University of Texas Institute for Geophysics

06/03/2026

Breakups are complicated, even when it comes to supercontinents. 🌎💔

New research led by and UT Jackson School of Geosciences Research Professor Harm Van Avendonk finds that the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, a gargantuan amount of molten igneous rock that closed out the Triassic, played a smaller a role in the breakup of Pangea than previously thought.

This research was published in Geological Society of America and revises the story of the way Pangea fragmented.

The team conducted a series of seismic surveys in 2014 and 2015 to create a more complete picture of the Earth’s crust at the U.S. Atlantic coastal plain. The team boarded the marine seismic vessel R/V Marcus Langseth, seen in photo one, and used multiple surveying methods, like the ocean-bottom seismometer seen in photo two, to map the area.

On land, researchers surveyed beneath the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, seen in photo three, and created a schematic interpretation of the seismic velocity and density structure seen in photo four.

The survey results showed that the crust beneath the foothills was about 35 kilometers thick and narrowed closer to the anomaly, with only the lower few kilometers of crust containing seismic velocities matching speeds of magmatic rock. For CAMP to have had significant influence on crustal separation, a much thicker layer of material with seismic wave speeds matching those of magmatic rock would need to be present.

In contrast, at the anomaly there are signs of narrow rifts that were filled up by magma after they formed, exemplifying the type of crustal structure formed by continental separation.

“These findings demonstrate that the volume and distribution of magmatism on this margin, including from CAMP, is highly variable, and that the connection between CAMP and continental breakup is not as simple and clear as previously supposed,” said Donna Shillington, co-author of the paper and professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability at Northern Arizona University.

Read the full story of the complicated new origins of Pangea’s breakup: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2026/06/the-complicated-new-origins-of-pangeas-big-breakup/

05/29/2026

Summertime means more time in the field at ! 🪨🪨🪨

Research professor Sean Gulick (left), UTIG Postdoctoral Fellow Greg Gosselin (center) and Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin doctoral student Soraya Alfred recently traveled to Scottish Highlands to visit the Stac Fada Member impact ejecta sequence as part of the i-CREATE Magellan3 & USSSP workshop. This workshop brought scientists together to discuss the benefits of drilling impact craters and how such activities can further research in the realm of planetary processes, biological processes and astrobiology, among many others. UTIG Research Associate Professor Chris Lowery also joined the trio on this workshop and trek.

“My current research focuses on the post-impact hydrothermal system at Chicxulub impact basin and the mechanisms affecting its evolution through time, and while I study this impact in particular, this workshop opened my eyes to the wide range of impact sites that are being studied by other scientists in the impact cratering community,” said Alfred. “The discussions we had isolated the gaps in our collective understanding of the cratering process, shaping questions I now hope to answer in my future research.”

In photo one, Gulick points at the fault plane for the Moine Thrust at Knockan Crag. The grey formation above the fault plane is the Moine Schist and the lighter colored material below is mylonite, a rock that is broken, stretched and fragmented, formed as a result of the thrusting process.

The circles in the rock of the second photo are called accretionary lapilli and were formed by material melted and vaporized after an impactor struck the Earth somewhere within the Highlands and then accreted into small stones that fell back near the impact site. These lapilli have been confirmed to be linked to this impact event that occurred 1 billion years ago although the crater itself has not been found.

In the final photo, the stratigraphic sequence at Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve protrudes out of the Earth, showing rock that is over 500 million years old. The thrust is visible beneath the Moine Schist and above the Durness Limestone.

05/28/2026

's Sohini Dasgupta is a recipient of a 2026-2027 UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows Award. Dasgupta is currently a doctoral student in the UT Jackson School of Geosciences.

The UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows Award provides support to student researchers whose work promises to transform the energy systems of the future and is administered by the The Energy Institute, UT Austin in collaboration with Chevronon and The University of Texas at Austin Graduate School.

“I am grateful to receive the 2026 Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowship. This support will be invaluable for my research in next-generation carbon monitoring and subsurface imaging, and will provide the opportunity to connect with the broader energy research community. I am excited to contribute to these real-world energy solutions,” said Dasgupta.

