My Past Projects in Earth Science Domain
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Project: UAV photogrammetry and LiDAR - Large-Scale High Resolution Geological 3D modeling
Visual Reality of Geological fieldworks or field trips for educational and exhibition purposes. * Geological Mapping and Geophysical/Geochemical Survey with UAVs. * Engineering Management with UAVs. * Environmental pollution and problems analysis and management with UAVs and GIS.
2. Project: Paleomagnetic Research at West Texas and Western Wyoming
I am working with Prof. John Geissman on paleomagnetism, focusing on red beds, magnetic fabrics, and chemical demagnetization research. This project is mostly about the magnetic fabric investigation of the Permian and Triassic
red beds at West Texas and Western Wyoming. Red beds are potentially important for paleomagnetic studies, yet the debate continues regarding the kind and origin of hematite (authigenic pigment hematite or detrital specular hematite) that carries the geologically meaningful part of natural remanent magnetization (NRM). The solution to this controversy is significant because it connects to the reliable interpretations of the NRM of red beds. A difficulty regarding this controversy is evaluating the magnetic contributions of pigment hematite and specularite separately, which this thesis research attempts to solve. Progressive chemical demagnetization is combined with measurements of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) between each chemical leaching step. By comparing AMS data from red beds from three tectonically different localities as a function of progressive dissolution of specimens. The result suggests that specularite contributes about 1.9E-5 (25-35%) to the bulk susceptibility and dominates the magnetic fabric of redbeds and that redbeds carry two types of pigment hematite with different magnetic properties.
3. Project: Explosive Volcanism Hazard of Earth's Tallest Volcanoes for Aviation
Volcanic ash plumes can be very hazardous to airplanes that fly through them. It is important to know when major eruptions occur, even in remote places like Alaska and Kamchatka so that air traffic can avoid potentially hazardous ash clouds. Currently, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) monitors global subaerial volcanoes using satellite imaging to rapidly identify concentrations of volcanic ash near erupting volcanoes. The VAAC is separated into nine zones, each responsible for monitoring volcanic ash in their assigned airspace. The tallest volcanoes pose a special threat to aviation because eruptions of these can rapidly and easily inject ash to the over 10km in the atmosphere where cruising aircraft fly. Tall volcanoes also have more silica-rich eruptions, which tend to erupt explosively. By analyzing the 344 tallest subaerial volcanoes around the world, we are creating an active Google Map with the volcanoes, their hazard levels and descriptions. In order to accomplish this we have broken down our research into 3 stages: data collection, data analysis and hazard ranking. In stage 1, we are compile geochemical data from EarthChem, volcanology data from the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and various literature sources. Stage 2 centers on ranking the tall volcanoes based on five important factors: height, chemical composition, tectonic setting (most are convergent margin volcanoes), location and activity ( whether a volcano is active, dormant or extinct). Finally in stage 3, we will give each volcano a ranking number. This ranking will be based on the volcanoes in each VAAC zone, and then all volcanoes along with their information and ranking will be added into our Google Earth map.
4. Project: The Development and Features of the Structures of Ta'nan Basin at Cretaceous Time.
Amtrak-Hailar Basin is a hydrocarbon-rich continental rift basin in northeast China. It is characterized by many grabens and horsts like Basin and Range Province in the USA but on a smaller scale. Nantun Formation is important for the petroleum system as the major source and reservoir. Structure development in the Nantun Formation largely controlled the migration and formation of the petroleum system. By creating a 3D structure model and burial history of sub-basins in Amtrak-Hailar Basin using seismic and well log data, we systematically summarized the character of Nantun structures and the results of our work will improve the understanding of its evolution.
Work Experiences in Earth Science Domain
Contract Geologist, Seismo Electronics LLC. Houston Texas
GIS Consultant, Jilin Coalfield 102 Exploration Company
Internship, Petrochina Tarim Oilfield Company