Dr. Sarah J. Davies

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The overarching theme of my research is unravelling the influence of tectonic, climatic and eustatic (global sea-level) controls on the development of ancient sedimentary systems.

Full publications listing and recent grants and awards

I am involved in a number of industry-funded projects combining petrophysics and sedimentology examining reservoir characterization, with PhD studentships supported by ConocoPhillips, the London Petrophysical Society and NERC with BG plc (see below).  I have ongoing research projects on the sedimentology, geochemistry and petrophysics of fine-grained successions in collaboration with Mike Lovell (Leicester) and Joe Macquaker (Memorial, Newfoundland) which has implications for hydrocarbon source rock development. In 2007, Mike Lovell and I were awarded a NERC IODP Post-Expedition Support grant to investigate: Lithostratigraphy determination and characteristics from logging-while-drilling data: NanTroSEIZE IODP expedition 314. I am responsible for management of the European Petrophysics Consortium (EPC) and represent EPC within the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP).  With the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory-Borehole Research Group, EPC is part of the International Scientific Logging Consortium.

My papers examining the sedimentary responses to tectonics are regularly cited and make significant contributions to our understanding of the development of depositional systems; in high subsidence settings (e.g. Davies & Gibling 2003), as indicators of fault evolution and displacement rates (e.g. Davies et al. 2000) and in transpressional basin settings (e.g. Howard, Cunningham, Davies, Dykstra & Badarch 2003). Recently this line of research has attracted Research Council Funding and I am a co-investigator on a multidisciplinary CONNECT B NERC research grant (with Dickson Cunningham, Richard England & Peter Maguire) that has identified ancient extensional basins and unravelled their sedimentary evolution, subsequent uplift and recent transpressional deformation. A number of collaborative papers have resulted from this work (e.g. Howard, Cunningham & Davies 2006; Cunningham, Davies & Badarch 2005).

With colleagues from the UK, US, Canada and Europe, I research the evolution of palaeoequatorial sedimentary systems during the onset of Late Palaeozoic Ice Age (e.g. Davies, 2008, Davies et al. 2005, Davies et al. 1999, Davies & McLean 1996).

Present and Recent PhD students

2010 to date David Hartigan. The influence of mineralogy, geochemistry and sedimentology on petrophysical properties in fine-grained successions (with Prof Mike Lovell and Dr Sarah Davies (University of Leicester); Dr Tim Pritchard (BG-group, Reading)
2010 to date Joao Afonso. Electrical resistivity measurements in coal: assessment of coal-bed methane content, reserves and coal permability. (with Professor Mike Lovell (University of Leicester), Mr Roger Samworth (Weatherford)
2010 to date Sven Koenitzer. Primary biological controls on UK lower Namurian shale gas prospectivity: understanding a major potential UK gas resource (with Dr M. J. Stephenson (British Geological Survey), Professor  M. Leng (NERC Isotopes Geoscience Laboratory), Dr L. Angiolini (Università degli Studi di Milano), Dr Sarah Gabbott (UoL), Dr J.H.S. Macquaker (Memorial University Newfoundland), Dr C. Vane (BGS), Dr D. Millward (BGS) and Dr I. Kane (University of Leeds)
2010 to date Sam Matthews. Petroacoustic Modelling of Heterogenous Sandstone Reservoirs (with Prof. Mike Lovell (University of Leicester), Dr Tim Pritchard and Mr Robert Webber (BG-group, Reading)

2008 to date Jennifer Graham. Controls on temporal & spatial distribution of organic matter in siliciclastic mudstones: implications for source rock development in shale gas plays. (With Prof Mike Lovell, Dr Joe Macquaker (Memorial University Newfoundland) and Dr. Kevin Bohacs (ExxonMobil). NERC Case Award with ExxonMobil.
2008 to date Irfan Jan. Investigating the palaeoenvironments and narrow palaeoclimate zones of the Palaeotethyan Permo-Carboniferous icehouse: the boulder beds of the Salt Range, Pakistan. (Dr. Mike Stephenson (BGS), Prof. Melanie Leng (NIGL), Dr Jan Zalasiewicz (UoL), Dr. Lucia Angiolini (Milano) and Prof. Fasl Rabbi Khan (Peshawar) 
2005 to date Joanne Tudge. Low Resistivity Pay – Investigation into a Chlorite-Rich Reservoir Co-supervisor with Prof Mike Lovell ConocoPhillips/LPS Funded. Includes 8-month internship as a logging scientist on theNanTroSEIZE IODP expedition 314 followed by a period as a NERC-Funded Postgraduate Research Assistant.
2005 to date Peter Fitch. Petrophysical properties of carbonates: enhanced interpretation of complex reservoirs through integrated studies. Full time PhD. Lead Supervisor with Prof. M.A. Lovell. NERC CASE with BG-Group includes 5-month internship at Baker INTEQ, USA.
2005 to date Carys Bennett. Lower Carboniferous ostracods and isotopes of the Midland Valley, Scotland: testing for the ecological shift into non-marine environments. NERC CASE with the BGS. Co-supervisor with David Siveter & Mark Williams.
2002-2006 Clare Maher. An investigation of depositional mechanisms of pyroclastic density currents using detailed fabric analysis. Co-supervisor with Dr. M.J. Branney. Now working as a geoscientist for Neftex.
2000-2003 James Howard. Multi-disciplinary, field-based studies of sedimentary basin evolution along seismically active strike slip fault systems in the Mongolian Altai. Lead supervisor with Dr. W.D. Cunningham. Funded by Leicester Geologists Alumni Society. Now working as a geoscientist for CASP.
1999-2002 Matthew Hooper. Understanding basin evolution in strike-slip settings. NERC CASE Studentship with the BGS (Edinburgh). Now working in the environmental/geotechnical sector.
1997–2000 Matthew Brettle. Development of a high resolution sequence stratigraphic framework for the Kinderscoutian and Marsdenian intervals of the Pennine Basin. Co-supervised with T. Elliott (Liverpool) and C. Waters (BGS Keyworth). BGS/Liverpool University studentship. Included two three month periods in industry with Esso and Mobil. Now working for Fairfield Energy.
1998–2001 Nadia Al-Abry. The role of active normal faulting in controlling deep-water sedimentation, Upper Jurassic Magnus Sandstone Member Northern North Sea. Co-supervisor with John Underhill (Edinburgh), PDO (Shell) funded. Now working as a geophysicist with PDO in Oman.