Professor Tim Minshull

Research groups

Research interests

• Continental breakup and the onset of seafloor spreading
• Methane hydrate beneath the seafloor and its role in the Earth system
• Exploration geophysics: seismic and electromagnetic imaging
• Magma-hydrothermal interactions beneath arc volcanoes and mid-ocean ridges
• Fluid transport processes beneath the seafloor, including leakage of stored carbon dioxide

Current research

Current research is focused on:

Continental breakup and the onset of seafloor spreading

Recent projects include a c. £4M project involving UK, US and German funding for 3D seismic work on the west Iberia margin. This project is providing unprecedented insights into tectonic processes during continental breakup. Tim led the ocean bottom seismic component of the project. Analysis of the unique dataset acquired continues. A future project aims to conduct the first integrated seismic and controlled source electromagnetic survey across the continent-ocean transition at the Goban Spur rifted margin southwest of the UK.

Methane hydrate

In recent years Tim's hydrate research has focused on the geophysical study of hydrates offshore Svalbard, where hydrate appears to be dissociating in response to ocean warming, and on numerical modelling of this dissociation process. A current project with colleagues in Brussels seeks to understand the role of microbes in modulating the resultant gas escape from the seafloor.

Fluid flow beneath the seabed

Tim leads aspects of two projects that are using high-resolution seismic and controlled source electromagnetic techniques to study fluid escape structures beneath the North Sea.

Research projects