Dynamic Topography: the glue that holds the world's geology together.

Dr Neil Hodgson, TGS, AAPG Europe President, will give a talk on "Dynamic Topography: the glue that holds the world's geology together."

The University of Leeds AAPG student chapter and IAG are pleased to co-host Dr Neil Hodgson, TGS, and AAPG Europe President 2019-21.

Abstract: In the future, will we know why every basin looks different?  

The demand for fossil fuel across the globe is accelerating year on year, and our search for new reserves is progressing hand in hand with a revolution in how we understand the world was built.  The new data we have gained is letting us ask new questions:-

Why are some sedimentary sequences stable and others, in adjacent basins on the same rift margins, unstable? What do seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) or magmatic and amagmatic margins really mean? Why aren’t the unconformities in one basin always found in adjacent basins and what does that mean for global sea level)? Why do conjugate margins vary from symmetric to asymmetrical along a given rift? What controls the development of abrupt and hyperextended passive margins?

Study of the variation in the structure of basins on a given passive margin creates an image of the earth of infinite uniqueness; snowflake-basin geology controlled by random “local” factors.

But what if there were a model that could glue this uniqueness together?

On a journey to seek this model we will review the variation in the crustal architecture of the Atlantic margin, review the meaning of SDRs and their absence, review the process of rifting and the formations of the observed crustal architectures, as well as mantle and heat convection.  We will look at some of the most spectacular geologies on earth, revealed only in modern 2D seismic, and draw out some of the promising areas of future innovation from the fields of sedimentology, structural geology, basin modelling and plate tectonics.

It has been proposed that this is the time of peak-geoscience.  If it is, I propose we stand at the edge of a time of peak individual innovation – with more to be discovered by fewer geoscientists, as new deepwater data yield understandings that were once futuristic. 

Much to our surprise, the future has already arrived and it’s more interesting than we could have imagined. 

Biography: Dr Neil Hodgson is a proven oil finder with over 30 years of experience in international oil and gas exploration working for major exploration operators globally.  After BSc Geology and PhD in Igneous Geochemistry, Neil has worked in, managed and led exploration teams that have found, appraised and developed significant volumes of Oil and Gas for BP, BG, Premier Oil, and Matra Petroleum.  In 2012 Neil joined Spectrum Geo – a seismic acquisition company to develop the geoscience understanding of the basins Spectrum work in, to reveal their potential and identify the sweet spots for future exploration.  In August 2019 Spectrum Geo merged with TGS doubling the size of the world’s biggest multi-client 2D library.