Research
The Stanford Project on Deep-water Depositional Systems (SPODDS) was a research program in the Department of Geological Sciences at Stanford University (from 1992-2022) focused on the study of ancient and modern deep-water deposits and depositional systems around the world.
Outcrop Analogs of Deep-water Depositional Systems
Much of SPODDS research involves studies of outcropping deep-water systems to develop a better understanding of the processes of sedimentation, architecture of the resulting deposits, and evolution of the depositional basins and to better model and interpret the properties of deeply buried subsurface deep-water systems.
Seismic Studies
Seismic images provide data on the geometry and evolution of deep-water systems at the intermediate to large scale. SPODDS scientists use 3D seismic surveys of modern as well as ancient deep-water systems, coupled where possible with outcrop, core, and log data, to develop integrated pictures of the makeup and evolution of deep-water systems.
Modern Seafloor Depositional Systems
Many SPODDS studies have focused on modern sea-floor depositional systems, including submarine canyons and fans in the South China Sea, offshore west Africa, and the Continental Borderland of southern California. This research has involved collaboration with USGS and MBARI scientists as well as the rich data sets collected by member companies as part of their oil and gas exploration.
Geostatistics and Rock Physics
The goal of this research was to generate and apply a new methodology for predicting sub-seismic scale facies (or rock types) from a calibration between core, well logs and inverted seismic attributes.
Source-to-Sink Studies of Deep-water Systems
Conceptual model for the effects of changes in source to sink pathway partitioning between sediment dispersal systems