Read more about Dasgupta’s research and the other awardees: https://energy.utexas.edu/education/chevron-energy-fellows/awards-2026-27

05/27/2026

You need a few essentials when you’re out in Aransas Bay😎☀️🌊

05/26/2026

Last week, faculty and students joined this year’s Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) in Wisconsin to present out of this world research!

UTIG Research Associate Elizabeth Spiers (left) was invited to speak about the potential of Europa’s regolith as a porous pathway for oxygen transport and habitability. 🪐

Graduate research assistant and doctoral student in the UT Jackson School of Geosciences Medha Prakash (center) gave a presentation on recent fieldwork and lab work that demonstrated target lithology drives variability in hydrothermal alteration regimes in the Rochechouart impact structure. Prakash also presented on how understanding principles of personification throughout history can define and develop more sustainable interactions with remote environments such as the Moon or Mars.🌕

Finally, postdoctoral fellow Arefe Nezami presented simulations used to investigate how the rotation, heating strength, friction at ocean boundaries, and the pattern of heating at the ocean bottom of icy moons in our solar system influence circulation in subsurface oceans. 🪐🌊

AbSciCon is hosted by AGU and brings the astrobiology community together to share research, collaborate, and plan for the future.

05/26/2026

Our Marine Geology and Geophysics field course is as hands-on as it gets💪💪💪

See what a typical morning of hunting down sediment samples and collecting cores on Harbor Island in Port Aransas, TX looks like! 🏖️🏖️

05/22/2026

Michael Sweet, a research scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and co-program director of the Gulf Basin Depositional Synthesis (GBDS) project is the recipient of the 2026 Doris Malkin Curtis Medal by the Gulf Coast Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology.

It is the organization’s highest honor.

Sweet received this award in recognition of his numerous contributions in both research and industry towards understanding the depositional systems beneath the petroleum-rich Gulf Basin.

“Many of my colleagues whom I know and respect are previous recipients of this award, and it is a great honor to be counted in their number,” said Sweet.

Read more.

Michael Sweet, a research scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and co-program director of the Gulf Basin Depositional Synthesis (GBDS) project is the recipient of the 2026 Doris Malkin Curtis Medal by the Gulf Coast Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology. It i...

05/21/2026

Join UTIG Research Associate Professor Chris Lowery on Tuesday, June 2 at 4:00 p.m. CT for a special presentation with the American Museum of Natural History on the ways ocean drilling offers insights into Earth’s past.

Lowery will use Expedition 364 to talk about the process of ocean drilling science and what drilling in the crater can tell us about the impact event.

This virtual talk is free to attend with RSVP.

Find out how scientific ocean drilling is helping researchers learn more about the Cretaceous mass extinction.

05/06/2026

seismology experts joined colleagues from Chile, Germany and Japan for the third Joint International Earthquake Science Symposium hosted at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. Here, experts presented updates on ongoing seismic research and toured GEOMAR’s Core & Rock repository (photo one), workshops and instrument assembly hall (photos three and four) and the centre’s research vessel Alkor.

"This year's workshop really focused on coming up with collaborative project ideas, which has inspired me to think about where I can take my research next - both for the remaining years of my PhD and once I graduate,” said McKenzie Carlson, graduate research assistant at UTIG and pictured in photo two. “Working with folks at GEOMAR and JAMSTEC also opens the door to other research methods we might not otherwise have access to at UT.”

This year’s symposium emphasized research on marine-based observations, subduction-zone processes, fault-zone physics, and volcano-tectonic interactions. The Joint International Earthquake Science Symposium is collaboration between UTIG, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), and Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.

Learn more about the first Joint International Earthquake Science Symposium hosted at UTIG in 2024: https://ig.utexas.edu/news/2024/scientists-to-gather-at-ut-to-push-forward-earthquake-science/

04/29/2026

Who says faculty and researchers are the only ones who get to have all the fun in the field? The administrative team hopped on the R/V Scott Petty to survey , which has seen rising amounts of over the last year. Hydrilla disrupts native ecosystems and can damage boats and be a swimming hazard.

"The admins learned to use sonar techniques to map the lake floor and assess vegetation coverage," said UTIG Engineering Scientist Marcy Davis, who helped lead the expedition. "The data they collected will support ongoing monitoring efforts to help the City of Austin manage invasive aquatic plants, such as hydrilla, in Lake Austin."