Inaugural Lecture - Prof Mark Chapman

The School of GeoSciences is pleased to announce the Inaugural Lecture of Prof. Mark Chapman, Personal Chair of Rock Physics.

The lecture will be held at 5:30 pm on Thursday, 20th June 2024 in the Alder Lecture Theatre, Nucleus Building, King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh.

All are welcome to attend.

"Mapping rock and fluid properties with frequency-dependent seismic anisotropy."

The science of geophysics is central to the energy transition, but this comes with a raft of challenges, including new data and physical properties, all driven by an emerging and uncertain industry business model. Large scale underground storage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen is planned, but success depends on our ability to accurately map subsurface fluid flow. The Earth is known to exhibit seismic anisotropy, and the frequency-dependence of this anisotropy is sensitive to fluids, fractures and permeability. I will outline the theory for frequency-dependent seismic rock physics analysis, present field data examples and argue that the technique is vital for monitoring subsurface fluid flow.

Biography:

After graduating with a PhD in geophysics from Edinburgh in 2001, Mark Chapman joined the British Geological Survey, working on the Edinburgh Anisotropy Project. He joined the University in 2010, and has led numerous research projects in applied seismic rock physics, many in collaboration with industry. A particular highlight was the CHIMNEY project, which collected a unique broadband multicomponent dataset in the North Sea. Since 2020 he has served as Head of the Earth and Planetary Sciences Research Institute.

Programme:

• 5.30-5.45pm Arrival refreshments
• 5.45-6.00pm Welcome
• 6.00-7.00pm Lecture and Q&A session
• 7.00-8.00pm Reception

Host or Publisher School of GeoSciences, Edinburgh University