George D. Spence
	Professor School of Earth and Ocean Sciences University of Victoria
	Mail	Courier
	Bob Wright Centre A405 PO Box 3065 STN CSC Victoria, B.C.  V8W 3V6 Canada	Bob Wright Centre A405          3800 Finnerty Road Victoria, B.C.  V8P 5C2 Canada
	Telephone       (250) 721-6187
	Fax                  (250) 721-6200
	E-mail             gspence@uvic.ca	Office   Bob Wright Centre A311

Student & Postdoc  Opportunities		Field Work Slide Shows
UVic/PGC Geophysics Group :     [Faculty]    [Students]    [Postdocs]		BATHOLITHSonland seismic program   Student field work volunteers needed: two weeks in July 2009 [Info]  [Flyer]  [Volunteer information form]         [Scouting slide show] Response to vandalized BATHOLITHS seismic shotpoint

Research Statement
I focus on plate tectonics and processes at convergent margins, largely at the Cascadia margin off Vancouver Island and, to a lesser extent, off Japan and Ecuador.  As a geophysicist, I collect and interpret marine seismic data (single-channel and multi-channel reflection, deep-towed, ocean bottom seismometer), onshore-offshore wide-angle reflection/refraction, sediment physical properties from piston coring, and heat flow data.  My projects aim to understand the plate structures that control potentially damaging massive earthquakes on Canada's west coast, and examine the effects of compaction and faulting in controlling how fluids are brought to near the seafloor in the sedimentary accretionary wedge, and in particular how reserves of methane are stored within and below marine gas hydrates.