The Computational Geoscience group is a largely industry funded research group solving fundamental research questions in geoscience using numerical analysis. We employ Postdoc, PhD and Master's students in Computational Geoscience with a variety of backgrounds: geophysics, geology, applied mathematics, scientific computing and physics. By developing innovative geoscience models and deploying them on basic research questions that are of keen interest to both industry and academia, Computational Geoscience will be a recognised name in the geodynamics community and influence the way the oil and gas industry conduct exploration.
Better models, better constraints, excellent geoscience
News
March 21, 2011: Vacancies: see our latest jobs on offer here.
Research
- Geodynamic Modelling and Basin Dynamics. The group conducts research into geodynamic problems and basin dynamic problems using sophisticated parallel computing codes and numerical techniques. The research is aimed understanding plate driving forces, mantle convection, mantle-induced vertical basin movements as well as modelling the sedimentary processes forming basins. This project is tied closely to basic research questions that interest our industry partner, Statoil, as well as utilising software developed for Statoil by Simula's subsidary, Kalkulo.
- High performance computing, numerical methods and algorithms in Geoscience. Modelling geodynamic processes requires efficient numerical methods and high-performance computing so that sufficient model complexity and spatial and temporal resolution can be achieved. In order to meet these demands, the group currently engages in research directed towards parallel computing, the finite element method and discrete and continuous model representations.
- Calibration and Reliability of Geoscientific Models. Uncertainty in numerical models not only stems from the numerical method employed but the model parameters. The group therefore conducts research into inverse methods of parameters estimation, efficient methods of parameter selection and model dependence on parameters through stochastic analysis. The overlap with the interest in uncertainty at the Center for Biomedical Computing at Simula allows for cross-fertilisation of ideas and models.
Our Motivation
The Norwegian oil and gas industry spends millions of dollars on exploration: locating and measuring the potential of resources around the world. Computational methods, while heavily used in engineering tasks around producing resources, are only just making inroads into exploration research. Several limitations pose problems for computational methods in the industry: the high cost of data collection, the indirect nature of the data collected and the inability to observe system-evolution. Computational Geoscience can make its mark on industry by using computational methods to address the scarcity and indirect nature of the data, improve current models with innovative methods and demonstrate their effectiveness by applying them to scientific problems of both industrial and academic relevance.
Computational Geoscience at Simula: A brief history
Since 2005, Simula has had a close collaboration with Statoil, and formely Hydro, addressing computational problems related to oil and gas exploration. The great majority of fundamental research on geoscientific topics is funded by Statoil, partly through the Simula School of Research and Innovation's participation as an academic partner in Statoil's VISTA program, and partly through strategic research projects. These basic research activities are paired with the technology development conducted by Simula's commercial subsidiary, Kalkulo, under contracts with Statoil. In total, the Statoil funding of R&D activities at Simula in 2009 accounted for 12.5 MNOK. The research is conducted in close interaction with senior personnel at Statoil's research centers and in the business unit for global exploration.
