2006IRISHarris

Final day in Alabama

2006-08-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

Well I'm sitting here at the airport listening to bad elevator music and thought I'd write a post to waste the time. I hate flying. There is a huge thunderstorm outside but my flight is still on schedule so I hope that the weather starts to clear up.

So far with my project, I have a pretty good rough draft of my interpretations and have already written my abstract. Though that also needs revision. But overall I'd say that I'm lookin pretty good. I have some concern about trying to format the poster because my advisor wants me to put as little text on it as possible. "The pictures tell the story." I just hope that my images will have a good enough resolution when they are enlarged. But that might not be such a big deal either because I have an ftp connection to the lab, so it's all good. :)

Other than that a good end to an amazing summer. I really learned alot about the data processing part of Geophysics. Of course I feel like an idiot with a computer but I'd say that I did alright. ;) This internship has truely been a highlight of my life experiences and I'd say one of the biggest things that I've ever done. COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone, which is good for me.

But I'd better get going cause I don't want to kill my battery. Until the next time I'll be seein ya. May there be joy in your heart and sunshine on your shoulders!

Whit

9th week

2006-08-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

It is now the middle of my ninth week here in Alabama. Today I worked with Landmark and created interpretations of my seismic lines. I actually enjoyed it, but I hope the fault lines I chose were correct. Besides that not a whole lot happening. I have to write a pretty large paper so I've been reading a lot of published papers about the Woodlark Basin. It's pretty intereseting, I'll try and post some of the the paper's highlights when I get it finished.

It is also my birthday today, I feel so old. I am turning 21 but it doesn't really feel like it. Normally I celebrate my birthday with my twin sister. So today doesn't feel all that special. But I will be going to the bar and ordering my first drink legally.

I hope that all of the Iris interns are having great summers. I can't believe it is almost gone, wow. But soon we'll all finish our crazy hectic rushing of trying to put together posters, and then take a breathe of relaxation. Not for too long though, cause fall semester starts soon. Until that time, I'll catch ya later,
Whit

July 25

2006-07-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Right now I am in the middle of trying to filter out the over corrected multiples in the three data lines. These multiples are concave regions because they have low velocities at great depths. Anyway, I had tried a time variant filter but that did not work very well. So my advisor showed me how I could create a velocity model by hand. You basically apply a seafloor horizon and a basement horizon to the migrated stack. Then in the velocity viewer editor tool you apply velocities to these horizons and then remigrate the data . (in a nutt shell) I've fixed most of the glitches already by reevaluating the velocity analysis and their mute lines.

But there are three weeks left right now so that is an uplifting thought. I can't believe summer is almost over. wow. Well I've got a lot more work to do, I need to start thinking about poster ideas and papers! I am taking an independent study next semester for this internship which will include a thirty page paper and a power point presentation. I should have those pretty close to completion before I leave. I am also going to be working on an undergraduate research project when I get back with data from the Andrill expedition in Antarctica, so it will be nice to have some promax back ground.

Well that's about it from down south. Just can't wait for the day when the unbearable heat subsides and the bugs freeze to death!:) Hope everyone else is having fun.

Figures, July 12

2006-07-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is a Bathymetry map of the Woodlark Basin, created by Andrew Goodliffe. The lines that I have been processing are indicated as shown.
This is line 1226 which is the first line that I processed. From left to right it starts by climbing down across rifted continental crust, across the continent-ocean boundary and into oceanic crust. The right end of the line is the conjugate side of the continental crust.

This is line 1222. This line covers a similar area to 1226 but is to the west (see map below). You can see where the oceanic crust is by the lack of sedimentary cover.
This is line 1220. This line is unique because it crossess the spreading center just to the east of the transition from continental rifting to seafloor spreading. At this point there are the "beginnings" of a spreading center.

July 3rd

2006-07-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of my fifth week here in Alabama. I am trying to get a figure ready for display but I've got to do some touch-up's on it first. So I thought that I would write just a little bit to report my progress.

Right now I am in the middle of applying the velocity analysis to the third line of the marine data I have been assigned to process. The deep penetration reflection seismic survey that I will be posting on this blog later will be the first of the three. Right now I have already applied the normal moveout and the velocity mute line to the data and then stacked the cdp's into a survey. But I've still got to try and take out the diffractions and some multiples through migration and resetting parameters for the filters. When this is completed the diagram should look pretty good and then I'll be able to take it into the interpretation phase.

So right now that's about all that's going on. I'm basically being instructed through processing the first line and then I am following it up with another two that I am processing by myself. It gets hard sometimes because my eyes dry out so I have resorted to wearing my glassess to work to keep the effect of "blood shot, bleary eyes," down. :)

Sorry if this post is a little sloppy, I went to the lake this weekend and got a little sun burnt. Basically I'm running on six hours of sleep which for me is not enough so I'm pretty tired. I'll try and get all of the pics from Soccorro posted and also the ones from Alabama. Due to my procrastination abilities this stuff just hasn't gotten done yet.:) Hope everyone is having fun and Happy Fourth of July!
Happy Trails
Whit

June 22

2006-06-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I am now finishing up my third week here in Alabama. So far I've learned a great deal. I was never fully aware of the analysis, design, and creativity that went into seismic data processing. When data is collected improperly it can make such a difference. I have now developed a true appreciation for geophysicists who process and analyze data on a daily basis.

