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Graphic of three-dimensional seismic data from Nankai Trough and Petroleum Experts logo
Petroleum Experts logo and three-dimensional seismic data from Nankai Trough modeled with Move software. (Graphic courtesy of Jason Lackey)

The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has received a donation valued at $2.18 million. Petroleum Experts, one of the leading providers of structural geology software, donated the state-of-the-art Move suite of software that will allow students and faculty in the SOEST Department of Earth Sciences to make advanced geological interpretations related to earthquake and tsunami generation.

The Move suite is the most complete structural modeling and analysis toolkit available. It provides a full digital environment for best practice structural modeling to reduce risk and uncertainty in geological models. The Move suite provides a platform for integrating and interpreting data, creating cross-sections to visualize subsurface layers, three-dimensional model building of fractures and fault response, and fault and stress analysis.

The software, which is already up and running in the department, is licensed exclusively for teaching, tutorials and non-commercial research. Providing access to this powerful software will advance SOEST students’ interpretation skills, making them much more attractive to future employers and giving them an advantage for their studies of rock deformation.

“Our students very much appreciate Petroleum Experts’ donation,” said Greg Moore, structural geologist and professor in the Department of Earth Sciences. “Having access to Move software takes our research into the tectonic processes at the Nankai and Hikurangi subduction zones to the next level. It allows us to understand how strain has been accommodated during subduction-related deformation, which will further our understanding of subduction zone earthquake hazards.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, subduction occurs when an oceanic plate runs into a continental plate and slides beneath it.

For the full story, see the SOEST website.

—By Marcie Grabowski

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