Claudia Bertoni
Claudia Bertoni is a senior postdoctoral research associate at the Earth Science department in the University of Oxford. Claudia has a background in sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and petroleum geology. Her PhD focused on the tectono-stratigraphic analysis of the Messinian evaporites in the Eastern Mediterranean, using subsurface offshore data (industry 2D/3D seismic and wells). Claudia has experience as an exploration geoscientist in the petroleum industry, applying the interpretation of integrated geological and geophysical data to a variety of sedimentary basins, in the circum-European, Asia-Pacific and East Africa regions. Current research focuses are on identifying and characterising the effects of fluid mobilization in the subsurface, in order to understand the mechanisms that drive migration and expulsion events in marine sedimentary basins, e.g. tectonics and eustatic changes. In the framework of the EMeRG, Claudia applies seismic stratigraphy and attribute analysis to investigate the complex and variable interaction between fluids and evaporites in ‘salt giants’ basins such as the Mediterranean Messinian Salinity Crisis, and to understand the global mechanisms leading to the formation and demise of these giant evaporitic basins in Earth’s history. Recent research projects cover tectonics and sedimentation in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Miocene to recent, within the framework of the NEPTUNE project.
Website: www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/claudia-bertoni/
Email: Claudia.Bertoni@earth.ox.ac.uk
Joe Cartwright
Joe Cartwright is a Professor of Earth Sciences and head of the Geoscience Lab at the University of Oxford. His research interests are in understanding process linkages between depositional, diagenetic and deformational processes in sedimentary basins. Joe has primarily used seismic data for this purpose, and has built laboratories at Imperial College, London and Cardiff prior to coming to Oxford. Joe is particularly interested in developing quantitative methods in 3D seismic interpretation to gain a better understanding of basin shaping and filling processes. Current projects include: the development of natural fractures in mudrocks, hydrocarbon migration and leakage, geological sequestration of carbon dioxide, the propagation of tectonic faults, the genesis of polygonal fault systems, the mechanics of sandstone and igneous intrusions, the genesis of giant submarine landslides, mechanisms and controls on highly focused fluid venting, the seismic characterisation of mudrocks as seals, and the seismic analysis of diagenetic reactions.
Website: https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/joe-cartwright
Email: joe.cartwright@earth.ox.ac.uk
Chris Kirkham
Chris Kirkham is a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Oxford Geoscience Lab. Chris is an expert seismic interpreter with experience working in basins globally and 8 years specifically in the basins of the Eastern Mediterranean. Expertise are in the recognition and interpretation of pressure dynamics within sedimentary basins and in the analysis of fluid flow and mobile media such as mud and salt. Prior to joining the University of Oxford in 2016, Christopher undertook a PhD in Cardiff University and produced a thesis entitled ‘A 3D seismic interpretation of mud volcanoes within the western slope of the Nile Cone’, from which several papers have been published. Current interests and active research are in: 1) exploring the range of ways in which hydrocarbons migrate through the subsurface and how they are expressed in seismic reflection data, particularly during catastrophic episodes of focused fluid expulsion; 2) understanding how and when seals in hydrocarbon systems are breached; 3) salt tectonics and exploring the interaction of fluid flow features with salt.
Website: https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/chris-kirkham
Email: christopher.kirkham@earth.ox.ac.uk
Richard Walker
Richard Walker is the Professor of Tectonics at the Earth Science department in the University of Oxford. Richard’s research combines remote sensing, detailed field investigation, earthquake studies, and Quaternary dating methods to quantify the distribution, rates, and evolution of active faulting within deforming parts of the continents. His approach is to combine the use of remote-sensing data with field-based observations for identifying active faults in remote regions. Richard has extensive experience of working in actively deforming areas (e.g. Mongolia, Iran, Tibet, Taiwan, Greece, Morocco) and have investigated Earth deformation ranging in scale from individual earthquakes through to the evolution of entire mountain ranges. One of Richards major interests is working to expand the use of analytical dating techniques for quantifying fault slip-rates on timescales of 10-100 ka. Reliable estimates of fault slip-rates are key to understanding the distribution of crustal strain in active mountain ranges. The precise dating of landforms displaced by faulting also provides data relevant for studies of local earthquake hazard and past environmental change.
Website: https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/richard-walker/
Email: richard.walker@earth.ox.ac.uk