T O N E S
Lean and AgileU
TIG receives only $2 million per year from
the state and UT, but it pum
ps $23 m
illion into the Texas economy, all w
hile uncovering new know
ledge that helps us
understand and improve our w
orld. In addition to UTIG
’s robust research enter-prise, its w
ork with graduate students and postdoctoral fellow
s helps prepare
tomorrow
’s workforce. And its program
s with K-12 students and teachers ensure
that pioneering geophysics work w
ill continue for generations. ¶ The bulk of
UTIG
’s budget comes from
external funding — grants from
the National Science
Foundation, NASA, international partners, foundations, and private industry —
m
aking it a revenue-positive operation. The UTIG structure is nim
ble and can
respond rapidly to natural disasters and other research opportunities. Because
UTIG is a research institute, it is not tied to the academ
ic calendar, providing scientists the flexibility to w
ork on projects that require quick turnarounds or
several months in the field.
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umbers
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Major Accom
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Expected in the Near Future
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From the ends of the earth to the bottom of the sea to other planets, UTIG is there, making cutting-edge scientific discoveries that change the way we live and work in the world.
U T I G R E S E A R C H A R E A S
CH
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Scientists from
the U.S
., U.K
., and Australia have used ice-penetrating radar to
create the first high-resolution topographic map of one of the last uncharted
regions of Earth, the A
urora Subglacial B
asin, an ice-buried lowland in E
ast
Antarctica larger than Texas. The m
ap reveals some of the largest fjords or ice-cut
channels on Earth, providing im
portant insights into the history of ice in Antarctica.
The data will help com
puter modelers im
prove their simulations of the past and
future Antarctic ice sheet and its potential im
pact on global sea level.
SC
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In a significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists from
UTIG
have
helped discover a body of liquid water locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter’s m
oon
Europa. The water, the volum
e of the North A
merican G
reat Lakes, could repre-
sent a potential habitat for life, and many m
ore such lakes might exist throughout
the shallow regions of Europa’s shell. K
nowledge gained over 20 years’ study of
Earth’s ice sheets and floating ice shelves m
ade the discovery possible.
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Within w
eeks of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, U
TIG scientists helped lead m
ultiple expe-
ditions to the island nation to help assess the damage, identify future earthquake
hazards, and make recom
mendations about how
and where to rebuild. They surveyed
Haiti from
the air, land, and sea.
UTIG
scientists and colleagues combined data from
their Rapid R
esponse expeditions,
seismological observations, and m
easurements from
space to show that the earth-
quake wasn’t caused entirely, or even largely, by the E
nriquillo-Plantain G
arden Fault.
Rather, m
ost of the motion w
as on previously unknown shallow
faults. The report notes
that much m
ore strain is still waiting to be released on the E
nriquillo-Plantain G
arden
Fault, possibly as another large earthquake.
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Conducting a R
apid Response research m
ission after Hurricane Ike, U
TIG scientists
surveyed the inlet between G
alveston Bay and the G
ulf of Mexico, and discovered that
the hurricane significantly reshaped the seafloor and carried an enormous am
ount of
sand and sediment into the gulf. The ongoing research revealed the role storm
s play
in building and eroding barrier islands such as Galveston and could help coastal com
-
munities gauge the effectiveness of their som
etimes controversial efforts to replenish
eroding sand along shorelines.
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The March 2011 earthquake and tsunam
i off the coast of Japan killed more than 15,000
people. With an eye tow
ard better understanding of the fault and identifying potential
hazards at other large faults around the world, U
TIG researchers are studying the ocean
trench and fault where the m
agnitude-9.0 Tohoku quake occurred. It is one of the largest
quakes in recorded history.
TIM
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A U
TIG scientist is investigating E
ast Texas’ largest earthquake ever — a 4.8 m
agnitude-
temblor near Tim
pson in May, 2012. B
ecause the quake epicenter was just a few
miles
from som
e injection disposal wells, drilled to store w
aste fluids from hydraulic fracturing,
the two could be linked. Studies are ongoing —
stay tuned.
