The College of Arts and Sciences

Xuewei Zhang

PhD Candidate Earth Sciences

Advisor: Chris Scholz

Research and Teaching Interests

My broad research interest includes siliciclastic sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, and seismic processing and interpretation. For my Ph.D. research, I am working on quantitative seismic geomorphology and sedimentology of turbidite systems in tropical African lakes:

(1) To understand how lacustrine turbidite systems present themselves seismically; to make systematic and quantitative comparison between the morphology of subaerial fluvial and sublacustrine turbidite channels; and to discuss the control on turbidite channel morphology and its implication for subaqueous turbidite channel evolution.

(2) The origin, depositional pattern, and control of turbidite systems/elements in lacustrine rift basins within the East African Rift System.

(3) On the level of sediment texture and composition, the observable changes in turbidite sediments over the evolution of the crater Lake Bosumtwi, and the possible climatic forcing on characteristics of turbidite deposits, e.g. grain size, turbidite bed thickness and frequency etc..
Research methods include: reflection seismology (including seismic processing, seismic/sequence stratigraphy, seismic attributes, horizon and stratal slicing, edge detection and 3-D visualization etc.), time series and spectral analysis, and drill-core data analysis of turbidite sediment texture.

Teaching

EAR 117 Oceanography.

EAR 317 Sedimentary Processes and Systems.