Introduction and Biography

Introduction


This is a companion Blog to G. Shanmugam’s  main Blog on “Deep-water processes” URL: http://g-shanmugam.blogspot.com/
The purpose of this Blog is to share G. Shanmugam’s published works on various other topics, such as journal cover photographs, oil generation from terrestrial organic matter (coal), erosional unconformities and porosity development, porosity in sandstones, fan deltas and braid deltas, tide-dominated estuaries, Appalachian tectonics, Mn distribution in marine strata, etc. with free PDF downloads. This Blog is a work in progress.
Author contact: shanshanmugam@aol.com

 

Biography

 

Personal Background Background

 

G. (Shan) Shanmugam is a polemic and a pragmatic process sedimentologist. He is a person of Indian origin and a naturalized U.S. citizen. He is married to Jean (1976–present).

Email: shanshanmugam@aol.com

 

 

Professional Preparation

 

 

Degree	Major	Institution	Year
Ph.D.	Geology	University of Tennessee, Knoxville, U.S.	1978
M.S.	Geology	Ohio University, Athens, U.S.	1972
M.Sc.	Applied Geology	Department of Civil Engineering,   Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-  Bombay, India	1968
B.Sc.	Geology and Chemistry	Annamalai University,   Tamil Nadu, South India	1965

 

Research and Expertise 

• Deep-water process sedimentology
• Mass-transport processes and bottom currents 
• Oceanic waves (Internal, cyclonic, and tsunami) 
• Sandstone petroleum reservoirs
• Tectonics and sedimentation.
• Flume experiments
• Sandstone diagenesis 
• Source rock (organic  geochemistry)

 

Doctoral Research

Shanmugam, G., 1978, The stratigraphy, sedimentology and tectonics of the Middle Ordovician Sevier Shale basin in east Tennessee: Knoxville, TN, University of Tennessee: Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation in Geology, 222 p. Adviser: Professor Kenneth R. Walker. Field and laboratory study of shelf, slope, and basinal deposits with an emphasis on deep-water sedimentation.

 

Masters Research

 

Shanmugam, G., 1972, Petrographic Study of  Simpson Group ( Ordovician) Sandstones, Southern Oklahoma: Athens, Ohio, Ohio University: Unpublished M.S. Thesis in Geology, 85 p. Adviser: Professor Stanley P. Fisher. Petrographic-diagenetic study of sandstones using subsurface samples provided by Texaco Inc.

 

Shanmugam, G., 1968, Geology of Tankhala Area, Gujarat State: Bombay, India, Civil Engineering department, Indian Institute of Technology: Unpublished  M.Sc. Dissertation in Applied Geology, 84 p. Adviser: Professor A. Parthasarathy. Field, laboratory, and statistical analysis of fluvial and shallow-marine strata of Cretaceous age.

 

 

Employment with Mobil Oil Company, Dallas, Texas

 

1978‑1982           Research Geologist

1982‑1984           Senior Research Geologist

1984‑1985           Associate

1985-1989           Research Associate

1989-1993           Senior Research Associate

1993-1996           Assoc. Geological Research Advisor

1996-2000           Geological Scientist (retired)

 

 

Duties in Mobil 

Research on wide range of topics (sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, tectonics, diagenesis, paleobotany and organic geochemistry) on petroleum exploration and production. Job duties also included teaching, core and outcrop description worldwide.

 

Acknowledgement: G. Shanmugam is grateful to Mobil for its unprecedented generosity and enthusiasm  in the history of the petroleum industry for granting permission to publish data and controversial concepts. In 2000, Mobil merged with Exxon and became ExxonMobil. 

 Courses taught at the University of Texas at Arlington

• Spring 2003: Geology 3442 (Sedimentology and Stratigraphy)
• Fall 2003: Geology 5344 and 4305 (Clastic Depositional Environments)
• Spring 2004: Geology 3442 (Sedimentology and Stratigraphy)

 

Publications/Creative Works

His 330 publications during 1970-2013), which include two Elsevier’s Handbook of Petroleum Exploration and Production volumes on deep-water sandstones (2006 and 2012), cover a wide range of topics (e.g., deep-water process sedimentology,  sequence stratigraphy, phenomena of tsunamis, cyclones, erosional unconformities, porosity in sandstones, Appalachian tectonics, Mn distribution in marine strata, etc.).

 

Awards and Achievements

• 1968: IIT Medal for the top-ranking student in Applied Geology, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.
• 1995: Best paper award from NAPE (Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists) for his paper “Deepwater Exploration: Conceptual Models and their Uncertainties”
• 2000: Listed in the Millennium Edition (2000-2001) of Marquis Who’s who in Science and Engineering among 470 geologists chosen from 40 countries. 
• His paper ‘High-density turbidity currents: are they sandy debris flows?’ published in the Journal of Sedimentary Research in 1996, has achieved the status of the single most cited paper in sedimentological research published in three world-renowned periodicals - Journal of Sedimentary Research, Sedimentology, and Sedimentary Geology - during the survey period of 1996-2003 (Source: International Association of Sedimentologists Newsletter, August 2003).
• He was interviewed by SUN TV, Chennai, India (Televised on December 30th 2003) on his controversial research papers on turbidite sedimentation and their implications for petroleum reservoirs.
• He is an Emeritus Member of SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), member since 1970.

