Dr Roberto Rizzo

Post-doctoral Research Associate

Biography

Background

Work Experiences

2020 – 2021        Research Associate – Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh – SECURe - Subsurface Evaluation of CCS and Unconventional Risks. Funded by the EU Horizon 2020.

2018 – 2019        Research Associate – University of Aberdeen – Quantify directional variations in the permeability of rocks. Funded by NERC (NE/N003063/1).

2017 – 2018        Research Associate – The University of Manchester – In-situ (synchrotron) Shale Imaging and Geomechanics. Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 640979.

Qualifications

Academic Education

2013 – 2017        PhD – University of Aberdeen – Quantifying Fracture Patterns: Implications for mechanical and transport properties of rocks. Funded by: UoA CoPS Studentship. University of Aberdeen.

2009 – 2012        MSc in Geology and Geophysics – Università degli studi Bari, Italy.

2005 – 2009      BSc in Geology – Università degli studi Bari, Italy.

Awards

Ramsay Medal: Awarded by the Tectonics Studies Group part of the Geological Society of London for best Paper on Structural Geology and Tectonics published in 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB015898). – Jan. 2019

Outstanding Student Paper Awards: American Geophysical Union for best poster presentation at the AGU Annual Meeting – Jan 2016

Research summary

My research interests span structural geology, geomechanics and image analysis. I’m interested in the patterns and processes of strain localisation, in the statistical distribution of fracture networks, and in the mechanical, thermal and seismic anisotropies of rocks. I tackle problems through field work, laboratory experiments, theoretical analysis and numerical modelling. I use numerical models to integrate observations with, and explore the consequences of, physical theory. I have developed codes freely available for the geoscience community, such as a wavelet analysis toolbox and the statistical analysis, permeability and connectivity suites within the FracPaQ toolbox (www.fracpaq.com).

Current research interests

My current research combines computational analysis and mathematical modelling of fundamental feedbacks between chemical, hydraulic and mechanical processes during the dehydration of minerals in the Earth’s crust.I am using time-resolved (4D) synchrotron microtomographic imaging to directly document the link between dehydration reactions and rock deformation at the grain scale. The main scope is to determine how mineral dehydration reactions on the grain scale can lead to mechanical failure in deforming rocks.

Project activity

I am currently a PDRA under a NERC project led by Dr. Florian Fusseis.

My projects involves (i) Analysis of large 4D datasets  using machine learning to extract key parameters characterising the reaction progress and sample deformation. (ii) Development of 1D and 2D numerical models of dehydration coupled to deformation and fluid flow, using parameters deduced from experiments. Extrapolation of models to determine more general realms and styles of localisation. 

Current project grants

I am PI on a Royal Society of Edinburgh Joint International project between Scotland and Italy, titled: "Decay of historic stone masonry due to thermal cycles and salt crystallization: new
challenges in a changing environment". The project aims to combine structural and elemental analytical techniques with advanced image acquisition and image analysis techniques, to study the degradation processes responsible for the damage of stone masonries.

This project has a duration of two years and is designed to facilitate international collaboration between researchers based in Scotland and Italy by granting seed money to enable further collaboration and funding in the future.

Conference details

I have presented my works at more than 15 conferences; here are listed the latest:

April 2021 Rizzo, R.E, Fazeli, H., Doster, F., Kampman, N., Bisdom, K., Snippe, J., Senger, K., Betlem, P., Busch, A., "Role of fault and fracture networks to de-risk geological leakage from subsurface energy sites", Geophysical Research Abstract EGU21-8517 EGU-2021

Nov. 2020 Rizzo, R.E, Fazeli, H., Maier, C., March, R., Egya, D., Doster, F, Kubeyev, A., Kampman, N., Bisdom, K., Snippe, J., Senger, K., Betlem, P., Phillips, T., Forbes Inskip, N., Esegbue, O., Busch, A., “Understanding fault and fracture networks to de-risk geological leakage from subsurface storage sites” – EAGE – GET2020

Dec. 2019  Rizzo, R.E., Healy, D., Farrell, N.J.C., Ostermeijer, G., Tesei, T, Bedford, J.D., Heap, M.J. and Mitchell T.M., “What’s the damage? Multiscale analyses of attributes in fault damage zones – fracture length distributions, orientation scale transitions and network connectivity” AGU Fall Meeting

June 2019  Rizzo R. E., Healy, D., Heap, M., J., Farrell, N.J.C., “Detecting strain localisation through wavelet analysis”. DRT – International Conference of Deformation Mechanism, Rheology and Tectonics, Tübingen, Germany

April 2019  Rizzo R.E., Healy, D., Harland, S., Browning, J., and Mitchell, T.M, “Imaging crack and pore anisotropy in deformed rocks: Quantifying the crack fabric tensor”. EGU Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria. Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 21, EGU2019-4073, 2019.

April 2018  Seers, T., Sheharyar, A., and Rizzo, R.E., “Virtual outcrop geology comes of age: the application of consumer grade virtual reality hardware and software to digital outcrop data analysis”. EGU Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria. Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 20, EGU2018-14578, 2018.

Jan 2018    Healy, D., Rizzo R.E., Heap, M., J., Farrell, N.J.C., Wavelet analysis to detect the onset of strain localisation. Tectonic Studies Group – TSG Annual Meeting, Plymouth, UK.

Dec 2017   Rizzo, R.E., Healy, D., Farrell, N.J.C., & Heap, M.J., "Detecting the transition to failure: wavelet analysis of multi-scale crack patterns at different confining pressures". AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, USA.

Invited speaker

May 2019 Seminar, Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecology, University of Liverpool.

May 2019   Seminar, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh.

Dec. 2017 AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans: "Image processing for quantifying fracture orientation and length scale transitions during brittle deformation".

Organiser

Session Convener: EGU2021 – Energy, Resource and Environment (ERE) Group: “The role of faults and fractures in subsurface energy and storage systems”

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