Will F.J. Fortin
Will F.J. Fortin
Active Source Seismologist
My research aim is to extract as much quantifiable information as possible from seismic data anywhere within reach of human interaction, from the ocean interior to our deepest drilling projects (and eventually beyond).
Check out my research pages for more information.
Recent Happenings
- 2020 July. Press Article on Emperor Ridge project published
-2020 June. BLM science strike
-2020 Feb. Invited Speaker, OCP seminar at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
-2019 Dec. Presenter x2, AGU fall meeting on sediment slope stability off the Carolinas, and ocean turbulence around isolated seamounts
-2019 Nov. Invited Speaker, ConocoPhillips department seminar at Texas A&M university
- 2019 Oct. Report completed. "Mid-Atlantic U.S. Offshore Carbon Storage Resource Assessment Project"
-2019 Sept. Paper accepted. "CO2 Storage Resources and Storage Efficiencies of Cretaceous- and Jurassic-Age Sandstones in the Atlantic Offshore Region of the Northeastern United States"
-2019 Sept. Invited Panelist at Platform Strategies 2019 hosted by Silverchair at the NY Academy of Sciences
-2019 August. Invited Speaker at the Schmitt Symposium on Oceanography in Woods Hole, MA
-2019 August. Attended TACC's Machine Learning Institute in Austin, TX
Natural Hazards Risk Analyses
Seabed Stability and Slope Failure
I am working with collaborators to investigate fluid overpressure off the U.S. east coast and its role in large submarine landslides. Such slides occur frequently, covering ~20% of the seafloor, and are capable of producing tsunamis along the heavily populated coast. Using advanced computational techniques like prestack waveform inversion and machine learning, we gain quantitative insight into seabed conditions and work toward a comprehensive understanding of risk associated with regional submarine landslides.
Carbon Sequestration
Investigating Basaltic Storage
By applying modern processing techniques to legacy data, I have been examining the CO2 storage potential of Mesozoic rift basins offshore the US east coast. Detailed prestack waveform inversion sheds insight into basin compositions, and thus the character of the rock infill and volumetric storage potential.
Seismic Oceanography
Ocean Mixing and Turbulence
My research goal is to explore energetics in the oceanic interior by mapping diapycnal diffusivity of meso- and sub-mesoscale ocean structures in conjunction with temperature and salinity profiles inverted from seismic data. I am particularly interested in regions with high internal wave activity, seamounts, rough bathymetry, and large eddies. Field sites include the Caribbean, South China Sea, Adriatic, and the North Pacific.
Rock Properties from Seismic
Estimating Pore Properties
Using machine learning on seismic, borehole, and empirical data I am developing and applying methods to estimate rock properties such as pore fluid pressure, porosity, and hydrate concentrations from inverted seismic data. The aim of this research is primarily to address natural hazards along continental margins.
Methane Hydrate Systems
Determining Hydrate Concentraions
Using prestack waveform inversion, my research goal is to detail the distribution of methane hydrates and free gas. Then by leveraging detailed velocity information, move toward making quantitative estimates of hydrate concentration, particularly in coarse grained sands. My study areas have been at Blake Ridge and various sites in the Gulf of Mexico.