Research

 

GGE faculty are engaged in research pertaining to exploration and production of energy resources including petroleum, natural gas, and geothermal resources. Research activities also include management of water resources associated with the production of hydrocarbons and investigations of rock properties that affect hydraulic fracturing performance and results.

• Greenhouse gas capture, storage, and sequestration
  • Microbially accelerated carbonate mineralization experiments in mafic and ultramafic rocks for in-situ and ex-situ carbon dioxide and methane sequestration
• Critical and sustainable resources
  • Experimental constraints on fluid-rock interactions for in-situ recovery of critical and ore-forming minerals
  • Fumarolic degassing as a transport and enrichment mechanism for elements of critical minerals on Martian surface lithologies
• Hydrocarbon resource evaluations
  • Carbon dioxide sequestration in geologic formations
  • Methane hydrate-bearing sediments
• Reservoir rock characterization
  • Lithologic controls on stress-strain and creep
  • Petrophysical and geomechanical characterization
  • Reservoir geo-modeling using geostatistics
  • Production data history matching in reservoir simulation
• Geothermal resources
  • Evaluation of geothermal anomalies in south central South Dakota
  • Enhanced geothermal system
• Water management
  • Monitoring subsidence induced by fluid extraction using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)
  • Source and migration of stray gas in shallow aquifers
  • Wastewater-injection-induced seismicity
  • Natural attenuation of hydraulic fracturing additives in groundwater

Faculty Expertise

• Kurt Katzenstein
  InSAR, Geohazards, Geomechanics
• Liangping Li
  Groundwater, Geostatistics, Data assimilation
• Gokce Ustunisik 
  Igneous Petrology,  Experimental Petrology, Planetary Petrology/Cosmochemistry, High-Temperature Geochemistry, Chemical Volcanology, Biomineralization
• Nuri Uzunlar
  Field geology, Energy resources (petroleum and geothermal), Economic geology
• Zhi Ye
  Geomechanics, Experimental Rock Deformation, Geo-Energy and storage, and induced seismicity

Emeritus Faculty 

• James Fox
  Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Petroleum geology
• Colin Paterson
  Economic Geology, Mineral resources, Petrology
• William Roggenthen
  Engineering geophysics
• Foster Sawyer
  Groundwater, Petroleum, Sedimentation

URLs

• http://homestake.sdsmt.edu/Resources.htm
• https://sanfordlab.org/
• https://www.sdsmt.edu/research-innovation/research-facilities/mining-hub.html

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This branch of engineering focuses on determining the mechanical properties and behavior of soil and rock for use as foundation and construction materials.  It is also equally applied to geohazard identification and mitigation.  GGE engineering faculty conduct research projects in this field in a wide variety of situations and locations.  Graduate students that focus on geomechanics often become employed in engineering consulting firms that deal with landslides, foundations, heavy construction, mining, petroleum, and dams.

The Geological engineering faculty are conducting research at the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory (SURF) at the former Homestake Gold Mine in the northern Black Hills.  SURF is a global center for science and engineering focused on particle physics.  GGE faculty and students are actively working in support of lab development as well as potential expansion of non-physics research in the areas of geomechanics, geophysics, and hydrology.  

Geomechanics Research Areas

• Geomechanics

  • Rock stability assessments using LiDAR and photogrammetry
  • Rock strength characterization
  • Stress-strain response in fine-grained materials
  • Fractures persistence and roughness characterization
  • Slow ground motion
  • Rock melting by induction heating
  • Hydraulic stimulation in fractured reservoir
  • Coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical behaviors in geomaterials

• Hydrology

  • Water level measurements and microclimate
  • Flow characterization and transient pressure analysis in core holes
  • Aquifer system response to groundwater withdrawal

Faculty Expertise

• Kurt W. Katzenstein
  Geohazards, geomechanics, InSAR
• Zhi Ye
  Geomechanics, Experimental Rock Deformation, Geo-Energy and storage, and induced seismicity

Emeritus Faculty 

• William Roggenthen
  Engineering geophysics
• Larry D. Stetler
  Geological engineering, site characterization, 3D imaging, surface and ground water, drilling and reservoir engineering, geomechanics

URLs

• http://homestake.sdsmt.edu/Resources.htm
• https://sanfordlab.org/
• http://www.hpcnet.org/HLS
• http://www.hpcnet.org/dewatering
• https://www.sdsmt.edu/research-innovation/research-facilities/mining-hub.html

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Numerical Models

Numerical Models link our geophysical observations of the Earth's surface to the inaccessible underground processes and structures. The geophysics faculty develop innovative Finite Element Models to investigate natural and human-induced hazards as well as underground energy storage and WMD facilities of interest to national security.

