Research in Marine and Applied Geophysics group has concentrated, as in previous years, on the focal areas of marine and applied geophysics and Geographic Information Science (GIS) and in particular: (a) Understanding and modeling fluid flow processes. The aim is to provide a better quantification of fluid (hydrocarbon or CO2) transport processes from the deeper geosphere to the shallower biosphere. Current research topics include comparative subsurface fluid flow and escape process studies on Earth and Mars with fieldwork on ancient and fossil exam- ples, modelling CO2 capture and storage, and hydrate simulations studies. (b)The second research area is seismic interpretation and petroleum system’s modeling of HPHT reservoirs offshore Norway and Ireland. Overpressured hydrocarbon reservoirs and their dynamic response to changes over geologic timescales is of both academic and commercial interest. (c)Geoinformatics, GIS and scientific geo-visualization is the third pillar of the research group concentrating on a topics ranging from Benthic Habitat Mapping of deep- water corals, seabed mapping to the development of GIS frameworks and techniques (MarineXML, SensorML, SensorWebEnablement, standardiza- tion of Web GIS Services) to capture, manage and analyse large volumes of real-time sensor geodata.

Prof. Vogt’s group has been working on: (a) Analysis of data from multi-satellite geospace missions. Spacecraft are the primary means to explore the Earth’s space environment. Multi-spacecraft missions such as Cluster and Themis have significantly advanced our understanding of geospace as a complex physical system. Special data analysis techniques are required to study large scale current systems, plasma waves and boundaries. The forthcoming three-satellite LEO mission Swarm will be operated as a geomagnetic observatory in space and address the spatiotemporal variability of current systems in the auroral zone. (b)Auroral plasma physics and magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling. The upper (electrically conducting) layers of the Earth’s atmosphere are coupled to remote magnetospheric regions through geomagnetic field lines which act as transmission channels for electrical currents, momentum, and energy between very different plasma regimes. Closely associated with this kind of interaction are magnetic storms, auroral emissions, and space weather effects. Plasma theory and numerical models allow to investigate M-I coupling phenomena. Optical observations of small-scale auroral forms give a vivid impression of the plasma dynamics in the M-I system. (c) Effects of geomagnetic variations on system Earth. The geomagnetic field generated in the Earth’s core reversed its orientation many times in Earth’s history. The effects of geomagnetic variations on geospace can be studied by means of large-scale magnetohydrodynamic simulations and parametric models. Tracing of particle orbits in the resulting magnetic field configurations yields fluxes of high-energetic particles into the Earth’s upper atmosphere which are used to model the production of cosmogenic nuclides and ozone depletion processes. (from Prof. Vogt’s faculty pages)