Alex is a geologist at the Gulf Coast Carbon Center, which is part of the Bureau of Economic Geology in the Jackson School of Geosciences here at UT. He holds a BA in Physics from Williams College and a PhD in Structural Geology and Tectonics from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining UT, he spent the better part of two decades in petroleum exploration, including roles as Advisor and Head of Discipline. His current work focusses on the reinvention of well-honed petroleum exploration processes for the new challenge of finding, de-risking and developing geologic CO2 storage sites.

Climate change is a constant in geologic terms. However, the current rate of change is unprecedented, even in the span of geologic time, and threatens to destabilize human civilizations built for the Earth as it is now. Mitigation is key to averting the worst outcomes, including massive refugee crises driven by floods, droughts, crop failures, drowning of coastal cities and other climate-related stressors. That involves many challenges, not least of which is the Dual Transition: reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the current ~35 gigatons/year to net zero while continuing to fuel the global economy. This talk will focus on the role of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)—what is it, why is it important, how does it work, is it safe, where is it now and what does the future hold.