Access to energy is fundamental to the world’s societies. Improving quality of life requires the reliable supply and wise use of energy with reduced environmental impacts. New scientific understanding and innovative engineering solutions are required to meet these challenges. Given this context, the Energy Geoscience & Engineering Lab investigates the coupled physical processes that govern the behavior of rocks, sediments, and fluids under subsurface conditions. Our research emphasizes fundamental understanding of geomaterials, addressing questions related to pressure and stress in geological systems, rock strength and deformation, and fluid flow through the Earth. The following areas represent past and ongoing research directions in our group.
Methane hydrates are crystalline solids found in submarine and permafrost settings. They store gigatons of carbon, making it one of the largest mobile carbon reservoirs in the Earth.
Fractures are discontinuities that control the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of rock masses. These fractured rocks serve as the host or foundation for many engineered and geological structures.
Carbonates are born, not made.² Because of this bio-origin, they are unparalleled repositories of past life, construction materials, and important aquifers and hosts for metallic ores and hydrocarbon reserves.