• Earthquake and Volcano Deformation
• Poroelastic mechanics, viscoelastic creep, and triggered aftershocks
• Fluid Injection, Sequestration, Induced Seismicity, and Fracture Propagation
• Detecting and Monitoring Underground Facilities

Data Analysis

Geophysical data streams will continue to grow exponentially for the foreseeable future. Geophysics faculty develop innovative data analyses techniques to interpret this rapidly expanding influx of information.

• Inverse models of InSAR and GPS data
• Optimization, Machine Learning, Uncertainty, and Error Propagation
• Time Series and Spectral Analyses, Guassian Processes, and Kalman Filters

Remote Sensing

• Ground surface deformation measurement using InSAR
• Photogrammetry (both land and drone-based acquisitions)
• Hyperspectral/infrared spectroscopy

Faculty

• Ed Duke
  Petrology, Infrared spectroscopy, Remote sensing   
• Kurt Katzenstein 
  Geohazards, Geomechanics, InSAR
• Liangping Li
  Groundwater, Statistics, Data assimilation
• Tim Masterlark 
  Geophysics, Finite Element Models, and Data Analysis
• Gokce Ustunisik
  Igneous Petrology,  Experimental Petrology, Planetary Petrology/Cosmochemistry, High-Temperature Geochemistry, Chemical Volcanology, Biomineralization

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Groundwater research

• Risk assessment of groundwater contamination. Real-time data integration in groundwater flow and transport modeling using the ensemble Kalman filter. Optimal monitoring network design for groundwater management.
• Groundwater protection and aquifer vulnerability. Groundwater quality. Acid rock drainage from mines.
• Groundwater and surface water interaction along the White River on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
• Land subsidence modeling.  Aquifer system response to pumping through ground-surface elevation monitoring with Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR).
• Understanding flow and transport processes in the Madison aquifer. Caves modeling using multiple point geostatistics.
• Fate and transport of contaminants; natural attenuation processes.
• Stray gas migration through shallow aquifers.

Environmental research

• Environmental effects of mine drainage and tailings disposal. Subsurface contamination and environmental remediation. Water monitoring and water quality assessment on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation through the NSF Pre-Engineering Education Collaborative (PEEC) Program.
• Environmental risks of fracking.
• Impacts of energy development to air, water, landscapes, and ecosystems.
• Mitigation measures for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Faculty

• Kurt Katzenstein
  InSAR, Geohazards, Geomechanics
• Sarah Keenan
  Low-temperature geochemistry, Geomicrobiology
• Liangping Li
  Groundwater, Geostatistics, Data assimilation 

Emeritus Faculty

• Arden Davis
  Groundwater modeling, Contaminant transport, Arsenic and heavy metals
• Perry Rahn
  Engineering geology, Hydrogeology
• Foster Sawyer
  Groundwater, Petroleum, Sedimentation
• Larry Stetler
  Geological engineering, Site characterization, 3D imaging

URLs

• https://www.westdakotawater.com/
• https://www.sdsmt.edu/research-innovation/research-facilities/mining-hub.html

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At the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the paleontological research conducted spans diverse subject areas including paleobiology, paleoecology, taphonomy, biostratigraphy, biogeography, and phylogenetics. Faculty and students combine field research in both modern and ancient settings with museum studies and laboratory analyses to reconstruct past paleoenvironmental conditions and reveal their ecological and evolutionary consequences through geologic time. Collectively, research is focused on four key paleontological questions:

• How do organisms respond to environmental changes and adapt to different environments?
• How is biological diversity distributed across space and time?
• How are paleontologic resources best used and conserved for scientific study?
• How do modern processes drive fossil formation and preservation in different environments?

