The Department of Geological Sciences at the University of South Carolina has experienced a large faculty turnover since the mid-1990s, during which a number of young and energetic energy-related scientists have joined a faculty with historic strengths in sequence stratigraphy, marine science and coal geology as applied to energy resources. As a result of these hires and its diverse and robust student body, USC Geological Sciences provides an impressive array of benefits to interested energy companies. In exchange for reinvigorated student recruitment efforts and research partnerships, the department offers industrial associates with early access to research results, directed research opportunities and a steady pipeline of creative and well-trained prospective hires, as well as online, laboratory, and field-based training that can be tailored to specific needs.

Energy Research at USC

Energy research at the University of South Carolina spans the gamut of hydrocarbon systems analysis and recovery, from the production, preservation, distribution and quality of continental & marine source, reservoir and seal intervals to the proper acquisition, visualization and correlation of subsurface data.
Source Intervals: Benitez-Nelson, Thunell, Cohen

Related faculty conduct research concerned with biogeochemical cycling and the accumulation and preservation of organic material in deep marine sediments. Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson's work with eddy-induced nutrient fluxes has important implications for global primary production and the distribution of marine carbon reservoirs. Dr. Bob Thunell applies geochemical and sedimentologic proxies to better understand climatic influences on organic and detrital material fluxes in the marine realm, and to evaluate climate change models.

Dr. Art Cohen integrates coal petrology, paleoecology and modern depositional systems to understand the processes of coal formation and to better predict the composition of coal beds. He and his students have expanded this research to evaluate the potential of coalbed deposits in generating secondary liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. Cohen also uses coals and peat deposits to investigate climate and sea-level changes, applications for pollution control, and the development of clean-coal technologies.
Reservoir and Seal Distribution and Character: Kendall, Barbeau
 

Drs. Chris Kendall and Dave Barbeau are concerned with the extrinsic controls on the distribution and character of reservoir and seal units in marine and continental depositional systems through the lens of sequence stratigraphy. Whereas Kendall developed some of the most fundamental and influential concepts of eustatic sequence stratigraphy that he continues to apply in his research today, Barbeau is primarily concerned with the influence of structural kinematics on reservoir distribution and character in growth strata. These efforts have contributed to the proper correlation and effective prediction of reservoir and seal intervals, and improved reconstructions of sea-level and tectonic histories.
Subsurface Imaging and Interpretation: J. Knapp, C. Knapp, Kendall, Barbeau, Kellogg

Several faculty use active-source geophysics to acquire, visualize and interpret subsurface structural. stratigraphic and lithospheric geometries. Dr. Camelia Knapp has focused her efforts on understanding the origin of sedimentary basins and the physical properties of marine gas hydrates, but also employs ground-penetrating radar to visualize shallow subsurface features, and uses GIS to spatially integrate and manage geological and geophysical data. Dr. Jim Knapp combines his training in structural geology and reflection & refraction seismology to understand the evolution of orogenic systems across a range of scales. Collectively, the Knapps and their students have acquired hundreds of kilometers of regional seismic data. Whereas Kendall and Barbeau do not acquire or process seismic data, they and their students interpret seismic data to construct, evaluate, and complement their conceptual models of facies distribution.
Tectonic Frameworks. Kellogg, Owens, J. Knapp, C. Knapp, Barbeau

Several USC faculty evaluate and reconstruct tectonic settings through the integration of geophysical, geochemical, stratigraphic, and geodynamic data. In addition to active- and passive-source seismic methods employed by the Knapps and Dr. Tom Owens, Dr. Jim Kellogg uses geodesy, gravity and magnetics to constrain tectonic dynamics, whereas Barbeau uses basin modeling and geochemical provenance analysis to evaluate tectonic models.