Process Sedimentology and Rock Description

 

Process sedimentology has always been the underpinning principle behind all his studies (see Shanmugam, 2006, Book Chapter 1). Basic requirements of this discipline include a combined knowledge of physics, soil mechanics and fluid mechanics, application of uniformitarianism, objective description of the rock, documentation of excruciating details in sedimentological logs, interpretation of processes using sedimentary structures, absolute exclusion of facies models, and the routine use of the common sense.

            He described deep-water strata using conventional cores and outcrops (1:20 to 1:50 scale), which include 32 deep-water sandstone petroleum reservoirs worldwide, totaling over 10,000 m in cumulative thickness during 1974-2011.

 

Worldwide Outcrop/Field Studies

 

 Deep-water deposits (Ph.D. work): Southern Appalachians (Tennessee, USA)

 

Deep-water deposits: Ouachita Mountains (Arkansas and Oklahoma, USA)

 

Deep-water deposits: Peira Cava area (SE France)

 

Shallow-marine deposits: Qassim area (Saudi Arabia)

 

Tide-Dominated Estuarine deposits: Oriente Basin (Ecuador)

 

Fluvial and Sahallow-marine deposits: Gujarat State (India)

 

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami-related deposits: Tamilnadu (India)

 

Coal deposits: Victoria (Australia)

 

Coniferous rain forests: North Island (New Zealand)

 

Limestone karst: Guilin (China)

 

 

 

Publication of Geology Photos

 

 Shanmugam, G., 1981, Basin plain turbidites, Spain:  Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 51, p. 1400.

 

Shanmugam, G., 1982, Convolute division of a turbidite bed, Spain:  Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 52, p. 298.

 

 Shanmugam, G., 1982, Channel‑margin turbidite facies, Spain:  Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 52, p. 382.

 

 Shanmugam, G., and Porter, J. J., 1983, Growth of halite crystals:  Geology cover photo, v. 11, No. 1.

 

Shanmugam, G., 1985, Basin plain turbidites, Spain:  Geology cover photo, v. 13, No. 4.

 

Shanmugam, G., 1988, Karst topography in southern China:  AAPG Bulletin cover photo, v. 72, No. 5.

 

 Shanmugam, G., 1988, Basin plain turbidites, Spain:  Earth‑Science Reviews cover photo, v. 25, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

 

Shanmugam, G., 1988, Zumaya Flysch, Spain, in Moores, E. M., and Michael Wahl, F., eds., The Art of Geology:  GSA Special Paper 225, p. 23.

 

 Shanmugam, G., 1988, Tower Karst, China, in Moores, E. M., and Michael Wahl, F., eds., The Art of Geology:  GSA Special Paper 225, pp. 83‑84.

 

Shanmugam, G., 1989, Zumaya Flysch, Spain: Geotimes cover photo, v. 34, No. 4.

 

Shanmugam, G., and Stephens, C.F., 1991, Core photo of slumps, North Sea: AAPG Bulletin cover photo, v. 75, No. 1

 

Shanmugam, G., 1993, Granitic monolith, south India, AAPG Bulletin cover photo, v. 77, No. 7

 

Shanmugam, G., 1995, Pulpit Rock and fjord in Norway, and core photo of floating clasts in a deep-water sand from the North Sea, AAPG Bulletin cover photo, v. 79, No. 4.

 

 Shanmugam, G., 1998, Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador, AAPG Bulletin cover photo, v. 82, No. 3.

 

 Shanmugam, G., 2000, Gravel bars in a braided contributory to the Ganges River, Lower Himalayas, India, AAPG Bulletin cover photo, v. 84, No. 5.

 

Invited Speaker

 

Lamont‑Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University (1980) – USA

Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island (1980) ‑ USA

Saskatchewan Geological Society, Regina (1981) ‑ Canada

University of Texas at Arlington (1982, 1983, 1984, 1987) ‑ USA

University of Texas at Dallas (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987) – USA

Southern Methodist University, Dallas (1984, 1985) ‑ USA

University of Victoria at Wellington (1983) ‑ New Zealand

University of Parma (1984) ‑ Italy

NATO Advanced Study Institute ‑ Conference on "Reading Provenance from Arenites" Calabria (1984) – Italy

Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, Annual Conference, Lagos (1984) ‑ Nigeria