When I started this internship my goal was to learn about seismic data processing and its applications. So far I am satisfied with my progress. But where is this all going to go? This was a question Michael asked me and it got me thinking. By the end of this internship I hope to have a more broader understanding of plate techtonic forces and how they act and react to cause plate movement. When I am done processing the three marine seismic data lines that I have been assigned I will move into the interpretation phase and that is when everything so to say "comes together." I will be able to look at the processed data and theorize what I think may be happening in the area; such as fault zones, spreading, upthrusting, and submerging areas. How and why these actions occur is the question of it all. The anomolies of tectonics is kind of like trying to solve a riddle in a sense, only it is one of Earth's riddles.(Which is probably why the research I am doing is more exploritory than academic.;)

So far that is about it from down south. The weather is most of the time unbearable for me so I don't get outside that much during the day. When I do get out it is during the night when it somewhat cools off. You have to understand, in Wyoming at night you have to put on a sweat shirt and pants in order not to freeze. The temperature drops well below seventy degrees most nights. Here the only thing that gets cold is the air conditioning. Really different for me, but I'm managing. Last night I got to go out with some girls to play pool at one of the local bars. But at ten o'clock they check people's ID's. They are really strict about underage drinking here and you can't even have an open container out in the street. It's not like that in Butte at all, they don't even check ID's half of the time. So that's about it. Hope everyone else is doing well and having fun. Happy Trails
Whit

Second week

2006-06-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Today I learned how much I truely dislike computers sometimes. Just one of those days I guess where every time I try and execute something I get an error message back, or a graph that is a straight line. It just gets frustrating trying to figure out the problem, but that's how you learn right?

Up to this point I've processed the geometry of two lines. The most important part of this process is reading in all the data with the navigation and stations to the computer and making sure that they coerrelate. This is crucial because sometimes crews will start recording before the navigation starts so you will have some stations with data but no navigation. These are the stations that must be eliminated because if they stay the cdp's, critical depth points, will be effected and incorrect. Right now I am trying to look at the reflections and apply filters by looking at graphs like frequency deviation, energy decay rates, and spikes in the data. Yeah, fun stuff.

So that pretty much sums it up for now. Last night I went out with some friends and got to see some beautiful sites of Tuscaloosa. This weekend I'm going to Mississippi with a friend and it should be fun. I tried sweet ice tea, guess what? It's way sweet. I wanted to spit it out. I also found another unlikable characteristic down south, musquitos. I don't know how in the world they get you when you just walk out the door but I've got to wear bug repellent every time I step outside of the door. So from down south that's it for now. I really do like it here and the people are truely one of a kind. Hope all is well and everyone is having fun.
Happy Trails
Whit

First Week

2006-06-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

So this is my first posting since the wonderful spam blog now realizes that I'm a person. The south is exactly what I had expected, the total opposite of everything I know. I spent thirty five minutes at Rite Aid yesterday trying to communicate with a sweet old lady who couldn't understand me and vice versa. It kind of frustrated me because I was in a hurry, first lesson: When in the south relax, these people move at their own pace and no one is going to make them rush.

My advisor has been great though and I really enjoy the work that I'm doing. Of course staring a computer for five hours a day can be a bit strenuous, but going through the baby steps in order to get to the big picture is worth it. Right now I'm processing a line from a marine survey done north of Australia in Papua New Guinea. So far my advisor has been instructing me in Promax on how to: add geometry to the data, sort points, get rid of the noise, and now I'm working on re-ordering the data. Next will be velocity analysis then migration and interpretation! I'll then process about two more lines because this stuff takes forever. Yesterday in the lab Mr.Goodliffe told me that what I execute in half an hour would have taken two weeks about two years ago. wow. I've also gotten to play around with a 3-D wall that the TA's were practicing on for their geology 101 class. The maps of the Mariana trench were really neat to fly through but we crashed a couple of times.

Besides that not much has happened. I've gotten to know my roommate Whitney really well. She's a real down to earth person who's teaching me how to cook which is great! Her dog Herkemer is a sweet-heart too and his favorite game is fetch, although he can't really catch the stick in the air more like he chases it and picks it up; but it's all good. My goals so far have been to adjust to the south and learn all I can about seismic data processing with Promax. I forget the little steps sometimes which makes me feel like the cartoon who bashes his head into the keyboard. But it's a great learning experience and the other kids in the lab are really nice. I've heard some great stories.

Well that's it for now from down south. It's hot and humid here, thank goodness for air conditiong. Happy Trails
Whit

Memorial Day

2006-05-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

Right now at the PASSCAL center in New Mexico