HGS University of Houston Sheriff Lecture " Seismic Geomorphology of Ancient Earthscapes - Strengthening our Perspectives of Deep Time and Clarifying Our Role in the World’s Future"

HGS and the University of Houston Earth Sciences Department host the annual Robert Sheriff Lecture

Norris Conference Center Town and Country Bvd, Houston TX

November 11, 2024

5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Seismic Geomorphology of Ancient Earthscapes - Strengthening our Perspectives of Deep Time and Clarifying Our Role in the World’s Future

Speaker: Dr. Lesli Wood, Robert J. Weimer Chair, Dept of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

“Fathoming deep time is arguably geology’s single greatest contribution to humanity. …geology provides a lens through which we can witness time in a way that transcends the limits of our human experiences.”  This quote from Marcia Bjornerud’s book Timefulness captures our role as geoscientists, to bring a knowledge of the deep-time past to bear on the present.  If geology is the lens through which we witness, then seismic data is the muse under the scope.  Advances in seismic imaging of ancient rocks and in our ability to display and render visual, past landscapes and seascapes provides a window through which to view the history of the Earth.  These insights bring a responsibility to facilitate conversations on not just the geomorphology of the past, but on how those Earthscapes have been impacted by natural and anthropogenic forces. This talk will look at our amazing ability to see the ancient geomorphology of the Earth.  We will examine ancient landscapes from the Mesozoic of Australia and the North Sea, Cretaceous canyons of northeastern South America, submarine mountains of mud and deep ocean canyons in offshore Trinidad and Tobago, carbonates systems of the West Texas Permian Basin, and paralic systems of the Guyana/Suriname regions. We will discuss how to integrate those seismic observations with learnings from modern systems study and modeling to quantify processes active in the past.  This talk will also discuss the role of geoscientists in conversations of society’s impact on the Earth and Earth’s processes, and geoscientists’ unique perspective on the role of human society in the evolution of the planet.

Speaker:

Dr. Lesli Wood, Robert J. Weimer Chair, Dept of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Contact: lwood@mines.edu

Bio: https://geology.mines.edu/project/wood-lesli/