David Eaton
Biographical Abstract
David Eaton is a Professor of Geophysics and Head of the Geoscience Department at the
University of Calgary. He joined the department in 2007, after spending nearly 11 years at the
University of Western Ontario. Prior to 1997, he worked one year in Plano, Texas with Arco
Research and Technical Services, and three years with the Continental Geoscience Division of the Geological Survey of Canada. Together with his students, his research focuses on seismicity and structure of the Earth’s lithosphere and core, and characterizing microseismic activity associated with carbon capture and storage and / or enhanced hydrocarbon recovery.
These projects seek to understand the architecture and geological evolution of the North
American continent, as well as potential earthquake hazards in continental interior regions.
Dr. Eaton is past-president of the Canadian Geophysical Union (a national scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of geophysical sciences), associate editor for the
Geological Society of America Bulletin and founding member of POLARIS (Portable
Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Research Investigating Seismicity), a $10M infrastructure project funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario
Innovation Trust Fund. In 2006, he was appointed Honorary Professor at the Dublin Institute for
Advanced Studies, after having spent six months there on sabbatical in 2004 / 2005.
Research Abstract
Dr. Eaton is in the process of building up a microseismic research program. Microseismic monitoring refers to passive seismic observation of induced seismicity from hydraulic fracturing or other forms of fluid injection. In recent years, ‘microseismic’ has become a buzzword that is often associated with unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Having been used for years in mining and geothermal applications, the use of microseismic methods by the oil & gas industry is still in its infancy. His short-term goal is to apply methods developed primarily for earthquake studies, including source precise source location, detailed characterization and stress inversion, to this field of research.