Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Time: 10:00 am Pacific, 11:00 am Mountain, 12:00 pm Central, 1:00 pm Eastern
Format: One-hour virtual webinar (AIPG Texas Monthly Webinar Series, every 3rd Tuesday)
Presenter: Professor John M. (Jack) Sharp, Professor Emeritus, UT Jackson School of Geosciences
Cost: Members $10, Non-Members $25, AIPG Student Members free
CEUs: 0.1 CEU / 1 PDH for full attendance
You will receive the Zoom link with your email payment receipt and again on the day of the webinar.
Abstract
When Texas coastal lands become submerged below mean high water, they become property of the state, unless the submergence is caused by subsidence due to extraction of water and/or petroleum, which is complicated by Texas legal theory that this should be the sole cause. Subsidence caused by pumping groundwater in the general Houston-Galveston area is well documented. The role of petroleum production is less recognized, but its effects are well documented in the northeast Texas coast. Relative sea-level (RSL) rise, which is the combination of eustatic sea level (ESL) rise plus subsidence and tectonic movements (either up or down), is the cause of submergence. Minor causes of submergence include natural rates of subsidence, coastal retreat, growth faults, and collapse of subsurface cavities. Rates of ESL in the Gulf of Mexico are reported to be increasing in the past 25 to 50 years, although tide gauge data do not show this.
In the Beaumont area, petroleum production is the dominant cause of subsidence and submergence. Survey data show that the Rose City Field subsided by over 5 feet in less than 40 years and depressurization has extended well beyond the field. Other processes are insignificant. Similar subsidence rates are documented for the nearby Port Neches, Spindletop, and Port Acres/Port Arthur fields. Nevertheless, better data are required on the natural rates of subsidence versus subsidence over other oil fields, the areal extent of depressurization, compressibility coefficients for the sedimentary column and how they change with depth and shale properties, secondary (time-dependent) consolidation, and soil compaction.
About the Presenter
Jack Sharp has a BS in geological engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MS and a PhD in geology from the University of Illinois. Prior to coming to UT in 1982, he was a professor at the University of Missouri and a US Air Force officer. Jack’s research area is groundwater, covering flow in fractured and carbonate rocks, thermohaline free convection, sedimentary basin hydrogeology, subsidence and coastal land loss, groundwater management, and the effects of urbanization. He has had extended research stays in Munich (University of Munich), Adelaide (CSIRO and Flinders University), Mexico (Zacatón and Cuatro Ciénegas), and Washington, DC (USGS and NSF). He has supervised precisely 100 MS and PhD students. Jack and his wife Carol have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.
Continuing Education Credit
- Participants who attend the full webinar will receive a certificate for 0.1 CEU / 1 PDH.
- To earn NY State CEUs, you must attend the entire webinar (minimum 50 minutes), including the Q&A, and complete a brief assessment afterward with a score of at least 70% (4 out of 5 correct).
- The assessment link will only be shared in the chat box at the end of the webinar. Multiple attempts are allowed for one hour after the webinar.
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Cost: Members $10 | Non-Members $25 | AIPG Student Members free. Once registered, you will receive the Zoom link with your email receipt and a reminder on the day of the webinar.
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