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WA
LL
IS D
ES
TR
OY
ED
AS
A R
ES
UL
T O
F T
HE
TIM
PS
ON
EA
RT
HQ
UA
KE
.
CR
ED
IT: T
IMP
SO
N A
ND
TE
NA
HA
NE
WS
BU
ILD
ING
BR
IDG
ES
: AC
AD
EM
IA, IN
DU
ST
RY, A
ND
GO
VE
RN
ME
NT
UTIG
scientists have a long history of creating partnerships with industry and governm
ent through
geophysical investigations around the globe. The Gulf B
asin Depositional Synthesis P
roject (GB
DS
) is one
such longstanding UTIG
project with industry partners that seeks to understand the depositional history
of the economically im
portant Gulf of M
exico. Another recent exam
ple of an UTIG
-industry partnership
involves the seismic investigation of the deep structure and earliest geologic history of the G
ulf of Mexico.
Research conducted by U
TIG scientists continues to help industry scientists to m
ore efficiently identify
and develop energy resources in the deep gulf. Lessons learned from the studies in the G
ulf of Mexico are
used in other resrouce-rich deep basins around the globe.
TH
E G
UL
F B
AS
IN D
EP
OS
ITIO
NA
L
SY
NT
HE
SIS
PR
OJE
CT
IS
AN
IND
US
TR
Y-S
PO
NS
OR
ED
SY
NT
HE
SIS
OF
TH
E L
AS
T 2
50
MIL
LIO
N Y
EA
RS
OF
DE
PO
SIT
ION
IN T
HE
GU
LF
OF
ME
XIC
O B
AS
IN.
SP
ON
SO
RS
RE
CE
IVE
DA
TA
,
DA
TA
BA
SE
S A
ND
INT
ER
AC
TIV
E
TO
OL
S T
HA
T H
EL
P P
RO
VID
E A
FR
AM
EW
OR
K F
OR
EX
PL
OR
AT
ION
IN T
HE
GU
LF
OF
ME
XIC
O.
E N G A G I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R A T I O N O F S C I E N T I S T S
SC
IEN
TIS
TS
FL
AG
A S
UP
PLY
HE
LIC
OP
TE
R
DU
RIN
G A
20
11
CR
EV
AS
SE
ST
UD
Y N
EA
R T
HE
JAK
OB
SH
AV
N G
LA
CIE
R, W
ES
T G
RE
EN
LA
ND
.
CR
ED
IT: L
AU
RE
N A
ND
RE
WS
, UT
IG
TE
AC
HE
R A
T S
EA
A U
TIG scientist co-led an Integrated O
cean Drilling P
rogram expedition to C
anterbury
Basin off the eastern coast of N
ew Zealand’s S
outh Island, where he and fellow
scientists measured seafloor sedim
ents as old as 35 million years. A
middle school
science teacher from W
atauga, Texas, was also aboard the N
ew Zealand expedition.
She learned alongside the expedition’s science party and shared her experiences w
ith
students and the public through a blog and live video conferences. She connected
directly with students in Texas, N
ebraska, California, and France.
GE
OF
OR
CE
The Jackson School of G
eosciences GeoFO
RC
E program
and its staff are housed at UTIG
. GeoFO
RC
E is an expe-
riential outreach program that prepares Texas high school
students to become part of the geosciences w
orkforce.
UTIG
scientists regularly participate in the summ
er field
excursions associated with this nationally recognized pro-
gram that engages m
ore than 640 high school students
each summ
er, 85 percent of whom
are minorities.
TX
ES
S R
EV
OL
UT
ION
The TeXas E
arth and Space S
cience Revolution (TX
ESS R
evolution) is a profes-
sional development program
for eighth-grade and high school teachers preparing
to teach the senior capstone course in Earth and S
pace Science. The project has
served 172 teachers over four years. These teachers have directly affected more
than 21,000 students; 69 percent of whom
are underrepresented minorities.