University of Bergen, Bergen (1985) ‑ Norway

Norwegian Petroleum Society, Stavanger (1985) – Norway

Dallas Geological Society, Dallas (1985, 1986, 1990) ‑ USA

Abilene Christian University, Abilene (1985) ‑ USA

University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1985, 1987) ‑ USA

West Texas Geological Society, Midland (1986) ‑ USA

Fort Worth Geological Society, Fort Worth (1987, 1990) ‑ USA

Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Dallas (1987) – USA

AAPG Research Conference on "Prediction of Reservoir Quality through Chemical Modeling," Park City, Utah (1987) ‑ USA

Abilene Geological Society, Abilene (1988) ‑ USA

COMFAN II, Parma (1988) ‑ Italy
 

AAPG Research Symposium on "Application of Chemical Modeling to the Prediction of Reservoir Quality", San Antonio, Texas (1989) – USA

 

West Texas Geological Society Symposium "Search for the subtle trap hydrocarbon exploration in mature basins", Midland, Texas (1989)-USA

 

Dhahran Geological Society, Dhaharan (1990) ‑ Saudi Arabia

Geological Society of London Symposium: Diagenesis at Unconformities- Implications for Reservoir Quality (1991), London-UK

Dallas Geological Information Library, Dallas (1991) - USA

Arthur Holmes Conference on Deep-water massive sands, Cefalu, Sicily (1992) - Italy

Norwegian Petroleum Society, Stavanger (1993) – Norway

Lafayette Geological Society, Lafayette (1994) – Louisiana

Geological Society of London Symposium: Progress in Sequence Stratigraphy: London (1994) - U.K.

AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Nice (1995), France.

Azerbaijan Association of Petroleum Geologists 2nd Intl Conference, Baku (1995),  Azerbaijan.

Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists 13th Annual Conference, Lagos (1995), Nigeria

Geological Society of London Conference "Reservoir Modelling of turbidite systems", London (1996) - U.K.

AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Caracas (1996), Venezuela.

Tulsa Geological Society, Tulsa (1996) - Oklahoma

Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Denver (1996), Colorado

Houston Geological Society, Houston (1997), Texas

Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin (1997), Texas 

AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Vienna (1997), Austria.

Geoscience 98, Keele (1998), England

Petrotech -99, New Delhi (1999), India

AAPG, San Antonio (1999), Texas

Dallas Geological Society International Group (2002), Texas

Annamalai University, Annamali Nagar  (2002), India

I.I.T., Institute Colloquium, Bombay (2002), India

Association of Petroleum Geologists, Mussoorie (2002), India

EMGI Distinguished Lecturers Symposium, Dallas (2003), Texas

Association of Petroleum Geologists, Kajuraho (2004), India

Association of Petroleum Geologists, Goa (2006), India

6^th China National Petroleum Sequence Stratigraphy Conference: Hangzhou (2010), China

8^th International Conference & Exposition on Petroleum Geophysics, “Hyderabad-2010”,  SPG-India

AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, New Orleans (2010), Louisiana

CAPG (Chinese Association of Petroleum Geologists): Beijing (2011), China

Texas A&M University, College Station (2012), Texas

 

Organizer of Deep-Water Sandstone Workshops

 

1995 (October), UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Edinburgh, Scotland

1996 (November), Mobil, Dallas, Texas

1997 (July), UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.

 

1998 (June), Petrobras, Mobil, and Unocal, Sao Mateus, Brazil, South America

 

1998 (August), Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), Dehra Dun, India

 

1998 (November), Petrobras, Mobil, and Unocal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

 

1999 (June), Mobil, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

1999 (August), Petrobras, Mobil, and Unocal, Sao Mateus, Brazil, South America

2002, Hardy Exploration and Production (India) Inc. Chennai, India

 

2002, 2004, and 2009, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Chennai and Karaikal, India

 

2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, & 2010, Reliance Industries Ltd. Kakinada and Gadimoga,  India

 2009 and 2010, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED) of PetroChina, Beijing, China
  

 

 

Organizer of Clastic Facies Course for Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia, 1990, November 3-21

 

 On behalf of Mobil, organized a training course for 20 Saudi Aramco geoscientists from exploration and production departments. The course was composed of two phases.

 

First phase (November 3-14), Dhaharan, Saudi Arabia

 

Content: Lectures on various sandstone depositional environments, diagenesis, and seismic facies. An important part of this phase was laboratory exercises utilizing Saudi Aramco data (core, log, seismic, thin section etc.) from oil producing fields in understanding clastic depositional facies and their reservoir quality.

 

Second phase (November 16-21), Qasim area in northcentral Saudi Arabia

 

Content: Outcrop studies of Paleozoic rocks. This phase was designed to (1) teach field techniques in describing and interpreting  various depositional facies, and (2) in developing depositional models and predicting sandbody geometries. All participants found this hands-on course very useful.

 

 G Shanmugam at 5:05 PM