Welcome to GeoUnion, the graduate student body of the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences. GeoUnion strives to supplement the overall graduate student experience at Rice and DEEPS. GeoUnion represents DEEPS in the overall Rice grad student community, acts as a liaison between students and faculty and organizes a number of intra- and inter-departmental events throughout the academic year.
Date | Event |
---|---|
August 19-23 | O-Week |
September 6-8 | Overnight Camping at San Marcos |
September 13 | Welcome Barbecue |
Cancelled because of Imelda | Pre-GSA talk |
October 12-15 | Field Trip to Big Bend |
October 25 | Halloween Kickball Tournament |
November 26 | Multicultural Thanksgiving! |
Dec 6 | Pre-AGU practice session |
TBA | Enlightenment |
Here’s a list of the resources that you would need to use frequently as graduate students at Rice. The websites of the Rice Graduate Student Association (GSA), Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) are platforms which graduate students can use to keep track of upcoming events, funding opportunities, changes in rules and regulations, etc.
Living in a vast city like Houston and exploring a new place can also be challenging, and so we have compiled a list of recommendations for housing and fun things to do in the Space City!
Past ice-sheet behaviour: retreat scenarios and changing controls in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Past ice-sheet behaviour: retreat scenarios and changing controls in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Past ice-sheet behaviour: retreat scenarios and changing controls in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 10, 1003-1020, doi:10.5194/tc-10-1003-2016, 2016.
Studying the history of ice-sheet behaviour in the Ross Sea, Antarctica’s largest drainage basin can improve our understanding of patterns and controls on marine-based ice-sheet dynamics and provide constraints for numerical ice-sheet models. Newly collected high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data, combined with two decades of legacy multibeam and seismic data, are used to map glacial landforms and reconstruct palaeo ice-sheet drainage.
During the Last Glacial Maximum, grounded ice reached the continental shelf edge in the eastern but not western Ross Sea. Recessional geomorphic features in the western Ross Sea indicate virtually continuous back-stepping of the ice-sheet grounding line. In the eastern Ross Sea, well-preserved linear features and a lack of small-scale recessional landforms signify rapid lift-off of grounded ice from the bed. Physiography exerted a first-order control on regional ice behaviour, while sea floor geology played an important subsidiary role.
Previously published deglacial scenarios for Ross Sea are based on low-spatial-resolution marine data or terrestrial observations; however, this study uses high-resolution basin-wide geomorphology to constrain grounding-line retreat on the continental shelf. Our analysis of retreat patterns suggests that (1) retreat from the western Ross Sea was complex due to strong physiographic controls on ice-sheet drainage; (2) retreat was asynchronous across the Ross Sea and between troughs; (3) the eastern Ross Sea largely deglaciated prior to the western Ross Sea following the formation of a large grounding-line embayment over Whales Deep; and (4) our glacial geomorphic reconstruction converges with recent numerical models that call for significant and complex East Antarctic ice sheet and West Antarctic ice sheet contributions to the ice flow in the Ross Sea.
AAPG Student EXPO -Houston – Sept 8th and 9th
The registration for the Annual AAPG Student EXPO – Houston is open. Please check the link below.
If you want to present a poster in the AAPG Student Expo then submit the Abstract and register for the event on the link below asap (the slots will be filled within 1-2 days). Therefore do it asap!!
If you just want to attend the event and meet the recruiters then it is recommended to register for the event by the end of this week.
https://events.thepulsenetwork.com/GcmMaintenance/AAPG/Html_files/40000004/landing.html
If you have any questions then kindly let me know.
Best Regards,
Pankaj
AAPG RIGS
Dear All,
As the President of the Rice AAPG Student Chapter it is my pleasure to announce a new event – AAPG RIGS (Rice Industry Geoscience Series), which will take place during the month of September this year. This event is to inform and assist students in their employment search endeavors within the Oil & Gas industry. The format of the event is organized in such a way that students can get more exposure to the Industry Professionals in terms of networking as well as recruitment.
AAPG RIGS format
– The event will is scheduled for three consecutive Fridays, September 16th, 23rd, and 30th, 4:00-5:00 PM.
– 16th September – Career Info session – a discussion with industry professionals about careers in Geoscience (Oil and Gas), + Resume Review session – (details to follow)
– 23rd September – 3 student talks followed by networking session over some snacks and beverages
– 30th September – 16 student posters with a parallel networking session
All undergrads, professional masters, and grad students are invited to participate. You are requested to submit an abstract by 5th August at aapg@rice.edu. Please state whether you would like to give a presentation or have a poster. The candidates will be shortlisted by a review committee consisting of Rice professors and Industry professionals. If you are travelling, or on field trip and cannot submit the abstract before the deadline then kindly let me know at pk15@rice.edu, and we could arrange something.
I would like to request you all to attend all the events as you never know which contact you make could lead into an internship or a job.
If you have any questions or suggestions then kindly let us know.
Best Regards,
Pankaj Khanna
AAPG Rice President
aapg@rice.edu
PhD Candidate
Rice – Earth Science
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Because of COVID-19, the field trip is being postponed to later (date TBD) this year. The seminar will continue via remote meetings through the end of the Spring 2020 semester.
As earth scientists we seek to understand the natural processes that have shaped the world around us through time. The most fundamental requirement to acquiring a deeper understanding of these mechanisms is through observation. EEPS has a strong heritage in field-based research that when combined with analytical excellence, produces skilled scientists with a broad view of Earth as a system. While Rice University is well placed to take advantage of a broad array of research resources, students in Houston do not always have immediate access to nearby geological sites that represent Earth as a system.
A generous gift from Mike Johnson enables EEPS students the opportunity to observe classic and fundamental geologic concepts in the field. Students are in charge of proposing, selecting and managing a field excursion that will benefit everyone in the department. A year-long seminar-based class run by the students prepares them to visit the locality they have selected. Papers are selected, presented and discussed, followed by activities that educate the students on how to run a field-based project. During the field excursion, elected stops will be led and presented by individual students. The knowledge gained before and during the field trip will cumulate into a multi-media field guide that will be made available to the department and public following the trips conclusion.
A significant benefit of a department-wide field excursion is the interaction of students with scientists from various disciplines. Many earth scientists only carry out field work with specialists in their own field. The real discoveries in modern earth science occur when the different disciplines are part of a collective discourse. This trip will have scientists with different backgrounds observe the same outcrops; fostering fruitful discussion that results in the generation of new and unique questions. In addition, this trip may inspire fellowship among EEPS graduate students that will hopefully create life-long collaborations and a cohesive department.
General route starting in Albuquerque, New Mexico
This year, EEPS elected to utilize Mike Johnson’s gift to lead graduate students on a 7 day field expedition to observe some of the most diverse and economically important geologic terrains in the United States.
In early June of 2020, EEPS will travel through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, which have easily accessible exposures of metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks. Starting from Albuquerque, New Mexico they will explore the Rio Grande Rift, the San Juan Volcanic field, and the well exposed Mezozoic stratigraphy on the Colorado Plateau. Observing these diverse geologic terrains will give EEPS graduate students a chance to see how their research interests dovetail with what they observe in nature and provide opportunities to create new ideas.
Pre-Trip planning seminars
Fall semester: The graduate student of the winning field trip proposal organizes a weekly reading group focusing on the regional geology of the four corners region and come up with potential stops.
Spring semester: The weekly reading group continues. Students pick the final outcrops that they would like to visit. Each student is assigned to be an expert on 1-3 stops. Before the field trip, each student will submit their description(s) of their stop for the field guide.