Understanding the relationships between organisms and their environments is important for interpreting the evolutionary history of the biosphere and for predicting future biotic responses to climate change.

Current study systems include:

• Modern and fossil bone geochemistry and diagenesis;
• Microbial interactions with vertebrates and bones in modern systems;
• Ancient lakes as paleoclimate archives;
• Taphonomy and the nature of our vertebrate fossil record;
• Cenozoic terrestrial deposits with rich mammalian faunas;
• Cretaceous marine deposits and fauna from the Western Interior Seaway.

The close association with the South Dakota Mines Museum of Geology and Martin Paleontology Research Laboratory gives researchers access to research collections built over the last century.

Faculty

• Sarah Keenan
  Vertebrate taphonomy, Low-temperature geochemistry, Geomicrobiology
• Darrin Pagnac
  Mammalian paleontology, Paleoecology, paleontology of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway

Staff

• Nathaniel Fox
  Quaternary paleoecology, small mammals, geometric morphometrics
• Darrah Steffen
  Exhibit design, STEM education and outreach, and Western Interior Seaway paleontology
• Samantha Wright
  Vertebrate paleontology preparation and conservation

Emeritus Faculty

• James Fox
  Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Petroleum geology  
• James Martin
  Vertebrate Paleontology, Biostratigraphy  

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• Metamorphic evolution of oceanic materials during subduction and collisional suturing: South Dakota, Oregon, and Alaska
• Relationships between deformation and batholith construction
• Reflectance spectroscopy, Remote sensing, and Metamorphic processes
• Experimental petrology
  • Experimental igneous and planetary petrology (Moon, Mars, chondrules, and CAIs) / High P-T geochemistry
  • Role of volatiles (Cl, F, S, H2O) in silicate melts during crustal formation and differentiation (fractionation, degassing, high-T metamorphism, and fluid/rock interaction)
  • Apatite synthesis, crystal chemistry, and stability
  • Experimental and analytical study of olivine and plagioclase hosted melt inclusions in MORBs and Arc systems
  • Trace element partitioning experiments in terrestrial and planetary silicate systems
  • Phase equilibria modeling and experiments on plagioclase ultrapyric basalts (PUBs) and MORB systems

Faculty

• Edward Duke
  Petrology, Infrared spectroscopy, Remote sensing
• Roger Nielsen
  Theoretical and Experimental Petrology, Trace element partitioning, Petrogenesis of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts
• Gokce Ustunisik
  Igneous Petrology,  Experimental Petrology, Planetary Petrology/Cosmochemistry, High-Temperature Geochemistry, Chemical Volcanology, Biomineralization
• Nuri Uzunlar
  Field geology, Energy resources (petroleum and geothermal), Economic geology
• Trevor Waldien
  Tectonics, Structural geology, Geochronology, Fault system evolution

Emeritus Faculty 

• Colin Paterson
  Economic Geology, Mineral resources, Petrology 

URLs

• http://homestake.sdsmt.edu/Resources.htm
• https://sanfordlab.org/
• https://www.sdsmt.edu/research-innovation/research-facilities/mining-hub.html

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Structural Geology

• Structural evolution of the Black Hills
• Interactions between regional deformation and pluton construction: South Dakota and Alaska
• Strain partitioning in oblique slip fault systems: South Dakota and Alaska
• Kinematics and mechanics of vertical strain transfer in the lithosphere: northern North American Cordillera

Tectonics

• Laramide tectonics
• Timing and magnitude of margin-parallel terrane translation in the North American Cordillera
• The origin and poly-phase evolution of long-lived orogenic structures
• Phanerozoic paleogeography of western North America

Faculty

• Trevor Waldien
  Tectonics, Structural geology, Geochronology, Fault system evolution

URLs

• http://homestake.sdsmt.edu/Resources.htm
• https://sanfordlab.org/
• https://www.sdsmt.edu/research-innovation/research-facilities/mining-hub.html

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