The University of Aberdeen
School of Geosciences King's College University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB24 3UE United Kingdom
Biography
Reader, University of Aberdeen, UK (2016 - present)
Senior Lecturer, University of Aberdeen, UK (2011 – 2016)
Lecturer, University of Aberdeen, UK (2009 – 2011)
Research Fellow, Curtin University, Perth, Australia (2007 – 2009)
Fixed-Term Lecturer, Durham University, UK (2006 – 2007)
NERC-funded Postdoctoral Research Associate, Physical & Chemical Feedback Processes During Dehydration Reactions, Liverpool University, UK (2005 – 2006)
NERC-funded Postdoctoral Research Associate, integrated Seismic Imaging and Modelling of Margins (iSIMM), Liverpool University, UK (2004 – 2005)
PhD student (& EPSRC-funded Postgraduate Research Assistant), Fractured Reservoirs - Elastic Dislocation Modelling (FREDMOD), Liverpool University, UK (2000 – 2004)
Independent software consultant (1988 – 2000)
Analyst/Programmer, Chevron Petroleum, London (1987 – 1988)
Technical Assistant, BP Exploration, London (1985 – 1987)
I am fascinated by deformed rocks and seek to understand, and then to explain, deformation through quantitative, physical models. My research interests span structural and metamorphic geology, rock physics and geomechanics. I’m interested in the patterns and processes of localisation in deformed rocks, and in the mechanical, thermal and seismic anisotropies of dry and saturated rocks. I tackle these problems through field work, laboratory experiments, theoretical analysis and numerical modelling. I use numerical models to integrate observations with, and explore the consequences of, physical theory. I strongly believe that models should be directed at investigation rather than simulation – i.e. based on a rigorous simplification of the physical processes involved to focus on the heart of the problem. I use my commercial experience of software development to build robust and thoroughly tested code.
Fracture patterns, including their quantification in 2D & 3D using tensors, polymodal faulting
Rock physics, including laboratory & core data analysis & modelling, velocity anisotropy, permeability anisotropy; clastics, carbonates, evaporites and basement (igneous & metamorphic)
Geomechanics, including fault & fracture stability, probability of failure (shear & tensile)
Collaborations
Curtin University, Australia - Dr Nick Timms, Dr Chris Clark
University College London - Dr Tom Mitchell, Prof Phil Meredith
University of Strasbourg, France - Dr Mike Heap
Research Funding and Grants
PI – Quantifying fracture stiffness in basement reservoirs – BP; £8.5k
PI – Quantifying fracture patterns in basement reservoir analogues – Petrolia NOCO; £11.5k
Co-I – Assessment of Mesozoic sandstone units as possible reservoirs in the Mandawa Basin, Tanzania – EU Capacity Building Grant; €15k
Co-I – Subsurface Fluid Flow Through Fractures in Sedimentary Basins – ARC (Australia); AU$230k
PI – Quantifying the Anisotropy of Permeability in Stressed Rock – NERC (UK); £358k (Aberdeen; £834k total with UCL)
PI – Volcanic Petrophysics: Reservoirs, Seals and Drilling – VBPR (Oslo); £15k
PI – HP/HT Rock Deformation Apparatus – OGIC (SFC, UK); £587k
PI – Improving the Odds in Geomechanics – Wintershall (PhD for Sarah Weihmann); £120k
PI – Integrated Geological and Geophysical Characterisation of Fracture Zones – Hurricane Energy; £36k
PI – Quantifying Fault Stability – Total E&P UK (PhD for Natalie Farrell); £162k
PI – Petrophysics of Fractured Carbonates (Co-I Dr Joyce Neilson) – Total E&P UK and BG International, brokered by ITF (PhDs for Emma Michie, Tom Haines); £255k
PI – Quantifying Patterns of Brittle Damage in Fractured Rock – NERC New Investigator; £60k
PI – Petrophysics of Fractured Basement – UoA COPS Postgraduate studentship (PhD for Roberto Rizzo); £60k
PI – Petrophysical Properties of Fractured and Altered Granites - Lundin Petroleum; £13k
PI – Fluid-saturated Ultrasonic Velocity Measurements on Core Plugs - AFES; £9k
Co-I – Predicting fracture patterns in sandstones in fold-thrust belts - NERC Open CASE PhD award, with Midland Valley (PhD for Hannah Watkins); £67k
Co-I – Building 3D Fracture Patterns from 1D Data – Ministry of Higher Education & Research, Kurdistan (PhD for Abdullah Awdal); £100k
Co-I – Imaging and Characterisation of Salt Diapir Flanks – National Board of Science and Technology & Ministry of Energy, Mexico (PhD for Liliana Vargas Meleza); £85k
Co-I – The Influence of Carbonate Depositional and Diagenetic Textures on Faulting in Carbonates – UoA COPS Postgraduate studentship (PhD for Tom Haines); £60k
Quantification of groundwater storage heterogeneity in weathered/fractured basement rock aquifers using electrical resistivity tomography: sensitivity and uncertainty associated with petrophysical modelling
Mezquita Gonzalez, J., Comte, J., Legchenko, A., Ofterdinger, U., Healy, D.
Vertical stress history and paleoburial in foreland basins unravelled by stylolite roughness paleopiezometry: Insights from bedding-parallel stylolites in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA
Beaudoin, N., Lacombe, O., Koehn, D., David, M., Farrell, N., Healy, D.
The 3D Facies Architecture and Petrophysical Properties of Hyaloclastite Delta Deposits: An Integrated Photogrammetry and Petrophysical Study from southern Iceland
Greenfield, L., Millett, J. M., Howell, J., Jerram, D. A., Watton, T., Healy, D., Hole, M. J., Planke, S.
Spatial distribution of micrometre‐scale porosity and permeability across the damage zone of a reverse‐reactivated normal fault in a tight sandstone: Insights from the Otway Basin, SE Australia
Debenham, N., Farrell, N. J. C., Holford, S., King, R. C., Healy, D.
